New members of the Dominican Republic forum, introduce yourselves here — June to December 2017

Tinker welcome back and yes it was great meeting you as well as others at the Jolly that afternoon.

Bob K

Hello all:  My wife and I just came back from Sosua.  We had a lovely stay at Casa Marina and fell in love with the country and its people.  We met a few expats in town and are now seriously considering making a permanent move,  We expect it to take a little while and want to do it right.  We are late 40's early 50's and have a custom sewing business we are considering relocating to manufacture for online sales and/or shipping abroad.  We will have some small investment money to bring from my pension should I cash it out early.  Lots to consider so we will be here often and doing plenty of homework.

JonnyW welcome to the forum.  Lots of good folks and good info here.  Read the various threads here and come back with questions.  Do your research!
We have been living full time in the Sosua area for 11 years

Bob K

I am 48 and My husband I are looking to move to DR in 2 yrs when our youngest graduates HS. I have a good friend at work that is from the DR and she is very helpful but also suggested I join this site😊 We are just starting the process so I'm sure we'll have lots of questions soon....lol

Welcome 12intn

Welcome and please give our thanks to your friend who recommended the site! Read read read and then ask the questions as you need to. Never hesitate to start a thread if you cannot find what you are looking for!

Welcome. As Planner said read all you can here and ask questions you may have.  Lots of info here.
Have you been to the DR?  What part of the country is your friend from?
Good luck on the plan

Bob K

Howdy folks,

I am moving to Santo Domingo at years end.
Looking to take Spanish lessons to refine my broken Spanglish.
Will be looking in District Nacional for a home to buy.   
Looking forward to the island life.

Peace owt, Hardy

Welcome!!! I know the capital fairly well if you need anything. I can recommend a good family of realtors for you.

I will, thank you planner!

Hardy welcome.  Are you relocating for work?

Bob K

Hi everyone, my name is Sherry.  I currently live in the USA but will be retiring in a few years and am looking for somewhere else to live.  My first stop will be Las Terrenas.  I plan on visiting there for a couple of weeks within the first three months of 2018.  I still work a full time job so two weeks is all I can do at this point.

I have been reading things on the Dominica Republic and Las Terrenas, searching the internet, and I have just started to learn Spanish.  Hopefully I will have a good base of knowledge before I arrive.  I would however appreciate any information that anyone provides.

My first questions would be as follows:
Coming from the USA, is the Santo Dimingo Airport (SDQ) the only airport I can fly into?
Would it be best for me to rent a car at SDQ or rent one in Las Terrenas?
I have been searching VBRO, Homeaway, and Airbnb for rentals, is there somewhere else I should look?
Does anyone have any suggestions where to stay, I'm looking for something on the cheaper end but nice and clean?

I have a million more questions but I will search the forum and see if I can find some answers.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Sherry

Welcome Sherry!!! I will recommend you start  reading the threads and gathering information.

Feel free to open a separate thread honey and copy and paste your questions. We keep this thread for welcoming newcomers and introductions. Thanks honey!!! That way we can keep all your answers together and you can keep.asking questions as you need to.

Let me add my welcome.  Yes do start threads concerning your questions.  There is lots to read here.

Bob K

Hi everyone, I am planning to retire in 3 years, and have been looking for somewhere in the Caribbean for my wife and I to move to. After looking at Mexico, Cayman Islands, Belize, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands, etc. The place that looks best to me is the North or East coast of the DR.

I've been reading many of the posts here - sometimes for hours at a time....  Seems like a very informative site, and I like the fact that people who actually live there chime in with helpful advice.

I'll soon be littering your forum with questions.... LOL

Welcome to the forums!!! Please do litter.....hahHaha. look forward to your questions!!!

Welcome.  Lots to read here.  Please feel free to liter
Have you been here before?
I know where you are coming from as we looked all through the Caribbean, Mexico, and parts of Central America before deciding to move here, and now here full time for the last 11 years.

Bob K

Hi Bob and Planner, Thanks for the replies.  No I have never been to the DR before, all my research is done from home here in the US on the internet. I've been to Germany, Acapulco Mexico, Nassau Bahamas and Cancun Mexico. Not exactly a world traveler, but I've at least been around a little bit.
Why DR? I want someplace affordable, stable government, low taxes, easy travel to and from the US, and very important is to be in a large expat population. And of course the beautiful beaches and Caribbean Sea. The towns that keep popping up are Las Terranas, Sosua, Caberette, Punta Cana, Puerta Plata, and others. Obviously I've never been to any of those places - thus the research....

The vision in my head is a condo with water view, short walk to the beach, (or golf cart if that is common) restaurants and bars close by, and new people to meet and spend time with. I figure I'll have an income of around 4K per month (US) and whatever I get from the sale of my house and cars etc. My biggest single concern is my son who would be 15 or so at that time, and what his education would look like there. Anyway that's where I'm coming from, I'll post some questions in the forum area.  Thanks again!

You are very welcome. Keep reading and ask questions in the threads.

And visit! A lot!

No, my girlfriend & her brother own a business here and I'm retired from the military. So I'm flexible to move here. I may need to find something to keep me busy once I'm settled.

Thanks Mrs Planner?

You are very welcome.

