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What is Life like in the DR
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Thank god that you cleared this up...my mom told me that Supermercado Pola is way better than the crappy supermarkets that you find in Washington Heights, that they are selling imported cheeses, US Quality beef and that some of the supermarkets are even selling ready meals for people who cannot return home to eat.
No Extra Charge
Hmm, at 3,300 RD$ you'd even get a free helping of nematodes here ... :laugh:
Janin
Hmm, at 3,300 RD$ you'd even get a free helping of nematodes here ... :laugh:
Janin
Sushi is expensive it is true. But also there are many "branches", when during lunch hours you can have business lunch for well under $20 including half-caraf of wine.
Also there are alot of self-service small restaurants on Second and Third avenues with 6-7 tables where you can get some great food like salmon or mariskos or fresh berries for $4-$5 per pound.
Not to mention some Indian and other Mid-Orient places "eat all you can - for $7.99"
Not very far there are two sushi restaurants "eat all..." - $17 per person (drinks extra)
A great place for Spanish / South American food is El Pote (Second Ave at 39th Str). During lunch time a great meal for two with good wine , white table cloth and high class waiters costs not more than $50. Their paella is unbelievable. And it includes free parking for your car in a private garage on 39th Street.
But also there are some trendy spots where you pay $50 for sushi and leave the room hungrier than befor entering.
You gotta be kiddin`
I do not keep my receipts, otherwise I`d present you a whole bunch of them from Pier Giorio and Waterfront all for $120-$130 (US !!)each for a dinner of two persons. Nothing fancy. A salad, entree, a bottle of wine (not the most expensive) and postre con cortado.
But next time I can save the receipt and scan it to you via PM. Or you may want to go there for dinner yourself. Just to see in person that the times have long gone when $120 (US) for a dinner for two in DR sounded outrageous.
........by the way..... the pizza in BROOKLYN is great! Probably better than Manhattan!
Get your passport, get on the train and come on over!
As a woman I thought about moving to the DR. I don't think that it's a crazy idea and I don't think that it's ONLY for men. There is more to the DR than "chicas" . It's beautiful but at times very trying.
My suggestion-- rent an apartment in the Capital/Santiago for a week/weekend. You will be forced to do things on your own. You will interact with people. Take a trip on a Carribe Tour Bus. They are fun things to do but at the same time you will see how things go. Negociate taxi's. You will suddenly see how much "gringas" pay for things.
Do it alone.
Get your passport, get on the train and come on over!
As a woman I thought about moving to the DR. I don't think that it's a crazy idea and I don't think that it's ONLY for men. There is more to the DR than "chicas" . It's beautiful but at times very trying.
My suggestion-- rent an apartment in the Capital/Santiago for a week/weekend. You will be forced to do things on your own. You will interact with people. Take a trip on a Carribe Tour Bus. They are fun things to do but at the same time you will see how things go. Negociate taxi's. You will suddenly see how much "gringas" pay for things.
Do it alone.
thanks for some of the advice that can be taken. i need to visit there more first and research some more. so far i love the climate and the pace there. and teh people all seem so very friendly and uplifting. i find that in vancouver with the rainy climate and fast pace everyone is miserable and depressed. when i went to the dr i was a different person......happy,,,,i know i was on vacation and remember this, but the climate alone can do wonders!!!
in terms of a guy, yes i met one there, but that would not be my reason for moving there entirely if it was for a guy id move him here before i moved myself there! im just not sure how much i willl be spending on rent there and what type of employment i could get. but i am reading the threads.
in terms of a guy, yes i met one there, but that would not be my reason for moving there entirely if it was for a guy id move him here before i moved myself there! im just not sure how much i willl be spending on rent there and what type of employment i could get. but i am reading the threads.
These days in Santo Domingo you can barely move without running into a sushi bar.:cheeky:I'm doing my very best to not think about how life there will impact my sushi intake. Please, don't remind me
I'm doing my very best to not think about how life there will impact my sushi intake. Please, don't remind me
Maybe off subject but there is a great sushi place in Cabarete in the ocean dream business complex. Two of us stuffed ourselves silly with a couple of beers and total was less then $45 US. Try that in the US
On Subject. Depending on your life style (mine is not club Clasico or Puta central) the north coast is a great place to live and much cheaper then the US. Yes we do prepare a lot of meals at home and No we dont go to Pier Gerogio or the Waterfront or Joseph's very often as these are overpriced and not fantastic. But then again we are not impressing a chica or anyone else.
