Living in DR, where is the best place

Welcome to the forums.  The DR is very diverse, what I love you may not like.  So, tell us more about you both, what you like, budget issues and the lifestyle you think you may want.  Then, maybe we can help.

Read the other threads and come back with your questions.....

HI and thank you so much for your quick response. We are 58 and 63, retired. We love the beach, the culture, the food, quieter living (no city), easy access to amenities, access to expats. Hoping to live in a budget of about $3000 a month including rent. Have no idea what rent is in DR. We would want 3 bedrooms. We like the good life, easy life, but not expensive life. Does that help at all?

Yup sure does.  North coast from Cofresi to Cabarete will work and be affordable. Lots of expats and choices of location from very quiet to not so quiet.....

East coast, Punta Cana area is a lot pricier, expats around but no real sense of Dominican culture.

Am on south coast, La Romana, affordable, near the beach, lots of Dominican culture but fewer ex pats.....

Well, Caberete has always been of interest to us and that is where we will be staying for the first month. Can one live there and rent a place for $3000 a month?

My daughter went on a mission to the Dominican and she stayed in LA Romana.
When I told her that I was thinking of moving there to the the DR, she said after she went there she did not feel safe. They told her never go out on the streets alone. I told her that I was thinking of the Punta Cana area for the safety reasons. We were looking at living in a condo near the beach.
We have a timeshare in Puerta Plata, so I have been to that side of the island and thought I was more attracted to the Punta Cana side.
I know everybody likes different things, my concern is safety first, beautiful scenery second. I have seen some beautiful condos on television and on the Internet. Would like to see them in person when I come over in October.

Soozie welcome.

Planner is correct the north coast has what you are looking for.  My wife and I retired here (Sosua/Cabarete area) full time 9 years ago and have not looked back for a second.  This area has it all.

Yes you can rent and live on $3000 a month with no problem in this area.

As to safety if you use normal precautions you will be fine.  We have never had a problem or looked over our shoulder once.  We are in town and about daily and at least 3 times a week at  night for dinner or entertainment.

Again Welcome

Bob K

Shelia do  note that PC is much more touristy and not a real example of "Dominican living".  Not may expats there full time but loads of tourists.

That is why we like living in the Sosua/Cabarete area.  Has beaches, restaurants, shopping etc, large expat community and we feel very safe here.  We have been here for 9 years.

Bob K

Thank you so much for your response. That is the area I have always been interested in. So we will do some digging when we get there in January. If we wanted to stay for a year first, how do we apply to stay there for that length of time? I have no idea where to start this process. I was always led to believe that we couldn't be out of Canada for more than 6 months.

There is no "year" visa that you can purchase.  You will need to pay the exit fee when you leave in a year. Here is the fee schedule (I have posted this elsewhere as well) for stays over the 30 day initial visitors entrance visa:
The fees, as of the 31st of October 2014, are as follow:
De 1 dia a 3 meses RD$2,500.00
De 3 a 9 meses RD$4,000.00
De 9 a 12 meses RD$5,000.00
De 12 a 18 meses RD$6,500.00
De 18 a 24 meses RD$8,000.00
De 24 a 30 meses RD$9,500.00
De 30 a 36 meses RD$11,000.00

So for a year you will have to pay $5000 pesos each ( about $112 US each at today's exchange rate)

There is no limit on time for a Canadian citizen.  What you are talking about is that you cannot be out of Canada for more that 6 months a year in order to keep your Canadian benefits (medical insurance).  So if you are going to be here for a year think about getting insurance that will cover you here.

Bob K

Canadian Health Care coverage varies by province - some provinces have extended the maximum absence to 7 months, here are is a link to multiple provincial rules: http://www.snowbirds.org/news-releases.

If the concern is is about pensions and other government programs for retirees; CPP or OAS  can be paid if you are out of the country permanently.   GIS appears to have a 6 month limit .  There are full details on the Service Canada website http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/serv … ndex.shtml

The out of Canada thing is related to what Acadien posted I believe.   You need to double  check based on your needs.

