Thoughts and Observations

Here are some random thoughts and observations from the Island.

The temperature is unbelievable. Nearly everyday is 83 degrees with a mild breeze. Nearly every night is 78 degrees with a mild breeze. You've got to love the consistency.

Talk about contradictions. The life style is slow and easy. No one is in a hurry for anything. But the driving is just the opposite. It is fast paced and "loco". No matter how fast you may be driving, you will be passed by a motor bike, bus, taxi, or truck. Interesting that they are all in a hurry to get someplace to do nothing.

Go the grocery and find milk - leche -  on the shelf with a long shelf life. Not condensed milk, but regular milk. And you know what - it tastes just fine.

 Another grocery item that is not refrigerated is eggs. But that makes sense; hen houses are not refrigerated either.

Just started to see and hear birds. I guess the winter migration from the States in on.

The community we live in - White Sands - has a security guard operating the gate to control who comes in. But the gate is always up and the guard just waves and smiles.

As we drove to Heguey we passed though a small town. We saw many shops with meat hanging on the front porches. Flies, smog, fumes, dust and dirt were flying all around. I hear it tastes fine, but I will never be able to confirm that statement.

Some of the fruits and vegetables look good. Local products. But they do not taste the way they look.

Beautiful, large pool at the complex we live in. But no one is ever there. This is great because every time we go, which is nearly every day, it's like having our own private pool. No noise, no children, no distractions.

Everyone jokes about "Dominican Time". But it really does exist. The term means that it may happen sometime after the time given, or maybe some day around the day given. But it will happen some day, some time.

Went to the bank last week. Honey was wearing a ball cap. The security guard instructed her to remove it. I've never heard that request before in a bank.I guess that is so the security cameras can get a better facial photo.

At the main intersection in the town near us, Bavaro, there is a stoplight. It must be there just for decoration as it does not work. The intersection is a wild place. It's a place where the bravest and boldest get through the intersection first.

Had a friend drive us to a store a few weeks ago. She had a little bump with a pickup. She was passing on the right. She didn't even get out to look at the damage; nor did the pickup truck driver. Every one just kept going.

With all the crazy driving, there are very few vehicles on the road that have damage.

Speed bumps are placed randomly on the roads.

All the locals wants to help, but it seems they all want pesos for the help they give.

I've heard there is a bikini car wash in town. Have no idea if they do a good job of washing your car, but I think most of their patrons don't really care.

I thought fresh fish would be abundant. After all, we live on the coast of an island. What I've seen in the grocery is not very appealing.

Personal transportation is oh so important.

Another weather comment. The humidity is not at all noticeable, even though we are close to the beach.

We saw a rainbow the other day. Actually, we saw a double rainbow for just a moment. Wonder what that means?

When we get rain clouds, it's always a great mix of beautiful colors.

Adjustments, Adjustments, Adjustments ???

It's interesting. We, mostly Honey, worked with the realtor here for about one year. Constantly exchanging emails with her to gain more information about this area and making sure the realtor knew exactly what we wanted and what was most important to us.

We were wanting to be in a quiet area, easy access to a golf course, and have the capability to get ESPN on TV as sports, in particular college football and Kentucky basketball, are very important to us. Other things, such as short walking distance to the beach would be a bonus.

Well, as I've mentioned in previous blogs, the golf course is near - just across the road - but it is closed and no one seems to know when it will re-open. The realtor was positive it would be open in November. I guess my mistake was that I did not ask "November of what year?" I went over to the course the other day and started to play a few holes. The course is in decent shape. I got kicked off after just one shot. Are there other golf courses in the area? Certainly. But to get to them would require hiring a taxi which equates to additional costs. One of the reasons we took this condo was the close proximity to the course.

We have the quiet that we wanted. It's just intermingled between all the nearly constant noise of the buses, cars, trucks, vans, and motor bikes that run the road all day and all evening. And then at night, just to make sure there is minimal quiet time, we get the non-stop music (?) from the nightclub.

The realtor didn't hesitate to tell us we would be able to get ESPN. She just didn't mention that it is ESPN Deporto (the Spanish ESPN). Now that would be OK if they televised college football and basketball. But just about all we get is soccer.  We did get to see the Xavier game Wednesday evening, but we never know what is going to be on.  Periodically they do televise basketball, but we have not seen football on ESPN Deporto.

I know, I've commented about all of this previously.

My point to all of this is this. Don't completely trust anyone when you may be gathering information to make a move similar to ours. Check out the items that are most important to you on your own. Don't rely on someone else, regardless of how sure they speak of their knowledge of those items or how convincing they may sound. Remember, the items important to you are never as important to someone else. In addition, if someone is apt to make some money off your move, verify and then verify again what they are telling you.

Did we make a mistake moving here?
              I don't think so.

Is is going well? 
             I don't think so.

Are we going to stay here?
             I don't think so.

