Moving to DR with children

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mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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We have been considering a very early retirement with two small children. We have already decided against Jamaica and Mexico, and are seriously focusing on DR. We have not noticed anything regarding income requirements. Are there any, and what areas would anyone look into to raise children in the DR? Any suggestions would be welcomed. We would like to focus our initial visits on areas we would live, rather than going to resorts.
Thanks
mainer
 

Jane J.

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Jan 3, 2002
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Wow. How old are the kids?

Personally, I would suggest Santiago or Santo Domingo - better schools and more activities for children.
 

mainer

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The children are nearly 5 and 8. It would be about two years before we would be ready to move. We think it would take that long to complete our research.
 

Jane J.

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Where are you moving from and do the kids speak any Spanish?

What things put you off of Jamaica and Mexico? And why the DR?

(Lots of questions - sorry...)
 

mainer

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I homeschool my children and we started with a little Spanish. I hope to get a powerglide program in a year or two. It is very hard to find a good Spanish program for such young children.

At risk of offending someone, we did not find Jamaica to be as friendly as we would like. Natives were constantly trying to sell drugs to us. We went outside of the resort areas, and found that the expatriated Americans never felt accepted there.

Mexico is not completely out of the picture. There are income guidlines that we would have to meet. My sister and her family would like to move with us, and they may not be able to meet those guidelines. Also, one of our children has special needs, and we feel they would not be met as well in Mexico.

DR offers good cost-of-living, friendly people, good schools, somewhat adequate healthcare, and has reasonably priced flights to and from the US. It is a larger island where we would not be so confined with different elevations.

Lots and lots to think about. Many on the Mexican forum recommended not bringing children down to live in Mexico. Noone ever really gave a good reason why.
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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I was wondering if you have ever been to the DR. Do your research by all means but you need to be there for more than a couple of weeks before you make such a huge decision.
 

MommC

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Special needs

What kind of special needs does your child have?
You will find very little here in the way of services for "special" needs children and it could be very costly.
My question is with such young children why are you considering such a drastic move? for early retirement??
The US or Canada are much better places to raise children given the level of health care available, schooling and future job opportunities. If you have been successful enough to be able to afford "early retirement" do you not want to give your children the same opportunity?

I think we need Golo, HB and AZB to comment on this one....maybe Criss too!
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'll take my cue from MommC and say, Hello, I'm Hillbilly, a 40 year resident of the DR, who has raised a large-well huge might be a better word-family here.

1) The kids. I would expect that your first answers of Santiago and Santo Domingo could be complimented with others, like La Vega, Moca, Jarabacoa, Mao, since all of them are less than 45 minutes from Santiago, where in two years there will be world class health care available at HOMS-the Metropolitan Hospital of Santiago. There is also more than adequate educational facilities, and commuting is a way of life to you in the States so a 45 minute drive is nothing extraordinary--It gets the juices flowing... There is also an International Airport connected to the rest of the world-NYC, Miami, etc... I am sorry, I do not like Santo Domingo. It is huge (close to 3,000,000), dirty, and very chaotic. It IS the center of the Dominican universe, but I cannot imagine raising children there, although lots of nice people do it every day. It is also very expensive (I would guess at least RD$50,000 for a family of four:: Say $3,500 a month?) And I could be way, way off, if your child's special needs are really very special. On the other hand, it could be done for a good deal less in the smaller cities, with no decrease in the care provided..

There are local groups for Down's, Hemophilia, and other children's special problems. They are a wonderful, tight knit group of ladies that are ferociously guarding their children's health and needs.

2) Housing. Much less expensive in the North, around Santiago. US$500 can get a reasonable 3 BR, 1 1/2 bath, 2 car garage in a nice area, not far from anything...I am presuming that you will be moving all your "stuff" with you as well as your cars-Now that will be an experience, but it is doable if you have patience....

3) Living. there is plenty to get into here: Intense social life, business, NGOs, all sorts of stuff. You have time to plan...

Since this is, indeed, a major decision on your part, I am sure everyone here will counsel prudence and patience as well as a visit to prospective sites.

Feel free to email me with more questions.

A cordial welcome from the HB
 

LOPTKA

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Feb 12, 2002
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Hillbilly

We will be in Tenares which I believe is about an hour from Santiago. I have a 6 year old who is currently in the 1st grade. Are there schools there that are all day or just 1/2 day. Also, I am an RN, are jobs available in the hospital for Americans? I am semi- fluent. Also what is the average pay for that type of job monthly? Also how much does the schools cost. I also have a 2 1/2 year old. Thanks in advance.
 

mkohn

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Although it was a while ago, our family moved to Santiago in the DR, lock stock and barrel.
We were 7 kids, ranging from the age of 14 to 5. The only one who spoke Spanish was our dad. I didn't recognize my own name on the first day of school, but my classmates were helpful, as were the teachers.
By the end of the school year, the youngest had been a flower girl in a neighbor's wedding, and the first grader was learning to read in Spanish. We had made many friends and everybody spoke different "levels" of Spanish. School was only 1/2 a day, but what things we learned in the afternoon. Hanging out with our Dominican neighbors, we learned Spanish, and so much more.
We hired a lady to help my mom with running the household. She helped from buying food from the machanta to butchering the chickens and cooking local cuisine. At night she went home to her family.
We had simple furniture made by local craftsmen. Mosquiteros are a must.
In spite of the many differences, including plumbing and electricity, all 9 of us made it - and you can too!
 

