Retire Early $1118 Month in Sosua Dominican Republic

In this report, I share how some of you may be able to Retire Early $1118 Month in Sosua Dominican Republic.

I share my estimated cost of living for two people in Sosua, Dominican Republic. Then I cover my retirement livability factors, such as walkability, food, social considerations, things to do, weather, and real estate.

I will show you pictures and videos I took of Sosua as I describe Sosua. But no need to write anything down. At the end of this video, I will give you everything in writing along with Google Maps and links to everything I discuss.

Additionally, if you are an ex-pat living in Sosua and would like to be a guest star on my YouTube channel and share your cost of living, please send me an email here (https://vagabondbuddha.com/contact/), so we can set up an interview.

We will cover the other popular cities for ex-pat retirees in Latin America in the coming weeks and months. We already have over 80 retire cheap reports all over the world. Subscribe so you won’t miss our next report.

Who would love to live in Sosua in the Dominican Republic?

Let’s start by talking about the elephant in the room. Sosua is the place in the Dominican Republic most famous for being where men from all over the world go to find beautiful Dominican prostitutes.

I am not judging any consensual activity that one adult has with another adult. But I do want to point out that illegal activity puts the largest possible target on the back of your head.

Both the police and the criminals will be gunning for you once you start breaking the local laws. People involved in illegal activity of one kind, are often involved in illegal activities of another kind. So when you run in that crowd, you are asking for trouble, and will eventually find it.

I have done a separate video about how to remain safe when you travel the world (link provided), and that is one of the most important topics in that video. The video talks about all of the techniques I use to remain safe and happy as I travel the world.

Okay, back to the main question, “Who would love to live in Sosua in the Dominican Republic?” Sosua is a place where people of all ages go to party and have fun when they are on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.

Sosua is sort of a mixture of Puerto Plata and Cabarete. Sosua has the local nightlife of Puerto Plata and the tourism of Cabarete, all living together in one spicy soup. So, singles and people looking for fun on their vacation come to Sosua.

There are also some retirees living in Sosua that prefer to be around younger energy. But it is also more dangerous than Cabarete or Las Terrenas so make sure to rent an apartment with bars on the doors and windows if you decide to call Sosua home.

There are direct international flights from the USA, Canada, Germany, Moscow, Belgium, Frankfurt, and Zurich to Puerto Plata International Airport (POP) which is just 6 km west of Sosua, 9 minutes.

Cost of Living in Sosua, Dominican Republic

Here is my estimated cost of living for two people in Sosua, Dominican Republic.

Rents: First, here is a furnished studio I found on Airbnb a few days ago for $535 USD per month. This $535 per month includes the utilities, Internet, and a commission to Airbnb.

This rate is for 1 month, from October 1, 2021, to October 31, 2021, is $484 per month. Meet the landlord at the property while in town, to negotiate a 6 or 12-month lease for less. The landlord may discount it for you to eliminate vacancy for such a long time.

They may also charge you more since October is the low season. It might also be higher because we were here during the pandemic when rents were lower.

Expats rent apartments for $200 to $300 per month plus utilities in nearby Puerto Plata. I would wait until I am on the ground before negotiating prices, so I could test the Internet speed and check out the neighborhood.

I have a report about how to find the best apartments around the world, (link provided).

For this estimate of the cost of living, I will assume you can get it for $484 per month including utilities. That is the advertised rent minus the Airbnb fee. I see no reason to pay Airbnb when I am face to face with the landlord negotiating a 6-month lease.

I am not saying the landlord at the above link will take your offer. I haven’t asked. But if you propose this deal to several landlords, someone may accept terms like these to eliminate vacancies.

Groceries: Based upon our time there and the money we spent for groceries, we estimate about $340 USD per month for groceries for two people.

Restaurants: If we went out to eat twice per week, once for date night and once for a lunch somewhere, we would spend about $40 per week or $200 per month in restaurants for the two of us. We could keep it fun and interesting by doing a few beach picnics per week. We would bring food from home on picnics.

Cell Phone Data: Mostly we use the Internet at home. But we also need Internet access from time to time when we are out of the house. The cost to recharge is about $20 USD per month. My android phone acts as a hot spot for Qiang’s iPhone.

Laundry and Water: For Laundry, Qiang estimates about $40 for the drop-off and pick-up laundry. She estimates twelve 20 liter water bottles per month for 2 people at $2 USD each, or $24 USD per month.

Uber/Taxi: Sosua is walkable, so you may not need to get bicycles, a scooter, or take a taxi for everyday life. We just walked everywhere. Taxis are $10 to Puerto Plata, one way. So, you will average about $60 USD per month. There is no Uber in Sosua.

We called our friend Sam when we needed a taxi: WhatsApp: +1 (829) 444-4440

Alcohol: Local beer called Presidente in the grocery store was about $2.63 USD for a large bottle (650 ML). In restaurants, the large bottle was about $3.50 USD. Not everyone drinks so we show alcohol as an optional expense in the below-estimated cost of living. Just add however many beers you drink per month.

