Santo Domingo – Talent has migrated for better incomes, and it would have been greater without price stability.
The relative price stability that the Dominican Republic has maintained in recent decades has ensured that the emigration of professionals and technicians in search of better income abroad, although significant due to low salaries, has not been greater and that this emigration has also been compensated in part by the immigration of foreign professionals and technicians who provide their services to foreign companies operating in the country and to national companies, attracted by a lower cost of living than that of their countries.
According to Expatistan, a cost-of-living calculator that compares the cost of living in cities around the world, the cost of living in cities such as Santo Domingo and Santiago is lower than the cost of living in many other cities in the region and the rest of the world.
According to this calculator, which compiles the prices it uses to calculate its cost of living index through information provided by visitors to its website, the estimated monthly costs for a family of 4 in Santo Domingo are RD$150,331 and for a single person are RD$69,699, including food, housing, clothing, transportation, personal care, and entertainment.
To cite some comparisons, the cost of living in Santo Domingo, according to Expatistan calculations, is 17% cheaper than in Mexico City, 23% cheaper than in Madrid, 7% cheaper than in Panama, 63% cheaper than in New York, 59% cheaper than in Miami, 29% cheaper than in San Jose (Costa Rica), 40% cheaper than in San Juan (Puerto Rico). In addition, the cost of living in Santiago de los Caballeros is 29% cheaper than in San José (Costa Rica) and 19% cheaper than in Santo Domingo.
These figures have prevented the migration of human capital due to low wages from being more severe. If there were a significant increase in these salaries, maintaining price stability, it would produce a favorable climate to attract human capital and ensure that those trained in the country remain in their homeland.
The relatively low cost of living also attracts retirees interested in the Dominican Republic as a retirement destination.
A report by the law firm Morillo Suriel says that in addition to offering its white sand beaches, rich culture, and tropical climate, the country also allows those interested in settling in to live on a monthly budget of US$1,500.00 to US$2,000 “in a more or less comfortable way with access to all the necessary goods and services.