Moving to the DR

Wishing you the best of luck and happiness.  My husband and I moved to Playa Chiquita. between Sosua and Cabarette, in October after 11 years of visiting and wishing to be here.  It is a much relaxed pace of life...the beauty is unbelievable and so is the poverty!  Learn the culture and you will have many Dominican friends to help you out  Message if you have any questions

Good luck and welcome. We have beeen living here between Sosua and Cabarete for nearly 7 years. It takes a lot of adjustment, a good attitude, ability to "roll with the punches" getting used to things running differently and on thier own time table etc.  But with the right frame of mind  you will do fine.  Remember if someone tells you it will get done manana it does not mean tomorrow.  Manana here just means it will not happen today!
Let me know if you need any information or anything else.

Bob K

Thank you Bob and mjnorr.  I've enjoyed some of the other posts you guys have posted :-)
We are pretty friendly and relaxed people.  I've researched the DR non stop for the last 3 years and the times we have visited have always made friends.
We always laugh when the other tourists get so upset about the little things and stuff not getting done in "American" time.  It's one of the things I love about the Country.  We are retiring so we have all the time in the work to wait for stuff!
I always rent a car wherever we travel and seek out the REAL Country, you learn so much more about the place.  I think I was made for driving in the DR!

Sounds like you have done the research and have the correct attitude.  Good luck

Bob K

Hello Harley! You sound like me. I have 28 days til retirement to the DR and i've been going there for seven years. I wish you all the best. I will be living in Puerto Plata with my wife who is a Dominicana. Let me know if i could be of some help.
Congratulations!

Jax

Hey Jax,
Nice!  Always good to know more Expat people moving around the same time :-)

We chose to move to a non-gated community b/c we don't really want to be surrounded by all Gringos ;-)  Our housekeeper said we should get a gun.  I'm not sure i really want to have a gun.  We have a security camera and will have a couple dogs.  I may build the fence a bit higher and put better lighting in.

Bob (or anyone else) in your experience is a gun needed, I read that you really probably shouldn't get one?!  I guess I could hire a security guard but I don't really want to have that kind of lifestyle.  We are leaving most expensive stuff behind but my Wife is a musician so she has lots of that kinda stuff.

I want to try and blend in as much as possible which could be hard b/c of my Tats Everywhere :-)

hi all

we are looking at moving to dominican republic  this year can any of you give us advise on the easiest way to get the residence permit ? we are both in the diamond business here in south africa i have a british passport and my partner a south african one . are there any south africans there at this time ? also guys hows the crime there ?   all your input and any help would be gratefully appriciated .

regards john

Hey Jrc,

We have just gone through the residency thing.  From Canada we had to apply from the DR Consulate in Canada.  I believe all people applying for a residency in the DR MUST get it before they come to the DR.  (I did hear some ways around it but it sounds shady and more complicated)

Look online at your local countries DR Consulate and email them questions if their website doesn't answer all you need.

It took me about 6 weeks to get everything we needed and then sent it in and then 5-15 business days to process it.  This is good for 2 months and 1 entry, then you apply for Provisional Residency which can be done in or out of the Country I think. (haven't got to that part yet)

It cost us $1000 US in total for 2 people for the 2 months.
Residency
It is pretty straight forward, just a lot of paper work.  DO NOT APPLY IF YOU HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD!  It is a waste of $$$ and time.

The Crime is worse in Canada compared to the DR from what I have found.  Just don't be flashing money or jewelry etc... around and have common sense like in any other country and I'm sure you will be fine.

Hope that helps a bit?!
Easton

Guns are very hard to get here, very expensive,ammunition even more so. YOU cannot import one. You need to havre permentent residency I beilive for two years,  apply , take pshych testing here and still not guareteed  you will be issused a permit. If you have an unregistered one and get caught you will lose it plan on some time in a Dominican prison.  A security guard may  be the way to go. Many burlars will poison the dogs befor entering the property.

Bob K

Thanks Bob,
I kinda already knew I wasn't gonna get a gun.  I saw the requirements and laws and knew it would be a few years, just wanted to know what people thought :-)
Thanks for letting me know about the poisoning the dogs thing!!!

Harleysrock is also giveing you sound advice on the new resienecy laws. YOU must start the process in your home country.
Once here  unless you are fluent in Spanish and understand the very confusing Dominicann systems you will be much better off with a good local lawyar. Costs onec getting here can be from $500 (or a bit more) with no lawywer to $2000+ with a good lawyer. Then remember it is good only for 2 years and you then have to start the local process all over again

BOb K

thanks guys  will try from here but here trying to get anything done is like trying to put tits on a parrot !! will keep you up to date of any developments  cheers !

Hi there!

My husband and I are starting our research as we plan on moving to the DR in a year or so as well. We will visit for the first time this spring, hopefully.

Can I ask you, have you guys researched jobs there? If so, what type of jobs or job market have you found it to be? Our biggest worry is to make sure we can find jobs.

