Is it possible?

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
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Hi everyone!

Really need your input!

I spent the first 12 years of my life in the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), lived 1 year in Canada and then moved to the Netherlands. Now, married with 3 children, really yearning for another way of life. My father was Dutch and my mother is Dominican and lives in Bonao.
I really love the freedom of living in the DR. In a couple of hours you're in the mountains, beach, wherever. My children could experience another way of life. With more family around and more help for me. I don't like the feeling of raising my children alone...I believe it takes a village!

I'm an educational psychologist (intelligence testing, dyslexia, giftedness, etc), energy therapist and also a life and business coach. I run 2 private practices. My husband is a mechanical engineer with his own company.

I think the question is...am I just dreaming or is it really possible for us to make the move? I'm thinking of course of the children and schooling. But also, how would I make a living there? Are there jobs available for someonle like me? And for my husband? Would we need to set up businesses there or are we employable? I'm fluent in Spanish, Dutch and English. My husband is fluent in Dutch, English and German.

I do not want to live in Santo Domingo...too crowded for us, so we are thinking of the Puerto Plata/Sosua area.

You're welcome to look at our websites, but they are in Dutch, to get an impression of what we do...

My practice for children and parents: Kinderpraktijk Wijchen Welkom bij Kinderpraktijk Wijchen voor begeleiding en diagnostiek or look at: www.facebook.com/kinderpraktijkwijchen
My practice for adults: www.praktijkbg.nl or look at: www.facebook.com/PraktijkBG
My husband's company: Stako Snijtechniek - Home

Thank you all in advance for any advice/input/help,
Karin
 

D.Rep

Member
Jan 6, 2011
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I always say if you need to work for living in the DR, then stay where you are!
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
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My first reaction for families with children is stay where you are. I'm dutch myself, married and have three children plus one on the way and think many times the Netherlands would have been a better place to raise our children. Especially on the education part.

However in your case: you area of expertise helps you a lot to make sure your children get the right education. Also it shouldn't be difficult to find work in your area, if you aim for the expensive private schools you can let them hire you as a psychologist on a part time basis to different schools. You seem to be of the entrepreneur type, so don't even think of taking a job. Start your companies here.

The only problem I see is that the area where you would like to live is not the best to exercise your profession. Santo Domingo would be better, but I agree that it is too crowded, especially if you come from Wijchen.

By the way: I work for a living here , I am not saying it's easy, but it's doable. I have no capital and if I lose my job we would definitely have to go back, but we are here for 4 years now, and have been here for 8 years in total, and even though things have been tight now and then, we never lacked anything we needed.
 

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
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Hi Mauricio,

Thanks for your reaction (Bedankt!). Where do you work?Live? And where do your children go to school? I went to St.George myself as a child and loved it...it has become very expensive?

What would you say, as a Dutchman, are the positive sides for living in the DR?
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
So...not possible D.Rep? What do you do?

Making a good living working at your profession is unlikely. One reason is that pay is much less here than where you are and the present demand for your services is much less.

Before this country is ready to think about educational psychologists, for example, it has to get more decent teachers. A large number of the teachers are only minimally trained and are not very competent. It is just now starting to think about improving training and evaluating teachers. Also, pay for teachers is low.

Possibly with your training and experience and, more important, your fluency in Spanish, you might find a job as a professor in a university or as a teacher in a school, but the pay will be significantly less than what you could earn where you are.

Many here have a retirement income, others have a business they can run using the internet, others have a variety of income sources in their home country. And some have good positions in the tourist industry working for a hotel chain that pays them a good salary, or for a foreign company that pays them well.

But to come here to live without prior arrangements and assurances you will be paid what you believe you need to give your family the life you want them to have would be foolish, in my opinion.

And the fact you don't want to live in Santo Domingo but in Sosua/Puerto Plata, makes it even more unlikely you could provide for your family as well as you can now.
 

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
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Thank you all for your feedback! Gives us a lot to think about! And thanks for the International School tip, I will certainly look into this as well.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Hi Mauricio,

Thanks for your reaction (Bedankt!). Where do you work?Live? And where do your children go to school? I went to St.George myself as a child and loved it...it has become very expensive?

