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In this edition of the Grubernation Weekly Newsletter:

• Why U.S. Expats Move Back Home — And Why I Don’t

• This Week in DR News..

• Why Your Construction Project is Delayed in DR

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Why U.S. Expats Move Back Home — And Why I Don’t

I talk all the time about living a parallel life in the Dominican Republic — and a lot of people really don’t like it.

Every time I mention it, I get comments:

“Why move to the Caribbean and try to live like an American?”
“Stop Americanizing the DR!”
“You’re just recreating a U.S. lifestyle. What’s the point?”

Let me give you the simplest possible answer:

I’m an American.

That doesn’t mean I want to change the Dominican Republic.
It doesn’t mean I want the culture Americanized.
It definitely doesn’t mean I want Punta Cana to feel like Florida with palm trees.

But I do want:

• Stable power

• To flush toilet paper

• Good roads

• Solid private schools

• Clean private hospitals

• Reliable internet

• And an international community my family can integrate into

And I’m pretty sure…
you want those things too, if you’re not afraid to admit it.

And here’s the part people forget:

Dominicans who’ve lived abroad want the exact same things.

I live around Dominicans — just ones who have also lived in Spain, the U.S., Italy, and want global-level stability while still enjoying a work-to-live culture, not a live-to-work one.

And here’s where the conversation flips:

You CAN have the quiet, slower pace…
AND the stability that makes life actually enjoyable day-to-day.

Most expats think it’s either/or.
It isn’t.

Why Expats Leave: The Identity Gap

A lot of the expats who move back to the U.S. aren’t leaving because the DR “failed them.”

They leave because:

• They tried to go from a comfortable American lifestyle → straight into hardcore minimalism

• They thought a quiet, serene life would magically fix their stress

• They didn’t recreate the parts of their U.S. life that actually mattered

• They tried to change their environment without changing their identity

Living abroad doesn’t work when your lifestyle, expectations, rhythm, routines, and needs are still built for the U.S.

And here’s the kicker:

Most people who move back didn’t build a life abroad—they built a vacation.
Then real life kicked in.

A parallel life is what bridges the gap.

The Cost Paradox: Your “American Budget” Goes WAY Further in the DR

People say my lifestyle in Punta Cana is “American style.”

But the math says something VERY different.

Let’s talk numbers — real numbers.

What We Paid in the United States

To buy back our time and keep our sanity while I was juggling:

• A $400K job

• 43 rental units (managed myself)

• A meetup

• A podcast

• And a family

…we hired out everything we could.

Here was our real U.S. cost:

• Laundry folding: $40/week = $2,080/year

• Meal prep service: $200/week = $10,400/year

• Weekly deep clean: $200/week = $10,400/year

• Lawn mowing: $50/week = $2,600/year

• Lawn treatments: $600/year

• Fall cleanup: $300

• Winter cleanup: $300

• Babysitter every other Saturday (3.5 hours @ $15/hr): $2,730/year

• Pool opening + closing: $400/year

• Pool maintenance: $150/month = $1,800/year

Total U.S. Cost = $41,310/year
($3,442 per month)

Yes. Over forty thousand dollars a year just to buy back our time.

And that didn’t include the “set it and forget it” gym plan we wish existed.

Now let’s compare that to the DR.

What We Pay in the Dominican Republic

Here’s what our equivalent support system costs TODAY:

• Full-time cleaning + cooking + laundry + babysitting: $600/month

• Pool service (6 days/week): $60/month

• Lawn & tree maintenance: $100/month

Total DR Cost = $760/month
($9,120 per year)

That’s nearly an 80% drop in cost from the United States…

…and the lifestyle support is actually BETTER.

And before someone says “American budget!” let me ask:

Do you know a single American household where they get:

• Full-time house cleaning

• Full-time cooking

• Full-time laundry

• Babysitting

• Pool maintenance

• Lawn care

• AND more time freedom
  …for $760/month?

Come on.

The Gym Math That Blew My Mind

We recently paid our gym $7,000 for the year for me and my wife.

That breaks down to $580/month total — ONLY because we paid a year in advance.

But here’s what’s included:

12 personal training sessions EACH per month.
That’s 144 sessions a year per person.

Do the math:

$7,000 / 288 sessions = $24 per session.

Find me a personal trainer in the U.S. for $24/session.

First person that sends me proof gets a personalized video.

Why This Matters: Time Is the Only Real Currency

When people ask me:

“Jamie, how did you build all that WITHOUT sacrificing family?”

I tell them:

“You can’t. There is sacrifice.”
BUT…
You can buy back a massive amount of time by STOPPING doing everything yourself.

I’ll ask someone who wants to quit their job:

“Are you washing your own dishes?”

Every. Single. Time.
They say yes.

Then:

• Are you doing your own lawn?

• Your own cleaning?

• Your own laundry?

• Cooking every meal?

Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep.

And then they wonder why they can’t find time to build something meaningful.

In the U.S., buying back your time costs real money.

In the DR…
the same level of support costs LESS than what most Americans spend on Starbucks and DoorDash.

Time is the only currency that matters.

The DR lets you buy more of it.

Why Expats Stay (and Why They Go)

People GO when:

• They try to live too local too fast

• They deny their actual needs

• They romanticize minimalism

• They don’t buy back any time

• They feel guilty wanting convenience

• They don’t build a routine that feels like “home”

People STAY when:

• They build a parallel lifestyle

• They keep the comforts that matter

• They embrace the culture without abandoning themselves

• They build community quickly

• They design their life — they don’t escape their old one

You don’t have to apologize for wanting clean drinking water and good WiFi.
You don’t have to apologize for wanting stability for your kids.
You don’t have to apologize for living well.

You don’t have to “perform minimalism” for internet strangers.

The Real Question You Need to Ask

Are you actually moving to a new country…
or are you just trying to escape your old life?

Because if you’re escaping, you’ll go back.

But if you’re designing your life intentionally —
if you build a parallel life that fits who you are —
that’s how you stay.

Want Help Building That Life?

If you’re serious about moving to the DR, investing in the DR, or just want the real conversations — not Instagram fantasy — join DR Inner Circle.

• Weekly live sessions

• Private WhatsApp Chat groups

• Expert Q&A

• Real expats, real families, real investors

• And a community of people designing their own parallel life

Not a sales pitch. I mean .. not really haha.
Just an invitation if you’re ready to go deeper.

This Week in DR News…

• Major Power Outage in DR - one week ago, the country experienced a near total blackout due to an issue with the San Pedro power station and it made international news. The progress is … a blackout in DR is international news nowadays! The issue is … stable power is almost as essential as education in the country and this blackout is bad timing and optics.

• US Drops Multiple Tariffs on DR - Dominican Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Víctor “Ito” Bisonó, said the decision represents significant savings for Dominican exporters, especially producers of cocoa, gold, medicines, semiconductors, avocados, bananas, coffee, tomatoes, mangoes, guavas, coconuts, plantains, papayas, and other items.

• Abinader Attending California Semiconductor Conference - the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) invited DR noting the country’s efforts to build a solid and reliable ecosystem positioning the country as a safe place for semiconductor investment

Why Your DR Construction Project is Delayed

I’ve learned a lot of the nuance as to what’s happening with all the construction delays in Punta Cana, and DR in general.

In this video, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from a few attorneys, developers and realtors I spoke with recenlty.

Maybe it’ll help explain what’s happening with your project .. or maybe even better .. it’ll give you a sense of how to deal with it!