Also, if you have any other blog sites or informational sites you have found to be helpful would be greatly appriciated

Good luck to you both!

Hey brittnee,
I don't know much about jobs here but I have heard from many that it is really hard to find a job here and if you do it will be for very little money.
Have you gone on DR1 yet?

What part are you visiting?

Hopefully someone who knows more will post here to help you out :-)
Easton

Just so others know, guns aren't that hard to get here...

Thanks for the advice Mostly from what I have read on this board today, jobs are scarce and/or difficult to get unless you specialize in something like IT, plumbing, electrition ect.

After today, I think I might need to keep my options open to where I visit. I would like to visit Cabrete and the north side as I have seen a lot of people state that is more populated with other ex-pats along with beautiful beaches. I may even need to research other countries and see where we can make a living while enjoying a slow pace of life.

Hopefully I will continue to get more advice here.

You look our age. Did you find work there? IF you don't mind me asking, what do you do?

pardon my spelling...Cabarete

I am 37 and we are lucky enough that we could retire here.  We came from Vancouver and Houses are over 1.2 easy so selling a house there can make for a nice life here :-)

We moved to the North coast, 15 minutes East of Cabarete.  So we can enjoy the beach and quiet town yet we are close enough to Cabarete, Sosua, and an hour away from Puerto Plata and Santiago.  We really like it. 

The people who have it the best are people who can work online and get paid that way.

Harley is give you good advice. Jobs are very hard to find and do not pay well here. A good job here would be lucky to pay $250-300 US a MONTH.

Do come and visit the north coast for a month or so and check it out first hand.  On line jobs will pay you the best if you can find one.

We moved to the Cabarete/Sosua area 7 years ago and have not looked back for a second.

Bob K

Hi Harleysrock! Would love to know how things have been for you and your wife honestly since moving to the DR from Vancouver? Are you still there? Do you plan on staying at this point? Any updates would be great! Happy New Year to both of you!

How did this ancient thread get here? I knew it right away when Bob K had only been here for 7 yrs!

I found it and thats the kind of person I wanted to get an update from. Someone who has now been there awhile. I hope to get a reply from him...

I think most often good to move somewhere get a feel for it. BUT THEN AGAIN you only live once!! If you have done your research and feel it bubbling in you huge .....just do it!!! As long as youre the kind of person who can and will change it later ...if it doesn't seem so great for you when youre there. I love throwing myself into stuff. So many play it way to safe. Life isn't safe. No matter where you are. Just do your research and prepare best you can ...do a single visit and GO!!! Lol More fun that way!! Just be smart and heed expat advice when there too.

SunGal, right on! The way to be alive is to LIVE.  Too bad more folks don't jump on the local bus & see all there is to see & feel Most never get on the bus ever.  They end up wondering where their life has gone. We know where we have been & enjoy the mystery of where we are going.

You got it Tinker40!

What area you live in? Do you live in DR now? Which state were you from? How are you liking it so far if you are there? Happy New Year!

Will PM you. Over the years have posted all that info. Don want to bore anyone with repetition ad nauseum. (sp) my spelling sucks, among a myriad of other faults. Sosua is my home.

sounds good

Harleysrock is still here but not active on this board anymore.  What kind of info about living here are you seeking.
Have you been here before?
It can be a challenge at times but if you have the right attitude, and personality this place can be wonderful.  If not it can be a disaster.


Bob K

Thank you Bob!! We actually bought a small condo on the beach in cabarete....but honestly not been there yet. Can you believe that??!! True. But we will begin this year we only will do vacations .... no snowbird stuff just yet. Thing that scares us a bit is two things ... the negatives to us that we hear are guns corruption and crime, the way animals especially dogs are treated generally (we are HUGE lovers and protecters of all fur creatures- and heard about the mass killings in parts of the DR also!! NOT OK by us) thats it really. We have no problem with slower pace of life. When we get tired of it we go back to Canada for awhile ...no place is perfect. The animal / dog thing is the BIG one for us.

Wait a minute.  You bought a condo in a place you have never been to sight unseen?  You know nothing about the area or country you now own a condo in?  Do you speak Spanish? Wow are you in for some interesting times.


Bob K

It will be interesting and I hope you keep us posted on your experiences.

Crime - read the various threads so you know more, you will feel better.

Corruption -  really doesn't directly effect you as a tourist. Until you live here that is what you are.

Animal abuse -  for many locals it's about survival. Care of an animal is far down the list of priorities. Mass killings of animals - often these have been perpetrated by expats.  There are several good animal rescue organizations for you to get involved with. Go on Fb and look up DCDR. They always need help.

I hope that everything works out for you, we are here to answer questions whenever we can!

Sungal, we weren't quite as daring...but we did find our house on our first 5 day visit to Cabrera...threw caution to the wind and haven't regretted it for a moment...