Best small non-tourist town to live?

ronks

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Good people

I will be coming to the DR at the beginning of Oct. to explore the possibility of moving there. I have been following your threads for some time and appreciate the collective knowledge that you all post. I am looking to relocate in a coastal town that is very livable. I would like very much to live in the community with the local Dominicans, and preferably not in a town that is dominated by tourist resorts. However, I do need access to good services such as internet, telephone, transportation, as I am planning to work (telecommute). The towns that seem most interesting are Puerto Plata, Las Terrenas, Monte Criste, Las Galeras, Baoruco and Barahona. With the exception of Puerto Plata the other towns seem out of the way and a possible escape from the immediate tourist influence. I would appreciate any information, experiences or insights about the livability of these towns. Thanks.

Ron
 

Ken

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Las Terrenas and Las Galeras are significant tourist areas. Barahona is attempting to be.

You should consider Santiago. It is the country's 2nd largest city, though it feels much smaller than Santo Domingo. Nevertheless, it meets all of your requirments. Several members of the board live there, specifically hillbilly and AZB.
 

Keith R

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Ken said:
You should consider Santiago. It is the country's 2nd largest city, though it feels much smaller than Santo Domingo. Nevertheless, it meets all of your requirments.
Ken, I like Santiago too, but Ron said that he is seeking a coastal town -- Santiago is neither coastal nor a town. Yes, I know it's only an hour away from the beaches, but Ron's list suggests he wants to be only minutes away.

Ron, I notice your list excludes Nagua. Is that on purpose?

Regards,
Keith
 

Ken

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You are right, Keith, Nagua might be a good possibility. It isn't small, but it isn't that big, either. Whether or not they have the quality of internet service he is seeking, I don't know.

Luperon is a small, coastal town he might consider. There is a hotel there, but it is certainly not a tourist town. People very friendly. But again, I don't know about the level of internet service.

I mentioned Santiago because I know that it has everything he is looking for, except it isn't on the coast. From his description of his plans, it seemed to me the services were far more important to his success than the fact it was right on the coast.
 
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ronks

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Thanks for the ongoing input. In reference to Nagua I have no information. No guide books really mention it as having significant character. However, I will try to find other references. Being on the coast is a priority, or at least in sight of the ocean, although I do not need the most lovely beaches in the world to make me happy. What I do seek is community; to live among the normal residents and to partake in the daily exchanges. Services are essential if I am to make the transition and be able to work. Any other suggestions or insights would be appreciated. I am especially curious about two of the more out-of-the-way towns, Monte Criste and Baoruco. Thanks again.

Ron
 

Ken

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ronks, look for one of the many posts by Pib and use the email or PM button below it to contact her direct. She knows a lot about Monte Criste.
 

Keith R

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And if you might want further information about Nagua, look for a post by Amber and PM or email her. She lives there, and as far as I know, Nagua has the same level of internet service as those living in Santo Domingo, Santiago, Puerto Plata or Sosua.

While I only spent a couple of hours there this last July, I thought it was quite pleasant. The town is middlin' size, located conveniently between Samana and PP/Sosua/Cabarete, the town's beach there is fine, and there's almost no tourists to be seen (even at "Gringo Beach"!).

Happy Hunting!

Regards,
Keith
 

lhtown

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Why not Samana or Sanchez? They may have a lot of tourists come through, but as was mentioned, Las Terrenas and Las Galeras is where they mostly end up. Also, don't discount Barahona because of tourism- it isn't exactly flourishing there the last time I checked.
 

Ken

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I don't believe that Samana or Sanchez have the level of internet access he is looking for, and the power situation there is very bad.
 

Jerry K

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Nagua or Monte Cristi your best bet

Nagua has more of a beach feel to it plus more tropical. Good highway access to Puerto Plata or Santiago.
Monte Cristi is a quaint, very friendly town with a long history. Even though it's on the ocean, it's not a beach town. The beach is a mile or so north. The scenery is very dramatic. American Airlines used to use the mountain in some of their print ads for the DR. Monte Cristi is more arid like the SW DR. Only one way in and out unless you want to make a run to Haiti.
 

Andy B

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Only a very small part of Las Galeras is tourist oriented with much of the surrounding area ideal for permanent residency. We also have some of the best and most reliable electricity on the island and my internet connection speed hovers around 50k bps. A lot of people are currently purchasing land here in Las Galeras and in neighboring Rincon for future homes. Although still very much under construction, you can go to www.samanaonline.com for a preview of further information about the Samana peninsula.

