New members of the Dominican Republic forum, introduce yourself here - 1st quarter of 2015

Thanks Julien!

Thanks for the notice

Bob K

Hi All,

My name is Melissa.  I just recently returned home to Canada after spending a week in Puerto Plata.  I had such a great time and now am considering moving there.  I can tell you that I did not stay at a resort.  We rented a friends home so I was able to do some tourist adventures, but for the most part we did local things.  I visited Cabarete, Sousa, Costambar and Playa Dorata.  Also did shopping at La Cirena, ate at Todo Pollo and spent a few evenings on Malecon. 

I do work from home and can take my work with me when I move to the Dominican which I am really grateful for.  My Spanish is non-existent which was challenging when I was on vacation.  I was thinking before I do a permanent move that it might be best to trial out working from home in the Dominican for three months and then possibly start the process to get residency. 

Just thought I would drop you all a line to introduce myself and get some advice from everyone. 

Great site by the way!

Meliss Welcome to the forum.  You will find lots of nice folks here with lots of good information.  You just need to ask.

Definitely you need to come for an extended period of time as a non tourist before you make any full time  move. The country is not for everyone and you need to see if it fits you. 

You will need at least basic Spanish if you are going to survive on a day to day  basis.  As you get out of the tourist areas very little English is spoken.

Feel free to ask away and we all will try to help

Bob K

Hello to all...
My husband and I enjoy reading all the posts on this form, it has been very informative for us.
We are presently living in Halifax NS, cold and wet at this time of the year.
We have recently started looking at retirement and thought that we would start our search in the DR. We are in our 50's and enjoy leisure travel.
We have recently booked a flight to PP and as well a hotel in Sosua, unfortunately booking.com over booked the hotel and we have been bump. In other words, we have no room. We are hoping to stay in the Sosua area in a one bedroom. Do to it being high season there is very little available so we are asking if anyone knows of a place that would be a good choice for a ten day stay. I have been on the VRBO thanks to reading the forms but they have nothing available except the more luxury (expensive) units. Which is not what we are looking for this time around, we have done our share of all inclusive.
Any suggestions from our experts???
Thanks

Welcome everyone...... read as much as you can about living here..... it's great to come for a trial run.....  as to hotels....it is high season but there is availability on the north coast.  I am not positive on Sosua but Google Playa Dorada for hotel options.

Sunner welcome.

Well that sucks to be booked into an overbooked hotel.  Take a look at Villa Taina on the beach in Cabarete
http://villataina.com/
They are also listed on booking .com

BObK

Hi,
My name is Tom.  My wife & I are flying in to PUERTO PLATA, in two weeks & want to explore for the possibility of retirement in the DR & for me to take kite-boarding lessons.  Any recommendations on real estate tours and best kite-boarding schools & accommodations during our two week vacation are greatly appreciated!!!

Hi Tom and welcome,

If you do not have a place to stay it may be difficult to find one as it is the height of tourist season and lots of places are already booked.  You need to get on this right away.  Your best bet would be to stay in Cabarete as almost all of he kite boarding schools and beaches are there  One of the best schools is Laural Eastman Kite boarding school and here is the link  http://www.laureleastman.com/

Here is a pretty good hotel (middle of the road) in Cabarete right on the beach http://villataina.com/

As to real estate tours none really around.  There is no MLS system, so most properties are listed with multiple agencies on an individual basis.  Be very very careful as there are lots of "shady" agents around.  I know as my wife and I sold real estate here for 6 years working for a major agency before re -retireing 2 years ago. We came here to retire 9 years ago and have not regretted the decision for a second.

This is a great forum with lots of good folks around with lot good information.  Just ask away.

Again welcome

Bob K

Hi my name is Tony Guigou  I have been a frequent visitor to the North Coast and plan to relocate there in a few months, I am retired but very active and  need to find something to do with my time other than go to the beach and drink beer ! I fluent in Spanish and hold a BA in business.
I am also looking for a safe, economically reasonable  place to rent a one or two bedroom apt.
I appreciate any information from expats living there !
Thanks Tony G

Tony,
Welcome.
Your best bet for finding a place to live is with "boots on the ground"  I would book a hotel for  a week and spend that time exploring your options.

Bob K

Thanks Bob

you are welcome/

Bob K

Thanks Bob we will be arriving on 2/3/15 & staying until 2/14/15 perhaps we can meet up at a cafe or drink a cold one.
Thanks again,
Tom

No problem.  Let me know when you get here.

Bob K

welcome everyone!  Do lots and lots of reading and ask us questions! We are here to help!!!

