- Thread starter lacyla123
- Start date
Living in Bella Vista Advice
It has all you mention, but may be the highest prices for rent/purchase along with Piantini/Naco areas and Casigascos
Lived in Bella Vista for 15 months recently relocating to Miramar this past May.
As stated the rents are on the high side for the city but the area is well positioned for access around the city and is one of the safer areas. There has been a rapid development of what were house lots to provide apartment blocks and in most cases these apartment blocks are right next to each other so it is pot luck when it comes to how good and quiet ones neighbors are. The density of the apartment blocks in the majority of areas of Bella Vista is a big negative imo. The population density has now become such that at certain times of the day traffic can make transiting around unenjoyable.
Depending on your immediate neighbors it can be described as generally a quiet area. There are plenty of police patrols both in trucks and on bikes and AMET are to be found on the main intersections. There are soldiers present at Bella Vista Mall.
You have decent supermarket options with Nacional in the Mall and a bit further along Sarasota Super Pola. The Mall has outlets for just about every bank. Further east on Sarasota is Unidos which is a good place to purchase all things for the home and it also has a decent supermarket section.
Plenty of restaurants to choose from in the area and you have the large Body Shop gym opposite the Mall. You have cinema in the Mall but also now a new(4D)cinema complex and Carrefour supermarket at the Downtown Centre which is on the edge of Bella Vista (Nunez/Betancourt). Good schools are available locally. The major hotel in the area is the Embajador and it is being renovated and is well located with some decent restaurants close by.
Why did I relocate? High rental cost. Too congested, constrained and wears on you. Too false (home to the wealthy and new wealthy in large part and consequently you will experience large doses of rudeness in daily life). But it is better than many other areas and a good starting point for someone new to the city. I still go to the Mall a couple of times monthly for ease of doing things because it is less than 10 minutes away with easy drive via Nunez from where I now reside.
A little confused lacyla123 your other post states you're moving to Santiago for a temporary job and here you are asking about Bella Vista in Santo Domingo. There is also a Bella Vista in Santiago.
Depending where you live in SD vs where you work, it may be quicker to commute to SANT then SD. Over the years the traffic has gotten worse even with new tunnels etc. I lived 4 years in Bella Vista, its time consuming to cross 27TH and get into the city. I now prefer the North side of 27th
Thank you... yeh I did hear that - my new job should be covering my rent so fingers crossed they will cover rent in that ara - thanks again
Thank you... yeh I did hear that - my new job should be covering my rent so fingers crossed they will cover rent in that area - thanks again
I should be living literally next door to where I work - so fingers crossed I don't have to hit el transito! Thanks for the reply.
You won't need to for normal living if you rent close to the Mall. But even if you use taxis in the city you can get most everywhere for less than 250rd.
See attached Google map, which you can zoom in and out, and try and find an apartment south of Romolu Betancourt. There are lots of apartment buildings, some new or about to be occupied, on Calle Eduardo Vic ioso which puts you in easy and safe walking distance to the Mall, Super Pola and Body Shop. There are plenty of apartments on Sarasota too but perhaps traffic noise comes into play. South of that on Helios and beyond is quiet.
There are a number of fast food places on Romolu Betancourt that do home delivery.
Missing Google map in post#14
https://www.google.com.do/maps/plac...632e6ced8bee2c!8m2!3d18.4558831!4d-69.9401451
https://www.google.com.do/maps/plac...632e6ced8bee2c!8m2!3d18.4558831!4d-69.9401451
Ah brilliant thank you. I still can't get over how cheap taxi's are there in comparison to the north coast. I've been to SD a few times but only the real touristy areas if i'm honest. How does it fare on safety? That's the only thing i'm really conscious of. Have heard many stories from Dominicans re: gun/robbery crime in the day and at night - taxi's etc will hopefully help avoid all of that, although common sense of course required too!
As I mentioned earlier, Bella Vista is one of the safer areas in the city and I used to walk everywhere local when I lived on Av Helios, even at night when going to the cinema. That said there is the risk of being a victim of crime everywhere at anytime in the city but much more so when you live in the less affluent barrios. To be frank I would say that the risk of being a victim of crime is far greater in those tourist areas you mention assuming Zona Colonial, Gazcue and the Malecon compared with Bella Vista. But then again only a couple of weeks back there was an armed hijack of a money collection truck early evening at the Mall entrance. Santo Domingo is a big diverse city of close to 2.5 million people and ask yourself would you venture downtown in some of your home country cities without sensible precautions. Start with Bella Vista and build your knowledge of the city from those you will work with.
I moved to a less affluent but middle class area and choose to do my shopping on the quite lively Av Independencia.......I do enjoy the bustle and activity along this road and grimace at the traffic. And so exercise due caution and awareness whilst in the car and out of it. My general rule is not to be out after dusk in such areas.
That's really good advice, thank you. How long have you been living in SD may I ask? Sounds like you know it well. What's transportation like to boca chica for say beach time .. as that's one thing i'll miss about the north coast.
Apart from living in the city for the past 21 months, I've worked in the city commuting daily from the campo to the north for a period and again visited regularly on business when living in Las Terrenas. Through family contacts of my ex esposa and my current partner I have and continue to travel to and through various barrios so I am fairly conversant with traversing the city.
If you get employed to work in Santo Domingo in one of the better areas (Bella Vista) and that comes with decent accommodation, you should be able to enjoy all a capital city has, and at weekends get out into campo or to the beach. Forget Boca Chica which could take you an hour to get to from the central city and think beyond. With the new highways to Bayahibe and the East Coast, plenty of beach is in easy reach as are the beaches of the Samana peninsula and even the North Coast using inexpensive coach travel from the terminuses in the city and are a little over two hours away. To the west are some interesting places and beaches too and inland you have the rios and mountains. Hopefully you will quickly realize that the North Coast is a very small part of all that is interesting and enjoyable in this very diverse country.
Yes completely agree - and i'm interested to learn more about Jarabacoa too.. thanks again for all your advice - it's much appreciated.