Culturally remote--we have some experience with that. We live in a small town in the West Texas desert with a population of 6000. The closest Wal-Mart is an hour away. The closest Starbucks is 2.5 hours away as is the closest large grocery store. But, that is still nothing compared to what we will experience in the DR.
Yer next WalMart is about 15 hundred miles from Barahona. Really, your next "real" super markets are in Santo Domingo... what, 3 or some hours of not so save roads East.
Starbucks is not really what I would rate a "culture"... but, cafe at least, you'll be able to get nearby, and good one too.
Really, as others pointed out, it's not so much about WM and cafe, but about schools and emergency health care, financial safety (ownership) and last but not least your physical safety and future outlook for your children. Your 15 year old form the mediocre West Texan school, could probably teach at the local university, IF only there was one.
Finally, a town of 6000 in Texas, even if half of them may be Mexicans... well... will still beat many fold the number of English speakers in the whole greater region of your "
finca" (since that was one of your initial questions).
We were thinking of bringing a good tent and camping out on our land while we search for a suitable rental. Would that be extremely dangerous?
This may sound humorous but I would be inclined to predict that one day you may wake up (if you're lucky) to marvel at the sky and find out you're tent has "disappeared" while you slept in it.
No "kibbutzim" on the hills of Barahona, please!
People which have a little more than their own bare life to protect, like to sleep behind concrete block walls with steel protections on their windows... IF they can afford them, that is. Again, you may not bring many belongings along on your move as to US or even West Texan small town standards... but even if you were to come here naked, there will be those which would never believe that these
Gringos locos up on that hill, really don't have money or at least "things" they don't deserve to keep.[/quote]
Perhaps, I should again urge my husband to fly out to the DR this summer to look for rentals. He wanted to save the money for the move.
There are many things which come to mind you ought to urge your husband. I don't want to be judgmental over you all and/or your state of mind. Let me just try to put it like this: Your questions and statements seem to indicate that you have a very, very but VERY... erm... "romantic"(?) view of what life in the DR is like. This is not Tahiti before it was discovered by the tourist industry.
As some mentioned and I also hinted, the drug business will be happening right around you... with all the works! Lack of education will make it very difficult for your future neighbors to talk and argue out problems you all might (actually WILL) run into sooner or later in a civilized manner (thus hints like: Machetes, guns, missing tent, missing life stock... your land been pulled away under your feet like it was a carpet... etc. Your and/or your children's life being at stake...). I know, West Texans, just like most Texans, cherish their constitutional right to bear arms... but trust me... we're not talking about the same situations and arguments.
What is the best way to search for rentals in Baharona? From the real estate section forum, I saw that it can be quite capricious.
Around Barahona? On-site. There is very little Real Estate geared towards foreigners around there and the few things would only be close to the sea. You ought to find rentals in housing designed for locals at quite low prices once you overcome landlords trying to take you for being foreigners.
I think you ought to be able to find something for as little as 3000 Pesos a month. But then, don't expect much electric power, running water or even Internet service. Since upper class homes with some way of having 23/7 power and water will be scarce in the region, they in turn may be surprisingly expensive.[/quote]
Again, thanks for your comments.
Thank you for saying
thanks while you have obviously been surprised by what you have rated as negative comments.
I admire your open mind, so to even only contemplate our comments, suggestions and advice and even welcome more, even when some of it may have seemed judgmental of you, your family and mindset.
Others have ASKED (you did not initially) and immediately refuted the advice and suggestions given when it was not matching what they WANTED to hear.
We certainly wish you luck, knowing you will need it, but quite convinced it won't be sufficient, especially for your children.
... J-D.