What would be the hardest part for a US citizen man moving to santo domingo for the first time? I would live in santo domingo for about three months continously to see if I can really live in santo domingo on a permanent basis. I speak some spanish, but I am not yet 100% fluent in spanish. I guess no better way than to learn spanish than to live among the people who speak the language. Or, is this just a bad ideal for a single, male from the USA to try to live in santo domingo on a permanent basis. Some of my friends say I may get seriously hurt in santo domingo while my other friends say I should give it a try. I guess finding an apartment and a job will be difficult, but I could teach english in santo domingo. I have had three separate trips to the Dominican Republic over the last three years so I am very familiar with the geography of the country and the customs of the dominican people.
- Thread starter live_for_life
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What would be the hardest part for a US citizen male moving to santo domingo?
forget job. double what you are doing now or get a side job at mcdonalds, work nights and weekends. in 6 months you will have enough to live in SD for 1 year without working. money is the great equalizer, hard parts only recquire money to become easy parts. it will take you 1 year to find the right girlfriend and get her pregnant. then you can go back north, work night and day at burger king, send her money, go down on vacation, buy home, go back to work, take year off, out of money, go back to work like dog, move family north, kids in school now, gotta work, wife won't go back to DR now, likes life better in the US, more malls, kids don't like DR, miss friends in US, school, college, you are found dead in snowbank with shovel in hand, pint of brugal in coat pocket. wife remarries to old dominican friend who now lives in the Bronx who cheats your wife out of your dreamhouse, kids are both doctors..................................
What I have to look forward to
Ah well, at least the kids will be doctors...
Consuming Brugal while shoveling snow is not recommended, by the way. Doesn't it say that on the label somewhere?
I don't know if this happened to him, but it sounds about right.
Ah well, at least the kids will be doctors...Consuming Brugal while shoveling snow is not recommended, by the way. Doesn't it say that on the label somewhere?
nah, hasn't happened to me, but i know of so many dominicans in NYC and lawrence MA that live that life. they are all building houses, sending money to girlfriends-wives that are waiting for visas, living the dream of moving back, but circumstances dictate that IF they had just a little bit more money, IF, when the kids finish school, live in small apts. in the bronx and are building McMansions in the DR..................one of the great difficulties for ex-pats settling in the DR is the competition with NY dollars. NY city wages are the highest in the US, and there are 1 million dominicans in NY, and these people are seeking a piece of the DR to own too, and it is after all, their country. i know a dominican truck driver in NYC making 58$ an hour, can you compete with that? remittances run this country and the flow is not stopping, it is driving up the cost of everything.
More problemitos...
Lest we get sidetracked too much from the OP, here are a few other difficulties a newbie in Santo Domingo might have.
Learning the lingo.
Finding a decent SECURE place to live.
Learning to understand and accept the culture.
Learning to get around the city, the fastest and most economical ways.
Learning where to purchase needed items, like your own brand of toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
Meeting friends who you can trust. (I highly recommend contacting well known highly reputed DR1 members in Santo Domingo)
I'm sure there's a bunch of things that I haven't mentioned, but the ones above will keep you pretty busy for awhile.
BTW: There's no such thing as being bored in the DR.
If it happens to you, there's something seriously wrong.
Lest we get sidetracked too much from the OP, here are a few other difficulties a newbie in Santo Domingo might have.
Learning the lingo.
Finding a decent SECURE place to live.
Learning to understand and accept the culture.
Learning to get around the city, the fastest and most economical ways.
Learning where to purchase needed items, like your own brand of toothpaste, shampoo, etc.
Meeting friends who you can trust. (I highly recommend contacting well known highly reputed DR1 members in Santo Domingo)
I'm sure there's a bunch of things that I haven't mentioned, but the ones above will keep you pretty busy for awhile.
BTW: There's no such thing as being bored in the DR.
If it happens to you, there's something seriously wrong.
But a lot of them go to the D.R. each year to spend 2 months. Are they still paid during that time ?? nooooooooooo
I was teaching at the Bar in 2002 at more than the double
By far your best resource will be DR1. Read and learn as much as you can.
Plenty of single males live and work in Santo Domingo, I'm one of them
I suggest you save as much money as you can and come and live here for 6 months. You'll soon know if it's for you or you have what it takes to survive the country
Your going to make peanuts teaching English in the beginning. It takes time and networking, I have posted about this in some of your other threads.
The capital is not for everyone and I have lost count the amount of people I have seen leave after not being able to "hack it".
But...
If your young, male and single and can make money here, it's a great place to live!
The hardest part of moving to Santo Domingo will be dumping your American attitude about lots of things. Simply put, they don't work here and you will rapidly find yourself at odds not only with the system, the people and even more troubling, with yourself.
If you can achieve this attitudinal transformation everything else will be a snap. Good luck.
If you can achieve this attitudinal transformation everything else will be a snap. Good luck.
Forging Reality
Well, you seem to be a fast learner.
Some of us have more than ten years living here and would not say that.
So, the hardest part would be to hammer reality to fit your perceptions.
Janin
Well, you seem to be a fast learner.
Some of us have more than ten years living here and would not say that.
So, the hardest part would be to hammer reality to fit your perceptions.
Janin