Sosua	Expense (USD)
Rent	434
Groceries	340
Restaurants	200
Cell	20
Laundry	40
Water	24
Uber/Taxi	60
Recurring Total	$1118
Alcohol	100
Optional Total	$1218

The above cost of living is for 2 people but is just an estimate on the low end. For a full understanding of what it would cost you to live here, visit Numbeo Sousa and add anything you spend money on in your home country that is not mentioned in the table.

Our costs of living are generally much lower than a new traveler’s because we are great bargain hunters but there are a few people that live much cheaper than we do. The locals in many countries we visit often live on half of what we do.

Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.

Most ex-pats report spending more money per month than the low-end estimate we are reporting here. You will hear more typical living costs in the range of $1200 to $2000 per month. But people spending that much also have higher incomes or pensions. They often spend more on eating out and drinking more alcohol in local bars and restaurants. Many also have cars and more expensive apartments.

If you are going to try to retire cheap offshore, make sure to have emergency funds available should you have some unexpected emergencies. To learn more about that, read my report called, the Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore.

Sosua, Dominican Republic, Livability Factors

Here are some of the factors I think about when I consider a place for retirement potential. After I discuss each factor I will assign an overall desirability score to Sosua.

Walkability: High. If I were to retire in Sosua, I would be able to walk to most of the restaurants and markets. I would take a taxi a few times per month. I would also consider getting bicycles for Qiang and me to get around town more quickly.

Internet: High. We didn’t do the ATT speed test on the wifi in Sosua but it is probably as good as we tested in nearby Cabarete, as shown below. I suggest reading my process for finding the perfect apartment which fulfills all of your needs if wifi speeds are critical to your life.

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Food: Medium. For a small town of this size, there is a fairly good representation of international food choices. The ex-pat grocery stores here in nearby Puerto Plata have a fairly large selection of foreign foods ingredients.

Weather: High. Sosua has beautiful weather year-round if you like it on the warm to the hot side. The warm season is November through April when the nighttime lows average around 68 F ( 20 C) and the daytime highs average 83 F (28 C). The hot and muggy rainy season is May through October when nighttime lows average around 75 F ( 24 C) and daytime highs average 87 F ( 31 C). The most rain falls in May, October, and November.

Things to Do: Medium. Swimming, snorkeling, scuba, kayaking, kite surfing, windsurfing, cooking, partying, yoga, restaurants, gyms, cycling, fishing, painting, writing, etc. The wind seemed to be strongest in the later afternoon. If you are a beach or ocean person, you will not run out of things to do. But if you are also into cultural exploration, you may get bored here eventually.

Social Considerations: Medium. If you are not really into windsurfing or kitesurfing and you need more than just being near the ocean to sustain you, you could get bored here fairly quickly. You will need to pick up some Spanish if you expect to integrate with the locals. That will widen your choices of friends and things to do greatly.

Expats: Medium. There are about 6k members of the Love Sosua Facebook page (link provided). The group has ex-pats and locals, but it is mostly in English, so there is a good chance there are ex-pats that will see your messages. Make sure to make friends with both locals and ex-pats for a richer experience living here. I explain why in my report, The Top 10 Mistakes International Retirees Make (link provided).

Real Estate: High. Just walking around Sosua and window shopping, we saw condos advertised for sale starting around $50k USD. But I never recommend buying until you have lived somewhere for at least 2 to 3 years. Read Why Retired Expats Should not Buy Real Estate Overseas.

Visa: High. Citizens of many countries are given 30 days visa-free upon arrival in the Dominican Republic. Many of the ex-pats that come to the Dominican Republic, whether long or short term, routinely overstay their visa and just pay a penalty whenever they leave of about $100 USD per year of overstay.

Odd sounding I know. I don’t recommend this because I would worry an overstay could end up in some international database and could eventually affect my ability to travel to other countries. Visa rules are always subject to change so check before you buy your flights.

Safety: Medium. I would rank Sosua as medium safety in the Dominican Republic if you live in a guarded and gated community. With regard to safety, I recommend that you only rent a place outside a guarded and gated community if it has bars on the windows and doors. This will help prevent the break-in crime that is known to happen in the Dominican Republic. You also need to be aware of pickpockets.

Read my report on how to travel the world safely, including in your home country. That report explains how ex-pats that get involved in illegal activities such as prostitution put themselves directly in harm’s way no matter where in the world they may be.

Sosua Desirability Score: Medium. If you are a beach or ocean person that prefers to be in a small touristy town in the Caribbean full of international tourists on or near a white sand beach with turquoise water, with good restaurants, places to shop, and beachy things to do, then Sosua might be right for you.

Thanks for reviewing our Retire Early $1118 Month in Sosua Dominican Republic.

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This is Dan of Vagabond Awake, the Youtube channel for VagabondBuddha.com. Thank you for stopping by. The world is your home. What time will you be home for dinner?