As to La Romana not being safe - balderdash.............lOL  It is as safe as any other place here. You need to use your head no  matter where you are. OFTEN people are told it is unsafe as that keeps everyone under control. Its crap, I am a single female who has lived here over 11 years and not had issues of safety!!!!!

The good thing (if there is such a thing) about Canadian health that if you are out of the country long enough to lose your coverage you can get it back after being back in Canada for 3 months.

Bob K

That is true Bob!

hey, as for the OP: it depends what are you looking for
- good infrastructure - electricity, internet, water, imported food ?
- being in quite place ?
- sea, ocean, mountains, lakes ?

Country is diverse...North Coast (Sosua, cabarete, Puerto Plata) is popular, but its overrated in my opinion.... And also criminality problem is not so low over there...mostly due to the people who flash what they have....
If you dont speak Spanish North Coast CAN BE a good location, but to be honest its better to know spanish....as the only people who speak english on the north coast are: a) expats, b) dominican scammers c) dominican sellers d) rare examples of the people who were living in US e) very rare examples of the people from dominican middle class who speak english

generally speaking it is a safe country, probably one of the safest from Carribean and South & Central america... just dont do stupid things, use your head and you will be OK

for more info you may check my guide [link moderated] cheers ;-)
-

Good post.  Thank you

Bob K

But hey please stop posting your website..... Not always cool.  Put a link in the directory......

I am new to this. How do you get to your link? I would like to read as much as possible and learn as much as possible about the DR as I can.

The link is usually not allowed - he needs to put it in the directory listings.

For now Sheila I suggest you read as much of the threads here as you are interested in. Then come back with your questions and we will do our best to  help you!

Planner, but I don't no all the questions to ask. What is this directory I don't know how this blog works this is the first blog I have ever been on?

Greetings Sheila, ask the poster to send you a private message to your inbox on the blog. You will know you have a message on the blog, when you see a little 1 or 2 above the little envelope in the upper right hand corner of the page.
       I have been to La Romana, and it seemed pretty safe to me, but as most people on the blog know, I like to keep it real. There is crime, I will not lie to you, especially since I subscribe to circus 26 which is a YouTube channel that publishes the stuff that does not make it to the 6pm news.....not good for tourism to publish all that stuff.....the more eye popping news are usually covered locally, so unless you read or watch certain local news venues, you will not get a real picture as to what is really going on. As for folks that say it is safe, that is more of an individual statement since safety depends a lot on what you do and how you carry yourself wherever you are, it also depends on wether you are in a bad barrio(neighborhood) or a fairly decent community. If you are street smart you will do fine. Simply keep a low profile and do not flaunt any sort of wealth, this is a developing country and what might be considered common in the U.S or other places, might easily attract the wrong attention here. Examples.....Taking photos with expensive cameras, driving expensive flashy cars, constant trips to the bank or ATMs etc.....you get the picture. As a foreigner you will stand out and there are plenty of folks with not much to do,and their job is to stand around and observe. There are also plenty of good folks as well, but remember.......trust must be earned and not just given freely.
     I suggest you read the blog on safety in the D.R. It gives many tips on staying safe. As far as your daughter not feeling safe, it is all relative to where she was staying in La Romana and her dominion of Spanish. In conclusion, what is safe for one person, might be unsafe for another, come down and look around......make the choice that best suits your needs.

Dominican Fun......could you please send me and Sheila Gardner your link in a private message. Thanks.

Massagewiz liked your post.  Good information as always.

I am not sure the poster with the website has enough posts to be able to use the PM.  You may try contacting him.

Bob K

Guys we do not spend out time promoting other peoples blogs or sites!  We promote OURS. There is a ton of info that is here on this site already.  Go read it. 

Come back with your questions - at that point if we don't know the answers we will help you find them, including outside sites.

For now just start readying!

Thanks Bob.....much appreciated.

Bob, you rock, all your information is great and very much appreciated. Thanks for being there for my answers.
Cheers
sean

You are quite welcome.  Keep the questions coming.

Bob K

Thank you Messagewiz, that was all good to hear. My husband is already looking into that Rosetta Stone for us to learn Spanish, it will probably be easier for him to pick it up then myself. He used to speak a little Spanish in his job I never have but I think I can pick up some basics.

