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Thread: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

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    10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    How many trips were made to a place, how many places were checked out before the big move?


    Last edited by Jimmydr; 10-08-2016 at 10:08 AM.



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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    I started going to DR in 1997 and by 2007, I was going to Meddy, Colombia.


    I still did DR but Boca instead of Sosua.


    9 years in, I determined Meddy was better for my FUTURE move.


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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    I lost count, but I think around 20. Some trips were as long as 6 weeks...others as short as 7 days.
    Blue Devil

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by BlueDevil View Post
    I lost count, but I think around 20. Some trips were as long as 6 weeks...others as short as 7 days.
    And then you knew it was for you.


    Last edited by Jimmydr; 10-08-2016 at 10:04 AM.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Yep. We are talking about that subject right now over breakfast.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmydr View Post
    How many trips were made to a place, how many places were checked out before the big move?
    I don't know yet. There are going to be more...
    I'm still "Just A Lurker."

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by BlueDevil View Post
    Yep. We are talking about that subject right now over breakfast.
    Crepes and waffles later?

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by Westy View Post
    I don't know yet. There are going to be more...



    For me, its at least 20.



    Plenty of places to sit and have coffee.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmydr View Post
    Crepes and waffles later?
    LQ Hotel on Las Palmas.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    I plan on making the move as soon as I sell my house. The oil market crash is slowing down the process but hopefully 2017 will be the year. My goal is to find a place close to the beach and not to far from the ladies.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    I haven't even come close to settling on "where," yet.

    I do know what I want, at least as of now ... the tropics, on or near the water, good diving, good night-life, but not a MAJOR city. (As you put it, Happyhorn, "close to the beach and not too far from the ladies.") I've been to a few good destinations like that, and there are more I haven't explored.

    Heck, I'm still pondering the idea of getting a sturdy, sea-kindly sailboat and making THAT my home. "Now coming to an anchorage near ... who?"

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    I did about 20 trips each to DR and Colombia then did six months straight in each country with the intention of splitting my time between the two. If Colombia had nice beaches in easily accessible areas the choice would be hands down Colombia for me without question but I enjoy the beach just way too much to give it up so I decided on 8 months a year in the DR and 4 months a year in the U.S.with visits to Colombia. In the future all options are on the table,I have no reason to plant my flag firmly in one spot.


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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Any new place I go to I think....I could live here.

    After 10 years of 3 months per year in the DR I thought I had found my happy place. Then I went to Thailand and..... forget about DR, this is for me.

    This winter, after 4 years of 3 months per year in Thailand I am returning to the DR.

    I think the Smooth One is onto something when he talks about living for 3 months in each of his happy places after he retires.
    Last edited by snoozer; 10-08-2016 at 11:07 AM.


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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by snoozer View Post
    Any new place I go to I think....I could live here.

    After 10 years of 3 months per year in the DR I thought I had found my happy place. Then I went to Thailand and..... forget about DR, this is for me.

    This winter, after 4 years of 3 months per year in Thailand I am returning to the DR.

    I think the Smooth one is onto something when he talks about living for 3 months in each of his happy places after he retires.I
    That actually makes a lot of sense, to me ... for me, certainly for now. (Or for that time in the future when I can spend two or three months away from home. at a time.)

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by snoozer View Post
    Any new place I go to I think....I could live here.

    After 10 years of 3 months per year in the DR I thought I had found my happy place. Then I went to Thailand and..... forget about DR, this is for me.

    This winter, after 4 years of 3 months per year in Thailand I am returning to the DR.

    I think the Smooth One is onto something when he talks about living for 3 months in each of his happy places after he retires.
    Assuming you are referring to me?

    Yeah, it would be nice to be able to plan all that out. Am looking at the DR, Thailand and Kenya. In doing that though, the additional expense of airfare becomes a big factor in being able to afford that type of lifestyle.

    For me, I think it would require an income close to $4,000 per month. If I can't, then maybe just cut it down to two different spots per year and swap one place out for the other the following year.

    Each place has it's benefit. For convenience and that small town atmosphere where you can walk everywhere and be close to the beach, it's the DR.

    For the multitude of available low cost accomadations and overwhelming entertainment options, as well as normal, everyday activities that have nothing to do with mongering, it's Thailand.

    And for the ladies themselves, both in expense and the superior attitudes and personality, it's Kenya hands down.

    With what I enjoy doing, on my own potential budget, I can't lose in any of those destinations.


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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by Westy View Post
    I haven't even come close to settling on "where," yet.

    I do know what I want, at least as of now ... the tropics, on or near the water, good diving, good night-life, but not a MAJOR city. (As you put it, Happyhorn, "close to the beach and not too far from the ladies.") I've been to a few good destinations like that, and there are more I haven't explored.

    Heck, I'm still pondering the idea of getting a sturdy, sea-kindly sailboat and making THAT my home. "Now coming to an anchorage near ... who?"
    Have you been to St. Martin/ St. Maarten? The marinas there are top notch and filled with ex-pats from all over the world. Many take island hopping tours to pass the time. If I were a boat guy I'd definitely consider that as a next step. It's really not that much more expensive than the other Caribbean destinations mentioned and there's tons of imported Pum-Pum in the legal, government inspected brothels of the Dutch side.

