Expats in San Juan De La Maguana

Hello Vince
    My name is Mary and my husbands name is Jim.  We have been to the DR 8 times and want to retire there, retirement is in about 4 years but we would love to move asap  I would love to work with children  Can you give us some pointers on your location, how much long term rentals cost etc.  Would love to meet you on our trip this spring  Enjoy the DR for us, what part of Canada are you from, we live in Michigand are die hard hockey fans, red wings of course

hello mary, i am from northern ontario, close to sault st marie, i am currently renting a beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath house for 9000 pesos per month or $250. life here for me is wonderful, i have a dominican girlfriend and she has a large family and many friends, im still working on learning spanish, you will not find many english speaking people in san juan. keep in touch, i would love to meet you and your husband, bye for now, vince

hi Vince,it's nice to hear from you again as a happy man ,so did you hook up with a new gf or the same one ?,i would like to find out some more detail of the living there from you,if you don't mind can we talk direct from the msn my email is [email protected] .hope to hear from you soon my friend.

Hi Vince, we used to live in Northern Michigan and traveled to Saulte Ste Marie all the time to see the locks!   So that must make you a Maple Leaf Fan. We are happy that life is good there for you, it is our dream...a place for 250 US that is unbelievable  Would like to keep in touch and visit when we come to the DR   Enjoy the sun for us  Mary and Jim

thank you, this was my dream as well, you know what are winters are like, the weather here is incredible. san juan de la maguana is about an hour or so from the ocean, no beaches but it is still a great place to live, im here untill the end of april, contact me any time you like. and yes im a leafs fan, hope to meet you sometime, vince

Vince  would love to keep in touch, we can do without the beach as long as we can find a pool   Love hiking and swimming.  We will not miss the winters upnorth!!!!!!! We want to live more with the lovely Dominican People than in an expat complex.  I want to work with children, I have have preschool experience and love the little ones...we hope to come to the DR in March and would love to meet up  We live in Ann Arbor now and if your flights bring you this way you are welcome to stay with us,  Maybe the wings and leafs will be playing a game!  our email address is [email protected]  Send some warm weather our way, Mary and Jim   say hi to your dominican family

Hi Vince,

How long have you been there?  I just built a one bedroom condo in San Juan.  I have not moved there yet. I am planning on living there in 2015.  I will be back there in June.  We could meet at the Hotel de La Maguna for a drink. 

Are you working there?

Marc

Hello Vince,

I would like to know how to look for properties there. I would to buy some land. But I think we will want to rent at first. I am looking for a three or four bedroom house. Did you find a place to take spanish classes? How is the medical care there? Do they have a major hospital. Do you go and visit Santo Domingo? I have a billion questions.

Yvonne

Hello Yvonne!

Welcome to Expat.com!

As a new member could you please tell us a bit more about yourself and your expatriation project so that members can get to know you a little bit and best guide you?

Also kindly note that your are participating on an 2 years old thread!

If you do not get responses, please create a new thread to increase your visibility on the forum as well as interactions.

Regards
Kenjee

Yvonne,  Welcome to the forum.
Please do tell us a bit about your self.  Why do you want to move here and exactly where?

There are lots of great folks on this site with some great information. Please feel free to ask away

We have been living on the north coast for 8 years and did build a villa here.

Bob K

I will add to the welcome committee.... San Juan de la Maguana is not on the ocean and is a bit removed from what most expats are looking for.  But it may be perfect for some!   We suggest you go there to see what it is like and stay for a few months before committing to buying or building.  Real estate can take months and years to sell so you need to know you are making the right decision for you.

In terms of medical care there are private clinics there (you do not want to use a public hospital)  but for anything serious or needing specialists then you likely come to Santo Domingo.

Hello,
My wife and I are living in San Juan de la Maguana as well. We have been serving the people on the border for ten years now. We recently made the jump to long term missionary self supported. Before we would be here for two months and back in Michigan for two months. All year long. Now we're here for good. Let me know if anyone needs anything here. I'm an expert in executive protection as well as law enforcement. (My given profession prior to mission work). I still keep my sworn position with my local PD training and working on and off limited part time throughout the year. I also work with Gold Bull security in the DR as an international investigator. Be safe everyone!!