What would you say, as a Dutchman, are the positive sides for living in the DR?
I work and live in Santo Domingo. My children go to the school of my parents in law (where my wife also works), which is not a high end expensive private school. St. George is a good, but expensive school.

I'm semi-self employed (or a semi-employee) working as a commercial representative for a swedish company.

For me the positive sides for living in the DR is the way I am able to work here (the Netherlands is so institutionalized that it's difficult to organize your work / family life in another way than the way 'you are supposed to' (work from 9-5, monday to friday). Besides the climate from october to march is a reason to not wanting to go back. However, I must add that I (we) think and talk a lot about going back. First because of the education of the children and secondly because economically I was way better of in the Netherlands. However, I know that's partly to blame to my 'lack of initiative'. Enough opportunities have come my way to start a business or partner up with someone who started one, but my 'risk aversion' attitude impeded me to go forward on that.

We are coming to Holland in the summer and I will use that time to determine if we could settle again if we would go back.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Making a good living working at your profession is unlikely. One reason is that pay is much less here than where you are and the present demand for your services is much less.

Before this country is ready to think about educational psychologists, for example, it has to get more decent teachers. A large number of the teachers are only minimally trained and are not very competent. It is just now starting to think about improving training and evaluating teachers. Also, pay for teachers is low.

Possibly with your training and experience and, more important, your fluency in Spanish, you might find a job as a professor in a university or as a teacher in a school, but the pay will be significantly less than what you could earn where you are.

Many here have a retirement income, others have a business they can run using the internet, others have a variety of income sources in their home country. And some have good positions in the tourist industry working for a hotel chain that pays them a good salary, or for a foreign company that pays them well.

But to come here to live without prior arrangements and assurances you will be paid what you believe you need to give your family the life you want them to have would be foolish, in my opinion.

And the fact you don't want to live in Santo Domingo but in Sosua/Puerto Plata, makes it even more unlikely you could provide for your family as well as you can now.

I don't fully agree on this. I think in the capital there is definitely a market for an educational psychologist and I am confident those who send their children to schools that charge USD10,000 per year don't blink an eye paying USD100 for a consult. OP would come with the experience and education of a developed country even a country with one of the best educational systems in the world but has dominican roots.

Besides that, I am kind of close to several people who are working in the educational field and things are changing. I am not talking about the public schools, while things are still as bad there as they have always been, but for the first time I hear from people who are working in the educational system that something has to be done on the national curriculum level. There is a raising awareness that the amount of homework children are bringing home is outrageous and that the amount of homework doesn't mean good education. Nothing of that comes from the government, these are private initiatives, but I definitely see a change of attitude

(is Pichardo coming back anytime soon?)
 

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
17
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0
I work and live in Santo Domingo. My children go to the school of my parents in law (where my wife also works), which is not a high end expensive private school. St. George is a good, but expensive school.

I'm semi-self employed (or a semi-employee) working as a commercial representative for a swedish company.

For me the positive sides for living in the DR is the way I am able to work here (the Netherlands is so institutionalized that it's difficult to organize your work / family life in another way than the way 'you are supposed to' (work from 9-5, monday to friday). Besides the climate from october to march is a reason to not wanting to go back. However, I must add that I (we) think and talk a lot about going back. First because of the education of the children and secondly because economically I was way better of in the Netherlands. However, I know that's partly to blame to my 'lack of initiative'. Enough opportunities have come my way to start a business or partner up with someone who started one, but my 'risk aversion' attitude impeded me to go forward on that.

We are coming to Holland in the summer and I will use that time to determine if we could settle again if we would go back.

Education was the reason we came back to the Netherlands...we were 5 children so when we got older my father decided that we would be better off here.

Guess it is time to win the lottery...;)
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Don't write off Santo Domingo. With your qualifications, think you could apply from abroad to get hired to work at Carol Morgan School. They pay better when hiring from abroad.

Santo Domingo offers more afternoon options to children -- swimming, soccer, the arts.

And you are just one hour from the beaches of La Romana, 2:30 hours from Punta Cana, 2 hours from Samana, one hour to Bonao.

You will remember there is a saying here: "La peor diligence es la que no se hace." The worst errand is that which is not run.

