Canadian want to move to the DR

lambert

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Oct 26, 2004
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hello, I have recently been to the DR & fell in love with it & the local people!!! I want to know if anyone can help on how to get a job? I am currently a travel agent (lots of computer experience) but I have also worked in sales & child care but I do not speak Spanish. Can anyone help?
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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You can help yourself by searching the 1,000+ posts on this subject most of which will tell you that you will make no livable income to speak of and your lack of being able to speak the language will be as much of an impediement as if a Dominican showed up in Toronto and wanted a job and had no English. Which is to say, quite a problem.

Just how many times have you been and what is the name of the girl you met?
 

lambert

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Oct 26, 2004
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ricktoronto said:
You can help yourself by searching the 1,000+ posts on this subject most of which will tell you that you will make no livable income to speak of and your lack of being able to speak the language will be as much of an impediement as if a Dominican showed up in Toronto and wanted a job and had no English. Which is to say, quite a problem.

Just how many times have you been and what is the name of the girl you met?
Well for one I am a girl.... ;) I just want to make achange in my life & I feel my fit would be really good. I'm not looking to get rich, just a life style change. I'm a fast learner.
 

BushBaby

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Jan 1, 2002
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lambert said:
Well for one I am a girl.... ;) I just want to make achange in my life & I feel my fit would be really good. I'm not looking to get rich, just a life style change. I'm a fast learner.

In which case Lambert, the next question will probably be "What is the name of the Sankie boy you met in the DR?" Forgive us please, we are just so used to so many people wanting to come live here because they have met the "Love of their life" after just one holiday of 1 or two weeks!!

To answer your "job" question, it is MOST unlikely that you will get any job offers from writing on this board. It is also unlikely that you will get any "JOB" offers writng from your jome country! You need to be HERE to do that! Jobs (if there are any around & at the moment most companies are contracting their workforce) are normally offered on a 'face-to-face' basis, &/or being recommended by a friend.

Might I offer the following course of action to you.
1) read ALL the posts from the archives about "Jobs" in the Dominican Republic,
2) take an extensive course in LATIN American Spanish - 6 to 12 months to get you to basic fluency stage,
3) come down for another holiday & make it a 'working holiday' making contacts & looking for a job that would suit YOU
4) return home & PLAN your future relocation to the DR. You will need MONEY, good contacts, MONEY, knowledge of where you want to stay, contacts for getting apartments, money in the bank, & a back up plan in case things do not work out the way you envisage!!
5) come down for anOTHER, holiday to confirm your contacts/friends/possible job offers, tell them your timescales for returning to live & plan to meet those timescales. You should also be checking out your fluency in Spanish on this trip & arrange a crash course if you feel it is not good enough yet!!

Do you know where you want to move to in the DR? How many friends/contacts have you with people from OUTSIDE the hotel complex? Have you spoken with any of the Tour Companies from your country of origin & what have their responses been? There are a LOAD of questions YOU have to answer before DR1 members will be able to give you any sane & considered advice as to relocating here.

Good luck with your research ~ Grahame.
 
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ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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Whoops, sorry about that.

lambert said:
Well for one I am a girl.... ;) I just want to make achange in my life & I feel my fit would be really good. I'm not looking to get rich, just a life style change. I'm a fast learner.

OK, sorry, what is the sankie's name, that you met, and did you know a) he is seeing (dozens) of other tourists and b) some might be guys? (Seeing = having sex)

I can assure you getting rich is not a likely outcome.
 

chuckuindy

Bronze
Mar 8, 2004
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Good advive BushBaby

BushBaby said:
In which case Lambert, the next question will probably be "What is the name of the Sankie boy you met in the DR?" Forgive us please, we are just so used to so many people wanting to come live here because they have met the "Love of their life" after just one holiday of 1 or two weeks!!

To answer your "job" question, it is MOST unlikely that you will get any job offers from writing on this board. It is also unlikely that you will get any "JOB" offers writng from your jome country! You need to be HERE to do that! Jobs (if there are any around & at the moment most companies are contracting their workforce) are normally offered on a 'dace-to-face' basis, &/or being recommended by a friend.