Welcome to the forums!!! I invite you to be active on the forums as you bring a different perspective!!!

Security is certainly an ongoing concern here so your input will be valuable. 

We also love to hear stories on the forums so feel free to share!

Thanks planner. Dios te bendiga

Gracias!

Hi Vince,

I do not live there but I have a condo in San Juan and a very good friend that lives in your city.  His name is Josua.  He is from Spain and speaks English.

Just a thought, we chose San Juan de la Maguana for a few different reasons. Our social network, colleagues etc are based here. After spending the last five years in Elías Piña, it's more suitable to raise children here. one aspect that we like is that's it's only a couple of hours from everything. The capital, Barahona as well as the border where we still work. Those living here, if you have not had the chance to visit Bahia de la Águilas, it's about 3 hours away from Barahona and is worth the day trip. Has anyone had that pleasure yet? Most pristine beach you'll ever find. At most 2-4 other people there but usually none A small boat ride is required to make it to this beach. You could take the 4x4 trail, but I would not recommend it. We didn't do that in our Hilux. Disastrous.

Bargains and Bahia De la agillas is on my list! Not been there yet and I need to visit!

Hi! My name is Gaby, I will be moving there soon! Do you think you could give me some helpul tips on looking for housing & maybe even a few contacts for accomodations if you have them? I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks so much,
Gaby

Hey Gaby. It really all depends what your budget is and expectations are.  I know quite a few places that are for lease or rent, but this price goes up considerably if you're not Dominican and inquiring. How much experience do you have here in the country. Do you speak Spanish? Will you be working for a business or non profit world? These questions all come into play.

Hello Gaby,

As you may know there are very few expats in the southwest region of DR including San Juan de la Maguana with exception of some volunteers, missionaries and a handful of expats.

My recommendation is to request the organization or individual who has sponsored you or whom you are working for to assist you find lodging even if it's only for a temporary basis until you find something more permanent.

Once you arrive in San Juan de la Maguana this person can tour you around and show you some homes that may be available. Hopefully he/she will speak Spanish and will have a good knowledge of the town and surrounding areas to be able to answer the following questions:

- Which neighborhoods are better?
- Would it be better to live in an apartment or a house?
- Is it furnished?
- Does it have an invertor (back-up electricity)?
- Is the home or apartment secure (difficult to break into)?
- Will you need an AC or will a fan be sufficient?
- How far is the nearest grocery store or restaurants?
- How much does it cost to take a bus or taxi from and to Santo Domingo (this is the city with the closest international airport?
- What is the distance between your place of employment and work?
- What safe means of transportation are available? (In small cities the common means of transportation are moto-taxis.)
- Which areas should I avoid?
- Is it safe to walk at night?
- Where is the closest ATM/ bank?
- How many months of security deposit are needed? (typically 2 + first month's rent in a one year lease)
- What type of visa do I need to remain legally in the Dominican Republic for six months?

I hope these questions will be useful to you.

Hi, how did you end up there? Very isolated. But since you are in that neighbourhood , maybe you know.  Do you hear of gringos with motos making trips between pedernales and Montecristi?  Thanks in advance.

I am going to be working for a non-profit there. I have lived in the DR prior to this experience for 6 months, however, I was on the North coast & there were a larger amount of options for accommodations. I speak Spanish very well, so this is not an issue at all. I had to negotiate the price of my last DR apartment so I am familiar with this as well. I am very familiar with the culture & customs of the DR because of my past experience, I am just not familiar with this particular area. I guess my best bet is to wait until I arrive to look for housing. Any landlords or contact numbers you all may have will be very helpful. Thanks again!

My max budget is about $600 a month & I would prefer something furnished! This budget left me with a lot of options in the North coast, but I'm not sure about in San Juan.

The cost of rentals are significantly cheaper in San Juan de la Maguana in comparison to the North Coast since there are no tourist living there. You may even find what you are looking for for less than half of your budget.