For us simple folk i can say we have no major complaints.
Bob K
No offense, but you're just fooling yourself, if you believe what you just wrote.
It's really good to hear there are great sushi spots in DR. One of my favorite foods. You've never heard anything regarding issues with freshness? Bad sushi can shut you down for quite some time....
Back on topic. HoneyB, I'd really encourage you to tread lightly on this. Listen to the folks who actually live there. Spend a week in a non touristy area. Then, if you like it, come back for a month. Then try three, and so forth, but take your time.
Oh, and try to learn as much conversational spanish as you can. Note this is different from the tourist-class spanglish you probably heard in Punta Cana. You'll find it much easier to survive and succeed and have a positive, fulfilling experience if you have a grasp of the language.
Back on topic. HoneyB, I'd really encourage you to tread lightly on this. Listen to the folks who actually live there. Spend a week in a non touristy area. Then, if you like it, come back for a month. Then try three, and so forth, but take your time.
Oh, and try to learn as much conversational spanish as you can. Note this is different from the tourist-class spanglish you probably heard in Punta Cana. You'll find it much easier to survive and succeed and have a positive, fulfilling experience if you have a grasp of the language.
HoneyBunch
I suggest listening to some of the Dominican Republic radio stations that are broadcsst over the net. Learning spanish in Canada will not help you much when trying to understand a Dominican speak. Being able to comunicate is one of the keys to enjoying yourself and being safer in the DR.
Don't be easily scared off to travel to new places by people who do not have the same courage you do. You only live once!
Visit the places that aren't so overrun by tourists (like Punta Cana and Sosua) Only then can you know if the DR is for you.
What is Life Like in the DR
Honeybunch,
Like the others have already said, the answers to a lot of your questions depend a lot on you, your lifestyle, age, expected income, etc., etc. I just want to add that if I were you, I'd take my time making such a serious move. I've been living here exactly one year, and I can now say that if I had it to do over again, I would have waited, asked a lot more questions, and tried harder to investigation how day to day life would be before I made the move. I had been vacationing here in POP every year (except one due to medical reasons) since 1999, but vacationing here and living here are two completely different "animals". I'm NOT saying that I would not have eventually moved here; but I would have done the whole thing differently and I would have waited a little longer until my financial situation was a lot tighter. There are so many things you need to consider before taking the plunge, and decisions to make in terms of what things/circumstances are the most important to you in making life both enjoyable and rewarding. If you like, I will elaborate in a PM. In the meantime, read as much of the posts as you can and set aside a lot of time to travel here for extended periods of time, if possible. Visit different areas of the island because it's not the same everywhere. Most importantly, relax and don't be in a hurry. There are a lot of wonderful things about living in the DR; you just need to be able to weigh the good against the not so great. I wish I had done a better job of it. Again, not saying I would not have moved here, but I would have done it differently.
Honeybunch,
Like the others have already said, the answers to a lot of your questions depend a lot on you, your lifestyle, age, expected income, etc., etc. I just want to add that if I were you, I'd take my time making such a serious move. I've been living here exactly one year, and I can now say that if I had it to do over again, I would have waited, asked a lot more questions, and tried harder to investigation how day to day life would be before I made the move. I had been vacationing here in POP every year (except one due to medical reasons) since 1999, but vacationing here and living here are two completely different "animals". I'm NOT saying that I would not have eventually moved here; but I would have done the whole thing differently and I would have waited a little longer until my financial situation was a lot tighter. There are so many things you need to consider before taking the plunge, and decisions to make in terms of what things/circumstances are the most important to you in making life both enjoyable and rewarding. If you like, I will elaborate in a PM. In the meantime, read as much of the posts as you can and set aside a lot of time to travel here for extended periods of time, if possible. Visit different areas of the island because it's not the same everywhere. Most importantly, relax and don't be in a hurry. There are a lot of wonderful things about living in the DR; you just need to be able to weigh the good against the not so great. I wish I had done a better job of it. Again, not saying I would not have moved here, but I would have done it differently.
Ratnakumari, this is an old thread so I moved the posts to a new one:
www.dr1.com/forums/living/79711-moving-santo-domingo.html
www.dr1.com/forums/living/79711-moving-santo-domingo.html
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