5 DUMB Mistakes We Made Moving to Dominican Republic

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In this edition of the Grubernation Weekly Newsletter:

• 5 DUMB Mistakes We Made Moving to DR

• My Content Pillars (And Why You Should Care)

• The Larimar Project is Doing Something BIG!

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5 DUMB Mistakes We Made Moving to DR

I’ve reflected on our move 3 years ago and discovered no less than 12 errors we made when we moved.

To keep it brief, I’m listing 5 .. I’ll cover the other 7 on YouTube.

Mistake #1: Listening to Best Case Budgets

‘I spend about $1500 a month living in DR’

‘My monthly budget is $2000 .. maybe $2500 in a bad month’

These were the things I heard before we moved and why not believe it?

There were PLENTY of people validating this online. Creators and influencers talking about their super low cost of living as they sat on a beach in tank tops and sunglasses on their head.

Then they’d give examples like ‘our rent is $200, we spend $31/week on food and our cell phone is $18/month’.

They’re not lying. Not even a little bit.

But I didn’t ask GOOD questions. And if I had, I would have learned:

• The data is extremely limited .. better hope you’re on wifi ALL the time

• That rent is for a box with EXTREMELY unstable electric

• Forget about going to a supermarket for that budget

So as I get these messages from people challenging MY position on cost of living being more than you think .. I ask questions and in EVERY case they remember additional expenses or admit to SIGNIFICANT lifestyle tradeoffs

• I don’t have local health insurance

• We use my mothers car or just ride a moto or walk

• Oh yeah .. I pay for school once a year, I didn’t include that

• No, that doesn’t include when someone visits and we go out

Recently I got a message from a woman in California who said she moved to Puerto Plata years back but had to leave and now wants to return to Punta Cana.

She’s seeking a parallel lifestyle. Not a minimalist one.

Most of you reading are too .. even if you don’t know it.

We got duped!!

• I was told electricity was $40/month .. not $400 (because no one said ‘but if you want stable electric, it’s much more.

• I was told food was $100/month - not $1000+ (because no one told me I’d have to spend all my time driving to little shops and local spots to manufacture that low a budget)

• I was told rent is $500/mo - not $5000 (because no one said ‘you’re looking at Punta Cana .. so it’s more there’)

Everyone just simply told me their best case on their individual expenses and I bought it.

CRUCIAL mistake and could be the difference between living your dream or it turning into a nightmare.

You DON’T NEED TO SPEND A LOT to live here .. I’m not advocating or saying that.

BUT…

IF you want to live a COMFORTABLE, PARALLEL LIFESTYLE - I’d trust ME more than THEM!

I say that with as much humility as I can haha.

Your truth probably is somewhere in between the $10,000+ I talk about and the $1000 they do.

MISTAKE #2: Not Understanding Public Vs. Private Systems

There are these broad statements made by some.

‘Education in Dominican Republic is terrible’

Or

‘Good luck if you have to go to a Dominican hospital’

And they’re right IF we’re talking public.

Those that make those comments to me or you NEVER qualify it and it’s a mistake we made when we moved.

We assumed anything beyond a common cold we’d need to go back to the US for treatment.

But the PRIVATE SYSTEM offers overall world class outcomes.

Here’s some proof:

• My dermatolgist is part of the ADA (American Dermatologic Association)

• Our kids allergist did med school at Columbia University and practiced as a pediatrician in NYC for 20 years

• Ashton School, PCIS, Maximo Potencial, Heritage School and Bavaro Bilingual all are US accredited and graduates attend top colleges in the US and Europe with ease

The horror stories you hear are real. I see them on Instagram posts I do telling me how bad an experience and to ‘never use the DR medical system’.

Then I ask ‘that was public right?’

And they answer ‘yes’.

There are TWO WORLDS in DR .. the public and the private. 

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re aiming for the private and ignoring the broad statement about the quality of education and medical treatment.

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MISTAKE #3: Using Dollars When Charging With Our US Credit Card

It made sense to me that if I’m using a US card, I should use USD as the currency.

Then I did the math.

Local businesses are going to give the LEAST FAVORABLE conversion they can to you - that’s a fact!

Your bank/credit card company will convert at a MUCH better conversion rate.

• Here’s a reel I did showing how selecting pesos saved me $8!

• Here’s a YouTube video showing a $20 saving!!

Check with your bank if you’d like .. but I have yet to see a case where using dollars is better!!

