hola!!!

jhilly

Newbie
Apr 25, 2018
5
0
0
Im James from Florida. I recently retired and I am considering buying a condo in the DR and living there part of the year. I want to buy near Sosua and find out about residency.

I would appreciate any helpful advice :)
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Im James from Florida. I recently retired and I am considering buying a condo in the DR and living there part of the year. I want to buy near Sosua and find out about residency.

I would appreciate any helpful advice :)

DO NOT BUY anything before you have come to the area and rented for a minimum of 3-6 months to see what it is really like. You can find residency requirements on-line. It starts with going to a Dominican Consulate in Fla and asking what documents you need. Good luck and good travels.
 

Blueceo

Member
Nov 1, 2015
192
22
18
Hi James, welcome to DR1 and soon the DR. Absolutely do not buy before living in the area you like for at least 6 months. You will get a better feel for the area and also discover more of what the true prices should be. A nubie gringo coming down to buy will get slaughtered and wind up way overpaying. Come down, rent a place and work on your Spanish. Then in 6 months or so if you still like the place you can start looking to buy. How much experience do you have in the DR? Are you fluent in Spanish? This place is way different (which I love about it) then the U.S., but many Gringos can't stand it.
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
Hi. Welcome to DR1.

I am considering buying a condo in the DR and living there part of the year.

Why? Florida already has a large Spanish Speaking community (you wouldn't have to learn Spanish to be able to buy a bag of nails), a long coastline with lots of beaches, weather that is similar to the DR, better consumer goods at cheaper prices. Florida is not a poor state that can't keep the electricity on, the tap water in Florida flows all the time (you can drink the tap water in Fla., not here), cars are cheaper there, the real estate market is stable, and it is possible to sell a property fairly quickly unlike in the DR.

If you lived in North Dakota, I could understand the attraction of a Caribbean island but not if I already lived next to the sea. If you absolutely have to live on an island, I hear any one of the Keys might be an option.

Without achieving a major change in scenery, weather and lifestyle, it's kind of hard to embrace your plan. You can duplicate your comfortable North American lifestyle here - it will be more expensive to do so than staying where you are. If you can live with rattan furniture, hit and miss utilities, and limited product selection outside of the two large cities you could consider life here a slight step down from where you are and if that's ok, hey you can do whatever you want.

Paradise exists on postcards and in books. Being a tourist here is not the same as having to slog through the daily grind that is 24/7 life in the DR. For someone like me where six months of winter can be used to offset the negatives of life in a poor, corrupt 3rd world country, I can justify living here most of time. If I already lived in Florida when I retired, I never would have moved to the DR. I would have chosen to move closer to the ocean or to one of the Keys or perhaps somewhere that (by outward appearances) isn't just like where I already lived - Think the foothills of Rocky Mountains for example- even if that meant shoveling snow or maybe New Mexico if snow was a deal breaker which it probably would be for my wife. :)

Good luck and remember, it's all up to you. No matter what anyone says here, you're going to do what you want anyways. Come spend 6 - 8 months here, seeing just how poor and ram-shacked it can be here, suffering through limited retail opportunities - I'd kill for a Lowes or a Home Depot, McDonald's or even fast food delivery on the North Coast where I have chosen to plop myself near where you are considering.

You need to come up with a few good reasons for living here, other than "it sounds like fun". The fun wears off really quickly when a power spike or a colony of ants fries your high-end TV and your steak never tastes quite like what you are used to.

On the other hand, I hear masochists love the Dominican culture, food, corruption, noise, pollution and official political conundrums - James might like that too.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,698
8,129
113
"DO NOT BUY anything before you have come to the area and rented for a minimum of 3-6 months to see what it is really like. You can find residency requirements on-line. It starts with going to a Dominican Consulate in Fla and asking what documents you need. Good luck and good travels."

"Hi James, welcome to DR1 and soon the DR. Absolutely do not buy before living in the area you like for at least 6 months. You will get a better feel for the area and also discover more of what the true prices should be. A nubie gringo coming down to buy will get slaughtered and wind up way overpaying. Come down, rent a place and work on your Spanish. Then in 6 months or so if you still like the place you can start looking to buy. How much experience do you have in the DR? Are you fluent in Spanish? This place is way different (which I love about it) then the U.S., but many Gringos can't stand it."



James, these two were not written exclusively for you. This same thing has been written for hundreds of folks who have come here and asked the same questions.

Be one of the smarter ones and heed this advice.
 

jhilly

Newbie
Apr 25, 2018
5
0
0
Lt. Steve,
I have been told to rent before I buy from others. Sounds like good advice and I am going to listen. thx...
 

jhilly

Newbie
Apr 25, 2018
5
0
0
awesome my brotha...thx for taking the time to give me the "heads up"...I have been coming to the DR for the past ten years and my Spanish is still little to none :(

But its something about the DR thats different to me than Florida. I love Sosua :)
 

ElVenao

New member
Mar 16, 2017
51
0
0
Hi. Welcome to DR1.



Why? Florida already has a large Spanish Speaking community (you wouldn't have to learn Spanish to be able to buy a bag of nails), a long coastline with lots of beaches, weather that is similar to the DR, better consumer goods at cheaper prices. Florida is not a poor state that can't keep the electricity on, the tap water in Florida flows all the time (you can drink the tap water in Fla., not here), cars are cheaper there, the real estate market is stable, and it is possible to sell a property fairly quickly unlike in the DR.

If you lived in North Dakota, I could understand the attraction of a Caribbean island but not if I already lived next to the sea. If you absolutely have to live on an island, I hear any one of the Keys might be an option.

Without achieving a major change in scenery, weather and lifestyle, it's kind of hard to embrace your plan. You can duplicate your comfortable North American lifestyle here - it will be more expensive to do so than staying where you are. If you can live with rattan furniture, hit and miss utilities, and limited product selection outside of the two large cities you could consider life here a slight step down from where you are and if that's ok, hey you can do whatever you want.

Paradise exists on postcards and in books. Being a tourist here is not the same as having to slog through the daily grind that is 24/7 life in the DR. For someone like me where six months of winter can be used to offset the negatives of life in a poor, corrupt 3rd world country, I can justify living here most of time. If I already lived in Florida when I retired, I never would have moved to the DR. I would have chosen to move closer to the ocean or to one of the Keys or perhaps somewhere that (by outward appearances) isn't just like where I already lived - Think the foothills of Rocky Mountains for example- even if that meant shoveling snow or maybe New Mexico if snow was a deal breaker which it probably would be for my wife. :)

Good luck and remember, it's all up to you. No matter what anyone says here, you're going to do what you want anyways. Come spend 6 - 8 months here, seeing just how poor and ram-shacked it can be here, suffering through limited retail opportunities - I'd kill for a Lowes or a Home Depot, McDonald's or even fast food delivery on the North Coast where I have chosen to plop myself near where you are considering.

You need to come up with a few good reasons for living here, other than "it sounds like fun". The fun wears off really quickly when a power spike or a colony of ants fries your high-end TV and your steak never tastes quite like what you are used to.

On the other hand, I hear masochists love the Dominican culture, food, corruption, noise, pollution and official political conundrums - James might like that too.

Why FL?

Cali >>>>>>>>>> FL

just don't go to the ridic expensive major cities in Cali and you'll be fine.