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Tiff2015

New member
Mar 3, 2015
81
0
0
Hi, you're probably going to be hearing alot from me in the months to come. My husband and I are planning on retiring within the next 2 years in Sosua with my 7 year old daughter. He is 50 and I am 44, we are hoping to start some type of small business there. I plan on sending my daughter to the ISS school and would love some info about the closest nicer neighbourhoods to look at renting a vila near the school. We have planned this for over 8 years, as we are tired of cold canadian winters. We go down almost every winter and feel we should be able to acclimate :) We originally considered buying, but after speaking with other expats have decided on renting, at least for 6 mos to a year. If there are other canadians would love to hear your experience with customs brokers, whether it was difficult to import your stuff onto the island, and any tips and helpful info you could share. Also info on health care insurance, good places to buy steak and cheese lol..(love my canadian cheddar). We did checkout the big (walmart) like dept store in Puerto plata last year. TIA for any help and lookinfg forward to getting to know you all :)
 
Jul 28, 2014
1,718
0
0
I have a friend who works in the International School and another one who is trying to become a gym teacher in there
 

Ron Anjero

New member
Aug 8, 2013
149
0
0
Welcome Tiff. You'll get a lot of information. Pick through it and best wishes on your move here.
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Hi, you're probably going to be hearing alot from me in the months to come. My husband and I are planning on retiring within the next 2 years in Sosua with my 7 year old daughter. He is 50 and I am 44, we are hoping to start some type of small business there. I plan on sending my daughter to the ISS school and would love some info about the closest nicer neighbourhoods to look at renting a vila near the school. We have planned this for over 8 years, as we are tired of cold canadian winters. We go down almost every winter and feel we should be able to acclimate :) We originally considered buying, but after speaking with other expats have decided on renting, at least for 6 mos to a year. If there are other canadians would love to hear your experience with customs brokers, whether it was difficult to import your stuff onto the island, and any tips and helpful info you could share. Also info on health care insurance, good places to buy steak and cheese lol..(love my canadian cheddar). We did checkout the big (walmart) like dept store in Puerto plata last year. TIA for any help and lookinfg forward to getting to know you all :)

Welcome. Reading your post I had a number of questions pop up immediately. First of all, why Sosua? Secondly, You seem very young to "retire". Are you financially set? I'm assuming that you are going to give up your Canadian Health Care Benefits? It is very difficult for "gringos" to start a business in the DR and make it work. If you are moving to the DR permanently you will need to apply for temporary residency. This involves documents that you bring from Canada, such as, birth certificates, marriage licenses, fingerprints and criminal background check. You need to go through your closest DR Consulate in Canada and find out all the requirements and the process. In the DR you will need to hire an attorney to file your documents. This is not cheap and will cost you about $900-$1200 per person. Vacationing in the DR is one thing. Living here full time is another. Are you bi-lingual? Do you speak Spanish or maybe French? There is a lot to consider for a move and it is hard to pick up and go back once you have done it. I am sure there will be many chiming in with info and opinions. Good luck.
 

mofongoloco

Silver
Feb 7, 2013
3,002
9
38
Welcome tiff. Read your other thread. Don't be dismayed by naysayers. Pay close attention. I learned well from this forum.
 

sosuamatt

Bronze
Jul 29, 2013
912
13
38
Welcome to DR1. Bring a thick skin and a sense of humour. We are retired Canadians but only spend 3-4 months here. With a 7 year old daughter you are obviously not retired, at least at your age. If you are... congratulations. Rent and there are several people on this site that have a lot of knowledge on the north coast. We love Sosua despite the naysayers.
 

rfp

Gold
Jul 5, 2010
1,402
137
63
I would not burn any bridges and I would just hope that real estate in vancouver doesnt keep going up, if it does you have no chance of going home when you finally give up on "paradise". All that glitters isnt gold. Think about your child, do you want her tgrow up with no friends?
 

Tiff2015

New member
Mar 3, 2015
81
0
0
I would not burn any bridges and I would just hope that real estate in vancouver doesnt keep going up, if it does you have no chance of going home when you finally give up on "paradise". All that glitters isnt gold. Think about your child, do you want her tgrow up with no friends?

Actually I am from Toronto. And why would my daughter grow up with no friends?
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Your plan is certainly do'able. Obviously you will need to make several trips here between now and moving day. Find a decent immigration lawyer and start your residency process early. You'll want to have as much of that process completed as possible before you actually arrive for good. It's a pain having to travel to Santo Domingo for residency stuff when you are unpacking and settling in.

Available rental properties listed on the internet are notoriously out of date. What is listed as being available usually isn't. There are several decent rental agencies in Sosua that you can check out on one of your trips down and they can help you find whatever type of accommodation you are looking for.

Don't worry too much about the prostitution. It's like anywhere else, the girls target single white males predominantly at night and in locations one would expect such as bars and on the main drag. They have no interest in accosting families or kids. Fornication is not occurring on every street corner.

You might even consider storing your belongings with a moving company at home until you are ready to send for it if you haven't found the perfect house. You may have difficulty finding what you are looking for that comes with a 3 month lease. Better rent and properties usually entail a minimum 12 month commitment.

Make sure your vaccinations are up to date, get a family plan for medical insurance here (cheaper than a NA purchased plan). See your dentist and get any work done before you leave so you don't have to deal with those issues immediately after arriving here. Expect some culture shock and not a whole lot for your daughter to do until her Spanish improves to the point of being able to communicate with the majority of local kids. She'll make English speaking friends at school but they may not live close by. Public transportation is nothing like at home. Your comfort level for getting your daughter around may well require lots of driving on your part. Local kids use moto-conchos and guaguas but not so much the foreigners.

TV is not a problem nor is internet access. Gated communities can offer a higher degree of security but there are no guarantees anywhere. Swimming pools and kids that can't swim well pose their own set of challenges as there are no fences around them like at home. A 9 year old is old enough to adapt well and not so old that she will make your life hell for uprooting her.

Groceries are expensive if one chooses to duplicate the tastes of home. Bring lots of big jars of Peanut butter with you. The jars are cheaper and bigger at home. Being able to speak some Spanish before you get here is a big help. If you have two years, start taking lessons and speaking Spanish at home to practice. Lots of English spoken around Sosua by all the foreigners but the DR is not a bilingual country so clerks in stores, people at offices and Govt departments may speak limited English or none at all.

The cost of electricity is equal to or higher than at home, especially if you have a pool to maintain and air conditioning. Most stoves/ovens use propane and are smaller than what you may be used to. I know I can't get a big whole turkey in mine but a chicken fits no problem. For books and reading material, everyone should have a kindle or similar device. Lot's of free books on Amazon and the internet. No library's here. Even fewer English books. Used bookstores are available, but gone are the days of $0.25 soft cover books from church/garage sales.

Most things here seem harder and definitely take longer to accomplish. Patience and an acceptance that life will be different are a must. There are lots of people to meet and help/support to be had you just have to ask and be prepared to understand that not every tidbit of info/advice will apply to you or even be correct.

When you first arrive, expect to spend more than you think. You will find things you need to buy and things you need to fix. Plan on a monthly living cost of at least 2/3 of what you are spending at home. Some expenses are discretionary, others are not. Some things can be compromised, others cannot.

Good luck.
 

Tiff2015

New member
Mar 3, 2015
81
0
0
Well thank you for the encouraging words!! This is something we truly feel we will be able to do. I know there are many fly by nights..but we truly cant afford to maintain our lifestyle in Canada once my hubby takes his pension, so we will find a way to make
it work one way or another. My husband hs spent 30 years of his life isn the general motors plant and deserves a break. We had a child late in life and I am only 44, so I'll need to find some sort of work, hoping to get on with an airline here before I move. Yes learning spanish is a must and I have started, but only speak a little at present. Still need to find out the ins and outs of residency there because i think it affects our canada pension plan if we take that elsewhere..so thats a big deal. We can live there anyway if we dont i'm sure..it'll just be more expensive getting our cargo container in from what I've read..still inquiring about all that. Thanks again :)
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
On one of your trips down, give me a shout. We can meet up and my wife and I will do our best to answer your questions and provide some insight that we have gleaned.

CPP will deduct non-resident tax but by splitting your husbands pension income, you may be able to get most of that back.

Think very carefully before moving here full time without becoming a legal resident. Especially if you plan to open a business or purchase real estate. Without residency you cannot work here and could lose your business if you find yourself having immigration problems in the future. The Int'l school may well need proof of residency for enrollment, but I am just guessing on that point.
 

