Looking for info on Juan Dolio

Your best resource would be a poster called Matilda. If she doesn't come on & see this, you might want to PM her.

cookiedog said:

My wife and I are considering moving to the Juan Dolio area with our two young children,age 5 and 8. I was there for holidays in Feb/08 and fell in love with the country and the people. We are thinking of spending 4 months down there first,Nov/09 until March/2010 to see if we really like it. What I am looking for is information and opinions on apartments for rent,schools, and general info a person should know before considering a move down there. We currently live in western canada,so we realize it would be a huge change.

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Hi Cookiedog,
Happy New Year!!!!
I live in JD with my family and I used to live in Edmonton but that was a long time ago.
Life is pretty good here, quite just the way I like it with a beautiful beach and one is close to the capital and San Pedro.
My daughter goes to the Villas del Mar School, it?s Pre-School and that?s pretty good. Don?t have experience with the Junior- and High school part of it but I heard good reviews and also about another international school in San Pedro.
Are you also going to work here?
What kind of an apartment you?re looking for?
How many kids you have?
I manage apartments on the beach as well as apartments and villas in the Metro Country Club.
If you have some specific questions I?ll be more than happy to answer them.
Brgds
Frank

Apartments range from around 400 us$ a month to 2000 us$ a month depending on what you want. You can get a 2 bed apt in a secure complex with a pool for around 500us$ a month. You would normally have to pay 2 or 3 months deposit. The apartments are often full from November so you may have to book beforehand. On top of this you will have to pay for electricity and cable and internet.

The other option would be to stay in an aparthotel where the price would include all services but this wouldbe more expensive.

There are two good private english schools in the area -Villas delMar in Juan Dolio which is a Christian school and Los Pininos in San pedro- the local town around 5 miles away. Both have good reputations.

There are quite a few canadians working here. One at the school Villas del Marand another in the Free Zone in San Pedro in Customer Services. Not sure which part of Canada they are from though!!! We also have many snowbirds who come just forthe winter.

As far as work is concerned that is where it gets a little bit difficult. The best paying jobs are in the private schools as a teacher or in Customer Services in the Free Zone. Both pay around 700-800 us$ a month. You are unlikely to get anything in construction as although Juan Dolio is full ofconstruction - the Haitian workers really have it tied up and I doubt you would want to work for 8 us$ a day!!

You could always go freelance as many of us expats here would love to have our houses fixed by someone who knew what they were doing!!!

So overall Juan Dolio would be a nice safe quiet palce for you and the children. There are some english speaking children the same age for them to play with. The Capital is only 45 mins away. The beach is lovely. Good supermarkets only 5 miles away.

If you want to know anything else or need more info on apartments on the school then just send me a private message.

Matilda

cookiedog said:

Hi Frank
Happy New Year
Thanks for the reply. I was hoping to find someone from Canada that has moved there. My wife and I and our two children (5 year old girl and 8 year old boy) currently live in Penticton BC. We would like to spend approx 4 months there this year,(Nov 1/09-Mar 1/2010.
We are looking for a nice clean apartment,(2-3 bedroom) nothing fancy, just clean and safe. If you could give me some examples of prices would be great!
As for working down there, what kind of work is available,and what kind of wages could a person expect? I know the wages there are not quite what we are used to here in Canada. I've been in the construction trade here for 20 years,but am quite versatile in what I can do.
I have also read quite a few good reports on the Villas del Mar school. I'm sure it's quite differant from our schools in Canada, but young children adapt quickly.
I would love to hear some of the pro's and con's you and your family have encountered moving there from Canada.

Thank for now
(cookiedog)
Lee

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Didn't move from Canada to here. Lived in Canada from 1980-86 and since then I've lived in 4 different countries.
Took a risk coming here but was fortunate to find a good position with one of the largest companies in the DR but in construction as Matilda explains it will be hard to find something.
Do you speak Spanish? If not you're going to have a difficult time to land a job it's not an easy country to live and make a living.
By the way what were you thinking of spending on rent?
Don't know if you know our apartments but for more info plse visit our website: Home - www.rentalmetrocountry.com
You can also check with Dre, he's on this forum and has also quite a few nice apartments for rent.
http://www.guesthouse-holland.net.ms/
Let me know if you have anymore questions
Brgds

Responding to CookieDog

We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom in Guavaberry, Juan Dolio which we use a couple of times a year. Not sure where this physically registers with the school areas you are talking about, etc. We have owned for a couple of years and were the first phase of Townhouses with a fab pool area. It's quiet in the summer, but Phase 2 was completed and sold to Santo Domingo business families and it is fun, but busy on the weekends.

We have never rented before, but have all the bells and whistles available for your time frame at the end of the year.

Being in my 50's, I don't have any information about schools etc., but you certainly rec'd info about that aspect.

We spent 10 days there at the end of October, and I hated to leave!!!

Good luck inyour venture

cookiedog said:

My wife and I are considering moving to the Juan Dolio area with our two young children,age 5 and 8. I was there for holidays in Feb/08 and fell in love with the country and the people. We are thinking of spending 4 months down there first,Nov/09 until March/2010 to see if we really like it. What I am looking for is information and opinions on apartments for rent,schools, and general info a person should know before considering a move down there. We currently live in western canada,so we realize it would be a huge change.

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Hello Lee,

Welcome to the Juan Dolio forum and congratulations with you ability to move your family from Canada to the DR.

Would you consider doing your "pilot test" when school is out? At that time "the tide will run out, and you will be able to see who is swimming with out their clothes". Also you will experience JD more as a "local" during the low season with "natives" and different weather conditions.

I rented a villa in Guavaberry and a small house on the beach, each area
has its advantages. I would take a look at where children would benefit most.

Good luck and enjoy Juan Dolio!

cookiedog said:

The reason we want to spend Nov-Mar there is because I have a bussiness here in Canada that is very busy from about April-Oct. It shuts right down for the winter months. So I figure if I'm sitting at home all winter being Mr mom I could do that somewhere warm!! We definately want to go where is best for the kids! I have done a lot of research and it seems like Juan Dolio is quite family friendly.

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Hi Cookiedog, two of my kids are 4 and 10 and it would be nice to meet you when you're here. If you need any info you can always PM me.
Ciao