Living in Rio San Juan & Cabrera

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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I'll be coming south to rent a house in August. I'm pretty familiar with the area around Puerto Plata, Sosua, Cabarete but not so much with Rio San Juan and Cabrera.

My house hunters have found some interesting properties in RSJ and Cabrera so I am looking for the opinions of those already living in the area. You know the usual stuff like decent grocery stores, markets, intenet/cell service, cable/sat tv service, hardware stores, medical facilities etc.

I would appreciate hearing the good, the bad and the ugly.

Thanks in advance.
 

miguel james

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Nov 6, 2012
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Hey, "Small town DR"...lol I spend a lot of time in those areas RSJ smaller of the two and the people are wonderful. Good place to have lunch is Chirs Restaurant, Laguna Gri Gri, Associate supermarket, Juan colmado and a lot of good beaches in the area Playa Grande to name one. If you are in the area in the next 2 months pm me.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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grocery shopping not that bad in either... excellent local produce.
Trips to Playero are necessary for some items.

We like living there but I find little to no comparison to what I see in POP, Sos, Cab... no tourists to speak of for starters - a few in RSJ but no comparison.
English is spoken less as a result.

Comparison s are hard b/c the life is quite different - slower, more rural perhaps a bit cheaper.

Have you googled the new projects (2) at Playa Grande? or searched them here.
Property could have more upside in this area.
 

cjewell

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Oct 11, 2004
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Hey, "Small town DR"...lol I spend a lot of time in those areas RSJ smaller of the two and the people are wonderful. Good place to have lunch is Chirs Restaurant, Laguna Gri Gri, Associate supermarket, Juan colmado and a lot of good beaches in the area Playa Grande to name one. If you are in the area in the next 2 months pm me.

Might I add - the smaller beach is awesome --- Just before Playa Grande and Laguna Dudu just past Cabrera. Laguna Dudu is one of my favorite places to go swimming - I drive there all the time from Sosua. Crystal clear fresh water and the entrance fee is only 150RD.
 

les1

Member
Feb 1, 2007
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I know RSJ pretty well and have visited cabrera quite a few times.
Both are pretty quiet with few tourists, although the centre of RSJ can get very lively at weekends with a local bar scene.
RSJ has the more obvious attractions with 4 in town beaches, the most popular being Playa Mina next to Bahia Blanca hotel, by far the best hotel in town. There is also un unspoilt beach which is a disused cemetary (Playa de los Muertos) and also a huge beach in front of a fishing barrio.
Food wise there are 3 smallish supermarkets good for buying detergent, cans of food etc etc as well as good imported cheese and salami in the one at the Parada. For chicken you need to go to a Colmado and for meat a butcher and for fish a fish shop. A lot of the fish comes off boats that have been out for over 20 days so is not fresh but deeply chilled. There are a few fish shops selling fresh fish.
As far as I know internet is fine. There were plans to make the whole town a WiFi hot spot but because of political positioning that has got nowhere.
I rent a one bed appartment in a slightly upmarket barrio and it costs 4000 pesos a month, and that is overpriced. I have friendly neighbours who look out for me and my appartment when I'm not there. There is by the way only a latch type lock on the door which can easily be kicked in.
A typical domincan lunch costs between 8- to 120 pesos. dinner in restaurants is more.
In my experience the town is safe, you can (touch wood) walk home late at night safely.
Any questions ask me
 

les1

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Feb 1, 2007
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Adding to my post on RSJ - Cabrera has a different feel. RSJ is a country seaside town and until recently has many dirt roads and still has a very laid back feel. There is a significant French community and they stay for the most part in their enclaves in the hills and only venture into town to shop, with a few exceptions. Cabrera has no in town beaches but has a promenade by a steep cliff. It seems to be a richer town and very well managed by the local government. There does not seem to be many or any poor barrios unlike RSJ. There is an expat community, Americans I'm told. It is an attractive place with a different feel to RSJ. It is quieter and a number of residents come to RSJ at weekends to party. For some reason there is a significant gay community.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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adding to les1... thanks to the French influence, the croissants are better in RSJ than Cabrera.... but both have them.
French loaves too - baguettes, sell out early
 

TravelHippo

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Mar 24, 2008
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Have lived in downtown Cabrera area for past 6 years... love it here!! To answer your specific questions.. the new(ish) grocery store in town is really good, a huge improvement to anything we had before that. The owner is great as well and will get in items if requested. Enough good fruit and veg markets around town as well with most anything you need (that is local, not imported). Cell service is good, same as anywhere in the country I would imagine. We never have any issues. We have satellite TV which is pretty expensive but important to us, especially my husband for his soccer. There are cheaper options like Claro cable which still has several English channels. Good hardware stores.. quite a few small ones and one big one. Can get most things but occasionally I do need to go a bit further for items. Medical facilities are the only thing from your list that really aren't good here in Cabrera. I wouldn't go to the local clinics for much of anything, but there are fairly decent clinics 30 minutes away in Nagua or much better clinics even further away.

We absolutely love the town and the people and wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any specific questions about Cabrera.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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adding to les1... thanks to the French influence, the croissants are better in RSJ than Cabrera.... but both have them.
French loaves too - baguettes, sell out early

thinking further (which I rarely do ! ).... RSJ restaurants are better.

I suppose my biggest knock on Cabrera is the quality of the restaurants -- lack of, actually.

The Hippo may agree/disagree...

The lack of tourists inhibits the restaurant sector, I guess

Overall however, I'm in agreement w/ the Hippo
 

Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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Thanks for the replies. It will be just my wife and I. We're not really beach people. Once in awhile is fun but not every other Tuesday. :classic:

We're Canadian, and I speak a fair amount of French, a little German but even less Spanish - we'll work on that Spanish out of necessity.

We're quiet people. All we need is a nice place to live, a few English speaking neighbors to bump into occasionally to take a break from our struggles in Spanish. I plan to lose some weight so we'll be eating simply, lots of fruit, veggies, chicken & fish. No fast food restaurants would definitely be a bonus! We won't have a vehicle when we arrive and our bicycles will arrive 6 - 8 weeks after we do. So transportation will be a bit of a challenge initially. I will probably buy a little scooter before I buy a car or a pickup.

I'd like to find a dock where I can toss a line in the water as an excuse to drink a few cervezas. A few decent restaurants for the occasional evening out would be great. I'm an internet junky so hopefully I can find a plan that doesn't necessitate me having to get a job to pay for my affinity for downloading my North American TV shows.

I think that Sosua with all the daily activity and tourists would be a bit much. Someone mentioned Playero; I assume that's a store in Sosua? How long is the drive from Cabrera to Sosua?

So all in all, we are looking for a nice, quiet, safe place to acclimate to our new environment that isn't in the campo. When I need a 2 1/2 inch nail, I don't want to have it shipped in from somewhere. When I smash my thumb pounding in that nail, I'd prefer if decent medical facilities are relatively close by (we have good insurance coverage) and when I'm recuperating from my injury, I must have access to copious amounts of carbonated hydration fluids while engaging in physical therapy with a deck of cards or a backgammon board.

We are quite flexible with our location. I thought Rio San Juan is about as far east as I would want to live, but Cabrera sounds like it is worth considering. Having access to some friendly expats would certainly come in handy as I have already started a list of questions:

1) I'm at the end of my driveway, the grocery store is left or right?
2) Who do I call to get water delivered?
3) Before I can get water delivered where do I go to get a sim card for my phone so I can call for water?
4) Screw it, I need to hire a personal assistant to help me out, Know anyone? :D
 
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william webster

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either RSJ or Cabrera will suit you -- there isn't much anything much further east.

You can fish in the lagoon at RSJ

Your weight watchers program is the only way you will be able to eat and green grocers are plentiful.
yes Playero is a larger supermarket an hour away in Sosua.

MEdical attention in both is adequate for most minor sufferings.

RSJ speaks more French than Cabrera- and German too, I suspect.

Everything is available for delivery with the right connection and that is easy.
The landlord should be able to help.

Scooter? buy in Gaspar Hernandez probably -- 1/2 hr away
You can use the local motoconcho.... scooter taxis.... cheap, easy & helpful

Hmmmm, downloading might be a problem depending on the Internet... bandwidth can be problematic.
SIM card , almost everywhere.

You'll feel your way - two good options in front of you
Remember Samana as an airport.... WestJet and Air Canada fly there.--- 1 hr east nad POP one hour west (POP just 15 minutes farther)
Samana / el Catey airport is preferable -- newer, less traffic , better attitude
 
I

iHavok

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RSJ is a great place to stay, everyone is harmless. Entertainment on the weekends is always exciting. You have several beaches to attend. Lots of place to you rent out & stay.
 
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Cdn_Gringo

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Apr 29, 2014
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My wife & I will be tripping through RSJ & Cabrera looking at rental properties the first week of August. We'll be moving down by the middle of Sept. Looking for a 3 bedroom villa with a pool, nice yard/garden, view, not too far from groceries, watering holes and medical facilities.

Availability to cell service, cable/Sat. TV and decent internet are a must have.
 

william webster

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contact the local Re-Max offices.... Denise in Cabrera has been helpful to me in the past

DR Properties in Cabrera , Miguel or Sebastian , is another.
 

william webster

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Jan 16, 2009
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My wife & I will be tripping through RSJ & Cabrera looking at rental properties the first week of August. We'll be moving down by the middle of Sept. Looking for a 3 bedroom villa with a pool, nice yard/garden, view, not too far from groceries, watering holes and medical facilities.

Availability to cell service, cable/Sat. TV and decent internet are a must have.

you will need transportation..... not much of your needs are in Cabrera proper....or RSJ, afaik