MPDesjardins

The golden rule here is to keep strong boundaries with any woman until you're 100% she's not a scammer. That entails dating her at safe distance for many months if not more until you can judge her character properly. Dating at safe distance ... Read More

In my Canadian life I was living at a fast pace, always feeling rushed and stressed by something. For many years I grew increasingly tired of depressing falls, harsh winters and weak summer heat. I left Canada for the Dominican Republic in ... Read More

Yeah that's absolutely true Planner, I read that it was much worse in big cities, especially around Santo Domingo. Very sorry to hear about your terrible journey with Chikungunya. Read More

Gypsy: Desjardins can't wait to host the fiesta and taste your concoctions. I bet there's something special about them. Nothing can be dull when it's done by Gypsy! Everyone will be invited to the fiesta, except Frank Reyes. Read More

Some perspective on Dengue and Chikungunya: my girlfriend used to live in the deep finca, then in the campo for all her life (until 4 days ago when she moved with me). She lived there with her mom, her father, her sister and her cousin. She also has ... Read More

Thanks for your message Micro. I was looking for printers for commercial purposes for a Dominican friend based in my town. Would have been soft cover books. The project is on hold now though, but if you know any good printers that could fit the bill ... Read More

Super informative thread, thanks for your input guys (and lady Planner ;) ) Now I have 2 more questions. 1. In my town we have Banco Popular (ATM only, nearest branch in Cabarete) and BanReservas (ATM + branch). I wonder which one I should pick. ... Read More

Welcome to the best Caribbean island Micro! Concerning insects I should add that DEET 20%+ is not easy to find and costly. If you spray your whole body everyday you'll be buying tons of cans. Clothes sprayed with DEET have to be washed more ... Read More

Words of wisdom Tomas! We're not there yet, not even close. :D Read More

When time comes I'll hire a lawyer. Money well spent! I'm not yet engaged with my gf but give me six months and that could change. Still testing the relationship now, but so far so good. Thank you all for the useful info! Read More

Seems like Ede Norte is making some progress on its long road toward decent service. Here in Gaspar Hernandez we went from having electricity 8 hours a day to pretty much all day long. The change happened about a month ago when they installed new ... Read More

I'm interested with this subject since I am planning to stay here forever. Last time I exited the country I paid the overstay fee of 4,000 RD$ since I had been there for over 3 months. By the way they count time from your 1st day in the ... Read More

If you need a cheap hotel in la Zona Colonial, you can check Casa Conde Boutique Hotel on Calle El Conde. Good, safe and clean place, doesn't break the bank. Read More

You seem to know where you're going Ketty! Now bring yourself here and see if you like the vibe. That's step 1 to your plan. Read More

I take your word, Bob K! To me it all boils down to your tolerance to debts. I have none and I'd never accept spending 12 years repaying anybody for anything, except if it was linked to some strong asset building up my capital in a very obvious ... Read More

In late November in Punta Cana I met a girl from upstate New York, around my age. In the course of our conversations she said she was starting to make money with her medical practice. "Great" I thought. Then she dropped the bomb: a big fat ... Read More

Great then! Now Ketty, the ultimate question is: do you have a strong desire to live here? Dominican Republic is not like Florida by any stretch of the imagination. The best course of action is to first live here for at least one month but more if ... Read More

You said: "My brother went there, he is a doctor at UF hospital here in Florida." So if I understand you well, your brother studied medicine in Santo Domingo and nonetheless, could become a doctor in the USA? How is this done? If such ... Read More

Interesting, Gypsy! The first and only one time my house was burglarized was in Montreal. In my native city I also had multiple car break-ins. The first and only one time I had a friend attacked by thugs on the street was in Fort Lauderdale. The ... Read More

I live in a city that has a reputation for being very quiet. I leave jewelry home (for what I have, which is worth pretty much nothing), dress discretely, carry minimal money and maintain peaceful relationships with locals. So far so good, but I ... Read More

3 months in the country and never witnessed anything threatening so far. Read More

Yes, Garden Kids is one of the 2 international schools in Sosua! Many foreign teachers work there. Please be welcome to stop by my casa with your family! Read More

I'm curious to know more about your "many many" errors Gypsy! Must be quite something and would be a good subject for another thread. :D Speaking for myself what really makes me happy is the people around me - all Dominicans because ... Read More

newExpats6676: Which international school will your daughter attend? I have a Canadian friend here who is a teacher at Garden Kids Int'l School in Sosua (in front of Super Pola). If you need any insider info about that school you can send me ... Read More

MASSAGEWIZ mentioned Janet's in Cabarete as a better option. It's a ride from Sosua but their prices are very acceptable. I gave the store a good tour not long ago and I've seen many items sold at reasonable prices, sometimes even ... Read More

