Moving permanently to the DR

dreivitt

New member
Mar 7, 2006
33
0
0
We may be moving to the DR on a permanent basis the latter part of this year. We believe we will be in the vicinity of Sosua but do not want to live in the town, if possible. Some of the questions we have include:

How far out does broadband coverage extend in that area?
Can you give us some idea how much a small furnished house would cost to rent if it's not within the city limits?
How much can we expect (realistically) to pay for utilities if we intend to use air conditioning? We've seen some blog comments about $110/month for all utilities but wonder how realistic this number is.
Should we bring any of our own furniture, etc with us (from the U.S.) or is it cost and time prohibitive to do so? What about our car?
Can we acquire property insurance there (auto, home, personal property) and, if so, is it outrageously priced?
Can a decent used car be found there and, if so, at what cost? We don't mind if it's a very small something or other.
If we become permanent residents, are we covered by any sort of nationlized medical plan or do we need to purchase insurance? If we need to buy it, is it best to get it there or stateside?

I'm sure we'll have a million more questions once the decision to move has been finalized but we hoped that some of you nice folks could help us out preliminarily in this way.

Thanks so much for your responses.

The Reivitts
Harrodsburg, KY
 

Larry

Gold
Mar 22, 2002
3,513
2
0
you came to the right place

If you use the "search" feature, I think you will find answers to most if not all of your questions as those topics have been answered in detail many times on here.

My advice is to take your time, do tons of research and make sure you know exactly what you are doing before you move here.

Larry
 

HOWMAR

Silver
Jan 28, 2004
2,624
2
0
Based upon the questions that you are asking, it seems that you will not be prepared for a permanent move to the DR later this year. Most of the questions that you are asking can only be answered by having boots on the ground. What may be an acceptable home to me, would be out of the question to you. Or vice-versa. You seem to want all the comforts of US living in a location outside the city limits. This is not easy to find. My suggestion is to rent a condo for a month and do your research first hand.
 

dreivitt

New member
Mar 7, 2006
33
0
0
Appreciate the responses

We really appreciate both of your responses. We are new to this blog (in fact, have never blogged before) and were unaware that we could search. Thanks again for your help and, if we have any "holes" in our research, we'll get back in touch.
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
7,951
28
0
www.caribbetech.com
There are many communities in and around Sosua outside of town. You need to be there and look at a lot of possibilities. In rent, you could expect to pay between US$600 on the low end, to US$ as high as you want to go. You need to be very careful to choose a secure area. Generally you should rent at least for a year or so to get to know the place. Few of the areas outside of town has broadband.

There is much information on the board that talks about bringing furniture, as opposed to buying furniture. Do a few searches and read. Generally, the advice is to buy here.

Again, there is much information and lots of regulations around bringing a car. Do a few searches and you'll find more than what you can handle. Get in contact with Marco from Rockies - he has a good process and contacts to find a car. Yes, you can find a decent used car here. Cars are expensive here and you have to get something suitable for these road conditions. You can find anything for any price, depending what you want and how much you are prepared to pay. Pick an amount, say US$10,000 - read the papers and check on the car lots what you can get for that.

Yes, you can acquire car and household insurance and no, it is not outrageously priced, but it is not cheap.

Again, lots of info about medical insurance on the board already. No, you are not covered by a nationalized plan.

The best way to start, is to use the search function and once you've read all that there is, come back to the board with specific questions.
 

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Larry and HOWMAR are right, and I would add that it is best to test the waters for a while before you make any definite decisions about living here. That said, a couple quick answers:

1.Broadband coverage comes in two forms here as it does there: either through Verizon or through one fo the cable TV companies. So far as I know, you can have DSL up there in Sosua along with your Verizon home phone acct. Go for the VIP plan with Flash and you will pay about 80 bucks a month.

2. Rental costs: cannot give you specifics here, but the board is filled with info on this. Outside of Sosua it will be cheaper, but as you are a gringo, expect to pay a bit more for your real estate, at least until you learn the ropes. I dont expect that it could cost you much though.