Might I offer the following course of action to you.
1) read ALL the posts from the archives about "Jobs" in the Dominican Republic,
2) take an extensive course in LATIN American Spanish - 6 to 12months to get you to basic fluency stage,
3) come down for another holiday & make it a 'working holiday' making contacts & looking for a job that would suit YOU
4) return home & PLAN your future relocation to the DR. You will need MONEY, good contacts, MONEY, knowledge of where you want to stay, contacts for getting apartments, money in the bank, & a back up plan in case things do not work out the way you envisage!!
5) come down for anOTHER, holiday to confirm your contacts/friends/possible job offers, tell them your timescales for returning to live & plan to meet those timescales. You should also be checking out your fluency in Spanish on this trip & arrange a crash course if you feel it is not good enough yet!!

Do you know where you want to move to in the DR? How many friends/contacts have you with people from OUTSIDE the hotel complex? Have you spoken with any of the Tour Companies from your country of origin & what have their responses been? There are a LOAD of questions YOU have to answer before DR1 members will be able to give you any sane & considered advice as to relocating here.

Good luck with yourt research ~ Grahame.
Or she could do it like I did. Spend around $15,000USD looking for a business opportunity and testing the waters. Understand that she will not only be supporting herself but likely her b/f family as well. Spend countless hours listening to tapes or going to school to learn Spanish and find out that the Dominicans speak a totally different language, almost the same as learning real English (American) and then trying to understand what ever that gibberish you speak is.

Spend countless dollars in phone calls to the DR, find out that your best Dominican friend would cut your throat for $50, ruin your eyesight looking at DR1 posts all day and night, pick up an incurable virus on one of her trips to the DR.

Or maybe she could work for you giving typing lessons.

Charlie
 

AnnaC

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Jan 2, 2002
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Your guys are so mean! She said she fell in love with the country it's people. Where do you see "sankie" ?

Bad bad boys/
 

lambert

New member
Oct 26, 2004
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The DR

Anna Coniglio said:
Your guys are so mean! She said she fell in love with the country it's people. Where do you see "sankie" ?

Bad bad boys/
ok...first & fore most I did not meet any man/boy what ever....the only I hooked up with was the one I went with & the one I'm going to spend the rest of my life with....
Yes it was the country, people, & the life there....I know moving to the DR is not going to make me rich or what ever, if it was all about money I would want to stay here or move to the US. It's just everything there I love it!!!
It someone could let me know any contact information of local travel agents that would be a start.
 

AnnaC

Gold
Jan 2, 2002
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lambert said:
Yes it was the country, people, & the life there....I know moving to the DR is not going to make me rich or what ever, if it was all about money I would want to stay here or move to the US. It's just everything there I love it!!!
It someone could let me know any contact information of local travel agents that would be a start.

Read what Bushbaby wrote. Plan a long trip and do your search while you are there.You don't have to worry about getting rich, if you do find a job it's hardly enough to live on. Wages are very low.
 

marliejaneca

Bronze
Oct 7, 2003
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May I ask...

you said that the only one you hooked up with was the one that you went with and are spending the rest of your life with. What does he think about you moving to the DR, where does he fit into the picture?
I was a travel agent when I moved down to the DR but that was many years ago and things have changed quite a bit. I was lucky to have met other ex-pats who were living down there prior to my moving that helped me out quite a bit. If you were just there as a tourist staying in an AI, you do not have a clue about the country, its way of life, the challenges and most likely did not make any type of contacts except for maybe some empty promises from hotel staff. It is not like picking up and moving from Toronto to Vancouver!!!
Like it has been said thousands of times, book another trip and then another, maybe even another, get out of the AI's, make contacts, learn Spanish for goodness sakes, off the AI property, believe it or not, most Dominicans do not speak English or not good English at the least. Talk to tour operators, airline reps - you will find that anyone who gets the jobs has been with their operations for a long period of time and can speak a myriad of languages.
I don't mean to burst your bubble, but after only going once to the DR, you do not have the faintest clue about the country. RESEARCH !!
Marlie
 

cork

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Aug 23, 2003
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the move

I don't want to burst any bubbles, but the costs of moving to the DR are very high. I am currently moving to Sosua and I'll give you some of the costs I have incurred.

