Guesssssssss whattttttttt?!?!?!?!? I MOVED AGAIN!

Yes, I know, I know. I keep moving hahaha… Are you tired of these posts yet? Well I’m not lol 

After spending the last 8 months in America, with my dad, it’s time for me to spread my wings again and fly. 

This is the 5th country I’ve lived in within the last 7 years and my 10th city overall. I have previously lived in Nouakchott, Mauritania, Cairo, Egypt, Khaitan, Kuwait, Bangkok, Thailand, Washington, DC, Florida, and New York. 

So without further ado… I moved to…

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Frequently Asked Questions about the Dominican Republic

Where is the Dominican Republic? 

The Dominican Republic, also known as DR or RD, can be found sharing an island in the Atlantic Ocean called Hispanola, with another country called Haiti. During the slave trade, Haiti is where my ancestors were dropped off, so this island means a lot to me. DR takes up about 2/3 of Hispanola, the second-largest island in the West Indies. Its neighboring countries include Haiti to the West, and it shares maritime borders with Colombia, Venezuela, Aruba, Curaçao, Puerto Rico, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic is Santo Domingo, which is located in the South about a 3-hour drive from where I am now. 

What city do you live in?

After exploring the island a bit I am now calling Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, home. The official name of the province (state) is San Felipe de Puerto Plata. Puerto Plata is located on the Northern Coast of the country. It is the biggest tourist town on this side of the island and is known as one of the nicest tourist areas in the entire Caribbean. You may have heard of some of the nearby cities like Cabarete, Sosua, Luperon, or Playa Dorada. This area is known for its amazing beaches, the hospitality of people, agriculture, and rum.

What’s the terrain and weather like in the Dominican Republic? 

The Dominican Republic has such vast and different terrains. Upon landing, I could see white sand beaches, turquoise waters, and ginormous mountains. As we turned out of the airport I was awestruck by the tall, beautiful, verdant scenery. Since I’ve been in mostly desert climates for the last 5 years, my eyes didn’t know what to do with the overload of things that aren’t sand. Since the Dominican Republic is located on an island beaches are prevalent and a relatively short drive from most places. Expect to find me there most days. Lol

As you can see DR is fairly warm (HOT) all year round. It has a tropical climate which keeps the temperatures high and often muggy during the wetter seasons. Since the geography of the island varies so does the temperature.

What type of people live in the Dominican Republic?

Dominicans live in the Dominican Republic. As of 2021, the population of the Dominican Republic was approximately 10.9 million people. For comparison, in 2022, the population of New York City alone was 8.9 million people. A couple of different ethnic groups call the Dominican Republic home. Since I’m not Dominican and the way that race is seen here is quite different compared to the way Americans see things in very Black and White terms, I’d rather not be the one to teach you about it. In the future, I hope I can find someone local to explain it better. For now, here’s a video discussing it. https://study.com/academy/lesson/dominican-republic-ethnic-groups.html

What languages are spoken in DR?

Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic. The dialect of Spanish spoken here is unique and is the most common Spanish accent in the North East United States. Dominican Spanish, a fast-paced Caribbean dialect of Spanish, is based on the Andalusian and Canarian Spanish dialects of southern Spain and has influences from African languages, Taíno and other Arawakan languages, and English¹. Depending on where you are you can also hear Haitian Creole, French, and English from the different immigrants who live here.

Although my brain is now packed with a bunch of different languages, Spanish will always be special to me. It was the first language I learned after English. Before moving abroad I would have considered my Spanish skills to be pretty high. After learning bits of Thai, Gulf Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, and West African French my Spanish-speaking skills leave a lot to be desired. Sometimes when I speak Spanish, Arabic words come out and if I’m drunk forget it. I’ll speak every language I know at the same time. 😂 At the moment I plan to learn more Spanish and get closer to my roots by learning Haitian Creole.

How do locals dress? 

Dominicans dress pretty much the same as any Western country. Although it’s hot they love their jeans. A normal outfit would be jeans and a T-shirt. Many people with money dress in the same designers you’d find in America or Europe.

