Hello from Canada! Advice for packing about things to bring?

Welcome to the forums.  YES you can get all the "necessities" here.....LOL You may want to head to Santiago for a major shopping run! 

Ummmmm when is the housewarming party with Margaritas???   

Bring the good tequila too!

Are you shipping by container?

You do not need the treadmill. It is expensive dead weight. Using one of those is like bringing your tanning machine. You can run on the beaches.

A suggestion:  buy large quantities of the following items.  zip lock bags, large containers of often used spices,tin foil,, condiments etc. rice, pasts, dry goods, ie. beans, baking powder, corn starch etc. If you like particular type foods such as oriental, Mexican, Italian & so on, make sure to have them packed also.  A hint for everyone... freeze for 24 hours all pasta, rice, dried goods,cereals, & package goods. This will kill any possibility of a weevil infestation. Do it in your home countries too.  You can think of many other things to bring .  It will save you money, time & most of all, frustration.  In Charimicos & Puerto Plata are wholesale outlets & "dollar" stores for house hold stuff.  They are where the locals shop.  An excellent source of info can be found at Spankys bar in Sosua.  Garry , Larry  & most of the regulars are long time residents in the DR.  Tell them that Tamas ( Toe-mash Is how you pronounce my name).  Good luck & enjoy your adventure.  Welcome to life.

Thanks Planner, will let you know about the party!  We are waiting for our Visa's to arrive!

Good to know!  Thank You

Welcome to the forum.  Yes you can most of that stuff here and Planner right a couple of trips to Santiago and you will find 99% of what you may need.

Bob K

Thanks everyone for your advice!  Just wondering about Santiago.

Do you folks drive into Santiago?  How long does it take to get there?  What stores do you shop at? 

Thanks!

Santiago - the drive takes anywhere from  an hour 20 to 2 hours depending on day of the week,  construction work etc.....     

Shopping - depends what you are looking for!   Pricesmart,  Plaza Lama,  Americana, Nacional,  Bravo,  etc etc are the biggies.

Let us know what you think you will be looking for and we can make suggestions.  Best to wait till you get here and know what you need!    For all these stores you are best to  scout what is available locally and know your prices!

One thing to remember - if you see something you love -  buy it immediately.  Likely it will not be there in a day or two or a week  when you decide to go back and get it.   I've learned this lesson the hard way.  I have found many unusual or unique items,  was undecided........... figured I could come back for it later..........and it was gone.....

Planner good advice on buying when you see it.

Bob K

Hi DiMarsha,

We did the move from Canada last year. I'm sure a few things will be different but the information from the others is good information.  We used a door-to door shipping company.  We shipped everything that was of real value.  If we couldn't justify the cost to ship a particular item we either sold it, gave it away or threw it in the garbage.  When your boxes or items go through customs they will open every box no matter how well packed it is, turn it upside down , spread it out over the ground and then try to get it back in the box.  Having said that, 95% of our stuff made it through ok.  Furniture needs to be well wrapped and protected.  This takes a great deal of time and packing materials.  I don't regret anything that we decided to bring except for maybe clothes.  I couldn't bare with parting with a lot of clothing but frankly, you don't need a lot of clothing here.  We brought breakables, TV's, a china cabinet, a large dining room table and chairs, computer, electronics, tools to name a few.  All came through fine.  We did bring a lot of groceries and I wish I had packed more.  If you want more information, PM me.  I came from the Toronto area.

Great info Mike.

Good post Mike. I might add that linens, towels, dish towels, Kitchen utensils are of a much poorer quality here and you should pack some of those as well.

Bob K

Thanks folks for all your good information!  Very helpful indeed!  Also thinking about bringing a GPS for the car......does anyone have any recommendations?  Thanks

I think the challenge will be if you can get the map package for the Dominican Republic.  If you can then it will be helpful.  I use the GPS on my cell phone and it works ok for the times I need it.  Otherwise any tablet with a GPS map app will work as well.

That is a good idea!

Our Garmin works ok but not great.  Our cell does better.

Bob K

We have a garmin too.  I wonder if i have to down load a dominican map?

Yes you will need to down load a DR map. When you bought your garmin if you did not include lifelong universal map down loads you won't be able to down load a  DR map but will need to buy a new garmin with life time uploads.

Bob K

Bob, correct me if I am wrong but I think the lifetime downloads apply only to the map you originally have on your garmin.  If you buy your GPS in Canada it probably only has North American maps.  If you are going to buy a new one check that out first.  Maps can be expensive.  Also, you can usually add maps to your existing GPS (at a cost) but you will probably find you won't have enough room on your device and will have to either delete your default map to get more space or buy an add on micro SD card or similar to add the additional data.  Not sure it's worth the trouble...

When we bought ours we had a world wide update package and we have updated maps recently for DR as well as Europe and the US with no problem.

Bob K

That's excellent.  Something to check for that's for sure.

Good luck

Bob K

Hello,
We are also in the middle of packing.. one question.. we plan to hire a gardener.. should we pack our garden tools or does the gardener has his own ?

He may or may not have them.  Rest assured anything you bring will likely become his....hahahahaha

Funny Planner !!  Thanks !!

Yes if you have room in the container bring your own and if you need a lawnmower bring it as well.

Bob K

Thanks Bob !

You are welcome.  Also consider bringing a quality BBQ as well. Again depending on room in the container.

Bob K

Make sure you use it all a few times. They frown on brand new!!! Meaning may tax it.