Las Galeras is a significant tourist area? As a hotel and restaurant owner I wish that were true.
 

suarezn

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As for Nagua, it's probably an OK choice, except that they have too many strikes and tigueres there. Luperon sounds like what you're looking for. Bahoruco is not on the coast. Here are few other towns to consider (San Pedro De Macoris, La Romana, Bani, Azua, San Cristobal). They are all very close to the sea, if not right next to it. Not sure about the level of internet available there, but I would think you can get DSL pretty much anywhere where you can get a phone line through Codetel. Personally I love Samana. My suggestion is to visit the DR, visit some of these towns and see if you find what you want.

Another thing to think about is that even if a town is "touristy", it doesn't mean that you have to be in constant contact with the tourists themselves. Even in Puerto Plata you can still live among the natives if you so desire. You didn't mention anything about the size of town you're looking for. If size is not a problem, then Santo Domingo is right on the water, you can find pretty much any type of service you wish for, and it's not touristy at all.

As for Monte Cristy PIB, is probably the best person to tell you about it.
 

ronks

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Great response! Thank you for all your good suggestions. I do have just a few more inquiries. How do I communicate with Amber, PM and PIB? What are strikes and tigueres? And do most of these locations have DSL? I am definitely going to need it. Thank you once again.

Ron
 

JDub

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well i know you can get DSL in Santo Domingo, it might be a problem in the smaller towns if their phoni lines are old. Strikes are very common in the bigger cities when the lights go out from morning to night. It's not like the strikes in the US, they're violent. They throw rocks everywhere, burn tires, vandalize passing cars, and fight with the police. The ones who take part in these strikes are the tigueres. Most of the tigueres are young, but they're only do these strikes to send a message to the government (who don't care anyways). For the 6 weeks a stayed in Santo Domingo this summer, I saw at least 4 major strikes. Again they usually only occur when the lights go out all day and all night.
 

Chris

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Sabaneta de Jassica

What about Sabaneta? I always feel we have the best of both worlds. We live in Islabon, 10 minutes out of Cabarete and a further 10 minutes away, is Sabaneta. Neither Islabon, nor Sabaneta are tourist towns. Now and again a tourist bus, or tourists on dirtbikes or something goes by, but we are not affected by this at all. There are a few expats in Sabaneta. You can also get quite close to the beach if you want to. Nothing happens there, excepting domino games and baseball games. But you're still close enough to 'civilisation' to find transportation easily and get to a real town easily.
 

Escott

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Ken said:
Las Terrenas and Las Galeras are significant tourist areas. Barahona is attempting to be.

You should consider Santiago. It is the country's 2nd largest city, though it feels much smaller than Santo Domingo. Nevertheless, it meets all of your requirments. Several members of the board live there, specifically hillbilly and AZB.
Santiago become a coastal town in the two weeks I have been away? LOL
 

Ken

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When I said in my posts that I wasn't sure or didn't think that the location had the computer capability you needed, I was thinking about DSL.

When Andy B says that he gets 55 bps, he is saying he is dial up, and I think this is also true of the city of Samana and Las Terrenas. I doubt that Luperon has DSL; likewise Monte Criste, Baharona, and most of the other places you mentioned.

The problem is, you want to live in a small town where there are few tourists and other foreigners, but those aren't the towns that have DSL. DSL is only available where there are enough people with computers who can afford it, which means there must be businesses using computers, hotels using computers, and residents desiring service better than dial up.

You have to decide what is most important to you. If you must be in a coastal town with no tourism, then be prepared to conduct your business via dial up. If faster, more reliable computer service is your highest priority, then you are going to have to accept living where most of the rest of us do.
 

Hillbilly

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It seems to me that

Small coastal towns and high tech are not compatible.
I would think that Cabrera or R?o San Juan would fit this guy's needs, but again the availablility of DSL might not be met.

If he wants beach + DSL, I really do not think he will find it unless as all of you have mentioned, he goes to POP (as a non-tourist city-which can be argued, of course)

Cake and eat it , too ...not here. Choices.

Go relax and visit Cabrera where they have good internet, slow, but good...


HB
 

Dolores1

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If DSL access is key to your decision, try getting a response out of codetel and tricom regarding which cities/towns offer this service in the Dominican Republic. Their web sites are http://www.codetel.net.do and http://www.tricom.net

If they respond to you, post it in this thread for others to know in the future.

If they don't respond to you in a few days, let us know here.
 

ronks

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Unfortunately DSL is essential since I will have to have a high speed connection for my work. And from what I read this really narrows the choices. Dolores, I went to both the internet provider sites you listed but neither had a way to make personal contact. If it would not be too much trouble would someone be so kind as to ask a representative if DSL exists in any of the towns mentioned in this thread. Gracias para tu ayuda.

Ron