Ms. Panner

Mark and Al.
All good places.  We live between Sosua and Cabarete with a good mix of locals, tourists and a very large Expat community from all over the world.  You will find Punta Cana a big tourist area with not much in the way of local life.
Bob K

Hi my Husband, daughter and parents want to start the transition to San Terranas. We have lots of questions and welcome All and Any Help we can get. My parents are both retired, father retired military. My husband and I both work as bartenders and food servers on Las Vegas Blvd in Las Vegas NV. We have a 20mth (almost 2yr old) daughter. I also teach yoga,pilates and group exercise. My husband is a metal fabricator creating furniture,modifying cars,trucks,scooters/atv's he can fix just about anything. Sort of a jack of all trades. We have lots of research and planning but main concern if for both me and my husband to find jobs

Welcome.  The first thing you need to get jobs here is your residency and cedula.  Secondly know that jobs are very low paying.
Havve you been here before?


Bob K

We were planning on visiting for about 3 weeks in 6 months or so and then make the move within 6months from there. We have never been to DR have a co-worker from there and have been to honduras,aruba, puerto rico, Haiti, many places in mexico and the caribbean but only for 1 week at a time

Yes Bob is right,  first you need residencia.  Then you can get jobs but be prepared to make very little money!   Sorry it is the state of affairs here.

Hello all!
I am Melissa....native New Englander, thinking of making a leap to the DR. My best friend and I have been vacationing in the DR together for the last 11 years. Trip #14 is scheduled for November.

A few years ago we really started pondering if we could move there.....we both own condos here in Vermont that we would sell for some cash in hand (approx $60 - $80K). We realize financing and mortgages are VERY different in the DR (I've been reading alot of forum posts) but there are some very good condo deals on the North Coast (our fave spot is Puerto Plata - we need to visit Sosua & Cabarete as most listings seem to be in those areas).

We would both have to work.......I've recently spoken with a few business owners here who utilize virtual assistants, many living in the Caribbean. I have a 14 year background as an administrative assistant in a 30+ agent real estate office, more than half of that time running our rentals department. Wondering about making connections with area RE/MAX offices. My friends background is in schools (K-6).

Budget is my research focus right now (along with learning Spanish).........what can we afford, how to finance (if needed), and what we need to earn to be "comfortable". Unless I win Powerball (ha!) we know that we will continue to work even if we're lucky enough to move to the DR - but we might as well do it in a place we love, right? This is not even close to retirement - we are both mid-40's.

I also wonder about renting first??? 6 -12 months? To really test the waters first. And then trying to buy........where are there long term rental postings (non-vacation)?

It's all a little scary and very exciting.  Can't wait to learn MUCH more on this site.......and make friends in the ex-pat community. I know I've seen BobK all over Tripadvisor forums the last several years!  All of your posts are so helpful....thank you!

Welcome to the forums!!! Yesssss rent first!!! You dont know if you really love it until you actually live here.

Rentals that are longer term are not often online. I known of 2 two bedroom furnished apartments 5 monutes from the beach in Costambar and a couple nob furnishednin Puerto Plata. Everything Puerto Plata is a facebook group with lots of rentals. There are similar for Cabarete and Sosua! Try that!

Let us know your questions throughout the threads or start your own!

Hi. I'm new to this site. Thinking about retiring to DR/Puerto Plata next year. I am a professional who wants to do more than just going to the beach. What about the arts? Music? Habitat for Humaniy? What's happening in the Puerto Plata area?

Welcome to the forums. Arts music culture - not highly developed in Puerto Plata. Santiago is not far away.

We do have events - Jazz festival etc that may interest you.

Thanks. I guess I have to get there to get a feel for it.

Absolutely!!! There is.lots of.local music some good, some great and some hurts your ears! Lol

Santanita2017
Welcome.  Yes lots of music about.  Come and visit for a stay and not at an AI to get a feel for the area

Bob K

Hello my name is Michael Jackson and Im considering relocating to the dominican republic with my wife and my son. Only visited the island on a cruise but will be returning soon to look around the island more. We are glad that there is a expat community to get great information from. Thanks for welcoming us!!

Welcome MJ!   Lots of great info here,  read read read and ask  questions honey, we are here to help whenever we can.

Thanks a lot! ! I seen that you seem to be a very helpful and knowledgeable person about the DR! We appreciate you guys taking time out to help people.  God bless you guys. How much does it cost for citizenship out there?

Welcome. Lots to read here and please do feel free to ask away
What port did you visit as this is a big country with many various areas.
Before citizenship you must apply for your residency. There is a whole thread just on this.  The cost can vary depending on what lawyer you use if you use one (I would recommend using one).
Again welcome

Bob K

Hello Bob and thanks for welcoming us.  It's crazy that you responded just now because I just clicked on one of your posts and was about to ask you a question about real estate.  We came to the amber grove port and it looked beautiful out there. Wish we would have took a tour but I stayed at the bar drinking strawberry daquaries and talking dollar values with the locals lol. I seen that you are a real estate agent out there, and it seems that you and planner are honest and knowledgeable people about the DR. We are planning on coming out there in late September to look around the island to see how we like it. Wanted to meet with an honest agent to enlighten us on our options so we can figure out if it's possible to relocate out there. Would you be available around that time to bless us with some valuable information? My travel agent will get with me by tomorrow with the exact dates. Finding an agent was on my to do list when we visited. I was reading through your posts and you sound like the perfect agent lol. God bless you guys for these forums and assistance.