The Mainers are leaving

mainer

New member
Mar 22, 2002
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We are in Florida right now, and we are headed back to the DR tomorrow to pick up our stuff. Hopefully, we can fit it all back in the suitcases that we brought down. We came up with empty suitcases, planning to pick up more "stuff" and sell our car. We sat down and reviewed our finances, and we decided to come back to the US.

The ONLY reason that we are coming back is financial. As I had stated before, we have a young daughter who has Down syndrome. We checked 6 companies, and they all denied her health insurance. We still have a policy from Maine that is costing us 750 US per month. If we keep that policy, we cannot afford to live in the DR on the budget that we had set. If we drop that policy and just use local insurance, we will likely never be able to reinsure her again in the US. Our youngest child is a very bright little boy, and we likely would want to educate him in the US when he is older. We do not want to bar ourselves from returning. When our daughter reaches adulthood, Medicare will pick her up, but we would not be able to come back and get health insurance for her for 10 years. Our children are too young for us to make that kind of a committment.

We had discussed all kinds of things, and we almost bought a home in the DR. But, we have been going 4 or 5 hundred bucks a month over budget. If we continue at that rate, we will eat away our "liquid" capital. We discussed buying in the DR, investing the money in the DR, etc., but we still have that insurance issue. It is something that we had never thought of before we moved there. For those of you who have met my daughter, you know why we were so shocked that she was denied. She is such a little angel!!

So, it is with great sadness that we are moving back. I will someday go back and update on our four months in the DR. We will be without internet for the rest of this month, but I will get to it. I need to update the budget and stuff.

BTW, Timex, What did you do with the post?????

Mainer
 
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Keith R

"Believe it!"
Jan 1, 2002
2,984
36
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www.temasactuales.com
Dear Mainer,
Sorry to hear that it did not work out for your family. I hope that one day you'll be able to return and make good on that dream.

I'm surprised to hear that you had not considered the insurance angle before moving when you knew beforehand that you had a child with a "special needs" for whom only minimal care can be provided in the Dominican health system (if you can call it a "system" in the true sense of the word). That should have been one of your first, priority considerations. I know that when my wife and I decided whether or not we would take the plunge and move to the DR in 1995, we first looked over carefully the health plan offered by her prospective employer. We didn't have a child with special needs, but we had had our share of health emergencies before and knew the value of a good health plan, and we were wary of the shortcomings of the DR's health system (in spite of, or perhaps because of, the fact that we had 3 MD's & 2 retired nurses in our Dominican branch of the family!).

We also checked carefully into schools before deciding on the move, since our twins were only 4 and we knew eventually we would be moving back to the US and putting them into school there (we just didn't know when that would be). It took some doing to find a (academically) good private school in Santo Domingo that we could afford.

I cannot say that I am all that surprised that you consistently ran over-budget. We too planned a budget and thought it was quite realistic, since we had been visiting the DR for years, had much family & many friends there, & had asked for estimates (this was before DR1 existed). We too constantly ran over-budget -- and this was before the current run of constant electricity & water bill hikes -- in part because the figures everyone provided us turned out not to be realistic and because the DR being what it is, the unexpected surfaced constantly, usually with a price tag attached. :ermm:

A footnote on the health insurance angle: we found that when we moved back to the US after 4 yrs abroad, that our old HMO (Kaiser) and several insurance companies gave us the run-around and high quotes or outright refused. This was thankfully resolved when my wife was offered to be converted to a permanent employee with a good health plan rather than a contract worker with no benes -- but the experience opened our eyes to something we had not heretofore considered and scared us for awhile that we would be part of the famed "uninsured family" statistics one always hears about in the health care reform debate in the U.S.:confused:

Good Luck & Best Regards,
Keith
 
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MaineGirl

The Way Life Should Be...
Jun 23, 2002
1,879
89
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amity.beane.org
I applaud you two on your sense of adventure AND looking out for your kids.

Good luck with moving and let us know how things go for you.

Amity
 

mkohn

Bronze
Jan 1, 2002
1,151
4
0
Your lives are richer for all the experiences you've had.
Congratulations for having the guts to make choices.
While missing your second hime, good luck back in the States.
mk
 

Timex

Bronze
May 9, 2002
726
0
0
I'm so sorry to hear this!

I'll come back later to do a proper post.

But here is the link to your story.
It is part of the STICKY at the top of the Living Forum , named, Popular Post's / Past Sticky's. Required reading for Newbies! , scroll down to the Moving to the DR section, and click on FROM MAINE TO THE DR.

You will see your post, also on the main page you will notice a couple of your other post's, I recommended and linked as important reading, please let me know if it is Ok to keep these as they are.
I will respect your decision and act accordingly.


Again, I'll come back later to do a proper post.:cry:

You & your Family have contributed so much to this Forum.
I am saddened by the outcome, understand it completely, and I will miss you sharing, your post's, helping people avoid what you, your self had gone through.

Click on the titel below
Popular Post's / Past Sticky's. Required reading foe Newbies!


Tim & Mechi Hollis
 

Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
7,716
6
0
www.escottinsosua.blogspot.com
I am sad!

Well guys, you gave it your best shot. You had some great experiences and have probably grown because of them.

Sorry to see you guys go before I got there on a more permanent basis. It was great to visit and dine with you guys and hear all your stories and experiences. Maybe you will join us again for a get together when you are there next on vacation!

Kindest regards,
Scott
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
mainers, you are good people. The sort of people we need more of in the Sosua/Cabarete area.

You have made many friends here and all are very sorry to see you leave.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
It's sad to see you leave the DR, you have made a wonderful contribution to the board and I thank you for that, but more importantly to your local community. I'm sure you will be missed on the North Coast.

Rob.
 

mainer

New member
Mar 22, 2002
412
1
0
Thanks everyone for the kind words.

Keith,
Just a note. Our child does not have any particular medical needs, except for a yearly thyroid level to see if Synthroid is necessary. We have several friends in the DR with children with special needs, and they have been able to acquire International Insurance. Because she has no medical needs, we did not consider the fact that she would be excluded totally.

Oh well, live and learn. I believe that Down syndrome is the only disability that is asked directly. For example, a child with cerebral palsy would probably be able to coverage.

We are in the DR now and having as much fun as we can.

Now, to clear those cookies so Jazzcom can't pretend to be Me!

Mainer