1. moving expenses. Springfield MO to Sosua $16000 US for a 40' container
2. trips to DR to house hunt and set up house 6 trips since March 2004 $9500 so far
3. House (no financing) $200000 cash
4. fix up this house (bids only) fence $16K fix wrought iron rails $4600. seal roof $13K electricity problems $3000 and plumbing problems $1500
5. residency $1500us a piece
6. car in US a Honda CRV is $22,000 in DR $42,000 cash no financing

The previous posters are trying to spell it out for you, this is not an inexpensive move. Minimum wage here in the DR with the new 30% increase is under $200US month. Food in the grocery stores are outrageous if you cannot use the local brands. These facts are sobering. DR is still much less expensive than many other so called paradises. The DR is not as inexpensive as it once was, and may never be again.


cork
 

chuckuindy

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Mar 8, 2004
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Great example

cork said:
I don't want to burst any bubbles, but the costs of moving to the DR are very high. I am currently moving to Sosua and I'll give you some of the costs I have incurred.

1. moving expenses. Springfield MO to Sosua $16000 US for a 40' container
2. trips to DR to house hunt and set up house 6 trips since March 2004 $9500 so far
3. House (no financing) $200000 cash
4. fix up this house (bids only) fence $16K fix wrought iron rails $4600. seal roof $13K electricity problems $3000 and plumbing problems $1500
5. residency $1500us a piece
6. car in US a Honda CRV is $22,000 in DR $42,000 cash no financing

The previous posters are trying to spell it out for you, this is not an inexpensive move. Minimum wage here in the DR with the new 30% increase is under $200US month. Food in the grocery stores are outrageous if you cannot use the local brands. These facts are sobering. DR is still much less expensive than many other so called paradises. The DR is not as inexpensive as it once was, and may never be again.


cork
This is a great example of where the first $300,000 will go. Now tell us what you think your ongoing monthly expenses will be. Let?s also assume that you have only $100,000 left to produce income for your remaining years. Oh, we should factor in 1 or 2 trips home per year, additional tax increases for the next 10 years, additional repairs on the house, energy and phone costs, insurance, security, gardening, house cleaning & laundry, the expense of bringing additional items from the US, and potential medical costs.

Just give of some idea of what you think it will be. It should make for interesting reading.
Charlie
 

sweetdbt

Bronze
Sep 17, 2004
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Lambert,

Cork gives a good example of what such a move can cost, but like all examples, it is anecdotal. Hell, I know a guy who's building a house in Sea Horse Ranch. His cost will be more like a million US. No problem, he has it. That doesn't mean you need to be a millionaire to live in the DR.

I am planning a move in about 2 years. I've been seriously researching for about a year now, but I'm certainly not done. I will be renting a comfortable apartment (nicer than what I have here in the US). I'll need to furnish it, and I'll probably buy a used Toyota or Honda. I have a pretty good idea what this will cost me, and it's certainly not $300,000!

Each person's "requirements" are different. Lifestyles vary a great deal, both here "at home" and in the DR. Cork is spending $16,000 to ship his things down because that apparently is important to him. (obviously, his things are nicer than mine!) I'll be bringing some clothes and a few personal posessions, packed in my luggage over my last few visits and stored at a friends house until I have my own place.

Just as Cork did not want to "burst bubbles" I wouldn't want to give anyone the idea that preperation and resources aren't needed. As I have no specific job skills which will transfer well, I also have no illusions of being able to earn enough to support even the modest life style I am seeking, and therefore am saving and planning accordingly, working 2 jobs, living below my means, and saving every dollar I can.

