I am considering moving in Jarabacoa

I would consider that a nice place to live. I certainly enjoy it. With small kids you can be very flexible. There are some good schools up there, run by nuns and priests who do not put up with any nonsense...

Of course there are better health, educational and entertainment facilities in larger cities inthe area, like La Vega or Santiago, but you just have to choose the locale with patience.

Good luck....learn to ride a motorcycle, I think that there are more of them per capita in Jarabacoa than any place else I have see so far...

HB

Drperson said:

I have lived in the Puerto Plata area and El Mamey area for the past 6 years seasonally. I went to Jarabacoa last winter and loved it. It seems very very different from Puerto Plata. The motel/hotel I stayed at is near the highway with an open dining area. It run by a really nice Dominican couple. They said that they have not even had one ashtray stolen in the past 4 years. The area was very clean . Where I have lived in the Campo , people remove their outside light bulbs so they don't get stolen at night.

I am looking for a permanent place to set down roots ,( I have two very young children) , with values and lifestyle closer to North American ones. For example would it be a " better " area to raise kids?

I am wondering if anyone here can comment on living in Jarabacoa , and perhaps compare and contrast in living Jarabacoa vs say Puerto Plata.

Any relevant information would be very helpful. Thanks .

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I've lived here for over two years after traveling most of the entire country since '87.

IMO Jarabacoa is the best town to live in in the Dominican Republic. It is the cleanest town you'll find, the weather is fabulous, it's green and beautiful, it's quiet, the people are edumacated and polite, the mountains make an incredible backdrop, crime is minimal, it has most anything you need, it's inexpensive, it is nothing like an expat tourist area, and there are just a few foreigners living here.

The "tourists" here aren't the AI foreigners like PoP. Jarabacoa is where rich Dominicans have their mountan homes away from the heat of the city.

There are two decent English-speaking schools, and several good Spanish-speaking schools (poster bob saunders's wife runs one.)

The best thing about Jarabacoa is it's only 45 minutes to Santiago and 20 minutes to La Vega should you need urban amentities.

PoP and Jarabacoa are about as opposite as towns can be in the DR.