3. AC and utilities: you may not need AC, but if you do, expect it to hike up your utility bill considerably. The Fridge, the AC and a couple other electro domestic appliances are your biggest energy users. Plus, i fyou have to use an inverter -- and you probably do -- then you have to factor in the purchase of the inverter and 8 batteries as well, about $1000 and change. Your monthly bill could as high as a hundred a month, but I am not sure. I pay between 900 pesos ($28 bucks at the current exchange) and 1500 pesos (46 bucks), but i have no AC and i have regular electric service with only a very rare black out.

4. Insurance: property Insurance i dont know about, but I do not think it is very expensive. The real question is whether it is reliable! Medical insurance from one of the top companies is not terribly expensive -- what you pay in one or two months in the States will cover you here for a year! -- but yes you will have to purchase it privately, and it does not cover medications. Medications will be your biggest medical expense and biggest worry, as many are not available here.

5. Shipping your belongings: if you decide after a while that you like the place and then you apply for residency, at that point you can ship your belongings and your car without having to pay a tariff -- but only if you have not been residing in the country for a year prior to the move. see the board for more infoo.

6. Second hand cars are much more expensive here than in the States -- Cars in general are, becuase of the tariffs. Plus they will not be in very good condition. But yes, you can certainly find them and there are good deals to be had. It depends on what you are looking for. Example: i have seen Toyota Camry station wagons in good condition going for about 4 to 5000US I guess (over 100,000 pesos certainly. Hard to find good deals under that amount)


Take your time, go slow, never make a hasty decision here, and you will be OK

PS, Chris just beat me to it while I was composing this, so take that advice vis a vis broadband, as I may be wrong about its coverage in the Sosua Area. I just assume that wherever Verizon is, you have dsl (what they call "Flash" here)
 

Chris

Gold
Oct 21, 2002
7,951
28
0
www.caribbetech.com
macocael said:
PS, Chris just beat me to it while I was composing this, so take that advice vis a vis broadband, as I may be wrong about its coverage in the Sosua Area. I just assume that wherever Verizon is, you have dsl (what they call "Flash" here)

If memory serves, you have to be within 5 (it may be 10, I should know this) kilometers from an office. Here where we are, we are borderline. A friend 3 houses down, cannot get a successful installation. We?ve had to jump through hoops with line cleaners and all kinds of boosters. But the techs took a liking to us as we exhanged some training for some additional effort on their part. So, we popped a good wireless antenna on our roof and our friend now has flash.

Between Sosua and Cabarete many places now have what they call wireless. A fellow down there 'takes' a little connectivity from the nearest Verizon tower (with a little help from a Verizon tech and a little money both ways).. and distributes this connectivity via some wireless routers. It works well sometimes and sometimes not. It is great fun to walk down the beach with a laptop and figure how many unprotected small wireless networks one can pick up. I maintain I can walk beach side from Sosua to Cabarete and never be without a connection. (OK, forgive me, I'm a nerd first! ;)


macocael said:
2. Rental costs: cannot give you specifics here, but the board is filled with info on this. Outside of Sosua it will be cheaper, but as you are a gringo, expect to pay a bit more for your real estate, at least until you learn the ropes. I dont expect that it could cost you much though.

This is not always accurate. Perhaps where you are from macocael nearer to the city is more expensive. But in Sosua itself, you can find more reasonable rentals for say an apartment than outside in the gated or partially gated communties. Gringos mostly live outside the town and in town, there is good basic accommodation of various kinds. My daughter rented an apartment in a block of only three apartments, 2 baths 2 beds and an outside room for 10,000 pesos in Sosua, in a safe, but perhaps 'unattractive to gringos' area. My son rents an apartment on Encuentro Beach about mid-way between Sosua and Cabarete and pays double this for a bachelor.

If the op wants to look at apartments, there are many for reasonable rentals in and close to town. Surprisingly, there are not as many houses in Sosua proper, as what one would expect. Just outside of town, yes.
 
Last edited:

macocael

Bronze
Aug 3, 2004
929
10
0
www.darkhorseimages.com
Ah Chris that explains it. Actually a friend of mine near Moca did the same thing with the wireless. he is living on a farm out there and now has intermittent signal. This stuff is good to know.
 

dreivitt

New member
Mar 7, 2006
33
0
0
Thanks again.

Thanks to all of you for your responses. They have been invaluable!!!

The Reivitts