Howdy all. Lo seinto in advance if this gets long winded... just so many questions.
A little back ground about me (and future wife). We have been to DR 3 times in as many years, Bravaro and Puerto Plata, and even took a day trip once to La Romana on a scuba excursion. We fell in love with the country as soon as we stepped off the plane. We joked on our first trip that this will be our retirement destination... fast forward 3 years and we are actively working toward retiring in a tropical country.
My future wife speaks fluent spanish. She moved from Canada to Spain in her early teens and moved back to Canada in her early 20's so she is an old hand at this expat stuff. January of this year I got cracking on learning spanish and figure I will at least be functional if not fluent when we retire (10 years).
We are trying to research area's in DR. The only way to do that is to actually explore like a local.
The 2 places that seem like the best fit for us based on our research seems to be La Romana and Puerto Plata/Sosua/Caberette. And these areas will be the first on our explore list.
Is there a magic force bubble around POP airport? I can jump on a plane tomorrow and be in Punta Cana in 6-7 hours from Vancouver for about 600 bucks CAD return... POP requires a minimum of 2 connections, 24 hours, and about 1200 CAD. Is there a local island airline that can jump across the island from Punta Cana to POP? Anyone know of an airline that flies direct from Vancouver to Puerto Plata? Funny that it's cheaper to book an all inclusive in Puerto Plata than it is to go air only.
In our exploration we are hoping to fly in, rent an apartment or condo (not a resort), buy local food, eat/cook at home, and generaly pretend we are already living in the area to get a feel for it.
Another question is for planner. You had mentioned that you are renting a large 3 bed apt in La Romana for around $500 US. Is that typical for La Romana or did you get a smoking hot deal through networking and contacts?
For me Sosua/Caberette gets my motor running. I want to be a 55 year old surf beach bum. I understand the surfing in that area is stellar. Is this a heavy Expat area? Seems many on this forum live in this area.
Does anyone know anything about DREscapes.com? My girlfriend showed me a few videos of them on youtube. She thought it might be an idea to check out the island with them. However I got a weird vibe from it. Cross between time share sales and a cult... "No I will pass on the special koolaid thanks.... Sorry, I dont care what time the mother ship arives to see the time share properties". Could just be me... others may have an informed point of view. If they are a legit service... who knows, might take a few tours with them.