Hi Melisa, I really like your post lol I enjoyed because i'm back to Mississauga,On  from samana cuple days ago also in dominican republic, my name is Yunior, and I have lots to say about it .
1- I'm Dominican of course speak spanish, and I belive in Cabarete or Puerto plata you will have not much problem with language cause those are touristic places and lots of people that speak english.
2- If you have an online job that is amazing you can just go and forget about the snow, come back only for vacation. By the way, labor and food are cheaper than here but something you need to know is to be there and enjoy 100 per cent you need to have some money available to spend.
3- You can't go there without visit samana...

I have people who have houses there with affordable price.

Welcome to the forum Sunner!!
  Sounds like my husband and I ..We are both in our 50's and have been living here..off and on ..for 2 years.We are from Halifax as well.Don't miss the cold/snow at all!! Hope you manage to find a place..It is a busy time of year.
If you are stuck and don't mind being a few minutes away from things ,we live in a gated community that used to be a resort Between Puerto Plata and the airport. There are sometimes apartments available.
If you like we could get together for a cold one ..love to share our experiences with newcomers!!
Message me if I can answer any questions for you.
  Kathy

KATHY ????  I knew that picture looked familiar !

Small world and getting smaller it seems!

Darlene?? do tell..since I have no picture I will assume I know you.McK???

Welcome Melissa! My husband and I are planning on moving to Cabarete. Although we do not know much Spanish (he only knows a few words) we have not had many issues. The locals are patient and nice. I know very little Spanish but I recommend learning a few words at a time instead of entire sentences, it makes it easier to learn the language.

We used Juan Perdemo Century 21 and have not had any issues. We purchased a home. They have a secure wire transfer setup for their business and deal with many nationalities. They were very nice and took us around the area for three days looking at homes. Even having lunch and dinner. They also provided us with phones for our stay so we could be in touch with them when needed. We finally did find one we loved and are now waiting to move in a few months.

Good luck

Karen M

Karen  welcome.
Where did  you buy a home?

Bob K

McK....just up the street from your Canadian cold home...We are going to get slammed tomorrow, they are reporting blizzard like conditions starting around 4 am. You'll be glad you guys missed this one!

I am glad I miss em all!!!!

Snow????? I used to shovel that but not no more!!

Bob K

Bob sometimes we shovel SAND.............LOL   

But in a bathing suit and sunglasses

Bob K

oh yes.....

Brrr..that is all the news here on CNN!! New York and Boston areas on lockdown!!  Stay safe and warm at home..see you soon!! Safe travels

Don't think it is as bad as they said

Bob K

They might have dodged the big one.....

8 am here in Halifax, lots of cancellations in the city. Some snow has fallen maybe 5 cm with more to come, they say 30-35 to fall in a short time. The wind is the concern here not he snow, it will make for near zero visibility. So safe to stay home, it's a good day to start packing!!!

GOOD DAY I AM A NEWBIE TO EXPAT. MY FORUM ID IS CLEGALBAP.  I JUST CELEBRATED MY 3RD YEAR HERE, IN D.R.. I LIVE NEAR SANTIAGO AND COULD USE ANY HELP TO GET A POSITION TEACHING ENGLISH (PRIVATE OR UNIVERSITY). I AM A NY TRAINED LAWYER WITH AN UNDER GRADUATE DEGREE IN ECONOMICS. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY AND WOULD LOVE TO HELP FOLKS PRONOUNCE AND SPEAK ENGLISH PROPERLY SO AS TO STUDY ABROAD AND/OR COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY. I SPEAK SPANISH FAIRLY WELL AND A LITTLE  ITALIAN (5 YEARS OF STUDY AND A SUMMER LAW SCHOOL PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PARMA). I WELCOME ANY HELP AT ALL IN THIS MATTER. I THANK YOU FOR TIME. THE BEST IN ALL YOU DO IN PARTICULAR HERE IN D.R. HAVE A GREAT TIME HERE AND ENJOY.

Welcome to the forums!  please participate in other threads!  Have you reached out to all private schools in the area and bigger companies? 

In addition, please dont use all CAPS, its too hard to read and is bad etiquette.  Thanks honey.

Welcome to the forum. 
As Planner said a good start would be to reach out to the private schools in you area.

Bob K

hi. i am new to this forum. i live in toronto with my wife and 2 children. thinking of moving to dr. how easy would it be to start a very very small bread bakery there? probably to make 500 to 600 canadian dollars per month. do you think it would work? if you require more info from me i will gladly give it to you. your advise will be greatly appreciated. thanks.