In-Country Experts - British Expat Forum

Hello Shaz (Sharron & David),
WOW, such a wonderful post it deserves an immediate reply/acknowledgement!! I am off to a meeting in Sosua right now (10 minutes ago) but will respond more fully later this afternoon.

1) Dance class school on Cabarete I know of. About 3 in Santiago (one & half hours bus drive or 1 hour 10 in car) & who knows how many in Santo Domingo.
2) There is another good English speaking school in Costambar - although Int. School at Sosua is good (plus the other two) it is not your only school.
3) Ginnie & I didn't take classes (we still haven't) in Spanish & we only came with 20 words between us - we learned quickly as you will with your attitude/desire to integrate.

Lots more to follow if you want it - maybe more than you want so discard anything too boring from me!!

Till later! ~ Grahame.

Well Pantomime season came late to this household in 2007 - it arrived today. As this is the Dominican Republic it is not particularly surprising, but as you will see as this progresses, it is VERY frustrating!!

"She who must be Obeyed" called into my office late morning (to chastise me for something again I am sure) & during the conversation gave me a gentle reminder about not having replied to the above post as promised. Knowing I had typed it - & even corrected the typos - I smiled my superior smile & said that I had done so: Pantomime kicked in with "No you haven't" followed quickly with a "Oh yes I have"!!

After a few moments of this banter back & forth I decided to come into the forum to prove my point & ???????????? Where the *^&%## did it go??? It wasn't there!!

It would appear that last nights shenanigans with our ISP Codetel (ex-Verizon/ex-Codetel before that!!?) meant that the post had not been relayed to this forum & consequently all my hard work, wit, & now boney fingers had all worked for naught.

So, here we go again!!!!!!!

Quote:

Now at this point I know you're rolling your eyeballs saying 'Oh no not another lot making a decision on a 2 week all inclusive holiday'!!! You'll be pleased to hear we'd never be that stupid.

Ginnie & I could take exception to that comment Shaz ...... that is almost what we did 15 years ago! Three weeks here on holiday made us start the process, the second holiday of three weeks confirmed our thoughts & job offers to allow us to move permanently once we had sold everything in the UK - took us 10 weeks with MANY a sleepless night getting ready for the following days' Car Boot Sales!!

With your abilities in languages Shaz you will have NO difficulty in integrating here. You can Tell David too that he will pick it up quickly by committing to learning 10 new words a day. Words are more important than grammar (Dominicans aren't too worried about it either as they make up for bad grammar with enthusiastic Hand waving!!). Neither of US have had lessons & we only arrived with about 30 Spanish words BETWEEN us! Ginnie is proficient & I manage to get what I need to say across to those I am speaking to. As long as you TRY & as long as you smile & Make the effort to improve, ....... you will be loved & accepted here.
David. 10 words a day will give you 300 in a month! With THAT amount of words in your arsenal, you will be more fluent than 70% of Ex-Pats that have been here for a YEAR or more!!

Where in Derby were you from Shaz & where are you living at the moment? I was schooled (debatable by some I am sure) at Buxton. I also spent some 6 years in the Lichfield & Armitage area. Hey, I even played cricket & hockey at Spondon, but please don't hold that against me!!!

So, is Sosua your prime area for looking at - to rent a property there?? I do NOT recommend buying here for at least 6 or 9 months after arriving - you need to confirm the area you want to live in, need to find out who are the trusty lawyers/Realtors (Estate Agents) PLUS how business is carried out here. There are far too many sharks in the property business & I don't suggest anyone buys until they have learned the ropes & got some influential friends/contacts to call on should problems arise!
Read a few more articles from Ginnie on these subjects on our web-page www.casabush.org. The web-page is designed to be INFORMATION only & at last check we only had a few commercial operation links there - the relocation company/lawyer in Santiago plus a few Realty people I trust.

Have you the next holiday planned yet? If Sosua is your area of choice but you would like to investigate the schools over here in Puerto Plata, then I can take you to see those. I can also introduce your daughter to the Dance School teachers in Cabarete & check with my friend in Santiago about dance schools there too. Bless the administrators fior the ability to edit my own posts, .......... 'Her Indoors' has just passed me this link for you! www.danceart.com/dancerswrite/ladanza1.htm Also she sent this across the hall & lounge to me! http://www.clavedigital.com/Cultura/Noticias.asp?Id_Articulo=393 Luis is a 30 plus years lecturer at the University there & has learned a thing or two about education in that time!! His wife Asuncion, also teaches some foreign language there ........ Calculus!! Selling your business (& maybe home too) might give you some questions & headaches as to how best retain the maximum for yourselves whilst (legally) nullifying the IR's requests. A general chat on these things prior to coming here might help somewhat. I am no 'expert' but I have got used to the way things are done out here!!

Okay. Fingers have started bleeding again & before Codetel decide to pull the plug on me again I will get this 'Posted' on to the board. I also have a fairly busy day with Les & Alison tomorrow morning as they have asked me to take them "Beach Hunting"!! What a hard life!!!

All best wishes ~ Grahame.
(not checked for typos tonight so forgive all of them until I go back & check!! Doubtless my official grammar & spelling controller will advise me within a day or two!!). G.

Hello Grahame

Thanks for your reply. Firstly, I didn't mean for you to take exception to my comment regarding deciding after 2 weeks all inclusive holiday, but I had already been reading Ginnie's comments on Casabush.org before contacting you on this forum and she says never to decide based on a 2 week all inclusive holiday, as you know people who did and are struggling to get out. That's why I thought you'd be rolling your eyeballs!

How's MadLes doing then? Is it what he expected? Has DR moved to the top of his retirement destinations? It'd be interesting to know as he's obviously already seen a different aspect to country with your guidance over there.

I haven't returned to Derby since I was taken to South African in 1970. Since returning to the UK, other than a short spell living with my sister in Wellyn Garden City, I have lived in a village just outside Chichester in West Sussex. In fact tomorrow I'm taking Fern to the dance exhibition in London at Olympia and we have to change trains in MadLes' domain, Haywards Heath.

No, Sosua is not definitely the area we want to settle, it's just where I found an English school. We would consider anywhere, where travel to school would not be an adventure in itself. You mentioned showing us other schools in Puerto Plata, however, I didn't think there were any other English speaking schools other than Costambar and Sosua.

Thank you for the links to the dance website. The first I could read as it had a translation, but couldn't understand any of the 2nd as my Spanish at present is just a handful of word/phrases. However, very intersting all the same. Puts my mind at rest that by moving to DR we're not going to ruin Fern's career plans.

No we haven't got definite plans to return yet. We don't ever tend to book holidays very far in advance, and as it's just David and I who run our office side of the business, we have to go away when it's quiet as we put someone in here who we've trained up, but is unfortunately not capable of coping with the busy season. Busy season happens to be now until end October, early November. So it's unlikely we'll get back before then. However, anything can happen and we might find a quick week we can squeeze in to whizz over and have a proper look around.

I have been reading a lot of negative info on the message board on the DR1 website regarding crime. One of our main reasons for wanting to get out of the UK is our rapidly increasing crime rate and lack of law and judicial system. I'm sure you've heard, we've got people being stabbed or shot on an almost daily basis now, yet our police still only have a little stick to fight them with. What a joke!!!!! No wonder we're short of police, would you want to be up againnst armed criminals with only a truncheon for protection???!
Of course having lived in South Africa, I'm used to having to live behind bars, with guard dogs for noise etc. Well that's how it was when I left. Still got family there now and it's absolutely horrendous now. Everyone we know has been attacked in their homes or car jacked, or just mugged in the street. Is it that bad in DR? The last post on DR1 message board was posted 11th March and tells of a 3 man armed robbery in his home. I also read that someone was pulled over by the PN who tried to gat him to pay them for letting him off a traffic offence he hadn't even comitted. Are the police corrupt too?

Another question I have is healthcare. I am on permanent medication for life. It's only Thyroxine for an underactive Thyroid, however I will have to take it to the end of my days and need to know how easily medication is available as it's still a developing country?

That's about all for now. Just to let you know, it's a lovely Sunny spring like day here today and has been for the past week or so. But we're forecast heavy snowfall for next week can you believe!!!!

Enjoy the sun and speak soon.
Sharon

Hi all....back from our trip and what a learning curve!!

Firstly thanks to all who said happy birthday...I went to Ocean world and swam with the dolphins, brilliant.. thanks to Grahame who saved us so much time and effort, driving round was an experience!! felt like the wacky races.

So where do I start...we stayed at the Iberostar which is between Puerto Plata and Sosua...Happy hour was all day, every day...don’t think my liver could take much more...especially that 151 Rum, at 70% proof.. Hotel was great, food fantastic, entertainment terrible but who cares..

People in the DR were lovely (even Grahame).... one thing was clear....the first thing to do if your serious about a move here is to start by renting first....do not jump in with both feet and buy or you WILL regret it..

One real estate agent knew our budget and only took us to the houses at the top end of the price range, even though we wanted to look at some apartments, yes some were nice , however we found out later the sort of area they were in and why not to buy there...
What we did notice was the sale of previously owned property was all by expats who wanted a fast sale...wrong town, wrong complex, you name it they all got it wrong!! If you wait you can pick up a bargain.. As an example one house was up for 500,000 US$ but the owners said they would take 385 k (the agent let slip that they would probably take anything over 320k)

Schools...just to help others here (as I’m lucky that mine have all grown up, yea!!)...I went and had a look at the International school in Sosua, about 2 miles up a small road....Very nice school, lots of equipment, its a private school but only costs a couple of hundred US$ a month.

Areas...everyone thinks differently, our view was..

Cabarete, lovely beach...mainly Holiday Condos and VERY big houses, full of tourists, lots of bars and noise..

Sosua, lots of different sorts of houses, some are in nice areas like Sea Horse Ranch ($ ouch!!) others are in areas to avoid. Ask Grahame what’s what..

P.Plata.. small city, historical, however obviously neglected, the roads are a wonder to behold (pot holes a wheel fits into), the driving is equally amazing, new investment should change the face of the place...

Costambar...Nice beach, good price, some lovely areas and some that will be better in years to come as more investment goes into the area..

Cofresi....beautiful, lovely beach, nice houses, good roads, downside... expensive area and on the wrong side of P.Plata for the school.

Our suggestions regarding moving to the DR would be...…Sell everything possible, put the money in the bank and go as a tourist, start with a rent of 2 to 6 months.

Once happy with decision to stay and choice of area, either buy land and build, or wait for a bargain to go on sale...and there are lots of them.. THEN apply for residency

Buy an old car, must be a 4 wheel drive i.e. Shogun.

If possible don’t take pets for first couple of months, have them sent when your certain to stay and a bit more settled...say 2 months..

Only take over essential clothes at first, have other stuff sent over once your settled....look into storage companies or cheaper than that family/friends...and shipping companies.

Find something to do…start a business, do something!!

Finally have a back up plan/s in case its not what you first thought....so you can go somewhere else.

Over the last ten years I have been to many places just to rule them out, well now we have been to the Dominican Republic and are pleased to say that it's still on the list and at the moment at the top..

I’m going to the Excel show in London in a couple of weeks so I will pass on any info that may be of interest.

If you have any questions try here or email me les.maddams@hotmail.com

regards
Les

oh Shaz forgot to say you were lucky...we had a load of people moved to our hotel from Bahia Principe a couple of days ago as gangs of drunken American students ran amuck in the hotel setting fires and causing mayhem.....

Grahame can you give me some directions please...there is someone I know of who wants to drop off some bits at the school we went to.. I remember its out of hotel, turn left, and its on the right but cant remember how far (think I had my eyes shut !!) ..there was a roadside sign next to entrance if that would be any use as a landmark ..
chat soon
Les

Hello Grahame

It was great to read Mad.Les' post and what he thought of the place hands on. I would still however like your input on the question of the crime out there and the police (see my last post), because of the bad stuff I've been reading on DR1.


Many Thanks
Sharon

Hi Shaz, before the master gives his view we would like to add the comments of humble tourists and outsiders...on our trip we were looking hard, VERY hard for signs of crime..

In all the areas my wife and I went to there wasn’t one place that we felt like oh my god I’m in trouble, in Puerto Plata it was more get me out I need space but that was all. Everyone was either friendly or indifferent...at no time did we feel intimidated like we have been, ie places like Barbados..

In certain areas there were double security fences with barbed wire and guards, the houses inside the compound were very nice, but we don’t want to live in a prison camp.

Crime generally appeared controlled to maybe a small petty scale, in other words they may overcharge you, or nick something out of a car but not hit you over the head for your purse, well not in broad daylight.
On the other hand if you go into the DR, buy a big house and drive a posh new car you and your house will be noticed and if in the wrong area get targeted by the more serious type of villain that exists in most societies. My comment is rent or buy small, buy bigger later in the right area, become part of a community not part of new England....Don’t be the flash gringo or you will be a target.

Go through any UK national paper and see what is in there, what we are saying is take a balanced view, after all bad news sells papers and gets people talking....

As for the the police, they looked a bit like an afterthought by the government regarding the kit and vehicles they had, consequently they looked bored with little or no interest in the job they were doing....case of you get what you pay for, frankly I wouldnt trust them to figure how to sit on a toilet the right way round....If you want security consider giving some locals a job as housekeeper or gardener and they will probably do a better job..

OK Grahame how did we do, think we learnt anything?
Les

Sorry for the extended delay in response folks but I have been a bit under the weather with stomach churning like crazy. It has not been your normal 'Montezuma's revenge', just a long lasting & very uncomfortable case of trains going backwards & forwards over the stomach!! I suppose it could have something to do with Mad.Les & Alison leaving which has caused withdrawal symptoms!

OKay Les ...... directions first.
Out of the "second gate" (the one nearest the airport/Sosua), turn left & go a few hundred yards to the small (yellow painted) bridge. After crossing this your friends will see the school on the right side. Continue along the road following the wire fence & take the first gateway in. If school 'Is In', there will be a dirty yellow bus parked at the top of the drive!

Get your friends to go to the first building on the right then ask for 'El Director' or 'Yudelka' (pronounced Judelka) in the Administration office! Obviously, if your friends want to call me, I'll be very willing to take them in but you may already have warned them off that experience!!

Now to your comments on safety.
Crime as reported on other forums about the DR can be greatly exaggeratedly as many want to sound off about 'Personal Problems' caused to a great extent by their own lack of awareness & control here. You & Alison were (to a great extent) seeing the areas where discontent flourishes from a distance or moving through reasonably quickly in a car. Once you get known in these areas there is not much problem & certainly very little 'Snatch & Run'. However I would NOT like to give the impression that Puerto Plata is crime free - it isn't. It has got a lot worse over the last 5 years & has almost reached the level of certain parts of Birmingham, Southall or Liverpool ............ Hey, Even sleepy Old Brighton might be on a par from what I am hearing about UK!!

With regard to those pesky 'Street Sellers', you were basically protected from their advances by having someone around you who is 'known'. They don't come up to me unless they are friends (Like Jose & his petrified wood objects d'arte) & those that do are generally despatched with a smile & a firm "Thanks but NO thanks". Wear typical tourist gear & the very noticeable hotel wrist band ...... & you will get a fair bit more attention - NOT dangerously so, just OH the persistence of the Dominicans!! My advice to tourists is 'Look more like a local resident, wear long trousers, a decent shirt, appear confident in what you are doing/where you are going, & you should be 'Street Seller' free most of the day! Negotiate EVERYTHING (yes, even taxi rides, in the shops, money exchange etc) with a great big smile on your face & you will be seen as a resident within no time!

Security gated communities generally do not afford much 'protection'. The guards are sometime complicit with the crooks, looking the other way when they want to come in or being 'Round the corner for a few moments'. Those that ARE totally honest will 'Talk' (the Dominicans are GREAT talkers) about who has what & where, when they tend to be out ............. It is a way of showing others how much they know, how intelligent & knowledgeable they are etc. The best way round this 'Burglary' problem is as Les says - come with nothing, show that you have nothing, & integrate with the locals in a 'local' area!! Even if you have US $3 million in investments here you must be (& advertise the fact) that you are cash poor & have nothing worth stealing. Couple that with a vicious looking dog or two on the property & you should be perfectly safe!

I tend to disagree on the Gardener/housekeeper Les for the reasons made above. Get a good one (one you can trust implicitly not to gossip) & yes you are perfectly right - Get a chatty one & things might be quite a bit different. If you DO go for a 'Live In' home help of some sort, make sure you pay them a little over the odds, but not enough to make them think you are a sucker or cash rich!! Give them the respect they desrve obviously & once you have their trust & respect, explain the need of keeping things 'within the house'.

Okay Les - you done good boy! Lots more to learn of course but you are well down the road of being a better informed (& aware) Ex-Pat than many who have lived here for 6 months or so! We will now expect full & technical conversations with the fire-chief PLUS Press conference next year!! ~ Grahame.

Shaz wrote:Hello Grahame Thanks for your reply. Firstly, I didn't mean for you to take exception to my comment regarding deciding after 2 weeks all inclusive holiday, but I had already been reading Ginnie's comments on Casabush.org before contacting you on this forum and she says never to decide based on a 2 week all inclusive holiday, as you know people who did and are struggling to get out. That's why I thought you'd be rolling your eyeballs!

No offense taken Sharron - I just have a weird sense of humour sometimes. It was my way of saying WE were idiots at the start to come out so unprepared ................. but we learned quickly! Some (as you have realised from that other board) have not learned much at all.

Ginnie has written another article on this subject & it available on our web-page www.casabush.org. It is entitled "Culture Shock re-visited" & this link should take you directly to it. Culture Shock Revisited - Groping towards a more useful conceptual framework
I gather it is written for those with brains, intellect &/or a degree in Sociology, people who can understand these things ....... Me? I didn't understand a word of what she was saying!

Shaz wrote:In fact tomorrow I'm taking Fern to the dance exhibition in London at Olympia and we have to change trains in MadLes' domain, Haywards Heath.

I hope you took the prescribed medications before passing through Haywards Heath!! Fortunately HE was still here on the Saturday, so things should have been relatively clear from danger for you!!

Shaz wrote:........... however, I didn't think there were any other English speaking schools other than Costambar and Sosua.

There are more schools opening up to meet the Ex-Pat needs but 'YES', basically you are right. I will gladly introduce you to our neighbour who sends her 3 children (twin boys of 5 & girl of 12) when you visit next & both Mother & daughter can talk directly to you about what they think!

Shaz wrote:Thank you for the links to the dance website. However, very interesting all the same. Puts my mind at rest that by moving to DR we're not going to ruin Fern's career plans.

It is 'Thanks' to the girl who has the ability to find all these things Sharron - yer actual Auntie Ginnie!! Here's a load more she found!

Scroll down & click on Danza on left
http://www.cultura.gov.do/

http://www.terra.com.do/historia/bellasartes/escuela.htm

National Dance School
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/escnacdan.htm
Curriculum
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/DGBA%20Programas/Danza/Ballet%20Cl%E1sico%20I.htm
Admission requirements
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/enadanzaplanestudio.htm
Scroll down & click on Danza on left
http://www.cultura.gov.do/

http://www.terra.com.do/historia/bellasartes/escuela.htm

National Dance School
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/escnacdan.htm
Curriculum
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/DGBA%20Programas/Danza/Ballet%20Cl%E1sico%20I.htm
Admission requirements
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/enadanzaplanestudio.htm &
http://www.bellasartes.gov.do/santiago.htm

(If you have problems opening any of these up, let me know by e-mail & I will send them off to you by that format!)

Further, earlier this week we both noticed a new dance/art/culture business set up just round the corner from us. You will not go short on places to investigate once you come say 'Hello' to the island!!

Shaz wrote:I have been reading a lot of negative info on the message board on the DR1 website regarding crime. One of our main reasons for wanting to get out of the UK is our rapidly increasing crime rate and lack of law and judicial system. I'm sure you've heard, we've got people being stabbed or shot on an almost daily basis now, yet our police still only have a little stick to fight them with. What a joke!!!!! No wonder we're short of police, would you want to be up against armed criminals with only a truncheon for protection???! Sharon

This has basically been covered in my response to Les' post above but one thing I will add ...... Don't knock the old policeman with a baton attitude of the UK as this has kept serious guns off the street for so long. With armed police, criminals get themselves with heavier artillery & then many more people get caught in the crossfire of shoot outs.

Shaz wrote:Is it that bad in DR? The last post on DR1 message board was posted 11th March and tells of a 3 man armed robbery in his home. I also read that someone was pulled over by the PN who tried to get him to pay them for letting him off a traffic offense he hadn't even committed. Are the police corrupt too?Sharon

Corruption within the police IS reducing slowly ....... VERY slowly. There are not so many shakedowns for "Propinas' (little 'gifts' nearly always meaning a few pesos!!) as there used to be but that could be because they are getting used to me & the way I drive! I can't remember when it was last I had a shake down, but then my car is recognised, I am friendly with most of the local cops & will stop for a chat often even when NOT flagged down! Once you learn the ropes (& more importantly THEY realise you are not of the giving sort because "YOU CAN NOT AFFORD TO"!!), life suddenly gets a whole lot easier!!

Shaz wrote:Another question I have is health-care. I am on permanent medication for life. It's only Thyroxine for an under active Thyroid, however I will have to take it to the end of my days and need to know how easily medication is available as it's still a developing country? Sharon

This should not be ANY problem. The chemists (Farmacias) we use normally have the stuff we require & when they don't, they will order it for us. Further, if you get a prescription filled for you chemist in the UK to fill ( I am sure you have built up a good relationship with him/her over the years) then you can get them shipped to friends coming out to visit OR have them sent to one of the mailing operations that service the DR. More on these when you firm up about coming here!

That I think concludes the more recent questions - anything I have missed or subsequent ones you have thought about - please ask way & (stomach permitting) I will get back to you! ~ Grahame.

Hello Lez.
Sounds like you and your good lady had a good time. It will be our turn next. We are going for a weeks recce first week in May. We are now on course for the permanent move. House sold. Pension applied for. Did you get my email address from Grahame while you were over there.

Hello Grahame.
Sorry its been a couple of weeks. Seems my email is not advising me when new messages get posted. Missed all of page 4 until tonight. We are on course for a visit first week of May. It looks like we have sold the house to Sue's stepson. If that falls through we have another buyer. Pension is all now applied for. Not sure where we are going to be staying on our visit but we hope you will do a bit of showing round for us. What do you want us to bring for the school. Let us have a list and we will see what we can do.

Ken

Hi Gov'nor,
Sent you an e-mail earlier in answer to some of the comments above.

Re. 'Sale' of house ...... congratulations. Try to get your lawyer to send the money out of the country without paying Capital Gains Tax if you can.

Showing you around should not be a problem - see my e-mail for limitations!

Is the trip on a package (don't know where we will put you yet) Deal or flight only? If flight only do you need a pick-up from the airport? If Sun Village can not put you up I'll try to see what is available in way of apartments nearby.

Liaising with school now re requirements & will advise by end of week on an e-mail. Quite a few suction pumps to draw off water are required at the moment - I think the weather man is upset that Alison had to leave - it has rained heavily & virtually non stop since they left! - Flooding all over the places we visited with Les & Alison!!

Anyone know of a good fireman for the clean-up job???? ~ Grahame.

hi all..
flooding eh, bet thats fun trying to find the 3 foot potholes now eh..

Right went to the show at the Excel centre today and found a useful link
www.fco.gov.uk/travel

Also to get a forcast of a UK state pension obtain form BR19 if in UK or CA3638 if abroad. Available from State pension forcasting team 0845 3000 168 www.dwp.gov.uk

also interesting...association of retired persons over 50
01208 764 334
www.arp050.org.uk

do the correct paperwork, give to employers pensions dept and payment will be made gross not nett of tax..

hope this helps...
Les

Hello Les

Nice to be back is it. We are off shortly for a house tour (and a few mai-tai's). Tried that website but it has changed location. could you be a bit more specific about the last paragraph. What documents do you refer to.

Ken

hi,
the link is on the page, just click on heyday website..

regarding state pensions contact the dept for work and pensions 01912187777 www.thepensionservice.gov.uk

to keep your vote if bothered www.electoralcommission.org.uk

tax info and forms 0845 070 0040 www.hmrc.gov.uk

hope this helps
Les

Just returned from our house hunting visit in preparation for our new adventure in August. Thanks to Grahame and Ginnie we found a delightful property to rent on the ocean front at a very reasonable price. We cannot thank them enough for the help and guidance they have given us and can highly recommend them as a source of time served experiences.

Ken & Sue