When did you move to DR?

I landed in DR on October 9, 2022. 

Why did you choose DR?

Sometimes things just randomly work in your favor. My father had decided he wanted to advance his Spanish skills and take a Spanish course in DR. After using DuoLingo for the last 5 years he thought taking an immersive class and spending a month in DR would be beneficial. When he had the idea to go my brother and I figured we would tag along since it was also their birthdays. The only difference is I said fuck it, I’ll go too but I’m not leaving. Lol.

This move is completely different than any other move I’ve had. I made the decision to leave only 5 weeks before departure so I didn’t really have the time to prepare like I usually do.

The Dominican Republic is a very safe, stepping one-toe off-the-porch, type of choice for me. No matter where you’re leaving from you will always be leaving someone behind and I wanted to make sure that wherever I went I wouldn’t be too far away since I’d be leaving behind my family again. DR is the closest I’ve ever lived to the United States. When I was in Thailand, Kuwait, Egypt, and Mauritania there were basically no flights that could get me home in less than 24 hours and sometimes up to 35 hours depending on the routing. A non-stop flight from here is only about 2 hours to Miami so if there was an actual emergency I could technically be home before the day is over.

I’ve also been to this country plenty of times because I have family here. I usually do not like to visit a place before moving there but since I haven’t been here in a while it kind of feels like it’s my first visit but it is somehow still providing a comforting feeling of being home. While my family isn’t in the same city I’m in, they are close enough that I feel incredibly safe being in this country.

It’s also the first country where I somewhat understand the language so it allows me to relax because I can read the signs and understand most people so I’m not as lost as I could be.

What are you doing for work?

As I said this move is different. I arrived in the Dominican Republic with nowhere to live, no job, and honestly, no plans. For the time being, I do not intend on doing traditional work. Remote work is a maybe but I just can’t see myself going back to what is considered a “normal” job. Inshallah, I can keep that going for as long as possible.

Prior to leaving my job in Mauritania, I had decided it would be my last school year teaching. After 15 years of working (not all teaching) I’m tired, burned out, and overworked. Having the privilege to work abroad gave me the ability to save a lot of money quickly. I intended to save all my paychecks from school and start my 1-2 year sabbatical in August of 2022. Obviously, life had other plans and I haven’t been working since February of 2022. I’ve been in America over the last 8 months blowingggg through my savings. The money I saved could have easily lasted me two years in any other country.

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How long do you plan to stay?

Maybe a year, maybe forever. Who knows 🤷🏾‍♀️

Is the Dominican Republic safe?

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is a hard eye roll for me! I’m not really sure why people always ask this??? As long as there is not an active war going on in a place it’s probably safe. Everywhere is as safe as you make it. Simple as that. But yes I would consider DR pretty safe. Think about how safe your home country is, then think again. Just like there are unsafe areas in your country (think violence, crime, riots, protests, civil unrest, theft, etc), there are unsafe areas in any country. Using common sense will take you a long way in every aspect of your life. 

Do you like living there? 

I honestly love it so far. My apartment is exactly what I didn’t know I wanted. Since I am not working I really don’t have to leave it too often. I am in the penthouse (It’s the 3rd floor but let me live lol) so I have the entire roof to myself which I love. The view from up here is amazing because it’s unobstructed and I can see directly to the mountain on one side and not quite the ocean on the other side. At night the stars are insane. I am really happy here so who knows how long I’ll stay.

What airport should I fly into when I visit you? 🤪

The closest airport to me is Puerto Plata (POP) but finding direct/cheap flights there can be difficult since it’s a relatively small airport and they only have three to four flights a day. Another option is to fly into Santiago (STI) airport and take a bus with a company like Caribe Tours or Metro Bus for around RD$150 – RD$200 ($2.76USD – $3.68USD).

If you want more information about the Dominican Republic

I will probably post a few more times on the topic so stay tuned orrrr …

You can watch these videos

Thanks for stopping by… Hope to see you again soon 👋🏾

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SOURCES

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Spanish