Living on the north coast in the Dominican Republic is a dream come true. Soon I will post a valid argument for why the DR is the best and only place any gringo/expat should consider living in the Caribbean. However, the DR is not perfect. Paradise, yes. Perfect, not. One of the things I am getting used to is the sticker shock I get on items that are priced well above what I would pay in the US. Gasoline, alcohol, cars and electronics - just to name most of the important products.
Fortunately, many of these price premiums can be mitigated or even eliminated if you are like me and value your money. One way to reduce the cost of gasoline/fuel for your car is to install a propane gas conversion system. The installation cost in total is about US $1,500.
Another solution is to buy an economy car like a Kia Picanto. I rented one of these for two weeks and although the price of gasoline is a whopping 232 pesos regular (US about $5.50) and 245 premium ($5.79), the Picanto gets more than 35 miles per gallon. So to get good gas mileage, you have to either have a small 4-cylinder vehicle like a Picanto, or, convert your 6/8 cylinder to propane, which costs 107 pesos (apx $2.50/gallon).
I purchased a Nissan Murano 6-cylinder SUV that normally gets up to 20 mpg on regular gasoline. But the advantage was it already had the propane conversion. If you are a good negotiator, you can get a good deal on almost anything in the DR, real estate, cars, electronics, etc. Propane yields a little less range, but not much, as I proved to myself this morning with a test drive.
First, I emptied the propane tank completely. I drove it on gasoline (when you convert you still have both gasoline and propane) to the propane gas station. I put exactly one gallon of propane. The tank went empty at 29.1 kilometers (about 18 miles). About 23 of that was highway, the rest city.
Follow the math.
29 kilometers = 18 miles = 1 galon propane = 107 pesos = apx $2.50
Propane costs about 45% of gasoline or less (see prices above).
So getting 18 miles per gallon on propane is the equivalent of getting 40 miles per gallon on gasoline.
Hence, you can drive a more powerful, perhaps luxury vehicle with the fuel cost of a Picanto.
This is one way to eliminate some of the price premiums in the Dominican Republic. As for alcohol, the only solution I have to reduce this cost premium is to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. I will post soon on the solutions to some of the other cost premiums. In general, the things that you NEED in the DR, such as housing and food, are much cheaper than most countries. The things that you WANT (imports, luxuries, etc) are more expensive, if you don't do any research or care about the price of the things you buy. I do, so I will report on ways to solve that problem.
Until then, Happy Holidays from drgringo!
Fortunately, many of these price premiums can be mitigated or even eliminated if you are like me and value your money. One way to reduce the cost of gasoline/fuel for your car is to install a propane gas conversion system. The installation cost in total is about US $1,500.
Another solution is to buy an economy car like a Kia Picanto. I rented one of these for two weeks and although the price of gasoline is a whopping 232 pesos regular (US about $5.50) and 245 premium ($5.79), the Picanto gets more than 35 miles per gallon. So to get good gas mileage, you have to either have a small 4-cylinder vehicle like a Picanto, or, convert your 6/8 cylinder to propane, which costs 107 pesos (apx $2.50/gallon).
I purchased a Nissan Murano 6-cylinder SUV that normally gets up to 20 mpg on regular gasoline. But the advantage was it already had the propane conversion. If you are a good negotiator, you can get a good deal on almost anything in the DR, real estate, cars, electronics, etc. Propane yields a little less range, but not much, as I proved to myself this morning with a test drive.
First, I emptied the propane tank completely. I drove it on gasoline (when you convert you still have both gasoline and propane) to the propane gas station. I put exactly one gallon of propane. The tank went empty at 29.1 kilometers (about 18 miles). About 23 of that was highway, the rest city.
Follow the math.
29 kilometers = 18 miles = 1 galon propane = 107 pesos = apx $2.50
Propane costs about 45% of gasoline or less (see prices above).
So getting 18 miles per gallon on propane is the equivalent of getting 40 miles per gallon on gasoline.
Hence, you can drive a more powerful, perhaps luxury vehicle with the fuel cost of a Picanto.
This is one way to eliminate some of the price premiums in the Dominican Republic. As for alcohol, the only solution I have to reduce this cost premium is to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption. I will post soon on the solutions to some of the other cost premiums. In general, the things that you NEED in the DR, such as housing and food, are much cheaper than most countries. The things that you WANT (imports, luxuries, etc) are more expensive, if you don't do any research or care about the price of the things you buy. I do, so I will report on ways to solve that problem.
Until then, Happy Holidays from drgringo!
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