July 11, 2026
Health insurance in the Dominican Republic is available to expats through a mix of local Dominican insurers, international health plans, and the state system, but most long-term residents end up combining a local policy with a separate international plan to cover serious illness. Local policies are affordable and cover everyday care; international plans add evacuation […]
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April 18, 2026
The first month in the DR is the hardest month. Almost everyone says this. And almost everyone who makes it past month one stays for much longer than they planned. What follows is an honest account of what the first 30 days typically look like, based on patterns shared consistently by people who have done […]
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April 13, 2026
DR driving is not like driving at home. The rules exist. They are suggestions. What actually governs the road is a combination of noise, speed, and social negotiation that takes a few weeks to read correctly. Once you read it, it works. Until then, take motos and Uber. What licence do you need? For the […]
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April 6, 2026
You don’t need Spanish to survive in the DR. You need it to actually live there. That’s the distinction most people miss. Getting through a week as a tourist is one thing. Banking, talking to your landlord, dealing with a mechanic, navigating a government office, building a real social life outside the expat bubble. All […]
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March 15, 2026
Power cuts in the DR are real, predictable, and manageable. They are not random. They run on a schedule, vary a lot by region, and people who live there treat them as a known factor rather than a disaster. If you’ve read forum posts about the DR going dark for 12 hours a day, that’s […]
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January 30, 2026
Most of what you’ll read about moving to the DR is either tourism marketing or someone venting in a Facebook group at 2am. Neither is that useful. Here’s the practical version. The things that catch people out in the first three months, from someone who’s been watching expats arrive and adjust for years. 1. The […]
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