Family from London relocating to punta cana :-))

[Harleysrock]

Welcome to DR1!
If I had known what I would have had to deal with in the first 6 months of moving to the DR with just my wife and 4 animals I would not have done it! That was by far the most stress I have ever dealt with however I did learn a lot and I am glad I did it.

It will be easier I am sure if you are in a turn key condo type thing with security and lots of other expats.
Not sure if you speak Spanish but if you have time to either take classes or use an an app like Duolingo it will help a lot.

I am sure your kid will adjust easier than you or your hubby.
Good luck with this adventure!!

 

[Martanathan]

Thank you kindly for your advice however splitting family is not an option , we are in this together and hey if there is a will there is always a way

 

[Martanathan]

Thank frank yes , splitting family is simply not the option . If there is a will , surely there must be a way also we are well travelled ( lived in st Lucia for a bit ) and even though having baby is dr is scary , it's not as scary as all of us living in different countries !!! Also the kid can adapt , it's a great exposure and adventure ;-) @ being positive at all cost

 

[Criss Colon]

"Leromero",......."Mi LLave"!!!!!
We lived in Maracay, I met "Rumulo Bentancourt" there, and Valencia.
We went to Puerto Cabello almost every weekend, BEFORE the highway.
Did Maracaiebo, Merida,San Juan de los Moros, EVERYWHERE!
MUCH better food than here!
That was 1958 & 59!
Life was much different, and MUCH BETTER, for Venezolanos back then!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

 

[grumpy]

"Leromero",......."Mi LLave"!!!!!
We lived in Maracay, I met "Rumulo Bentancourt" there, and Valencia.
We went to Puerto Cabello almost every weekend, BEFORE the highway.
Did Maracaiebo, Merida,San Juan de los Moros, EVERYWHERE!
MUCH better food than here!
That was 1958 & 59!
Life was much different, and MUCH BETTER, for Venezolanos back then!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Food is still awesome. You also got to experience the best Venezuela. Since I was born "estamos en crisis"

 

[Frank the Tank]

Welcome to DR1

 

[Martanathan]

Thank you ;-) great help !

 

[Martanathan]

Thank you for your honest answer ;-) just to clarify , we are both very well traveled having lived in different countries all over the world ( st lucia for a bit , australia , poland etc) i imagine that any transition can be very stressful but splitting a family is not an option . The Kid ( 7yrs old) is very socially adaptable so for him might be easiest . Having a baby in DR is a bit scary prospect but hey , i hope the private hospital is half decent so i am trying to be positive . once again , thank you ;-)

 

[Martanathan]

Thank you ! We are certainly not worried about The Kid , he is 7 with an amazingly adventurous nature having traveled the world from 6 mth old . but i do understand that it might be a bit of rocky ride . I dont speak spanish , my husband does but i am willing to embrace the whole experience with an open mind and willingness to learn . fingers crossed x

 

[Martanathan]

wow !!! thats a really good vibes for a change ;-) yes i know it might be difficult but we are well traveled international family and no , we dont want to be apart. we are in this together due to my husband great job opportunities and i am happy to take a risk . well if it works great , if not well at least i gave it a shot !! everything can go wrong in dr or Europe as there are no quarantines in life but hey ... thank you very much , kindly appreciated

Welcome to DR1! Looks like you are set for quite an experience, best of luck. You've gotten some good advice so far in terms of schools and making sure your newest addition gets to keep all their rights as a future Brit. Also, having Nathan go and help set up first would be helpful, especially given Marta's delicate condition. That said, perhaps the family doesn't like the idea of splitting up for half a year, which is totally understandable. Either way, I hope you have an amazing adventure.

There's a lot of good info - and people - on this site. You'll quickly figure out those who know what they're talking about and have a willingness to help.

To (some of) the other folk:

C'mon, y'all. They seem to have the right idea, and are looking for some advice BEFORE they make their move. There's no shortage of folks who did it the other way around.

Mauricio, if Nathan can lock down the job (and be paid UK-level amounts for the work), they will have a quality of life substantially above that of many expats in the area. If I recall, one of your main issues was a chronic shortage of funds, which may be inapplicable here.