I agree with what almost every board member living in the DR has said over and over that it would be FOOLISH, to think I could just get on a plane with a few thousand dollars and think I could find a job and make enough money to live on. Some do it, but it seems they all have specific skills I don't have, and many of them seem to be living on a shoestring.

Do your research, make several more trips, and make sure it's what you (and your significant other) want.
 

lambert

New member
Oct 26, 2004
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So much to do....

Wow!! allot of negativity, or maybe it is just the reality of how it is. I never thought it would be easy, but I love a good challenge!!! Yes I did stay in an AI but the only time I was really there was to sleep, we did spend most of our time walking thru a few different towns trying to meet the local people. Yes it would be a huge change for me, for one making 2,000.00 a month now to what...people have been saying about what 200.00 a month. hhhmm it's defiantly not the money.
The local stores didn't seem to be as expensive as it's made out to be, but then I guess it depends on how much the cost is to rent a place. I know I would want to rent then own to see how things go, but I would never consider moving if I did not have a job set up first. Everyone makes it out that you need to have allot of money to make the move. I know most rental companies want the first 3 moths rent up front which make sense, & is not a problem, but I still have to research the different rental companies.
I do however agree that maybe I should make a few more visits before I make a jump. I didn't make any contacts while I was there, however I do have a good friend here who has family in S.D. I just wanted to get idea's from people who have recently moved to see if it is what I'm looking for?
As for the man in my life we have talked about it, he is a little more apprehensive then I am, & maybe wouldn't want to move as soon as I do be he would also consider the move. I guess he wants to see if I can make it first, which I guess is a good back up because if I fail I have a place to come back to. On the other hand he loved the DR as much as I did and if all went well he would come to me.!!! He also knows/understands me and will support my decision that I make.
 

marliejaneca

Bronze
Oct 7, 2003
980
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Sorry, I hope that I didn't sound too negative. I just know first hand what it is like to pick up and move to the DR, how to get over the challenges and hurdles, learn Spanish (being an English Canadian and not French or Italian makes it even harder as French/Italian are similar to Spanish), find decent accomodation, make decent and trustworthy friends, and find a job that would allow me some financial freedom. Yes, it can be done, but it takes a lot of inner strength and determination.
I would just like you to know it is not like an Ernest Hemmingway book, it is not all that romantic of an idea to just set out to the Carribean, it takes a lot of hard work. Please do not keep looking through the rose coloured glasses and do tons of research, give it 6 months or so, the romantiscm may even fade!! If not, best of luck in all your future endeavours!
Marlie
P.S. - I am not trying to dissuade you, just wanting to bring some reality to the situation. No hard feelings, I hope.
 

Gregg

New member
Apr 26, 2004
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container costs???

cork said:
I don't want to burst any bubbles, but the costs of moving to the DR are very high. I am currently moving to Sosua and I'll give you some of the costs I have incurred.

1. moving expenses. Springfield MO to Sosua $16000 US for a 40' container
2. trips to DR to house hunt and set up house 6 trips since March 2004 $9500 so far
3. House (no financing) $200000 cash
4. fix up this house (bids only) fence $16K fix wrought iron rails $4600. seal roof $13K electricity problems $3000 and plumbing problems $1500
5. residency $1500us a piece
6. car in US a Honda CRV is $22,000 in DR $42,000 cash no financing

The previous posters are trying to spell it out for you, this is not an inexpensive move. Minimum wage here in the DR with the new 30% increase is under $200US month. Food in the grocery stores are outrageous if you cannot use the local brands. These facts are sobering. DR is still much less expensive than many other so called paradises. The DR is not as inexpensive as it once was, and may never be again.


cork

i've been quoted a price of $2500 US to ship a 40' container. this is only for the container usage. i will need to pay for drop off and pick up at my home in Ontario and for the same in the DR. i will also have to pay for any legal fees/bribes etc.. but it is not $16000 US! should work out to only $3500 US maximum. i know i am saving a bit by doing my own packing but that's quite a spread. maybe you should make a few more calls.