Hello I'm a young Canadian girl that is really bored in canada and I'm wanting adventure and I have been thinking of possibly moving to the Dominican I'm kinda leaning toward Punta Cana or Santo Domingo. How does one go about getting the Information .. How much money will one need? will I need a visa ? What kind of jobs could a Canadian girl get? of course I have been taking spanish lessons so that I can communicate and I do have a few friends there.. How unsafe is it to live there?
I see... Yes you're old enough to make your own mistakes and learn from them in life (much to us parent's counter advise most of the times).
Living in the Dominican Republic is not any world apart from living in Canada, that is if you can cross out 24/7 electricity and Police at your door within minutes of an emergency. All other stuff is trivial matters and not impossible to make do with.
Your bigger challenge in the DR is "work", which is not as well paid as you think in this country. You can opt to move anywhere you want in the country, but your condition, living standards and safety will be very dependant on where you go to and make it home.
As with anywhere else in the known world, common sense prevails, the more expensive/upscale the surroundings the better your conditions will be.
Are things that bad in poor barrios in the DR? Well the poor there are living in those conditions, due to their financial means and not because they want to. By rule the poorer the sector, the less the choices and conditions affordable for you there.
Punta Cana? Forget that dream for now as that prefab town is not even big enough to offer much in any department as of yet. As for the coastal tourists centers like Puerto Plata and such? Only people that can deem those "cities" are expats with a dream of paradise in the DR for cheap.
Santo Domingo is a good choice as well as Santiago, anything other than that will be taking a huge leap of faith into what if.
Do you need a Visa? Not to come to the DR and stay for periods of 6 months to a year. This means paying a small fee on exit, for the length of overstay above your tourist stay as per law. Once in the DR and with a job secured you can then go about getting a residency and work permit in the country, via a lawyer like the one here in DR1 (who comes highly recommended by expats in the DR). How much is that? It all depends on several factors, since not two cases are always perfectly the same in that order.
How much money will you need to live in the DR? That depends in many factors! If you'll be jobless for a while, think that rent, food and transportation will need to come from your savings or family in Canada. Living in the DR for a typical middle class person, living by themselves runs something like this:
Housing: From RD$5,000 to as much as RD$40,000 per month. That's from a one bedroom loft in a middle class area to a one bedroom apartment in a 4 story and up building, with 24/7 light in the common areas like halls and lobby with parking.
Food: Tricky! From as low as RD$5,000 to the sky is the limit for exquisite cuisine.
Clothing: About the same as in Canada, but without the heavy fall and winter needs. More like a year round summer closet to pick from!
What types of jobs there for a girl like you from Canada? Teaching English, French, private tutoring, secretary, entrepreneurship, etc...
The most important question I have for you is: Do you have any qualifications to offer in the job pool of the DR? If you can get a good job in the DR, then all other problems will be very easy to overcome or deal with.
