As far as the caribbean or latin america goes, where is my US dollar worth the most?

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porthuronbilliam

Without trying to sound "smart," arrogant, or, cold-heated, the US dollar, along with, any other major, strong currency is "worth" more in whatever economy is doing the worst and whatever country has the lowest standard of living; basically the US dollar, along with the Euro, Canadian dollar, etc. does pretty darn well in most Caribbean and Latin American countries. I've been to many of the Caribbean islands, places in Mexico, and Latin America and you can find serious poverty in just about any of these places if you go a little off "the beaten path" from the tourist areas and, another thing to consider, is that wherever you go, your dollars really don't go to/ don't benefit the "average" citizen- especially if you stay in tourist areas and only do the major tourist activities. Not, that it's a tourist destination, but I would imagine our money could go very far in Haiti because the people there may have the lowest standard of living of any Caribbean or Latin American nation- although it could surely be debateable; Americans don't go to Haiti though due to a lack of developed a tourism industry and because of high crime, violence, etc.- just like tourists don't generally visit Detroit (for the same reasons although I live in the metro-Detrot area myself and visit the city fairly regularly). Not sure if you know this or not, but many "middle-class" Americans retire to any number of Latin American nations (including various places in Mexico) or Caribbean countries and are able to live "like kings" because their savings are so much more than what the average person will ever hope to earn in their lifetime (also the reason why the US has the current illegal immigration problem as people from Latin American and Caribbean countries keep coming here to make more money than is possible back home). From personal experience, places like the Virgin Islands (both US and British) and even Puerto Rico which share closer ties with a wealthier nation also generally enjoy a little higher standard of living than nations that do not. As the first responder mentioned, I believe the A-B-C islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaco) are also generally fairly pricey (because they enjoy higher standards of living there and are farther away)- although Aruba has been offering "incentives" to attract (American) tourists since the Natalee Holloway incident. If you are looking for a warm-weather spot that is actually set up for tourism for your Winter vacation, I would have to say the Dominican Republic would be your best bet to "stretch" your money and the Domincan Republic has some of the best resorts anywhere; on the other hand, it can be "risky" to go off the beaten path especially by yourself. A great example of what the standard of living in the D.R. can be like for the "average" person there comes from an experience my brother had while vacationing there with his lady friend. His lady friend was so impressed with the flowers and landscaping at the resort they stayed at that she tipped the gardener (who was an old man and did all the work by hand) $20 and he broke down crying because my brother and his lady friend later found out that was probably more than he earned at the resort each week. Other good bets for inexpensive "tropical" vacations are Jamaica (and I prefer Negril) or Mexico (and Cozumel is my favorite vacation spot anywhere) due to the well developed tourism industry and higher number of tourists they bring in (and again, other than maybe Cozumel, I would be a bit "weary" going too far away from the touristy places). I actually have one last example of how far the American dollar goes elsewhere courtesy of my brother. Just this morning, he was comparing prices for taking a vacation in Cozumel at a five-star resort (El Cozumeleno) or going down to the Florida Keys (because neither of us had ever been to the Keys before) and staying in just a basic, "no-frills" cottage; my brother crunched the numbers and figured even if he drove non-stop from Michigan to the Keys, it would still cost him about $200 more and I believe that was before considering that meals/liquor/recreation/etc. would probably also be less expensive in Cozumel than in the Keys. If you want any suggestions, feel free to message me.

Just saw you companion question about looking to actually be abroad for more of a long-term stay; great info you got on Costa Rica. You may want to consider Nicaragua as a place to go live for awhile now that Costa Rica has already become somewhat pricey due to the "influx" of Americans and due to Costa Rica doing an excellent job of raising the standard of living for their people; I hear that many Americans are already now going to Nicaragua to retire because it is inexpensive (like Costa Rica once was and still is compared to the US and Costa Rica still does have a lot to offer). Again be aware that if you chose to move abroad somewhere to stretch your dollars that means the standard of living will be low there and you do run an increased risk of being a crime victim- just like visiting/moving to a depressed part of the US. Speaking of the US, I was going to ask if you haven't considered simply moving to a less expensive region of the US (depending on where you are from)- the Midwest, for example, is generally much more affordable than somewhere than say New York City (I did see you were considering Puerto Rico which I may actually consider myself).

traveler

Definately NOT the Bahamas. Peru and Chile are great, cheap stuff, good prices.
Panama also, great food and great prices for things.
Eastern Caribbean from St. Lucia to Trinidad isn't bad as they use EC except for Trinidad which is TT and prices are still pretty reasonable.

Lisa L

Definitely Panama!! Boy do u get allot for your US dollar. The Panamanian dollar is low compared to the US dollar. Nice and warm over there as well!!
Also there is an Island called San Andres also very cheap prices, it is close to Costa Rica but it is part of Columbia. Very nice people and great prices on the Island.

Natasha B

WOW, well as far as I know most places the US Dollar is worth more then the country's own money. However, other currencies such as the canadian Dollar and Euro are doing much better nowadays thanks to you know who. So just pick a place you want to visit and voila. The bahamas I think your currency would be the same a 1:1 ratio. Islands such as Dominican Republic your dollar goes a long way compared to islands such as Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao. I live in Aruba the rate here is 1US is 1.80 in my currency however, we are an expensive island. So if you are looking for cheap I'd say Dominican Republic or any south American country.

Latin Techie

Latin America(Brazil/Argentina), Jamaica, and Eastern Caribbean!

babyblue1725

in the Dominican Republic, 1 US dollar = 32-34 Dominican Pesos. Dominican Republic is very cheap, but still beautiful. Hotels are also very inexpensive, and most resorts are all-inclusive. Night Life is great & cheap. For example, my cousin and I had about 10 Amaretto drinks and we paid 40 dollars.

Behhar B

From personal experience, Bermuda is reasonable. Probably not the cheapest but it is very safe and also easy to get around - moped rentals are everywhere and they have a cheap public bus that goes around the whole island, and you can link to a ferry there also which goes to the old fort with trained dolphin shows and a pretty neat museum up the top of the hill. We found plenty of good t-shirts and shot glasses, the usual souvineers at decent prices and I bought my GF an engagement ring, was cheaper there than buying something in the US. (And she said yes!)

Turks and Caicos was VERY expensive, I wouldn't recommend it for someone on a budget, there is also very little to do there except lie on the beach or at the pool.

Robert C

Your United States dollar's worth is dependent on what you want,
where you want to go and for how long.

For an all inclusive safe vacation in the Caribbean, then you should consider the Dominican Republic.

Although the Dominican Republic's currency fluctuates you cannot go wrong.

Note that the holidays are more expensive and that depending on where you live the travel agents usually increase fares during the winter months.

Carnival Cruise will take you to a Caribbean Cruise (Western Caribbean cruise to include Mexico)
for one price. All inclusive except Alcohol.

If you are able to visit several Caribbean islands during your packaged trip then your money is probably worth alot to you.

http://www.Welcome-Dominican-Republic.com

GO TO PUERTO RICO WHERE A DOLLAR IS A DOLLAR. WE SHARE THE SAME CURRENCY. IF YOU STAY OUT OF SAN JUAN YOU WILL NOT ONLY FIND MUCH NATURAL BEAUTY BUT AFFORDABILITY AS WELL.

WWW.GOTOPUERTORICO.CO,

WWW.TRIPADVISOR.COM (PUERTO RICO FORUMS)

MSDODA@SBCGLOBAL.NET (ME AND MY 10 YEARS OF VACATION KNOWLEDGE IN PUERTO RICO)

daisy

AT the minute the US dollar exchanges at the rate of US$1 - $6.5 TT dollars.

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