Southern Coast

It too is a nice area to settle in with a fair sized Expat presence.  However we prefer the north coast and settled here 11+years ago.

Bob K

La romana is a nice sized city to live in. It is very much real life and not a totally wxpat experience. 

Casa de campo is a gated community so i am not referring to that. La romana is a mix of.mostly locals and some expats. Its built around the sugar cane industry.

There are some very nice communities and it has all the services you need.  There are some nice beaches nearby.

You are an hour and 15 minutes from the capital and an hour from Punta Cana.

The airport isnt great but you are close to two others.

We tend to answer questions based on where most expats end up - punta cana, noeth coast and samana.

I'm hoping we can get to DR for a visit in 2018 so we can see some of these areas for ourselves. Until then, all I can go by is the internet, "Caribbean Life" on tv, and the input from members here.

I envision renting a condo or apt at first in an area near the water where expats are common. Once we "de-americanize" a little, maybe we would want to reevaluate - or maybe not - who knows?

The north coast looks and sounds wonderful, I just don't want to ignore a large section of the island without trying to get some comparisons. If someone here has spent time in these areas, I'd love to see some responses to my questions.

Good plan, do your research, take your time and don't tie yourself down in the beginning. Once you have climatized you can make longer term decisions!