Relocating Advice

jayman

New member
Feb 23, 2003
2
0
0
My family is looking to purchase a house in DR and I'm looking for some advice.

We would like to purchase in the next year or two
- I've read a lot of postings that would say keep your money in your pocket because of problems arising in the DR.

Do you guys feel I should wait a few more years to move?
We live in Canada now and I hate working 5/6 days a week to have 1/2 days off in the cold weather. At least there it would be a nice few days off.

We've visited DR 3 times and love it.

We have a 1 year old Daughter and I'm worried about schooling and medical.
Advice I'm looking for. (and I will continue to search the archives here since there is tons of good information)

- Location - where should we look? We need somewhere with a good schooling and medical nearby

- Buying - I've been looking for a buyers checklist. drlawyer.com has some good stuff but there are so many things to look for - electricty - water - permits - taxes - previous bills. I've read some of your horror stories!

- I have a great job now and I could travel back and forth to my job in canada - (IT Manager) or I could open a new business (I've owned 2 previous sucessful IT companies (1 Network support and 1 Ebiz) - any ideas on what DR needs (Good ISP, Webhosting, Network support)

Any other info that people could give a family looking to move there would be great!

Thanks
Jason
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
7,951
28
0
www.caribbetech.com
Jayman, we've been living here for 4 months and have not yet bought a house. We are a family - Grandparents, children and grandchildren. Yes, I am aware of all the pros and cons of buying in the DR at the moment. Maybe you should rent somewhere for six months or a year or so, and then decide where you want to settle. It is not necessary to buy first and then settle. Rent first and figure out if you can do the Dominican Republican thing. Then buy if the RE market is right at the time.

We are in Cabarete. There are good medical doctors here. There are good dentists and medical facilities in POP. Sosua has a good school or two. I like the little town of Cabarete. It becomes home after a month or so - just when the local fruit and vegetable vendors start charging you local prices instead of tourist prices.

It is a good idea to keep earning in a major currency while you make the switch to the DR. I am also a technologist but technology has a whole different complexion in the DR.

So, as to advice. Live here before you buy - for at least a year.