Hi every one my name is Christelle and I'm married to Steve ,I'll cut to the chase !!! Steve is a full time fisherman with his own boat in the UK ( 20yrs exp and a cert skipper ticket) It has become so difficult to fish here in the UK with the endless restrictions from Brussels makes life unbearable. After visiting the Dominican my husband and I wondered whether it would be possible to start a new life there ( under no illusions it would be easy !! ) Would any one know of Fishing charter skippers and would finding a job is this area be very difficult ? I would appreciate any pointers ! thanks very much Christellex
- Thread starter kittle
- Start date
Hi I'm new could I ask some advice?
Forget the job research. You need spend three months here first. If you're not ready to kill each other by then, then you should consider the next steps. Only then.
First of all the Grammar Police have been extremely lax in your case. It is not proper to use Dominican as a noun unless referring to a specific person. The country can be referred to as the Dominican Republic, the DR or as Quisqueya, but NOT " the Dominican"...unless you happen to live in the " United" ....get the point?
Okay, that done with, I would say that I am sure that Mike Fisher can help answer your questions. There are a lot of roadblocks, and this place is great to visit but tough to live in.
And you should know that these tropical waters do not have a whole lot of fish in them, and that they have been horribly overfished for decades.
Maybe with a few years of catch and release some species will come back, but I have my doubts...
HB
Okay, that done with, I would say that I am sure that Mike Fisher can help answer your questions. There are a lot of roadblocks, and this place is great to visit but tough to live in.
And you should know that these tropical waters do not have a whole lot of fish in them, and that they have been horribly overfished for decades.
Maybe with a few years of catch and release some species will come back, but I have my doubts...
HB
Na, HB was bringing up a good point of "pique" for those of us who have dominican blood, family, live here etc. I don't think it offended anyone Kitty!
To my point about a 3-month probationary period: It was from the heart. I have traveled a lot for work these past 13 years, and I have come to realize something: You always want to move to where you vacation (classic "grass is always greener"). Especially when the echanting sirens of the caribbean are calling. BUT recall, the Sirens were calling Odysseus to his doom.
It's a beautiful country here and the lifestyle has so many rewards. HOWEVER, your case is one of the most common. Not as common as coming here and "falling in love" with a local, but common nevertheless.
This is the thing: It is one of most difficult things to do ever. Uproot and move into a foreign culture. I don't know where I read this or who passed this along, but it goes something like this:
The stages of expatriation (NOT to be confused with the 4 stages of culture shock):
1) Romantic phase (1-3months): You just love it. it's all so new and beautiful and peachy
2) EVERYTHING GETS ON YOUR NERVES AND YOU ARE READY TO GO POSTAL.
3) Resentment: You start to dislike everything and everyone representing the culture. Badmouthing and nothing positive to say at all.
4) The Bail Out: Booking 2 one-way tickets to the homeland, never to look back.
That said, there are many that adapt, assimilate, accept, even begin to love. However, many of these types have established families along the way, and so goes the old saying: "Home is where the heart is"
Best of luck,
ERM
I can take on board all of your comments and fully realise all of the ups and downs a major move can have on your life .I too have travelled and lived in many different places .I believe in living life to the full and I certainly don't want to sit there in my old age (thats presuming I get that far!!) and think way didn't I try .... As for the DR mistake on my behalf if I were to pull some one new up on on PC then I might just go about it in a more friendly way....
You seem to be indicating that either yourself or your husband or maybe both will need a job to earn income. Is that correct? If so, read everything you can on this board about cost of living, salaries etc and if you have enough money to live here for a year without employment, move down on a temporary basis and do your research on the ground (or at sea :cheeky
whilst you absorb the local culture, language, bureaucracy and business practices. And take a look also at your own qualities of resilience, ability to use humour and humility because they will surely be needed. Keep a bolthole back in UK just in case or maybe use Steve's boat as a floating bolthole.
Friends of ours, Sonia [Dominican] and Bob [American who speaks Dominican Spanish better than most Domincans] did that years ago, moving to Santo Domingo with their two teenage children. They lasted a couple of years before they - and the boat - came back to the US. 'Not easy' is putting it mildly.
Hello Christelle,
What kind of boat have you got in the U.K?
And which coast are you on?
Just curious.
What kind of boat have you got in the U.K?
And which coast are you on?
Just curious.
I am not in the boating / fishing business, but if I were you....
- try to hook up with a local boat owner / fisherman in one of the tourist areas, and work a deal that whereby your husband would work (cheaply, as you have to compete with local labor) and where you get a percentage of the business you bring in. Then use the INTERNET to drum up business for the guy. After your husband knows the local ropes, he could try to go out on his own if he wanted. Any business in the DR is tough for a foreigner, but something that involves boats and tourist areas have much more red tape.
- be prepared for the fact that many many very beautiful young women will throw themselves at your husband.
- try to hook up with a local boat owner / fisherman in one of the tourist areas, and work a deal that whereby your husband would work (cheaply, as you have to compete with local labor) and where you get a percentage of the business you bring in. Then use the INTERNET to drum up business for the guy. After your husband knows the local ropes, he could try to go out on his own if he wanted. Any business in the DR is tough for a foreigner, but something that involves boats and tourist areas have much more red tape.
- be prepared for the fact that many many very beautiful young women will throw themselves at your husband.
thanks very much for all of your kind words and advice.We fish out of felixstowe on the east coast and we have a traweller / long liner,shes a greatboat! I'll show steve the post about the possiblity of young women throwing themselves at him !! will make him smile .We will come out in Jan and see how we go ,I'm sure its not for every one but you don't know untill you try !! many thanks again Christelle