Oh, DO go if you are sick of all the bullsh!# in DR.
I've only just left and gotten to Cartagena and it is a stunningly beautiful city, clean, friendly people, very, very nice so far.
I will write more later about my departure from DR, shipping stuff, etc., for anyone who wants info about how the move went (A GONG SHOW, NO SURPRISE THERE).
Sorry to the Mods who got so angry about my "CONSTANT COMPLAINING" and were probably hoping I would not post any more (nice attitude towards the posters, BTW), but I do want to share details about how to leave, or at least about how I left, for other posters who may be contemplating doing the same.
Anyway, of course it is a DR Forum and "NO COMPARISONS" are allowed, but there is no comparison between Cartagena and anywhere in the DR.
I am all about doing what makes you happy, and if living in the DR makes you happy, well, that's just great. But for people who are fed up and not sure about moving, I would say to really check it out, read, visit other places if you can, and TALK TO THE EXPATS WHO LIVE THERE, especially the long-term ones, and see what their satisfaction level is.
Ignore anyone with a VESTED INTEREST in getting you to stay in the DR or warning you off other places and talk to others who are in your position, similar age, interests, income level, to get a feel for whether or not a place might be a good fit.
You chose at some point to move to the DR, don't get sucked in so far that you feel that you have to accept all the crap; you can choose to leave and yes, there are absolutely other destinations that offer a tropical experience at an affordable price.
I have just arrived and am settling in so I cannot say if I will find here what I never found in the DR, but I can definitely say that there is the potential to find all that I am looking for here, it is obvious that the society/culture/economy/infrastructure is far more developed.