Yeah, that's frugal and I could spend much more (as I actually did on my first month here), only I don't see the point since I can already enjoy myself so much with such little money. In Canada I could spend $3-4 k per month for half the ... Read More

Living here costs me about the same as Planner - approx 600 per month - and I don't say no to a drink or night out. My rent is $US 125 per month for a solid, well-built, furnished apartment, not very large but surrounded by a huge, 1,500 square ... Read More

The single most definitive reason not to move to the Caribbean is if you need to control everything. Those who can't adapt and go with the flow shouldn't bother coming here. But if you're adaptable and easygoing, there's no reason to ... Read More

I'm not nearly offensed by the opinion you uttered, Gypsy. Blind emotional patriotism has never been my cup of tea. Although I don't much recognize fellow Quebecois in the behaviours you described, speaking for myself I deplore our ... Read More

On the bikers story, it reminds me of a conversation I had with a fellow Montrealer before I came here: - Aren't scared that there are so many Canadian criminal bikers in Dominican Republic? Me: No, are you? - I sure would! Me: Well, if you ... Read More

Being myself a French Canadian I'll rebound on what Gypsy said. I think the behaviours decribed are more typical of past generations. I've travelled extensively to Florida in the past 6 years, a destination that is heavily frequented by ... Read More

I have seen lots of news on (or primarily against) the DR circulating in Quebec newspaper these days. Just a few days ago it was said that 2 Quebeckers returned to Canada from Punta Cana with malaria. No other countries in the world seemed to have ... Read More

All problems mentioned in the article are representative of the Dominican Republic at some level. Yet as Isavinon says, they are exaggerated. Tarantulas are certainly not "everywhere" in the DR, especially not in people's faces! Most ... Read More

Do you think the local business owners who signed that thought they were losing trafic due to the impossibility to park cars directly in front of their shops? It's sad for the terraces and public animation. And yes motos and sound systems are ... Read More

The fact that the couple is now everywhere on TV claiming the Quebec government should "at least" repay them the equivalent of a delivery in Quebec according to the public healthcare system fee grid (15-20k$) is ringing bells. Another ... Read More

My Dominican friend (born and raised here) thinks the same. She was so astounded by the amounts that she suggested maybe they got confused and thought the amounts quoted were in US$ while they were in RD$! That would be hilarious, if not so ... Read More

I haven't been through this ordeal but a general word of advice here: always pick the lawyer that provides you information that you can understand entirely. If answers to your questions seem vague and overly complicated, time to see someone ... Read More

Controlling non residents very strictly makes a lot of sense for the USA and Canada which are richer than most nations. Would Canada and the USA stop doing that, the whole world would flock in. The same is obviously not true for the DR, where many ... Read More

Right Bob K, and I think from what I've read yesterday in Dominican Today (http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2015/1/13/53888/Economic-sectors-snub-Dominican-Republics-push-to-regularize-aliens) that they are really after those who came to ... Read More

Technically, right now my understanding is that you can stay two years or more if you pay your dues at the exit point. However, this whole notion of "overstaying" and "paying fees" can be intimidating for many. I agree that ... Read More

Nobody here is in a place to discuss whatever your Dominican lawyer told you. However, a word of advice being myself an attorney in Canada: it should be very clear from your lawyer's explanations why you are now in a situation where you are ... Read More

Oh because on top of that you have a "next project"? :top: This is very impressive and innovative. I like the oil conversion mucho. Dominicans fry abundantly and use a lot of gas! If you could think of an idea to convert leftover ... Read More

Not to mention that gua-guas will frequently embark as much as 30 passengers, while they are built to carry 10-12 people. Happened to me last week. We even had passengers holding on the sides of the gua-gua, outside. No air conditioning as well, ... Read More

Right Gypsy, the problem they're addressing right now is the Haitian problem. You said it right: "trying to enter illegally". Those entrants don't hold any visa, work here under cover, don't pay taxes yet they use public ... Read More

Hi again Tomas! Couldn't find any specific article to that effect on Dominican Today even after searching all possible keywords. However I did find articles on the plan to regularize illegal Haitians living in the country. I think there's ... Read More

Hi Tomas, can you provide a source? We have to dig more into this! Read More

Bob K, I concur with your analysis of the government's intents. So far they're not putting much pressure for permanent residency applications. They probably wanna fund better schools and roads with higher fees... wink wink. I'd never ... Read More

They have that visa: 3 to 9 months overstay = 4,000 RD$. Note that they don't use the words "overstay" and "fine" anymore, but "fees for single extension of stay". Longer visas could be nice but at the same time, ... Read More

No prob! Cause by European standards, if he wears 32 he's either an off-chart midget or an off-chart giant! Good luck. Read More

