Thread: Just moved to Santo Domingo!

Hello everyone! I just moved to Santo Domingo which is a little town of only 1800 people 2 miles down the road from Los Tablos. Been here for 2 months. I love it here. It is very quiet but close to shopping in Los Tablos and only 6 miles from my house to the beach. I have seen very few Foreigners here. I am only an hour by bus to Pedasi also which has very nice beaches. It is very hot here of course but this area is as yet undiscovered by retirees as far as I can tell. The area has lots of cattle country and is hilly. There is a lot of elbow room around here. The people here don't seem to have much or if they do they keep it secret. People here are just down to earth good people. I have only been here for 2 months but I don't regret moving here at all and I hope that other retirees take a look at this area. I feel like the lone Gringo. I am also looking forward to the Carnival season. Good luck to everyone. Owe, the beach is just beautiful here and most of the time I seem to have it to myself, especially on the week days.

Hola GHammer, I live about 3 miles from you and it is actually spelled Las Tablas. I thought I was the only gringo walking around here? I now have competition to be the token "white guy".

Nice to meet your neighbor! I sent you a private message with my phone number. Call me if you would like.

Hey GHammer & MrWOOHOO!

Husband & I are going to arrive in your neck of the woods - Las Tablas area - sometime in Jan, and plan to spend the majority of the year there. Its nice to hear about others experiecnces, and other small villages/neighborhoods/areas around LT. Did it take you long to find a place to live? Am I being unrealistic to think we can eventually find a rental that has both a window AC unit in the bedroom AND hot water????

Love your videos, MRWOOHOO!

Cindy

Nice to hear from you. And, welcome to Los Santos. There is plenty of room. Finding a place can be hit or miss. If you have a car, and drive around and look, you should be able to spot something. I would find a real estate agent. Or, an attorney/real estate agent. They might have something. The bigger your budget, the faster your new place will be found. But, for example, in my neighborhood I haven't seen an available house for rent in months. That doesn't mean there aren't places to rent. The rental market is mostly word of mouth on the low end. As far as air conditioning. Most people don't use it here. But, that is not to say that you can't get what you want. Good luck

Hi Cindy, welcome to the "Azuero Experience". As GHamner mentioned "in my neighborhood I haven't seen an available house for rent in months." There is currently a real shortage of available rental homes in Las Tablas. I have seen some apartments for rent in downtown starting at $200 per month. Another town you may want to check out is Guarare which is just a few kilometers before Las Tablas? Just a suggestion. Glad you enjoy the videos, WOOOHOOO!!

How about Pocri? Does anybody have any idea about that place?

I have been to Pocri, nice little town and a close option for Pedasi. As towns such as Pedasi & Las Tablas continue to expand and increase in price I think you will see towns such as Pocri and Guarare start gaining attention.

Originally Posted by MRWOOHOO

I have been to Pocri, nice little town and a close option for Pedasi. As towns such as Pedasi & Las Tablas continue to expand and increase in price I think you will see towns such as Pocri and Guarare start gaining attention.

MRWOOHOO, do you know of any expats living in Pocri, or Guarare?

Originally Posted by HOSEM1

MRWOOHOO, do you know of any expats living in Pocri, or Guarare?

Currently I do not but the way the Azuero is getting noticed it probably will not be long. Basically there is one road that connects the PanAmerican highway to Pedasi. All of these towns starting from Chitre on down to Pedasi (and beyond) have potential. Of course you are going to want to spend some time, at least a week or 2, before you even do a long-term rental. Check and see how good the internet, electricity, water, and local safety is. My personal opinion is the further down the Azuero you go the safer it is although there are exceptions.

Thanks for the responses MRWOOHOO, Glen & everyone else! Hopefully, we're going to have plenty of time to take our time to find something that will suit our needs. Probably will be searching from Chitre to Cambutal! We're really thinking year round rentals rather than short term.

Glad to help and best of luck searching.

Originally Posted by MRWOOHOO

Currently I do not but the way the Azuero is getting noticed it probably will not be long. Basically there is one road that connects the PanAmerican highway to Pedasi. All of these towns starting from Chitre on down to Pedasi (and beyond) have potential. Of course you are going to want to spend some time, at least a week or 2, before you even do a long-term rental. Check and see how good the internet, electricity, water, and local safety is. My personal opinion is the further down the Azuero you go the safer it is although there are exceptions.

You mind sharing those exceptions please?

It was explained to me that the rental market in this area is not developed. The people here don't realize that they could market their homes to be rented. So they sit, sometimes without even a noticia on the door that the house is for rent. Homes are rented by word of mouth sometimes. This being said, I advise those people that would like to rent a house here that they should come and plan to stay awhile in an economical hotel. Rent a car. Then, you could start by posting notices outside of the bus stops and hotels and grocers etc that you are interested in renting a house. Provide email address and use translators if you have to. While doing this you can be driving around in the little towns and barrio's looking for homes with notices on the doors. You could even find a realtor that might be willing to help you. Pay them a finders fee to help you. The problem is that the locals don't know that they have something that you might want. And, you might have to sign a 1 year lease on a home that is not as nice as you are actually looking for. In all likely hood your second home will be much nicer. It's a process. That is because, like it was explained to me, the rental market is not developed. Having the rental car will save you a lot of time. You might spot something in a neighborhood. It is doable. That is just the way it is here for the moment. And, in the mean time, driving thru all these neighborhoods will be a good experience and an education. Take some pics!