DR Bound!!

S

StaseyA

Guest
Hello! Please be patient with me as I navigate this detailed forum!
I will be moving my family to DR with a goal date of July/Aug 2020.
My family consists of myself, 4 year old daughter, my mother and my grandmother. We are coming from Washington State (Seattle/Tacoma). I have been to the DR a few times and I am in love. Although I am an English only speaking American, my father is Dominican ( he resides part in Puerto Plata and part in FL). I have a unique situation as my grandmother is non-mobile and my mother is her primary caretaker). I have made the call to begin a better quality of life in DR. Selling my business and my home and going all in....
I am starting the process of contacting law firms to begin residency filings and will be making a trip to look at areas and schools in a couple of months. We would like to reside close to (but not in) the Punta Cana area. My plan is to rent for a year or 2 before deciding where to buy or build. I’m very interested in the Higuey/Veron area because of the proximity to business opportunities in Punta Cana. Any and all info would be warmly received and I will scour this site for answers prior to posting questions!
 
C

CristoRey

Guest
Do your homework. This country can be an extremely challenging place
to live for people who are not street smart. More often then not,
the Dominican Republic is sunny place for very shady people. Good luck.
 
F

Fulano2

Guest
Think twice Stacey with the burden you have. What do you mean by a better quality of life?
 
D

Derfish

Guest
Welcome aboard.PM me for local advice Puerto Plata area,now or when ever.
 
R

rfp

Guest
cobraboy said:
She's from Seattle. ;)
Click to expand...

Best of luck, if you have some money and can stay "above the fray" then this could be a great move with the ability to have domestic help for your Grandmother etc

Doing business/working here is where you will die. If you are selling in Seattle you can probably park that somewhere and get a monthly income, do some online work etc and you can probably make it work
 
C

Cdn_Gringo

Guest
Medical insurance and general care for Grandma is probably going to be a challenge.

You are moving to a third world country (albeit an upper level third world country). Everything from education, medical care, real estate, the law, women in society, availability of familiar name brand products and just about everything else is different from what you are used to. Someone in your troop has from now until 2020 to learn conversational Spanish. Someone absolutely needs to be able to converse with the people here. Not speaking Spanish is hard and on top of everything else about moving to a new country, it isolates you and makes the simple things stressful.

It can be done, but it is was much harder than I thought it would be. Some members on this forum have elderly family members living with them, they can offer some guidance. It will probably take the better part of two years before you'll be able to determine if your quality of life is actually "better" based on how you choose to define that word.

Expect the unexpected and good luck.
 
C

CristoRey

Guest
I firmly believe you can have a very good quality of life down here,
as I currently enjoy, its one of the main reasons I choose to call this
place home. What you will not find is a higher standard of living. Not
to rain on anyone's parade but if that is the reason one chooses to
move here, I think they are in for a surprise.
 
S

StaseyA

Guest
CristoRey said:
I firmly believe you can have a very good quality of life down here,
as I currently enjoy, its one of the main reasons I choose to call this
place home. What you will not find is a higher standard of living. Not
to rain on anyone's parade but if that is the reason one chooses to
move here, I think they are in for a surprise.
Click to expand...

Prior to moving to Washington state to live with me, my mother and grandmother lived in the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific for almost 20 years... I lived there for 8 years and moved during Highschool. Very familiar with the “lower standard” of living. The slower pace Island time life is different but the quality is really about the cost of living and free time to spend with each other. I will still be working online and want to allow my mother freedom from caring for grams by hiring someone to come in for her daily care.... we are being taxed out of our minds in WA and the cost of living makes it impossible to ever slow down.
 
S

StaseyA

Guest
Cdn_Gringo said:
Medical insurance and general care for Grandma is probably going to be a challenge.

You are moving to a third world country (albeit an upper level third world country). Everything from education, medical care, real estate, the law, women in society, availability of familiar name brand products and just about everything else is different from what you are used to. Someone in your troop has from now until 2020 to learn conversational Spanish. Someone absolutely needs to be able to converse with the people here. Not speaking Spanish is hard and on top of everything else about moving to a new country, it isolates you and makes the simple things stressful.

It can be done, but it is was much harder than I thought it would be. Some members on this forum have elderly family members living with them, they can offer some guidance. It will probably take the better part of two years before you'll be able to determine if your quality of life is actually "better" based on how you choose to define that word.

Expect the unexpected and good luck.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yes I’m on way with Spanish and we are ready for the adventure... better for us is the time to enjoy each other. I will still be working online and plan to free mom up from constant caring for grandma by hiring someone to come help with her daily care. We have lived in the Samoan Islands and understand how it can be a hard adjustment to Island life.
 
