Need a lot of information & advice!!

First off welcome to the forum. I will try to answer some of your questions. My wife and I "retired" here 7 years ago, and are living on the north coast betweeen Sosua and Cabarete.
Have you ever been here before and where did you visit?
1. Residency requiremnts have gotten a bit more difficult to obtain recently but still can be done without much difficulty, but now the process must be started in your  home country with an application for a resdident visa.
2.Work can be hard to find and pay is usually very low. An LPN could expect to earn $250-$300 a MONTH at a hospital and maybe a small amount more in a private clinic.  The "demand" jobs are hard to find for "gringos" and are usually in the tourist industry or IT industry.
3. Pets are not an issue and you can bring your cats and dogs with very little difficulty. The just need papers (health and recetn rabies vac.)
4.  Crime depends on where and how you live. Most major crimes are crimes of passion, domestic feuds, drug related.

My suggestion is to come for a month or two and check out different areas, jobs etc before making any decisions.

Again welcome

Bob K

Thanks Bob!! I was hoping you would be responding!!  I saw some of your other posts and I knew you'd be knowledgeable.  We're looking at the same area you are in Sousa / Cabarete.  Unfortunately we're not able to retire just yet (I'm only 33!!).  We're wondering if we can make it work ... find a job, live a good life (meaning low stress, lighter pace) and still be able to retire comfortably.  I have a stable life in Canada ... we both have good jobs ... we're just tired of the fast paced crazy lifestyle.  There has to be more to life than working and sleeping, right???

Having said all of that though ... I am not sure we can make it work in DR!!  How can we live on a nurses salary of only $250 - $300 / month???  Yikes! That really shocked me.  I'm wondering what else we can do.  Personally, I'd love to be able to open my own doggy daycare.  We love animals!!  I wonder what kind of demand we'd have for that though ...

You mentioned that heading to DR for a month or two would be best, and I totally understand that, however, I don't think that would be feasible for us. Neither one of us can take that amount of time off for travelling at this point.  We have to do our research, but I think our main source will be from the internet and connecting with people, such as yourself and other Canadians (maybe some who are working) and perhaps shorter trips to DR.  Like I said before, we're not rich & we're not yet able to retire ( Although, maybe winning the lottery could work  

At this point, we just want to figure out if this is a practical possibility for us.  What would be the best direction to start in figuring everything out??  Finding a job??  Contacting the embassy in Toronto??  Contacting an immigration lawyer???  I haven't figured out the direct messaging yet, so please feel free to respond in a direct message if you wish!!

Thank you Bob !!! I look forward to your wisdom and advice!!

Sent you a PM

Bob K

I agree with Bob about coming here and staying a month or two to see if you like it.  We have been here 2 weeks and it is MUCH different than a Vacation here.  We should have listened to the MANY people who said to rent first!
I think we did luck out with our property though.
Unless you find a job here that pays well i think it may be hard for it to work for you guys right now :-(
So i hope you can find a good job!

We just went through the Visa process and it was easy (for the 2 month Visa) It is just basically lots of paperwork.  If either of you have a criminal record or contagious disease I would not even bother to try.

Oh we brought 3 cats and 1 dog and it was easy as long as you have the right paperwork.  I think we may have paid $10 per animal when we got here? I can't remember the price but it was reasonable!

I would suggest living in a gated community, we don't but that means I have to get a gun.  (mostly for show)

Lol!! Thank you for your response!!  Retired???? Aren't you just a bit older than me ????  I was born in 1979!! I want to retire too!!  We were hoping to be able to find good jobs down there but we don't have any idea where to look.  I am a practical nurse, working on the degree, however, I hear nursing isn't a good paying job down there like it is here.  Any idea on any websites where to look for jobs in the Cabarete / Sousa area's??

O ... and no criminal records or diseases here ... just two happy Canadians looking for beaches, warm weather and a laid back lifestyle!!

There is no real website on the north coast for jobs. Your best bet is to mingle and look, checking out different companies and work places.

Bob K

Ya we were lucky to be from Vancouver where you can sell your house and easily retire here.  The House prices in Van are of the charts crazy expensive!!!

I'll keep an ear out for you about jobs.  Have you looked on DR1 Forums?

Hmmm ... we could prob do that too ... sell our house here & live off of that ... we're in a really crazy expensive neighbourhood & are lucky to be mortgage free, but we probably are going to hang on to the house at least until we're sure it's going to be a permenant thing.  We made the mistake of moving to Fort McMurray AB - selling EVERYTHING - including a house, car & furnishings - then HATED!!!!! it! I'd like to play it safe this time around.  I mean, DR will probably be a lot better experience for us as it's the lifestyle we want.  Fort Mac was all about WORKING & making as much money as possible.  I really appreciate your advice & responses .. and if you could keep your eyes out for job prospects for us that would be appreciated as well.  I am a Practical Nurse in Canada (working sllllooowwwwllly towards a degree).  I also have a background in Personal Training (I am certified).  I also have a diploma in Interior Decorating.  I have experience managing a Best Western, working in retail, working in the trucking industry as a dispatcher, in a hospital as housekeeping, health care aide and now nursing. (BIG BACKGROUND) ... my husband is a certified heavy equipment operator (excavator, backhoe, bulldozer) Any construction happening in the DR these days???  He also has been an operations manager in the trucking industry operating tank wash facilities.  Are there any liquid bulk companies in DR?? 

Honestly ... I would prefer to work as a Personal Trainer or Group Fitness Instructor again as I really enjoy that and it is so much better at preventing health problems ... when it's time to deal with someone as their nurse, it's usually


(PS SORRY for the all the questions ... you & Bob K are excellent at responding )