Neighborhoods / Zones Around Santo Domingo

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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Hello!

My family and I are going to be visiting Santo Domingo towards the beginning of September. We are scouting out areas that may be of interest for us to live and would like to get some feedback from those of you that have lived in or around Santo Domingo.

We are open to venturing outside the city, suburbs, even smaller villages. However, having not yet visited the country we are unsure of where to start. Are there any neighborhoods, zones, or areas that one may recommend?

We are a family of four, two younger children, I will be working from the house. This isn't a vacation home or temporary thing. We are open to apartment or condo living, but would like some type of park area close for the kids to play.

In addition, we are considering a larger property / finca type location as well. Anyways, if you have questions, please let me know. We are new to the Dominican Republic and definitely have a lot to learn. Thanks!
 

Anastacio

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Feb 22, 2010
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Unless you need to be in the City then live elsewhere is my advice. The city is hot, noisey, difficult to get around if driving at certain parts of the day. I can't imagine why anyone would live in the city if they could work from home up the coast in a quieter cooler cleaner environment. The Costa Verde is quiet but as soon as you leave the grounds/direct area you are faced with hard core sh1theads with zero respect for anything so you need to drive everywhere to be completely comfortable.
Just my opinion, some decide to live in the city for some reason, even though they don't need anything in the city, I can't understand this at all.

I hope you like the Republic, it can be good, but I'd reserve your decision to live the life until you at least tried to deal with it for a year.
 

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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Unless you need to be in the City then live elsewhere is my advice. The city is hot, noisey, difficult to get around if driving at certain parts of the day. I can't imagine why anyone would live in the city if they could work from home up the coast in a quieter cooler cleaner environment. The Costa Verde is quiet but as soon as you leave the grounds/direct area you are faced with hard core sh1theads with zero respect for anything so you need to drive everywhere to be completely comfortable.
Just my opinion, some decide to live in the city for some reason, even though they don't need anything in the city, I can't understand this at all.

I hope you like the Republic, it can be good, but I'd reserve your decision to live the life until you at least tried to deal with it for a year.

Hey there! Thanks for the reply. We are definitely not sold on the move yet, the trip in September is going to be very telling. We've lived in another Caribbean nation for about a year and would go back if given the opportunity, but at this time visas are not available.

With that said, I am personally more interested in living outside of the city in what I would consider a more suburban area. However, when I look at all the real estate sites, rentals, and other things it seems everything is Santo Domingo, unless you want to go to the north coast.

What are some good areas to look into when we arrive? I'm seeing a lot of postings for:

Arroyo Hondo
Zona Colonial
Bella Vista
Las Praderas
Cuesta Brava
Mirador del Este

On and on...so many postings. If you have areas you really like, please let me know!
 

Expat13

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Jun 7, 2008
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Those are all decent areas but differ. Really depends what you want.

In my opinion, a very important part of area selection should be based on the electricty regularity as this can be expensive and burdonsome even though you live in a nice neighbourhood.

This is not an esy question answer and has an old thread out there speaking about areas and blackouts etc...
 

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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Right - I saw that thread and need to go take a look at it. We definitely need to have high electricity availability. I'm used to blackouts from past living experiences, but the more uptime the better.

If we were looking for a place that is relatively secluded, possibly has some terrain for personal planting, and has access to a main highway, where may one want to look? Or is this feasible?
 

Anastacio

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Feb 22, 2010
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If you check out some of the maps on this site it will give a good idea of how it is set up. Zones, important access roads and so on. I can't help with an area for you as if I had the chance and money I'd move way out of town and probably inland to peace and green stuff with views and rivers!
 

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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That is actually what I'm thinking about looking for - somewhere inland, but I'm just not sure where. Do you already have an area in mind for your inland relocation if given the chance?

I've found a few things north of Santo Domingo, but not much.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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If you leave the city you leave internet access and water and electricity. Simple as that.

I would suggest Santiago for the simple reason that it is still possible to move around at any time of the day...schools, entertainment, churches, shopping is convenient, and living accomodations such as you describe are available.

Two of my dear friends moved out of Sto Domingo because they were spending 4 hours a day in their cars taking and retrieving their children from schools. Here, childred DO NOT walk to school...especially in areas populated by higher incomes.

So, think Punta Cana perhaps, or Puerto Plata, or La Vega...unless there is an iron-clad reason for Santo Domingo, think outside that place!

HB
 

Hashishin

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Aug 4, 2010
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Try Nagua on the North coast. Near Samana, ( another great bet) and Las Terrenas ( so beautiful), tranquillo everything you need, fantastic scenery, check into it!
 

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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We may be putting our older daughter in school here, but have not decided. There is a good chance we'll do some sort of distance schooling, but we are not sure yet.

I'll look at your house link - thanks for posting. =)

What is the airport access like in some of the above mentioned cities away from Santo Domingo? Any airports that fly to other Caribbean ports?
 

Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and La Vega all have airports nearby - but in general you'll find that the DR does not have many direct flights to other Caribbean islands, only to Puerto Rico and Cuba. You usually have to fly via Miami or San Juan.
 

jrennard3

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Jun 30, 2010
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Hey JDJones - the house looks amazing, but we aren't in the market to buy anything of that price at this time. We are going to lease something for awhile first and then look for something to purchase during that time. Are you interested in leasing your property?

I've been browsing around a lot of the real estate sites and it is so difficult to know who is for real and who isn't. There are so many 'real estate agents' and companies posting things. Any recommendations on who to trust or who to watch out for?