Moving to Santo Domingo late 2007

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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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Hello to all: Have discovered this little gem of a site and was looking for opinions on the choice of living in a house vs apartment in Santo Domingo. The DH will be transferred (company ex-pat terms) and currently live in Panama so already understand the "Latin" feel of the region. However, in Panama, I would never live in a "stand alone" home--only a gated community because of the armed break-ins that are on the rise. Currently we live in an apt (hubby frequent traveler + unaware of gated communities when we got here) and am really hoping to be in a house in SD for our small kids to get outside without having to leave the home all the time. I have read about the areas close to the Parque Mirador del Sur which sound great, but hubby will be working in the area of Serralla and Lope de Vega so don't know about what that commute is like to/from. We both will have cars and fortunately, we have generous pkg for housing so after reading what rents go for usually at this site, I am hoping to have a lot of choices. We're in our mid- 30s with 2 kids under 4.

So, specifically:

1) Are there gated communities in Santo Domingo?
2) Are there frequent break-ins/armed instrusions with/without people in house?
3) Of the un-gated areas (should there be a difference) what are the ones that have better secured areas? Neighborhood watch?
4) Is an apartment just an overall better deal because of nice social areas and other amenities to use and, of course, safer with restricted entry?

Hope that provides enough info to get started. Please don't take the gated community issue as if we don't want to get to know locals. However, with a frequently traveling husband, I will be alone a lot and our safety comes before anything.

Also, what about potable water? Is it treated at your house so you can drink from faucet, or should I start telling my kids not to drink from the tap now to practice so it's not a shock when we get there and it really matters?

Thank you in advance for any help. Hubby just left SD today for a biz trip and told me how gorgeous it is there. Can't wait to move!
 
La Profe_1

La Profe_1

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Oct 15, 2003
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Many of us live on the North Coast or areas other than Santo Domingo. Those who know will chime in, but yes the faucet water is not potable. Filtered water is easily and cheaply available.

It is probably a good idea to have the kids begin drinking filtered water there. Standard opinion is to use filtered water for tooth-brushing too.
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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La Profe_1 said:
Many of us live on the North Coast or areas other than Santo Domingo. Those who know will chime in, but yes the faucet water is not potable. Filtered water is easily and cheaply available.

It is probably a good idea to have the kids begin drinking filtered water there. Standard opinion is to use filtered water for tooth-brushing too.
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Ah, I see. Thanks for the reply. So this forum is similar to the Panamanian ones where most of the ex-pats are in Boquete and David and Bocas del Toro areas (as retirees) and not Panama City. Bummer. Want to get a good start on living area because when we come up to look for living quarters, it'll only be for a weekend. I do have one friend there (Dominican herself), but can't discuss this stuff with her yet because it's not public in the company we could be going. Part of our decision to come is based on if we can get decent housing.
 
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Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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I'll have a go at answering the questions. I'm one of the rare but not lesser spotted Santo Domingo-based DR1ers, and have lived in that part of town, but I live in Mirador Sur now.

1) Are there gated communities in Santo Domingo?
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Yes, and one of the areas with a few gated communities is called Arroyo Hondo and is not too far from Serralles/Lope de Vega area. You won't be isolating yourself from the locals as most of your neighbours in these urbanisations will be middle/upper middle class Dominicans.

2) Are there frequent break-ins/armed instrusions with/without people in house?
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It happens, but I wouldn't say frequent. Crime has got worse, but it's still not too bad by Latin American standards.

3) Of the un-gated areas (should there be a difference) what are the ones that have better secured areas? Neighborhood watch?
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The upscale areas are all about the same as far as security is concerned. Practically every "good" part of town has a "problem" area nearby, and is vulnerable to crime to some extent. Buildings in areas like Seralles will have good security, as will individual houses - but in the latter case it would be up to you to decide whether you need an actual guard. Some neighbourhoods have a "Junta de Vecinos" - residents association - but these don't function as a neighbourhood watch, although they might lobby the police to increase patrols in the area, as ours did.

4) Is an apartment just an overall better deal because of nice social areas and other amenities to use and, of course, safer with restricted entry?
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Depends on the building - some are very plush but have no shared amenities, others have some sort of garden/patio/play area/pool - if this important to you bear in mind that not every building will have these and you have to emphasise to the agent that this is a priority. The main advantages of an apartment compared to a house are security, less work/responsibilities and lower costs. On the downside, some buildings have a problem with people not paying their community fees, which can lead to serious problems when things start breaking down, the guard/cleaner/gardener needs paying...