Tiff2015

New member
Mar 3, 2015
81
0
0
On one of your trips down, give me a shout. We can meet up and my wife and I will do our best to answer your questions and provide some insight that we have gleaned.

CPP will deduct non-resident tax but by splitting your husbands pension income, you may be able to get most of that back.

Think very carefully before moving here full time without becoming a legal resident. Especially if you plan to open a business or purchase real estate. Without residency you cannot work here and could lose your business if you find yourself having immigration problems in the future. The Int'l school may well need proof of residency for enrollment, but I am just guessing on that point.

Thanks darlin!! will def look u up xo
 

charlise

Bronze
Nov 1, 2012
751
0
0
And you can live in the DR without A/C or a pool that will eat a lot of your monthly money. Why live in the South if your house is fr*cking cold Inside ?? What's the point ? Why do complicated when it's so easy to do simple...
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Your plan is certainly do'able. Obviously you will need to make several trips here between now and moving day. Find a decent immigration lawyer and start your residency process early. You'll want to have as much of that process completed as possible before you actually arrive for good. It's a pain having to travel to Santo Domingo for residency stuff when you are unpacking and settling in.

Available rental properties listed on the internet are notoriously out of date. What is listed as being available usually isn't. There are several decent rental agencies in Sosua that you can check out on one of your trips down and they can help you find whatever type of accommodation you are looking for.

Don't worry too much about the prostitution. It's like anywhere else, the girls target single white males predominantly at night and in locations one would expect such as bars and on the main drag. They have no interest in accosting families or kids. Fornication is not occurring on every street corner.

You might even consider storing your belongings with a moving company at home until you are ready to send for it if you haven't found the perfect house. You may have difficulty finding what you are looking for that comes with a 3 month lease. Better rent and properties usually entail a minimum 12 month commitment.

Make sure your vaccinations are up to date, get a family plan for medical insurance here (cheaper than a NA purchased plan). See your dentist and get any work done before you leave so you don't have to deal with those issues immediately after arriving here. Expect some culture shock and not a whole lot for your daughter to do until her Spanish improves to the point of being able to communicate with the majority of local kids. She'll make English speaking friends at school but they may not live close by. Public transportation is nothing like at home. Your comfort level for getting your daughter around may well require lots of driving on your part. Local kids use moto-conchos and guaguas but not so much the foreigners.

TV is not a problem nor is internet access. Gated communities can offer a higher degree of security but there are no guarantees anywhere. Swimming pools and kids that can't swim well pose their own set of challenges as there are no fences around them like at home. A 9 year old is old enough to adapt well and not so old that she will make your life hell for uprooting her.

Groceries are expensive if one chooses to duplicate the tastes of home. Bring lots of big jars of Peanut butter with you. The jars are cheaper and bigger at home. Being able to speak some Spanish before you get here is a big help. If you have two years, start taking lessons and speaking Spanish at home to practice. Lots of English spoken around Sosua by all the foreigners but the DR is not a bilingual country so clerks in stores, people at offices and Govt departments may speak limited English or none at all.

The cost of electricity is equal to or higher than at home, especially if you have a pool to maintain and air conditioning. Most stoves/ovens use propane and are smaller than what you may be used to. I know I can't get a big whole turkey in mine but a chicken fits no problem. For books and reading material, everyone should have a kindle or similar device. Lot's of free books on Amazon and the internet. No library's here. Even fewer English books. Used bookstores are available, but gone are the days of $0.25 soft cover books from church/garage sales.

Most things here seem harder and definitely take longer to accomplish. Patience and an acceptance that life will be different are a must. There are lots of people to meet and help/support to be had you just have to ask and be prepared to understand that not every tidbit of info/advice will apply to you or even be correct.

When you first arrive, expect to spend more than you think. You will find things you need to buy and things you need to fix. Plan on a monthly living cost of at least 2/3 of what you are spending at home. Some expenses are discretionary, others are not. Some things can be compromised, others cannot.

Good luck.

This is really great info and advise. It may take longer than two years to get it all together. Be patient and plan. In addition to Sosua I would possibly check out other areas that might work for you.
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
0
36
And you can live in the DR without A/C or a pool that will eat a lot of your monthly money. Why live in the South if your house is fr*cking cold Inside ?? What's the point ? Why do complicated when it's so easy to do simple...

Simple: allergies. AC cleans the air for those of us who have them.