I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in the Dominican Republic, but like with anything there have been some ups and downs. Several times throughout my stay here I thought about going back to the United States for comfort and familiarity reasons.
Also while I was in Las Terrenas I applied to an English teaching job in Thailand, because I was paranoid about whether I could or couldn't make it here in the Dominican Republic.
Fortunately the language academy in Thailand never responded to my application, because after being here in the Dominican Republic for over 6 months I can say I really feel like I am beginning to hit my stride and feel confident about being here in the Dominican Republic.
The three aspects of living here that I have enjoyed the most are dating, community and peace of mind.
Community
I am not the type of person to talk to a lot of strangers, because I have a more reserved and introverted personality. Even though that is the case that doesn't mean I like being around a lot of people who have those same characteristics.
In the United States it's not very common to have some interesting conversation with strangers. Typically, my interaction with strangers involves someone maybe acknowledging my anime t-shirts or a slight head nod or something along those lines.
However, in the Dominican Republic I have had many more conversations with people I just met for the first time.
For example, the other day I was at Playa Alicia waiting for some people to come and play volleyball with me. I waited for over 45 minutes, but the lady who said she was going to come with her friends never showed up.
To be honest I felt kinda bad about it, but the day wasn't a complete loss, because some guys who work on the beach came over and asked if I wanted to play volleyball. It was a pretty hot day so the sand wasn't very suitable for playing, but after trying to play, we chatted for a while about my travels and eventually we started talking about women and relationships.
I am not saying that this type of thing couldn't happen in the US, but the likelihood of just randomly having an engaging conversation with some people I just met on the beach who weren't looking for something in return is not very high.
Peace of Mind
According to a Pew Research Center study, in July 2020, 52% of young adults were either living with both or one of their parents in the US. I know there are many factors involved with that such as the pandemic and the job market shutting down quickly.
But I don't think the pandemic is the only reason why the amount of young adults who are living with their parents is surpassing the amount of the Great Depression Era.
Even before the pandemic, the cost of living in the United States was rising at a rate that most regular salaries are not able to cover. Forcing people to work two or three jobs.
As someone who teaches English online and is a videographer I would definitely be living the life of a struggling artist if I had stayed in the United States. That type of lifestyle can lead to a lot of stress and worry over paying bills and constantly being rapped up in hustle culture.
However, in the Dominican Republic I am able to teach English and work as a videographer with relative ease. I am not trying to say it's all roses and rainbows financially, but I never worry if I am able to pay for internet or for rent or for things I need.
This financial peace of mind really allows me to explore different parts of myself that I would not be able to if I was clogged into the machine of hustle culture in the United States.
Dating
My dating life in the United States was pretty dead. The opportunities to meet attractive women or really just any eligible women for dating were limited.
In another blog post I go further in depth into the reasons why it was that way for me, but suffice to say if I wanted a date in the US I would really need to go out of my way to try and make that happen.
However, after living in the Dominican Republic for over 6 months there are women who call me asking if I want to meet up.
Honestly it's gotten to the point where sometimes I come up with excuses not to hang out just so I can spend time by myself.
I would say if you are a hardworking and generous man then you will have no problems finding dates and being able to enjoy your time in the Dominican Republic.
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