Thing is, 32 doesn't correspond to anything even in European scaling. Look, can he measure his feet? Only that way you'll know for sure. You can translate the measurement to US / Canadian sizes with this chart: ... Read More

A good addition to this topic would be the recent change (November 1st, 2014) in the overstay fee structure. Here's the link to the other thread where I provided more info on that matter: ... Read More

For the benefit of everybody else on that threat, the overstay tax DID change right after the last reply. Here's the new grid, effective as of November 1st, 2014, which can be found here: http://www.migracion.gob.do/web/tarifas10-14.pdf. I ... Read More

Searched a bit more and you are right. The official website publishes contradictory info, but look at this sheetlet as they updated it on November 1st, 2014: http://www.migracion.gob.do/web/tarifas10-14.pdf Go to page 4, section "Prorroga ... Read More

Really? On the official website of the DR (http://www.migracion.gob.do/web/tarifas.php) they still post the same fees. Maybe they didn't update the changes but I can't find anything on the internet regarding a recent change. If the Dominican ... Read More

Last time I checked at La Sirena (Puerto Plata) shoe sizes were scaled according to the US system. I wear 10.5 in Canada and I bought the exact same size here. In places like China where people are markedly smaller in average, there's a huge ... Read More

We'll do our best to find a date that works with you. Don't worry I'm not the one to blast boring boom-boom music in my guests' ears! Read More

Yeah I agree we need Planner up here. Caribe Tours from SD to Sosua and there she is! Transportation from Sosua to GH and back will be taken care of. Gypsy, I'll end up moving to Cabrera if you do all of these things in your backyard. In once ... Read More

No way! :o I'm craving for these things especially since I've been living here. Yukka fritters, how do you do that? It reminds me that I've seen okra in local stores, I'll cook fried okra with my special spice blend. It'll ... Read More

Now you're speaking my language Gypsy! Food can never be too hot for my tastes and I'm a huge spice user. In Canada my last girlfriend used to call me "the spice trader". In my Canadian house I have a kitchen cabinet only for ... Read More

I'm looking forward to this day! Rumours have me believing Cabrera is a nice pueblo, although I still can't confirm. I need to go see for myself. Wanna host too and I'm thinking a gathering of our folks on the forum would be fun. I have ... Read More

Yes Gypsy, many furniture and appliance stores are to be found around here. Prices are quite decent but it's cheaper to buy in Puerto Plata. Yesterday I spent 21,000 pesos at La Sirena and I got a huge amount of home supplies, including a full ... Read More

There are conflicting theories about cacatas in the DR. There's always this guy who says "I have dwelled under a banana tree in Los Haitises for 20 years and I have yet to see one". And then there's the guy who lives in an upscale ... Read More

MASSAGEWIZ: Don't have an IP phone right now but that can be arranged. Please msg me in private, I'd like more details about your trade. Planner: I concur with Bob K, here in Gaspar Hernandez mosquito levels are quite low right now. However ... Read More

Notice to all, we went to La Sirena in Puerto Plata today and they don't have the right insect repellent. All they carry is the lightweight Off with 15% DEET that only repels voodoo spells and street vendors. :cool: (Extreme cold warning in ... Read More

Oh Canadian Sig, I relate. It's like Canadian winters are actively trying to kill you sometimes. I've been to Ottawa countless times and in wintertime it can get excruciatingly cold. Same ordeal in Montreal. Here in the DR the air hurts our ... Read More

You're actually correct in your assumptions Gypsy :D In my first week we used to go out at Playa Enrique in one of those restaurants where they fry blue or red fish in front of you. Our restaurant shared land with a large strip of bushes ... Read More

Thanks you Planner. Wanna be more diligent with repellent. Got a 3-day fever with bad headaches last week, no clue what it was but it reminded me not to be as stupid as when I arrived here and literally spent full evenings wearing bermudas and ... Read More

Hola! Question to the Northerners: where on the North Coast do you find insect repellent with the right concentration of DEET? In Gaspar Hernandez where I am I have yet to find some. Last time I found repellent was in the small market next to ... Read More

Hola Jaeeyun Jo! If the following statements represent you, you should decide against the Dominican Republic: - You can't stand the heat - You dislike the sun very much - You hate rice and chicken - You're a control freak Otherwise, in my ... Read More

Thank you Bob K, planner and MASSAGWIZ for your messages! I'm currently exploring this website and have already subscribed to some threads. My experience here is way more modest than yours, yet if I can chip in and provide some insights based on ... Read More

Hi all! First I want to say a big thank you to those who keep that website going. My name is Maxime and I'm a 32 year old Canadian born and raised in Montreal. Six months ago, my best friend, with whom I also worked in Montreal, moved here ... Read More