MISTAKE #4: Hiring Family Members for IMPORTANT Things

We have a lawyer in our family.

We have a used car dealer owner in our family.

We have a realtor in our family.

We used them all .. and we shouldn’t have.

I LOVE my wife’s family - they’re great.

But when it comes to business transactions - I say let family be family and business be business.

Heck, I’d even caution you to get a referral from a family member.

The beauty of this culture is the fact that family is sacred - it’s the highest value relationship.

Subconsciously, your family members (or their close friend they referred you) know this - so you are therefore less important a client to them than their regular customers.

How do I know?

After using these family members and/or their connections, I was feeling frustrated and said to a group of other guys (all Dominican American expats) ‘my wife’s Aunt was our realtor’ and before I could finish the audible groans and presumptive ‘yeah? how’d that go’ followed by a dismissive laugh made me realize that I’m not alone in my frustration.

If you have a seamstress in your family to hem some clothes or a mechanic to change your struts, fine. I’m not saying we never use family.

I’m talking about the big stuff!

You don’t want to see that the lease you were told was reviewed was longer and with additional expenses you were told was covered in the language.

You don’t want to get a car from your family members lot with the most problems possible and then have to confront them on it.

Trust me .. avoid family members and their friends for the big things!! (including advice on cost of living!!)

MISTAKE #5: We Didn’t Get Local Insurance!

Year one - I had a GI issue and it required a colonoscopy.

We only planned to be in DR for a year, so why pay for an insurance policy? I’m sure we can just go back to the states if anything goes wrong…right?

Dumb on our part!

Multiple visits and a colonoscopy later, I was out of pocket $2000 USD and we learned a KEY lesson.

Get local health insurance.

That price for a colon scope and all associated appointments is NOTHING compared to the US .. but later on after having insurance, we needed to admit one of our kids and we saw first hand the process we were going to have to go through (since they assumed we didn’t have local insurance) and the about face that process took when we flashed our Humano card.

The point is - you don’t want to be in a real emergency and leaving the decision of where you go up to someone who doesn’t feel motivated to figure out if you can pay for private care.

Get local insurance as soon as you land if not before.

And if you’re going to move here after age 60, buy it now and get grandfathered in. It’s worth the investment!

My Content Pillars (and Why You Should Care)

The creator landscape is fascinating to me!

I could honestly have an entire platform just talking about social media and YouTube from a business and creative perspective.

Here are some recent trends:

• 60% now watch my YouTube content on TV vs. mobile or tablet

• YouTube’s algorithm pushes content when it’s CLEAR that it’s related to other content on the channel

• People are using YouTube today like we used TV in the 80’s and 90’s (reliable schedule of content, etc)

I have a lot of topics related to Dominican Republic that I discuss and share and while the audience has interest in DR, there are 4 different types of audiences within.

They’re 4 different ‘i’s’:

• Investors - want real estate tours and info

• Immigrants - want lifestyle and moving insights

• Island Hoppers - want vacation related content

• Info Junkies - want political, economic and trending news

It’s important to identify for an audience what they get - so step one for me is doing just that for the reach of the channel as well as for you.

In terms of content schedule - here’s what you’ll see going forward:

• Wednesdays 4pm: Investor and info junkie content

• Sundays 3pm: Island hopper and Immigrant content

• Fridays 12pm: Live YouTube stream with Q&A

These days and times are based on when most subscribers to my channel are online.

I may add in more content if breaking news drops but generally, this is my plan.

In addition, I’m currently filming ‘season 2’ of Grub with Gruber with some tweaks to the format but the same idea - conversations with great people in local restaurants.

But because that content doesn’t align with the pillars and the duration and style confuse YouTube, it’ll be on a separate Grub with Gruber channel (feel free to subscribe!)

Of course Instagram and TikTok will continue to have daily/near daily content as well and I’ll produe this newsletter weekly for you.

I hope this creates some sense of clarity for all of you as I continue to elevate the content offering and quality.

The Larimar Project is Doing Something BIG!

There are SOOO many that have asked me about Larimar - a mega city being built a bit inland in the Punta Cana area.

Recently, I learned of a product they’re offering that will change the game for all developers locally.

I outlined it all in this YouTube video along with my thoughts about the construction company behind the development.

If you’ve read this far, reply with ‘KLK’ so I know who the real fans are haha.

See you next week!