New members of the Dominican Republic forum, introduce yourselves here - 2021

I just went through the entire process with Lily.  Awesome lawyer and now friend.

Hello to everyone. I am completely new on this forum
( literally joined a minute ago 😁 ) but I was a reader until now and I already like this forum.

Ok so let me introduce myself.
I am 31 years old, I have Cypriot and Slovenian nationalities, horticulture engineer by profession
( garden designing, landscaping, agriculture, also did a special qualification about herbs).
Loves of my life are firearms ( I am competing in target shooting and passed all the mandatory exams ), animals ( I was also a dog trainer for about 10 years, owned a crocodile and at the moment I am very proud owner of a Pitbull and Pionites parrot ) and cars.
Other love of my life is food and coffee haha. I guess I got that by my Greek side 😂 I literally eat everything
( ok except cinnamon lol ).

I first went to Dominican republic a month ago and, as many here I'd guess, fell in love with it. Completely.
With weather, food, places, people, music, energy.
I am planning to move there in two years max, buying a house or a land.
So I am at the complete beginning but I rather gather all the information from now on and maybe even get some new friends on this forum 🙂

Best regards to all!

Hi Everyone, new in the group. My name is Ramon, currently back home in Spain and looking for a new challenge and experience in the hospitality industry in Dominican Republic. Not sure if possible, but trying my best.
Happy to be here and get to know everyones experiences.

Welcome to you both! Thanks for the introduction!

Lots of great info here, ask questions in the various threads and if needed start your own!

Reminder this is for introductions and welcome.  Discussions etc go elsewhere please. 

I agree but when a new comer signs on we spud answer their questions and explain what to do.

If they actually ask about residency we recommend they read the thread and ask questions there.

We keep this clean or it gets bogged down in other discussions.

Hello, we are Michelle & Bill, a married couple who currently live in Niagara, Canada who are looking to move to Las Terrenas in the next year.  We will be coming with my parents who will buy a home as they are pensionistas.  I have the wonderful job of making sure we can get there legally and all of the planning to move.  Looking for any contacts or advise to start this process.  Thank you.

Go to the residency thread or start your own.  I just went through it.  Or private message me and I will tell you anything you need to know.  Erich Metz

Welcome to the forums.  Lots of great info here for you.  Feel free to ask questions in the various threads!  Please keep us updated on the progress!

Thank you for your help 😁

I just signed up and was reading the various posts.

My wife and I are interested in moving to the DR. We both are US Gringos residing in Panama for the past 15 years and now are looking for a change. We will be returning to the US shortly and then plan on visiting the DR to establish a bank account, perform a preliminary look of several areas, on the North Coast, and make a final decision regarding final location, and begin the residency process as pensioners.   We are looking for all helpful information, a reputable lawyer, and anything else, to include meeting other persons that will provide for a smooth transition from Panama/USA to the DR. Definitely need to know what documents are needed from our home country prior to visiting the DR.
Thanks in advance for info.
Salud,
Richard y Cathy Brown

Welcome Richard and Cathy.   Please go look at the residency thread for  the process and the info about recommended lawyers,  recent posts contain  great recommendations.

Lots of other great info here, dont see what you are looking for,  open a thread and ask as many questions as you need to!

Good Morning all,

Since reading many of the blogs, just wanted to intro. myself (Rick) and spouse (Cathy). We are interested in moving to the DR. Currently we are located in the Republic of Panama for the past 15 years. Panama is nice, however we are interested in experiencing a new adventure. We plan on visiting  the DR in the next few months to determine the final location (most likely the North Coast area) of the DR as well as to meet and coordinate with a reputable lawyer to apply for Pensioner Residency.

We look forward to visiting the DR and meeting many new people.

Regards,
Rick and Cathy Brown

Thanks for the great info. 
Regards,
Rick and Cathy

Hello everyone! This forum looks to be a party waiting to happen. 

My wife Audrey and I (Walter) will be spending time in the DR down the road. We are both still 'pats' so the 'ex' will be added later.

We are very excited with the thought of spending quality time on the island. Because of Covid, unfortunately that won't be anytime soon but we are in the process of preparing so here is our story.

Planning to reduce our time spent working and escaping often cold Canadian winters, we started looking at places we could see ourselves living - at least part time. First, Florida came to mind but we wanted something more exotic. After several HGTV shows featuring the DR, we started to look into it more seriously and, we ended up purchasing a lot in Sosua, planning to build in the next couple of months.

To be honest, we don't know much about the DR or at least not through first hand, personal experiences. We had only spent 'a day' in the DR and that was during a cruise ship stop at Amber Cove. The rest, we 'experienced' by watching YouTube and doing online research. This just goes to show how convincing videos of palm trees and beaches can be.

We are into fitness and living a healthy lifestyle and can't wait to spend a few weeks, maybe a few months every year going forward in the DR. We look forward to meeting fun people, making new friends, hanging out with some of you and get to know the locals... it'll be an amazing new experience. We like to dance and to party and to surround ourselves with great friends.

Our daughter is 16 and will (hopefully) go off to university in a couple of years. Our son is going to finish (again, hopefully) university this month.

This means that it'll be at least a couple more years before we can escape for more than 2-3 weeks at a time but as we all know, the years go by far too quickly anyways. Nevertheless, we can't wait.

