Middle Age with Middle Schoolers and moving???

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Member since 16 February 2016

DSTAngieBMember23 February 2016 22:41:19

Greetings Everyone!

I am so glad to have found this forum and look forward to getting to know and hear some of your insights and wisdom!

My husband and I are both middle age (54 and 47) and are planning what our retirement years will look like and we definitely know that our future will contain moving to the Caribbean at some point. (If I could move there TODAY, I surely would! LOL) We're looking at moving to the Dominican Republic because we like the culture and we hope have a lower cost of living there in compared to living in the United States. I must confess, coming from the District of Columbia, I find myself having pleasant sticker shock when I hear how much CHEAPER things are there! LOL

I currently own my own business which I run completely out of my home and I absolutely LOVE being an entrepreneur! My husband is a Network Engineer and while he loves doing that kind of work and is highly paid in his salary, he HATES the environment in which he works. He tells me all the time that if he could quit his job and join me in MY business (and still be able to provide for us) he would do so in a heartbeat! LOL

Lately, we've been toying with the notion, "Why wait? Life is too short." Answer? Our kids.
We have 3 children: our oldest (who will be a senior in college this fall), an 11 year-old and a 10 year old). Our college kid graduates next year and wants to remain in the US. Our 2 younger kids are both excited about the possibility of going to middle school and high school abroad and even more excited about the possibility of moving to the DR.

Does anyone have any experience with this type of transition? How does one become an expat with kids in tow? Would it be more feasible to wait until we're ready to retire? We're already trying to figure out how (or even if) we could move my business there (shipping my online orders would be the main problem). And where would be the best place to settle? Decisions...decisions! :-)

I'm so thankful this forum exists! It's already been a great source of information!

-Angie B.

Bob K VIP Member

Member since 25 June 2007

Bob KVIP Member24 February 2016 08:57:04

7675

DSTAngieB welcome to the forum. There are some good folks here with good information. A lot of what you are asking has been discussed here. Read the multiple thread here on moving, residency, schooling, cost of living etc. Then ask specific questions of us.

We "pulled the plug" early and moved here full time nearly 10 years ago. It is a different world, different culture, different rules....and we would not have changed our decision for a second.

Bob K

planner Dominican Republic Expert

Member since 27 December 2010

Dominican Republic Expert

plannerDominican Republic Expert04 March 2016 14:31:27

17122

Welcome to the forums. I didn't see this thread earlier! Ok so what you need to do is wrap your move considerations around schools - location - costs and choices.

The best choices are in Santo Domingo but there are good choices in Santiago, Sosua, Punta Cana. I am sure there are others but I am not the most knowledgeable about this.

DSTAngieB Member

Member since 16 February 2016

DSTAngieBMember04 March 2016 15:43:31

Thank you Bob & Planner! :-)

Making our location choice based on the schools is what I am finding too. My husband kinda ruled out Santa Domingo because we both don't like the city noise, congestion, and traffic. But we may need to take another look.

We were in Punta Cana about 5 years ago for my sister's wedding but my time there, honestly, was such a blur! LOL

Hmmm....I smell another ROAD TRIP!!

planner Dominican Republic Expert

Member since 27 December 2010

Dominican Republic Expert

plannerDominican Republic Expert04 March 2016 16:08:27

17122

You likely need several road trips. Also check out Sosua as I hear the school there is excellent.

Bob K VIP Member

Member since 25 June 2007

Bob KVIP Member05 March 2016 12:53:53

7675

Yes the international school in Sosua http://www.issosua.com/ is one of the best in the country with kids from all over the world attending. This area has a big expat community.

Bob K

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