S

StaseyA

Guest
rfp said:
Best of luck, if you have some money and can stay "above the fray" then this could be a great move with the ability to have domestic help for your Grandmother etc

Doing business/working here is where you will die. If you are selling in Seattle you can probably park that somewhere and get a monthly income, do some online work etc and you can probably make it work
Click to expand...


That is the plan!! The equity does nothing for me here in WA, Park it and I will be working online and have the resources to hire help for my grandmother so my mother can enjoy being a grandma.
 
S

StaseyA

Guest
Fulano2 said:
Think twice Stacey with the burden you have. What do you mean by a better quality of life?
Click to expand...

cobraboy said:
She's from Seattle. ;)
Click to expand...


Yes... the Seattle/Tacoma area is out of control with cost of living... I know the standards of living will be different but the time to enjoy each other and not work to death to pay taxes.... We are ready to give up the comforts of things to have the time.
 
L

LTSteve

Guest
StaseyA said:
Hello! Please be patient with me as I navigate this detailed forum!
I will be moving my family to DR with a goal date of July/Aug 2020.
My family consists of myself, 4 year old daughter, my mother and my grandmother. We are coming from Washington State (Seattle/Tacoma). I have been to the DR a few times and I am in love. Although I am an English only speaking American, my father is Dominican ( he resides part in Puerto Plata and part in FL). I have a unique situation as my grandmother is non-mobile and my mother is her primary caretaker). I have made the call to begin a better quality of life in DR. Selling my business and my home and going all in....
I am starting the process of contacting law firms to begin residency filings and will be making a trip to look at areas and schools in a couple of months. We would like to reside close to (but not in) the Punta Cana area. My plan is to rent for a year or 2 before deciding where to buy or build. I’m very interested in the Higuey/Veron area because of the proximity to business opportunities in Punta Cana. Any and all info would be warmly received and I will scour this site for answers prior to posting questions!
Click to expand...

Very ambitious plans. It's easy to catch "island fever". With your background you sound like you might have some expectations as to the quality of living in the DR. Without Spanish language skills it will make it more difficult but not impossible. Contact the nearest Dominican Consulate in the US to find out all of the requirements for residency. I would proceed slowly and not try to jump into this before all your ducks are in a row. Hopefully between the three of you there are enough financial assets to make this work. Good luck.
 
F

frank recktenwald

Guest
Hi Stasey, something that's very important is to use your street smarts when dealing with Dominicans, they are very nice people but make sure you have your eyes open and don't put on pink shades.
You seemed to have traveled and lived in several places and by reading your posts I believe you'll be doing alright in the DR. But become fluent in Spanish quick!!
Good luck!!!
 
U

USA DOC

Guest
….Give the D.R a trial run for about 6 months before you...sell things.. move everthing...or make the big decision.....and try different areas on the Island...and enjoy your run thru the Jungle..and of course if you are American, there are Islands that are part of your country...that have great advantages to you...
 
H

Harleysrock

Guest
if I could do it again I would not sell everything and move from Vancouver to live here full time. That’s just my experience but especially with old people I would be careful how much you commit to the DR. It’s not like the vacays at all. Many love living in the DR many do not. Good luck with whatever you choose.
 
A

AlterEgo

Guest
I agree with those saying not to sell everything........ true story...... my husband has a cousin, Dominican, who has lived in the USA since she was about 12. She’s vacationed in DR many times, mostly visiting family, but always staying in hotels. She’s had a very good life, and left a fabulous condo on the East River to retire to Florida.

About a year ago, she called me to say she was selling everything and moving to DR. I tried to reason with her, but her mind was made up. She was convinced it was going to be less expensive, and she wanted the relaxed, easy life, and said she’s not high-maintenance, and didn’t need fancy anything, and where should she look for a place to live. I told her to come live awhile, rent in different areas, get a feel for everything. Nope, she was moving. Called a few months later. Her condo was sold, all her furniture and possessions sold, car gone, and she was flying down in a week, could I give her some family phone numbers?

She was there less than a month. Turns out she was higher maintenance than she knew, and she couldn’t afford the places she wanted to live. She’s back in Florida in her sister’s guest room.

She says she had no idea, I reminded her of our previous conversations, but she has selective recall. People hear what they want to hear, and if what you’re saying doesn’t fit their agenda they tune it out.

To the OP, I wish you all the best.
 
S

StaseyA

Guest
Thank you, all of these posts and responses are great. Hearing different opinions and perspectives is an invaluable asset when making such a big life change!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom