What's It Like Living in The Dominican Republic

Gary and I have two very different perspectives when it comes to living in the Dominican Republic. I lived in the Dominican Republic as an expat, and Gary lived in the Dominican Republic as a native born-citizen. It's hilarious because everything I loved about the Dominican Republic, Gary just couldn't see what the big deal was about.

To begin, I love beaches! That's all I wanted to do - spend time at beaches. It was mind-boggling at first why Gary didn't love the beaches like I did, but I started to understand his point-of-view with time. When we went to Arkansas to visit some of my family, Gary loved it and I was like, "what?!" I grew up there, but Gary didn't so it was nice for him to see something different. The same for me when I was in the Dominican Republic.

So what's it like from my perspective? It was a great experience for me. It is very calm and relaxing, especially in comparison to where Gary and I live now - New York. You'll have to get over the fact that you may not have access to wifi or the internet all the time, if that's what you're used to. A lot of "diligencias" you may have, will likely take longer than normal to get done. Here in the United States, we can get things done very quickly. You can get things done over the phone, online and in-person, so you have tons of options to get things done fast. Well, while in the Dominican Republic, just know a lot of important things you need to get done can take time because no one there works on your schedule! For a lot of medicine there, you do not need a prescription from a doctor. So, that helped me out of a lot because I would get sinus infections and I would need antibotics. In the beginning I did have international health insurance coverage for a limited time, but that was actually a little complicated and didn't even seem worth it - that's a story for another day.

Overall, it was great. Just know that it is very hot, so be careful for those of you who are acne-prone. It can be cheap to live there as well. You'll probably need some time living there and becoming "dominicanized" before you know how to get access to living cheaply while in the Dominican Republic. There's so much I can say, but I'm going to keep it short today. Just know that living in the Dominican Republic is truly a unique experience. There will likely be a lot of things you have to get used to, but it's a great place to enjoy a beautiful island, beautiful beaches, a beautiful culture and people.

WATCH ME MAKE MY MOVE TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!