But first, we'll need to figure out how to manage the construction and furnishing process of our villa but who doesn't like a challenge that'll result in a great new habitat we can call 'part time home' in the future?

As we go through this process, I might post a question here and there on this forum as I'm sure many of you were in the same boat at some point or, are going through the same process right now and might be able to share helpful insights.

We live in the Toronto area and will be building in Sosua.

Welcome to the forums!  Great introduction of yourselves. We are here to help when needed and  look forward to you sharing your process with us.

lots of threads and info on here,  feel free to ask questions as you go along!

Hi there , basically I wanted apply for Driving licence, I don't know how to apply I'm appropriate if anyone helps me. Thanks 😊

So you have residency?   You need that first to get a license

Hello. I'm new here and thought I'd say hello. I spent  December and January at a resort in Samana, came home to NYC, then got right back on a plane to Las Terrenas where I rented a condo for a month.  I fell in love with LT and am now working towards a permanent move in early 2022. Partial to LT because that's where I've spent my time, but have heard great things about Cabarete, Sosua, and Bavara -- all 4 are on the table for consideration at this point and I'll be exploring the forums here to get recos and insights. I'm mid-40s, single with 2 small dogs, entrepreneur/PR agency owner, so will be working remotely/from home. Nice to meet everyone.

Welcome to the forums!   Lots of great info on all the threads.  Ask questions as needed!

Hello, I am a single guy from USA (Virginia Beach) exploring retirement options. I am 64 and my first visit to there was in 1991, and been back 8 times since. I travel to Colombia often as it is also on my radar as well to live in Medellin.  Thanks for letting me in the group as the other expat forum is not very robust.  Matt

Welcome to the forums!  Lots of great info here!  Take a look around and ask questions in the various forums honey!

Thank you for the nice welcome, and I tried taxes in the search function and nothing came up. I looked and the DR does not have a treaty with USA on taxes. Has this been covered, or should I post a new topic? Thank you Planner.

Post a new topic honey!   Its worth a discussion.

***

Reminder to all - this is for intro and welcomes only. Conversations happen  in the other threads kids.

Thanks.

Good Morning-
I am retired from the US government and married to a Dominican.  My wife and I may be moving down this summer, if all goes well with a job opportunity there.  I am a regular reader of your posts and may be posting some of my own questions later, as things get closer. 
Thanks for all the information.

Welcome to the forums and glad we can be of assistance!

Hi.
My name is Maria, but I go by Tete. My husband is Diego.
We are a family 4, with 2 gorgeous young girls. During the summer we will be moving to La Romana bc I accepted a teaching position.
We are multicultural family; me and the girls are Chileans. My husband is Argentinian.
Since 2017 we are living in Raleigh, NC.
I am an English and Spanish teacher.
Diego is an amazing illustrator and graphic designer.
We are very excited about our next adventure, but also anxious, so all tips are SUPER WELCOMED.

Thank you

Hi everyone My name is Emmanuel I'm from Trinidad and Tobago (also in the Caribbean) my wife I from Uganda. We will be moving to the RD in late June early July.  I visited for a month in 2019 and fell in love immediately. I would really love and welcome any recommendations regarding anything we may need to know. Especially regarding car purchases, health insurance and vehicle insurance. Thank you s much in Advance!!!

Welcome to you both!  There is a lot of info on the various threads. Feel free to ask your questions where appropriate and open new threads if you don't find what you need!

Hi my name is Marguerite my husband Ben & I should be in the Dominican right now looking at houses but us Canadians are not allowed out to play right now. We will be there in October or November and looking to buy a house and  live there most of the year. Interested in all the info on residency, we want to come for the whole winter this year and look around and buy a place but we don't want to overstay and not be able to come back. Looking forward to no more snow!

Dear Marguerite and Ben:

Sorry you've been delayed.

If you speak Spanish well, you can probably navigate the process reasonably well without a lawyer.

If not, you definitely need a lawyer!!

There are several different lawyers that Forum members have used, mostly with good results.

Personally, I believe Lishali Baez is absolutely TOP-notch.  We had an unusually difficult process due to an unfortunate start with our first lawyer, but Lishali put it all right!!!

You can search for Lishali, or Lilly as some call her, right here on expat.com.  or search on google for Lishali Baez Legal Bureau. 

Whoever you choose as a lawyer, be sure to get CURRENT references.  Some immigration attorneys used to do excellent work, but seemed to lose their way and no longer.  Ohers have glitzy websites or fancy Facebook pages.

TRUST ONLY THE ADVICE OF RECENT CUSTOMERS!!  Don't buy the sizzle or aroma -- buy the real deal steak!!

Jim
ExpatRusher

Welcome to the forums!  There is a lot of great info including a thread on residency.

We are here to help.

Members please stop giving all the advice in the welcome forum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for welcoming !
I'm from NY, USA. Love to travel to DR, and is thinking about semi-retiring there. For now would like to gather more info from other expats in regards to their experience and to see what possibilities it can bring, while what obstacles might be ahead and what things to watch out.

Welcome to the forums!  May I suggest you start a thread!  Ask  for  other members to  tell you their experiences!  Its a good time for  all of us to reflect on what its been like for us.

Hello all.
My fiancé Mo and I are in 50s now and interested in exploring a move and early retirement to Dominican Republic.
Thank you:)
Po.

Welcome Mo and Po! I hope you find the information here helpful!