Family of 4 Move To DR

mommit

New member
Aug 6, 2007
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Hello All,

I have been a reader of this site for quite a while, although not a frequent poster. Last night I returned from my first trip to Santo Domingo. My husband has been twice.

We may have a unique opportunity to move to DR for about 2 years with our children ages 6 & 8. Originally thought that SD would be best place as it has more bilingual schools, capital of country, etc. But, having just returned, I realize that there is a reason that I choose not to live in such a large city in US so would prefer something smaller while living there. Santiago seems more tolerable in city size to me as it is closer to where I live now.

Primarly interested in living abroad not buying a home but renting during the time we are there. We are not looking for employment necessarily, but will need to educate our kids. We are considering home schooling initially because we would all need to learn Spanish better than we know it now. However, would eventually want a good bilingual school that would be easily transferrable to US schools when we return.

Finding as complete information about Santiago and areas around it is not as easy as finding information about SD. So here are a few of my questions:

(1) Are there long term rental options for a family in or around Santiago?
(2) I know that there are bi-lingual schools based on other threads, but is home schooling groups available or would I be forging new ground?
(3) In SD it looked like I would have no real problem purchasing western goods while my kids were transitioning to local goods - sundry items at supermarket. I assume that would also be available.
(4) Would we need a car initially to get around Santiago?
(5) Is Santiago traffic anything like SD? Disregard of lanes, traffic lights optional, etc?
(6) Are there any cultural differences between the two cities? (Like in US between urban city dweller and smaller city dweller?)
(7) I was very aware of costs in SD and wonder if there is a price difference in items -- gas, cars, apartment rents, etc because of city size.
(8) What about access to electricy - need generator or fairly consistent availability?
(9) I will just ask this here out of convenience, my list is already long, are avg temparatures milder than SD?

Thank you anyone who can assist me with information prior to our commiting to moving to the DR. - Mommit
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
Hello All,

I have been a reader of this site for quite a while, although not a frequent poster. Last night I returned from my first trip to Santo Domingo. My husband has been twice.

We may have a unique opportunity to move to DR for about 2 years with our children ages 6 & 8. Originally thought that SD would be best place as it has more bilingual schools, capital of country, etc. But, having just returned, I realize that there is a reason that I choose not to live in such a large city in US so would prefer something smaller while living there. Santiago seems more tolerable in city size to me as it is closer to where I live now.

Primarly interested in living abroad not buying a home but renting during the time we are there. We are not looking for employment necessarily, but will need to educate our kids. We are considering home schooling initially because we would all need to learn Spanish better than we know it now. However, would eventually want a good bilingual school that would be easily transferrable to US schools when we return.

Finding as complete information about Santiago and areas around it is not as easy as finding information about SD. So here are a few of my questions:

(1) Are there long term rental options for a family in or around Santiago?Yes
(2) I know that there are bi-lingual schools based on other threads, but is home schooling groups available or would I be forging new ground?Yes, and several bilingual and English only schools--religious oriented)
(3) In SD it looked like I would have no real problem purchasing western goods while my kids were transitioning to local goods - sundry items at supermarket. I assume that would also be available.No problem, but expensive. I wish nebraskamom was still around to help you!
(4) Would we need a car initially to get around Santiago? ?? Probably. Taxis are $3 a pop and publicars are confusing (and about 50?..But Santiago is large enough to make a car attractive.
(5) Is Santiago traffic anything like SD? Disregard of lanes, traffic lights optional, etc?Well, we are part of the DR..but not anywhere as intense as Santo Dgo...
(6) Are there any cultural differences between the two cities? (Like in US between urban city dweller and smaller city dweller?)Yeah, we're nicer folks
(7) I was very aware of costs in SD and wonder if there is a price difference in items -- gas, cars, apartment rents, etc because of city size.None that matter
(8) What about access to electricy - need generator or fairly consistent availability? Ehhhh, that is the rub. Like the rest of the country, electricity-depending on where you end up living, can be iffy. It is possible that your rental will have a standby genset or an inverter. Otherwise, you do need to be sure you can live with an inverter or whether you need a small diesel generator...that can be worked out once you see where you'll be living.
(9) I will just ask this here out of convenience, my list is already long, are avg temparatures milder than SD? Yes, we are drier, and a bit milder. We also are closer to mountains and great beaches. Even swimming holes in rivers.

Thank you anyone who can assist me with information prior to our commiting to moving to the DR. - Mommit

Think about it a lot. It is a major move.

HB