Sounds fun, I'm excited for you. My experience is limited to the North Coast, so keep that in mind. I've been living in the DR for about 2 1/2 years with my family, when we first came, we knew no Spanish. We did fine, and we started way out in the country!
Along the North Coast of the DR, from west to east, you'll find the cities of Luperon, Puerto Plata, Montenello, Sosua, Cabarete,and Gasper Hernandez. From the coast, heading south, the city of Santiago. This is the limit of my island knowledge.
Luperon is a mostly Dominican town, I do not know much about. It has a nice bay, things to see, and the occasional expat to talk to. There are some amazing beaches a little to the west of Luperon, and this is also where you will find the first landing spot of Christoper Columbus.
Puerto Plata is the DR's third largest city. Heavily populated by Dominicans, some expats, and gets a quite a few tourists. It is worth a visit, but I would not stay there. Crime is pretty high, there is a lot of traffic and noise, and there are alot of tourists. In Puerto Plate you can cruise along the Malecon (ocean front road), grab a bite at the restaurants, take the cable car up into the mountains, and see the old port. Tourist stuff... Worth a visit, don't stay there.
Montenello- Heading east from Puerto Plata, you'll hit the small town of Montenello. Montenello is where you could go after you've learned the ropes a little and want to see a real DR town. No expats, no tourists there. Night life there is fun, a little more dangerous, but a good experience to see.
Sosua/ Cabarete- Sosua and Cabarete, and all the little communities inbetween make up a distinct area of Dominicans, Expats, and Tourists. If I were, this is where I would start. The two cities are incredibally different in personality, and both offer great, but different experiences. Simply put, Sosua is a little more trashy, Cabarete a little more hippy/surfer. Sosua night life is alot of fun, Sosua is where you go to stay out a little later, party a little harder, and get more of a Dominican experience. There are still a ton of expats, expat restaurants, and english speakers. Cabarete is going to be a little more 'high dollar', it's where you go to have a nice sea food meal on the beach, do some shopping, and watch the kite surfers.
East of Cabarete, you find a few medium sized towns. Mostly Dominican towns, which are fun to see. Yo can go to Gri Gri lagoon, where they will take you to an awesome beach, Playa Grande is a little farther, but also a good experience.
Santiago, is the second largest town in the DR. It's pretty big, and very busy. It is considered a middle class town, not a lot of tourists, and very few expats. I've always felt very safe in Santiago, and it is a nice place to go to interact with middle class Dominicans (who aren't out to get your Gringo dollars), see some American restaurants, and do your big shopping. This is probably also where you will want to fly into, as it is far cheaper than the Puerto Plata Airport. The taxi from STI to Sosua is about US$100
Okay, so you've decided you want to stay in the Sosua/ Cabarete area for you first couple months!
Real Estate
Prices vary by the size of the place, what time of community it is in, apartment vs. villa, closesness to the ocean, the amount of Presedente consumed the day the listing agent posted the property, and the relative wind speed. $700 a month would get you a pretty darn nice place. It all depends on where you look, what you want, and who you talk to. My last place was a 5 bedroom villa with a pool, a three minute walk from the ocean, and I paid $1,250 a month.
To get a place, you will want to join the
Everything Cabarete and
Everything Sosua facebook pages. There you post what you are looking for, and every listing agent in the area, and their cousin, will have a place for you to stay. I would highly recommend you stay in a hotel your first couple days here, and set up appointments to see the properties. The end of March, is the start of the end of tourist season, so there should be plenty available. You can also search on these facebook pages for rentals, to get an idea of what you are looking at. Before you agree to a place, test EVERYTHING. The hot water, flush all the toilets, turn on every light, lock the doors, kick ALL the tires. Ask if there is water/ 24 electricity, an inverter, a back up generator. Pay only one month at a time, do not pay for your whole stay up front.
If you google search properties, and look at agents web pages, know that they are notoriously bad about not updating thier pages and the property you are looking at probably isn't available. Also, the pictures you are looking at of the property were most likely taken years ago, when the place was at it's best. Half that furniture is gone!
For a long term rental, if they don't list a monthly price, offer about 7-10 days of the nightly price, or about 125% of the weekly. Electricity is expensive here, depending on where you rent it may not be 24/7. Expect to pay electricity, maybe cable/internet
Getting Around
Private taxis can get a little expensive if you use them alot. Still not nearly what you'd pay in the US. If you look on those facebook pages, you can get the numbers of a couple local, english speaking, taxi drivers.
Motoconchos, this is fun. Dominicans without cars travel short distances via motoconchos. They ride on the back of a small motorcycle. You get get around down, or from your place to downtown by just standing on the street and waiting for someone with a motorcycle to stop and pick you up. These run about RD$40- 100, always negotiate the price BEFORE you get on.
Carros Publicos/ Guagua. The public taxis run specific route, e.g. Puerto Plata to Sosua, Sosua to Cabarete. You can either go to a taxi stand to get in one, or if you are on a main road, you stand on the side of the road with your hand up and one will stop for you. They have a taxi sign on top that says their route. You get in (sometimes cram, they fit 6 people in a small Honda), tell them where you want to go, and hand them pesos. Puerto Plata to Sosua is RD$50, Sosua to Cabarete is RD$30.
Buy a moto. If you are a little more adventourus, you can buy your own little motorcycle for your stay, and sell it when you leave. Expect to pay US$200-600 for a good little motorcylce or scooter. I road motorcycle in the US, and have one here, and to be honest I actually feel safer here. Being on a motorcycle in the DR is more like riding a bicycle. And unlike the US, they are everywhere, so people are actually looking out for you.
Rental Car: You can rent a car, either through a place like Avis or one of the Dominican places. If you go to downtown Sosua or Cabarete, you'll see them everywhere. Expect to pay $US22-50 a day for a 2005ish CRV like SUV.
Food:
There are three grocery stores in the area, all pretty nice and similar to what you'd see in an American grocery store. Food is a little more expensive, you will pay more than you've budgeted for food. Taxes on food are 12-18%, also. Always check to make sure it isn't expired, not rotten, the meat doesn't smell bad, and buying the larger (bulk) item doesn't always save you money
I consider this area to have one of the most diverse selection of restaurants I have ever seen. Many expats from all over the world come here and open restaurants. You can get anything you want! A domincan plate of the day, consiting of chicken, rice, and beans will run you about RD$150 and leave you full. Or you can walk 10 feet, and have a $25 sea food meal with amazing wine. If your not picky about drinks, you can order a bottle of rum and a bottle of coke right to your table, and it'll save you a bunch of money. Do not be afraid to order off of the trucks/ carts/ tiny little hole in the wall restaurants. I've eaten at them all! The only time I have gotten sick here was when I went to an AI, and once at a very nice restaurant in Puerto Plata.
Healthcare:
I'd recommend a travel insurance policy. Medical care on the North Coast is not so great. Santiago and Santo Domingo have some great hospitals, but they are far away. You can check out
International SOS and
IMG for travel policies. There isn't really any ambulance service, if you get hurt, they will throw you in the back of a truck and bring you to the hospital. There are a couple clinics in the area, but be cautious.
Communication:
Most places you rent will have WiFi, you'll probably want to get a local cell phone. You can walk into an Orange or Claro cell phone shop (they are everywhere) with your passport and get a cheap nokia and a sim for around US$20. Just add some minutes, and you are good to go.
Try
Duolingo for your Spanish. I really like it! The more Spanish you speak, the cheaper things will be. Negotiate everything!
My ADD is kicking in, that is all I have for now!