I would suggest you stick to the Arroyo Hondo/Seralles/Paraiso/Naco/Piantini areas. Arroyo Hondo has the Botanic Gardens, Seralles and Naco have small parks - not quite Parque Mirador but very nice green areas the size of a city block where children can run around and play. It's a nice, centrally located area and all the good shops, supermarkets and many good restaurants are in that area. Many of the good schools/pre-schools are in those areas too.

If you have your heart set on Mirador Sur/Bella Vista, it's a 15-30 minute drive away depending on traffic.
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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Thank you so much for your funny and very detailed reply. It was just the kind of info I was hoping someone would be willing to share. We are 95% sure on coming to the DR (even over Madrid and Mexico City) because of the gorgeous beaches and laid back way of life and have been told the people are fantastic there.
 
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DAKRA

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Feb 21, 2007
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Renwaa - What type of work does hubby do? - I am a frequent vacationer to DR and I love it. Wish I had a job that would transfer me to DR.

Best of luck!
:squareeye
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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DAKRA said:
Renwaa - What type of work does hubby do? - I am a frequent vacationer to DR and I love it. Wish I had a job that would transfer me to DR.

Best of luck!
:squareeye
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Hi, I wish I could say, but don't want to because of the area I said he'd be and it may not be hard to figure it out if anyone from that office uses this site as a resource. However, it is a fantastic career and we both do it...just for now his job is the primary one because I'm raising the kids and enjoying being the ex-pat wife. It has been a good life so far even with the sacrifice of family not being anywhere nearby. The DR looks so incredibly beautiful and I'm desperate to get to the Boca Chica area and put our kids on the beach. You can't do that in Panama because of the hard and dangerous Pacific surf and the Caribbean side isn't really developed. Hard trek for small kids.
 
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GringoCArlos

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Jan 9, 2002
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I too would vote for the Serralles area to look for an apartment in a high-rise. More secure, close enough for hubby to come home for lunch when he`s in town, close to good supermarkets, shopping and banks, and secure. Many other good choices closeby in Piantini and Naco, as well as two of the best clinicas - Clinica Abel Gonzalez and Corazones Unidos, with capable staff.

The Botanical Park is within 5 minutes and seems safer than the Mirador Sur area if you want to go out with the kids to a green area. Normal big-city precautions will keep you safe here - just keep an eye out on your surrondings and the people around you and you will be fine.

Boca Chica is about an hour away to the east for a beach.
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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GringoCArlos said:
I too would vote for the Serralles area to look for an apartment in a high-rise. More secure, close enough for hubby to come home for lunch when he`s in town, close to good supermarkets, shopping and banks, and secure. Many other good choices closeby in Piantini and Naco, as well as two of the best clinicas - Clinica Abel Gonzalez and Corazones Unidos, with capable staff.

The Botanical Park is within 5 minutes and seems safer than the Mirador Sur area if you want to go out with the kids to a green area. Normal big-city precautions will keep you safe here - just keep an eye out on your surrondings and the people around you and you will be fine.

Boca Chica is about an hour away to the east for a beach.
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Thanks for the input, GringoCArlos. I think I'll be telling the realtor to keep us in those more northern areas by Serrallas.

By the way, what are the tv cable/satellite systems available? Are there web sites to see the channels they offer so in case we have to make a quick decision on a service (like we did here), we can be prepared.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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Mods, I just realized I posted this thread and my other about what to do on the weekends under "Travel" and not "Living". They would've been more appropriate there. Apologies for the mistake and will be more careful next time.
 
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Renwaa

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Jun 5, 2007
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Chirimoya said:
Telecable

www.aster.com.do

Don't know what's with the Aster site, but that's the other cable company.
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Telecable is OUTSTANDING!
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I am thrilled to see all the American alphabet channels and FoxNews (don't have NBC here). Gotta feed my "LOST" fix when it starts again and see "24" is on at the same time as here in Panama so we're probably on the same schedule too! (today is episode 7 or 8 for season 6). We're going with Telecable for sure.

Gracias usted cada uno por la informaci?n maravillosa.
 
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