nancyh

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Jan 13, 2002
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moving to DR with children

Please think long and hard about bringing young children here to live - re: education and healthcare - let alone the very different cultural values that Dominicans raise their children by that might be very different than yours. Male machoism is alive and well.
Education: the government will not adequately educate on a universal basis, which is why there are many private schools here. You need to be aware that most of the private schools here are a business. They are not in education for the altruism. Please do your homework - check curriculum standards (adopted and revised by whom?)teacher education and experience, resources used in the school. Special needs: very behind in all ways.
Health care: if your children have special needs in this area please check if specialists here are adequately trained and up-to-date on material.
Do you know that electricity is still being developed here - electricity is turned off many times in a week- you need to heavily invest in generators and inversors.
I am enjoying my time living here - even with all the frustrations that can arise - because, I don't have the responsibility of worrying about adequate education and health for school-age children, because mine are grown. Plus, we have a large multi-national company picking up tabs for things like outrageous electricity and water bills.
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Thank you for the honest replies.

Some answers to your questions:
My daughter has Down's, but is working at grade level (1).
No medical issues at this time. She is a riot, and lots of fun. Our only concern here is learning to read and write Spanish along with English.

We are no where near making any sort of decisions, but we are fishing for information on the best places to look. I have to say that Hillbilly did not make me want to move to Santo Domingo.

I homeschool my children with help from the local school system for therapies and special ed. I am not concerned about the educational system. If we stay in the States, we will continue to homeschool. There are excellent homeschool programs available right through High School if necessary. Part public/private school with supplemental homeschooling is also a possibility.

I am an RN and feel that I am able to monitor my children's healthcare for routine exams, etc. However, I would like to see a good hospital within reasonable distance.

Safety and healthcare are our two biggest concerns with moving. I am sure that we will have tons more questions and concerns as time goes by.
Thanks again.

Mainer
 

billshar

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Jan 15, 2002
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I am currently living on the North Coast with all living expenses paid by my large multinational employer. We have a generator and an invertor and an underground water storage tank.

My two small children, 8 & 9, are also here. The 8 year old is autistic and ADHD. He is extremely high functioning and very verbal. We home school. The decision to home school was partially based on discussions we had with various private schools before moving here. Not one private school had any facilities for handling (educating) ANY special needs child. My wife even talked to them about her going to school each day to serve as an aide.

If there are any medical issues that go with a child's "special needs", this is not the place to be. There are no services available.
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Thanks Billshar

We also plan to homeschool wherever we end up. Do you find activities available such as sports etc for the kids?
Do they have plenty of friends?

Our vision is to settle where we can help the community children.
We are very active here in the US with the school and the athletic program. We usually end up coaching the sports. We want our children to grow up learning to help others and to share what they have.
We are not looking for Shangri-La. If that was what we wanted, we would stay here.

So, is it really that tough to live there? Do you feel as though your children are deprived? We would like to have a speech therapist and an occupational therapist for periodic consultation. However, we feel that our daughter will not need the one on one therapy by the time we move. She has no medical problems.

Also, are glasses and braces an issue? We do need to keep up with those.

I know that this would be a major life change for the entire family, but I also feel that it could be a very positive one.

Thanks,
mainer
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Addendum

? Perhaps there would be a spot for us to do consultation with Dominican parents who have special needs children. We have TONS of background in early intervention, and as an RN, I could help address medical needs. (all volunteer, of course) This would certainly require that I improve my Spanish!! Would there be a need for this kind of help in the DR, or do they have it covered?
 

El Jefe

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Jan 1, 2002
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Suggest you contact ECH MD a member of this board. He is an American Doctor, semi-retired to the DR (He teaches at on of the Medical Schools in SD) and can probably give you some good advice. If you run a search on his name you can find one of his posts and send him an email. There has been some discussion of similar nature before so you might check the archives.
 

MommC

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Mar 2, 2002
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Glasses not a problem.....

but braces may be. Also speech and occupational therapy even on a consultation basis.
There are excellant specialists here but be prepared to pay through the nose for "special" services in private clinics.
It's no mystery to those who live here why the rich carry medical insurance that allows them to seek treatment in Miami for many "special" needs!!
If you want top notch treatment ....stay where you are or be prepared to spend big bucks here!
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Top Notch Care????

MommC,
I think that you have a different idea of how things are in my State. I have to drive 50 minutes EACH way to get to the ONE orthodontist that can see my daughter. Yes, it was nice to only have to travel several hours to Boston for a specialist, but day-to-day-stuff is not that easy! On the other hand, it is cheaper than flying to Miami once a month for her orthodontist appointments. Actually, we have very good US insurance (expensive too). I don't know if we would continue carrying the insurance. We need to look into that.
 

mainer

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Mar 22, 2002
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Cost Comparisons health care

Here we go,
My sister recently paid upwards of $4,000 for EACH of 2 rounds of braces for her daughter. Total is going to be fairly close to $10,000. This is what we are probably looking at for each of our two children. PLUS we pay $8,000 out of our pocket for our health insurance. Doctor's visits cost us $10-15 per visit with $20 for prescriptions.

Would this be considered "paying through the nose" or are the costs there even higher than this?

Therapy such as Speech and OT are paid for by the school system and the quality of the person hired by the school. There is NO choice of provider. Fortunately, we will not need to have these services when we move.
thanks,
mainer
 
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