I would start job searching now, contacting places such as the International School of Sosua and also the better paying schools in Santo Domingo to try to get hired from abroad.

Consider La Romana, too (the private school there) and even those in Punta Cana (quiet place for raising family, too).

See this link at Private Schools

Some schools may offer tuition as part of your package, which will be important.

Regarding your husband, depending on his field of work, he may also need to start looking to see where his areas of expertise may apply. I think in his case a job would be best, so he has time to learn the ropes here. See this contact with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. http://www.camaraholandadominicana.com

As said before in this thread, I would not be so concerned about education in your case because you have the skills to supplement any deficiencies and guide your children to adequate knowledge.

I have a son who went to a second tier private school (it was conveniently in back of my house) and he did well when studying a year at a technical school in Torino, Italy and then in Switzerland (in French) as part of the AFS exchange program. I think what is most important is that they learn how to learn. As you know, education never stops in today's constantly changing world.

Contrary to what many on this board may think, good Dominican education is good. This is proven by the thousands of Dominicans that have successfully carried out masters abroad. I think there is no better proof.

So, do not abandon your dreams. In the meantime, do spend summers exploring the country with your family. Maybe on one of those trips you may meet someone who will be the connection to accelerate your plan.
 

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
17
0
0
Don't write off Santo Domingo. With your qualifications, think you could apply from abroad to get hired to work at Carol Morgan School. They pay better when hiring from abroad.

Santo Domingo offers more afternoon options to children -- swimming, soccer, the arts.

And you are just one hour from the beaches of La Romana, 2:30 hours from Punta Cana, 2 hours from Samana, one hour to Bonao.

You will remember there is a saying here: "La peor diligence es la que no se hace." The worst errand is that which is not run.

I would start job searching now, contacting places such as the International School of Sosua and also the better paying schools in Santo Domingo to try to get hired from abroad.

Consider La Romana, too (the private school there) and even those in Punta Cana (quiet place for raising family, too).

See this link at Private Schools

Some schools may offer tuition as part of your package, which will be important.

Regarding your husband, depending on his field of work, he may also need to start looking to see where his areas of expertise may apply. I think in his case a job would be best, so he has time to learn the ropes here. See this contact with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. Document sans nom

As said before in this thread, I would not be so concerned about education in your case because you have the skills to supplement any deficiencies and guide your children to adequate knowledge.

I have a son who went to a second tier private school (it was conveniently in back of my house) and he did well when studying a year at a technical school in Torino, Italy and then in Switzerland (in French) as part of the AFS exchange program. I think what is most important is that they learn how to learn. As you know, education never stops in today's constantly changing world.

Contrary to what many on this board may think, good Dominican education is good. This is proven by the thousands of Dominicans that have successfully carried out masters abroad. I think there is no better proof.

So, do not abandon your dreams. In the meantime, do spend summers exploring the country with your family. Maybe on one of those trips you may meet someone who will be the connection to accelerate your plan.

Wow Dolores! Thank you so much for your constructive feedback and tips. I will not abandon my dreams, but look into it well and consider all the options. My husband would have to learn Spanish, but I don't think it will be a problem for him...when he worked in Romania for a couple of years, he picked that up quickly too.

I hadn't consider Carol Morgan...let's see what they have to offer...and tuition...what a great advice!
 

Karin Monster

New member
Apr 23, 2014
17
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0
I don't fully agree on this. I think in the capital there is definitely a market for an educational psychologist and I am confident those who send their children to schools that charge USD10,000 per year don't blink an eye paying USD100 for a consult. OP would come with the experience and education of a developed country even a country with one of the best educational systems in the world but has dominican roots.

Besides that, I am kind of close to several people who are working in the educational field and things are changing. I am not talking about the public schools, while things are still as bad there as they have always been, but for the first time I hear from people who are working in the educational system that something has to be done on the national curriculum level. There is a raising awareness that the amount of homework children are bringing home is outrageous and that the amount of homework doesn't mean good education. Nothing of that comes from the government, these are private initiatives, but I definitely see a change of attitude

(is Pichardo coming back anytime soon?)

Thanks Mauricio (sorry I disliked by mistake, don't know how to undo it!). Change is inevitable sometimes...and who knows, maybe I can bring some awareness!