    The main difference is that unless a major hurricane passes over the island there are no power/ communications outages to speak of and you can safely drink water right out of the tap. Food is cheap and plentiful and everything is duty free as they have no "sin tax". I buy American cigarettes, Cuban cigars and French booze there for much less than they cost where they are made and you would need to go as far inland as possible to find some locals who don't speak English. The poor folks (both of them) in the interior speak Papiamento which is to Dutch what Tagalog is to Spanish and what Kreyol is to French.

    You could probably talk me into returning there just to show you around.
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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by greydread View Post
    Have you been to St. Martin/ St. Maarten? The marinas there are top notch and filled with ex-pats from all over the world. Many take island hopping tours to pass the time. If I were a boat guy I'd definitely consider that as a next step. It's really not that much more expensive than the other Caribbean destinations mentioned and there's tons of imported Pum-Pum in the legal, government inspected brothels of the Dutch side.

    The main difference is that unless a major hurricane passes over the island there are no power/ communications outages to speak of and you can safely drink water right out of the tap. Food is cheap and plentiful and everything is duty free as they have no "sin tax". I buy American cigarettes, Cuban cigars and French booze there for much less than they cost where they are made and you would need to go as far inland as possible to find some locals who don't speak English. The poor folks (both of them) in the interior speak Papiamento which is to Dutch what Tagalog is to Spanish and what Kreyol is to French.

    You could probably talk me into returning there just to show you around.
    I spent a day there in December 1997, on a big-ship cruise, with my mother. It is a beautiful island, no question about it, and a destination worth exploring; indeed, that whole spread of islands, from Trinidad to St. Thomas, are justly renowned as a cruising ground.

    The Lesser Antilles are just what I have in mind when I speak of sailing down to "de islands, mon." Well, actually, I'd include the Greater Antilles in that (Puerto Rico to Jamaica, and Cuba, too, when it's open enough to US-flagged cruisers.)

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by greydread View Post
    Have you been to St. Martin/ St. Maarten? The marinas there are top notch and filled with ex-pats from all over the world. Many take island hopping tours to pass the time. If I were a boat guy I'd definitely consider that as a next step. It's really not that much more expensive than the other Caribbean destinations mentioned and there's tons of imported Pum-Pum in the legal, government inspected brothels of the Dutch side.

    The main difference is that unless a major hurricane passes over the island there are no power/ communications outages to speak of and you can safely drink water right out of the tap. Food is cheap and plentiful and everything is duty free as they have no "sin tax". I buy American cigarettes, Cuban cigars and French booze there for much less than they cost where they are made and you would need to go as far inland as possible to find some locals who don't speak English. The poor folks (both of them) in the interior speak Papiamento which is to Dutch what Tagalog is to Spanish and what Kreyol is to French.

    You could probably talk me into returning there just to show you around.

    But what is the general cost of living there, housing, food etc?
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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by yayow View Post
    But what is the general cost of living there, housing, food etc?
    Housing is not cheap but in Westy's case a live aboard gives him the advantage of only needing to pay slip fees and utilities which are cheap by our standards and reliable by our standards as well.

    Food is extremely inexpensive and the variety is what struck me the most as it exceeded what I'm used to in the USA. As I stated earlier there is no import duty in St Maarten and all the brands that we're used to were there in addition to some very fine foods straight from European distributors, for instance, they don't have several types of Gouda and several brands...they've got a whole entire Gouda aisle. The produce was plentiful, fresh and far less expensive than what I pay for the same stuff in the USA, same for packaged foods.

    If I had to rate Sint Maarten / Saint Martin as a travel destination I'd give it the highest marks for beaches and food and put it in the top 3 for Pum-Pum, gambling and clubbing among Caribbean islands in my experience. Dining out there is just a bit less than in the USA but the cuisine is widely varied and fantastically prepared and service is excellent everywhere I've been. They've got two locations in Phillipsburg for a restaurant named "The Jerk" with better Jamaican cuisine than I ever had in Jamaica. The owner (we nicknamed him 'slick' because he wears a perm under his hairnet) is a bit on the flamboyant side but that sumbitch can cook like nodody's business. Don't look for him during Carnival week though (last week in April) because he'll be at the carnival grounds in a dress dancing until he drops every night.

    Sint Maarten is no place for the budget tourist and definitely no place for the budget monger but there are no beggars and there aren't many thieves (LE is zero tolerance on crime and the cops will beat a thief within an inch of his life in the precinct parking lot, I've seen this). There are so many jobs available there that they import most of their labor force and they pay decent wages too. The French side is more laid back and they have the best restaurants and beaches but they have no gambling, prostitution or duty free jewelry and Cuban cigars so fuck them.

    There are many ex-pat Dominicans living great middle class lives in Sint Maarten and they have a very relaxed immigration policy. Many of these expatriate Dominicano's 1st came to the island as temporary workers, made their mark as reliable, competent and honest and were offered permanent status.

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    Re: 10/2016 - Making the move to Ex Pat

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmydr View Post
    I started going to DR in 1997 and by 2007, I was going to Meddy, Colombia.


    I still did DR but Boca instead of Sosua.


    9 years in, I determined Meddy was better for my FUTURE move.
    Werent you building a house in sosua during that time?

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