No prob Sheila, glad I could help.....the more informed you are, the better off you will be, the rest you will learn along the way Enjoy your visit

Yes you can stay for much less than $3000 a month. If you are not "fancy" travelers, you can stay at a fabulous location at the north end of Cabaret Beach called Hotel Alegria. You can email and talk to Peter or Silvia about their apartment, however there are only two bedrooms. When my husband and I rented in 2014, it was just $1800, which included daily maid service and drinking water. You can even bring a well behaved dog.It is a 2 minute walk to Janet's, a fabulous supermarket. We love Cabarete beach for the windsurfing, but it is a unique place with many great restaurants right on the beach, a five minute walk from Alegria. You don't even need to wear shoes when you go to dinner! We are going for 2 months next year! We are staying at Vecinos because we have dogs and they will kindly accept us with our dogs in one of their (4) two bedroom condos, but each condo can sleep 8. It is walking distance but not after dark and is not on the beach but across from it going out of town to the east. After 4 years we are hooked. If you want to pay more, and be in the same location as Alegria, Magnifico is magnificent!! The 3 bedrooms might be tough though. Probably couldn't do that in your price range, but contact them.

How do your dogs take to flying over there, that really concerns me. I've heard nightmares about airlines losing dogs. I have 3 dogs right now but will probably be down to 2 by the time we get to bring them there, one is 14 right now. One that I just adopted is skittish of everything I don't know how he would do on a plane. We just took him camping for the first time and he did okay but now that we're back home he's being skittish again.

58Baba, How do your dogs take to flying over there, that really concerns me. I've heard nightmares about airlines losing dogs. I have 3 dogs right now but will probably be down to 2 by the time we get to bring them there, one is 14 right now. One that I just adopted is skittish of everything I don't know how he would do on a plane. We just took him camping for the first time and he did okay but now that we're back home he's being skittish again.

You might want to talk to your vet about giving you dog some meds before flying to calm him down.

Bob K

The vets would rule out giving dogs meds as it can mess with their breathing. It's only a 2 hr flight from Miami so depending upon where you are flying from it might not be that long of a flight which is a good reason to fly to the DR

I didn't like the thought of giving my dog drugs.  We normally fly in from Phoenix to New York but if I were bringing the dogs I'd Drive them across country.

exactly, well put...the rule is simple: DON'T FLASH.

MASSAGEWIZ wrote:

Simply keep a low profile and do not flaunt any sort of wealth, this is a developing country and what might be considered common in the U.S or other places, might easily attract the wrong attention here. Examples.....Taking photos with expensive cameras, driving expensive flashy cars, constant trips to the bank or ATMs etc.....you get the picture. As a foreigner you will stand out and there are plenty of folks with not much to do,and their job is to stand around and observe. There are also plenty of good folks as well, but remember.......trust must be earned and not just given freely..

Soozie, you've receive a lot of good information and I hope you post up your trip and experience.

I'm headed down there this spring, late spring/early summer (it will be part of a 3 stop trip).
I want a real taste of what regions are like coming into summer.

I'm also looking North Coast, but for different reasons (maybe..).

Reasons.. is what you need to think about and areas to visit.

Me.. I need to see the Samana Peninsula.
In particular, the town of Samana.
It fits 'my' reasons.

Just as a side note, I do love Canada!
It wasn't so freakin' cold there... LOL!
My Nephew is constantly sending me Real Estate listings trying to convince me..
Headed back 'DownEast' next month for a fishing excursion with him.
The following for a Food (Rib the first, Poutine the second) festival, then the Jazz Festival.

Reasons, Soozie, reasons...
They mean so much!

Best of life and you're choices!

Yup  reasons...... well said,  we all have our own. And they can change too.

I am pretty new to this forum and was happy to write a detailed response to Snoozie, in response to their query. I did not hear that they had read it. It seems that one should acknowledge when someone takes the time to respond, yes? Just trying to understand the norms of this forum.
Also, Sheila, feel free to PM me with your dog question as it seems a little off topic to this thread. Moderator, is that correct?