Reason 2 to NOT live in the Colonial Zone: Living costs and rents are higher than in other neighborhoods
Living in the Colonial Zone is popular and fancy both amongst foreigners and Dominicans. Many corners in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo are under monument protection and are only allowed to be architecturally maintained, but not modified. That’s of course good and needed for the colonial spirit of this neighborhood.
On the other hand, that limits as well the housing space in general in the Colonial Zone. You can’t expect that there are some municipal plans to let one of the most demanded areas of Santo Domingo grow in terms of urban residential properties. Hence, housing opportunities are limit to a certain extent and you need to accept what exists.
That doesn’t mean, that you won’t find your luck in the real estate sector in Santo Domingo. There are always free apartments or rooms to move into. High prices will be the result of the high demand and the fixed number of buildings/apartments. But you decide if you want to pay for that.
To live in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, I paid between $450 and $475 for a little 1.5-bedroom apartment of maybe 320 ft² (30m²). That was excluding utilities which were collected irregularly every few months, but of a minor amount of maybe $15 for electricity, water, and waste collection, etc.
Most of the amendments are rented furnished and I had a little kitchen and bathroom. A big plus was the three balconies and access to a rooftop terrace. What I had was fine and suited me in my living conditions back then. But for more than one person or have a guest, it was simply too small. But especially the roof terrace was a blast!
All in all, it was a bit expensive for what paid but a wholesome package where a foreigner hadn’t had to negotiate with external service contractors, technicians, or mechanics. All was dealt with by the administration of the house and I can consider the area as safe.
There were some challenges to accept for me as a tenant due to the weak building structure. To give an example: Neither the windows nor the rooftop stairway was isolated or fully lockable. If there was one of the heavy rainfalls, some moisture was dripping from the ceiling or the window breast. But these inconceivable things you need to consider and accept, if you want to live in an old building, that can’t be modified. It’s the Caribbean style of constructing buildings.
Simultaneously with the rental costs, you can expect to pay higher prices for your living costs. Of course, everything depends on your living style and individual expenditures. But compared to other parts of Santo Domingo, you pay in the Colonial Zone more money for the same amount of goods. That’s the price an expat has to pay when living there.
The only supermarket in the Colonial Zone is a tiny one and is not even well equipped with a variety of goods. You have to adapt your living style to the Colonial Zone – Otherwise the Colonial Zone adapts you.
www.traphil.com 
3 thoughts on “5 good reasons to NOT live in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo (April 2021 Update)”