Living like a king on pennies

[JOE_PANAMA]

yes doug

[MODERATOR EDIT]

[d0ug]

If anyone wants infomation on living in the DR or if I can help please PM me.

[loosechickens]

dOug.....it sounds like you have indeed made a good life for yourself and your wife there in the DR. More power to you.

We've never been to DR, but we have lived in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica for varying periods of time, and never in the way that most ex-pats live.

In a small Pacific fishing village in Mexico where we lived for several years, there was a German man in his late 60s with a local wife in her mid twenties. They had two small children and were very happy together.

Good for you. It sounds like you know what is important to you and have made the transition to life in another country in a good way.

True wealth, after all, is what you'd be worth if you lost all your money.....and it sounds like you'd be just fine.

Enjoy life.....it sounds like your wife got herself a fine man.

LooseChickens

[d0ug]

Still living like a king and now have a two-month-old baby girl. My first child. It doesn’t get any better than this.

[retiringby50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ug Still living like a king and now have a two-month-old baby girl. My first child. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Wow, thanks for the update. Good for you! Earlier there were comments about us not understanding the age difference; I think it's because in the US, we think of it as the guy is going through a mid-life crisis, and the woman is a gold digger, but it does seem to be more acceptable in other countries and not viewed in the way I mentioned. We're Chinese; when my dad was in his mid-80's, he went back to China and married a 40 year old in hopes of having children with him (umm, okay, Dad). I was probably about 35 at the time, and all my friends thought he was crazy, but we also heard other stories that were very similar. In dad's case, it didn't work out. He wasn't very nice to her, and they divorced.

[Trek]

Congrats on the little one Doug! Sounds like a great life you have. Keep enjoying it!

[HobbyDave]

Conrats Doug, good to hear from you, and glad to hear that things are still working out well.

[Grizz]

I was in DR two yrs ago, and until then, I thought that we Canadians and Americans on average were the happiest in the world. After all, our financial wealth is almost unimaginable to most of them.

Once I got well out of the resort and met and watched some of the locals, I realized that they laugh and smile much more naturally and seem far less stressed than "we" do. The pace of everything is slower, and nothing seems to be based on a clock, but so what. I've never said at the end of a day at work, "boy it felt good to run my butt off and not have time for a friendly conversation with a passerby". The people of the DR taught me a valuable lesson about my culture and its shortcomings.

To the OP, best wishes to you and your family. You are fortunate in your situation and surroundings.

[Olav23]

Great thread!

I've always considered the ex-pat lifestyle, but was always nervous about living in a country where I can't speak the language fluently. In DR, I'd want to understand the lingo to not get myself into a dangerous situation, or the wrong side of town, etc. Thailand, somehow seems a bit less sketchy to me, but still, I'd feel out of place as a falang.

How do you guys get over the feeling of being an "occupier"? Showing off your US-wealth and not being able to communicate properly, I'd imagine, could get you killed.

[d0ug]

I still am not fluent in the language but enough to hold a conversation. Fitting in with a good family helps when I was married the chef of police came to welcome me to the community [not invited] but welcome. The whole community here looks out for me and warns when someone is not who they pretend to be. I do show that I have money. I dress like the poor and do not have a car and do not lend money. I do help people I think need help but I do it in a way that they don’t know it’s me. I feel safer here than I have felt for years.

[dumpster56]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ug I still am not fluent in the language but enough to hold a conversation. Fitting in with a good family helps when I was married the chef of police came to welcome me to the community [not invited] but welcome. The whole community here looks out for me and warns when someone is not who they pretend to be. I do show that I have money. I dress like the poor and do not have a car and do not lend money. I do help people I think need help but I do it in a way that they don’t know it’s me. I feel safer here than I have felt for years.

What a fantastic thread, d0ug I must PM you, I am fascinated at what you have done. Congrats at that new baby!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thisissogreat What a fantastic thread, d0ug I must PM you, I am fascinated at what you have done.

What, the part about a 61 year old guy marrying a 17 year old?

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ug ...we divorced and I married a Dominican lady we have been together now 4 years...

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ug I’m 65 this year and my wife is 21.

[steve88]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Thisissogreat
What a fantastic thread, d0ug I must PM you, I am fascinated at what you have done.

What, the part about a 61 year old guy marrying a 17 year old?


Quote:
Originally Posted by d0ug
...we divorced and I married a Dominican lady we have been together now 4 years...

Quote:
Originally Posted by d0ug
I’m 65 this year and my wife is 21.


no wonder why everyone is happy and all smiles over there.

[laurence]

Here's to you making it to 85, be healthy, your child is counting on you!

[d0ug]

Since the last posting I now have a baby boy one month old. I really enjoy having the family I never had. I guess it's never to late to enjoy your life.
Thank to all the people who replied positively to my postings hope you are enjoying life as I do.

[FinanceDude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by d0ug Since the last posting I now have a baby boy one month old. I really enjoy having the family I never had. I guess it's never to late to enjoy your life. Thank to all the people who replied positively to my postings hope you are enjoying life as I do.

Great news!! Don't be a stranger to the forums, I like living vicariously to some extent through others.......

[haha]

Way to go Doug!

Como se llama?

ha

[kyounge1956]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RP A good friend of mine, when we were both in our late thirties/early forties loved to rag on his wife, claiming when she turned forty he was going to trade her in for two '20's. One day at a family gathering he made that comment in front of the wife's grandmother. With a withering stare she looked at my friend and in a voice for the whole gathering to hear proclaimed: "You don't look like you're wired for 220 to me, sonny." Come to think of it, I don't ever recall him making that joke again ;-)

you GO, grandma!

[SurfDog]

Hi Doug. JD here. I have been going to the DR almost yearly since 1988. I live here in Ponte Vedra Beach Fl southeast of Jacksonville. My wife (Deb) also loves the DR. We are both into water sports. Me, surfing and windsurfing and Deb, windsurfing...
We have watched Cabarete grow from a sleepy little north coast village to one of the biggest tourist destinations on the whole island. I'm about to retire in Feb and look forward to being able to spend more time down there. I just want you to know "I know how you feel" about the place. Not only is it a beautiful place but the Dominican people are the friendliest I have ever met anywhere, period! Congrats to you for biting the bullet and making the move. I really do envy you and wish you and your new family all the luck in the world... Maybe I'll see you in Marsh if you get around Cabarete... Later, JD

[Grizz]

Cabarete is certainly a place that I intend to visit again some day. I enjoy windsurfing as well, and prior to that visit I thought that I was pretty good at it. I learned to windsurf on Canadian lakes, which translates to mild wind usually and waves all the way up to your ankles. I was battered, bruised, and mildly humiliated from my efforts in DR.

The greatest thing was watching the dozens of windsurfers and kitesurfers out there.

Apart from the crummy air quality due to small 2 cycle motorcycles everywhere, it was my favorite place to just walk around.