Ample funds, an open mind, patience, and a commitment to learning the language and culture go an awful long way towards smoothing things over in a transition. As Nathan is either in - or moving into - the hospitality industry, being in exceedingly touristy areas is sort of the norm that the family would encounter regardless of where he was. I mean, it's not like the island culture is dramatically better on Grand Turk, you know.

Anyway, again buena suerte to the family![/QUOTE]

 

[Martanathan]

hahahaha great , thank you ;-) i got stuck in hurricane thomas for a week when it hit st lucia in 2010 and wouldnt change the experience for a world ! with a positive attitude i believe , anything will be great ! thanks for your encouragement !!

 

[DRob]

That's right. If he can make anything above EUR5,000 / month I don't see any problem coming here (I would still not go the three / four of them right away, but have the husband go first.

If we are talking about an income around EUR3,000 or less however we are talking about a whole different 'adventure'. I don't think that would be chronic shortage of funds but the problem would be a chronic excessive outflow of funds, inherent to a undeveloped country where one would like to live as in a developed country.

It all depends on the package one is being offered though. If you'd get a reasonable salary + complete health insurance (including medicines and the best doctors and hospitals) + transportation + trips back home, go for it (but let your wife and child at home till you prepared the way for a bit at least).

I think that, even when taking into consideration elementary level private schooling and personal transportation costs, most folks would be hard pressed not to live exceedingly well on 300k pesos per month, which is roughly what EUR5k is worth. That said, if the employer gives them a decent (expat) benefits package as part of the contract, they could do quite nicely on less than half that, even in PC.

The key - and the place most folks who would otherwise have adequate funds get into trouble - is where they try to replicate in DR their lifestyle back home. Trying to get things the way they were in Manhattan or Manchester or Munich gets very expensive, very quickly.

It's a different country, and a different way of living and thinking. Sometimes folks forget THAT's PART OF THE ALLURE. If you embrace that going in, and make a real effort of starting to learn the language before you go, the "culture shock" (which is what most people complain about) is a lot less.

 

[Martanathan]

Big Thank you to everyone for taking your time to offer us kind , valuable advice . Very appreciated ! We are looking forward to our new adventure ! Taking a risk and biting a bullet might not be everyone cup of tea and we respect that , but if we dont try we will never know ;-))) thank you once again . warmest regards marta and nathan

 

[Mauricio]

Im convinced you won't be able to live a decent life with EUR2500 in this country if you have to work in the city and have children. If I had to live like that we would be back in Europe already. In Europe, to the contrary, that's about what we used to spend monthly, living comfortable.

However, this probably doesn't really add to the question of the OP, and it was discussed many times in living costs topics, so I won't go in detail on why that's not enough.

 

[SKY]

The Hard Rock Casino will pay his rent and he will have free health insurance also. And they will get his residency also for him.

 

[Chirimoya]

Just as an addendum (I just sent this info to the OP via PM) - there is a Montessori school in B?varo, off the Boulevard Tur?stico near Residencial B?varo-Punta Cana. I think it is called Villa Montessori. Has anyone got up-to-date information or contact details for this school? The only website I can find is very outdated.

Arca de No? also use the Montessori method, according to their website.

 

[leromero]

That was 1958 & 59!
Life was much different, and MUCH BETTER, for Venezolanos back then!!!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC

Agree 100%! However I wasn't born there till 1971.

 

[frank12]

Well, well...what a small world. I was in Caracas, Venezuela every Wednesday and Thursday for 6 months straight on a ship i worked on. Me and the guys i worked with, ran around Caracas chasing women and raising hell. Here we are in Caracas: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u79/ktmfrank/DSC00878_zpsf8e80943.jpg

Frank

 

[JesucristoEsREY]

Now I understand you! I was born in Caracas and lived in Barquisimeto till I was about 6 or so. I agree that traveling is a good teacher. Good advice in this thread so far. Knowing what I do about the DR I would also suggest that she delivers in the UK. Good Luck!

I have an aunt and several cousins in Caracas... also have a sister that's been living in Barquisimeto since the late 70's... what a small world...

 

[Castle]

Here we are in Caracas

Frank

By looking at the pic background, I would say it was taken in CCCT mall or surrounding area...