Before you make a move to an area that you are not familiar with, know what is really important to you. Discuss it over and over again with someone that will play "Devil's Advocate" for you.  Is it conveniences, food, sports, leisure time, activities, restaurants, social time, or some other item? Know it and make sure it is available to you in your new location. Verify it's availability and then verify it again in some other manner. And then do it one more time. Do not rely on someone else telling you "sure you can get it".

One of the ways to verify that an area has all the things that are important to you is to spend a few weeks in that location. Don't treat it as a vacation, but rather spend the time as though you are living there. Walk around. Talk to the locals. Visit the stores. Find out where the hospital is. Learn the customs. Learn how the locals think. Don't be a tourist. This is where you plan to live your life, so look at it through those glasses. If, during your research visit, you find that one of your important items is not accessible, ask yourself if you can live without it. If the answer is NO than don't move there. Be honest with yourself. Discuss it with your spouse.  

Through all of this, still  EVERYDAY IS SATURDAY!!!



 

Just hangin' Out

We went to the beach on Wednesday and walked, and walked, and walked. We spent over an hour walking along the water toward El Cortecito. Lots of activity on the beach. The water was beautiful and warm with some waves to make it fun. Many tourists from all the resorts were playing in the water or just sunbathing. All kind of sights, some good some not so good. We saw way too many older men with speedos and beer bellies - Just not a pretty sight. A couple parasailers were in the air to add color to a gorgeous blue sky highlighted with puffy white clouds. We had a wonderful time kicking up some water, taking in the sights (mostly people), and strolling along holding hands.

When we got to El Corecito we decided it would be easier and faster to walk back along the road. By the time we got back to the condo, we had been walking for 2-1/2 hours. Needless to say, we were exhausted, spent a quiet night in and slept very well.

Thursday, after sleeping in,  we spent a couple hours soaking up the sun at the pool.

Yeah, it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.

Here are some photos that I took as we walked on the beach on Wednesday.

Photos

Apparently the photos did not post the other day.

Here they are.

The Good, the bad, and the ugly!!

Ok, we've been here nearly four weeks and are still adjusting to some things. Here are some thoughts on what it's like here.

The condo we have is very nice. Plenty of space and only a few steps to the pool. The pool is seldom used by anyone; it's almost like having a private pool. We get a breeze nearly all the time and with opening doors on either side of the condo, the condo stays cool. We really only close the doors and turn on the A/C to drown out the traffic on the street and the night club noise. Yes, I said the traffic on the street. When we looked at this unit in September, we were led to believe the road was a private road and seldom used. That is far from the truth. Although the road is a private road, it services numerous resorts and condos between us and the beach. All day, every day we get trucks delivering goods, small buses and large buses delivering tourists, school buses delivering and picking up workers at the resorts, motor bikes, and taxis of all sorts. Our unit is located exactly in the middle of two speed bumps, so the drivers speed up as they cross a speed bump and consequently are flying by with engines roaring and fumes flying. All day and all night; every day of the week. Add to the constant traffic pattern the night club that sits about 200 - 300 yards across the field from us. They start their music about 9 PM every night of the week. It goes until 3:30 AM the following morning. We get the BOOM/BOOM/BOOM all night long from the bass they have turned up. If our condo was on the other side of the complex, the noise issues would not be issues, but the administrator says there is nothing available. So for the time being we are stuck.

The people here are very nice and helpful. If there is a communication problem, it always seems to get worked out. The cost of living is great. The weather is superb. As an example, we have been in the mid 80's every day for the last two weeks with very little humidity. We get a rain storm or shower nearly every day, but it usually blows through.

We have been to town numerous times; only a ten minute walk. The beach is farther that we expected - about a 30 minute walk. We've been there only once.  Oh, and the golf course just accross the street that we were told would be re-opened in November. Well, guess what. It hasn't happened and no one can tell me when it will re-open. Another misleading story given to us. So, we have not yet played any golf.

Life is easy here.
Oh yeah, the internet has been a big issue. This is the third time I've been able to access it. And the only way I can do it is if I sit on the back patio.

We rented a car the other day. Needed to get the grocery and do some other running. We didn't want to rely on a taxi and the car gave us some freedom and helped us reconnect.

Attached are a few photos from our first rain in the DR.

All in all, it's a beautful location and the weather is great. If the condo were located on the back side of the complex so we didn't hear all the constant noise, this place could work. With the issues that we have to deal with - who knows if it will eventually work out.

Getting acclimated to the new surroundings

OK, we've been here for 10 days and this is the first time I've been able to get on my computer to do anything. As I sit in the lobby of the complex, the only place I can get internet, I can reflect on our experiences thus far. The trip here was interesting, and I will get into that at a later date.

The "Dominican Way" has been quite the adjustment. We got in late Monday afternoon on October 31. By Thursday we had gone to the town of Higuay to visit the Domincan Wal-Mart (not really a wal-mart), to do some shopping and stopped at a large grocery store for some additional items on the way home. All in all, we spent nearly 20,000 pesos. Holy Moly that sounds like a heck of a shopping spree, but it converts out to quite a bit less that that in US dollars; but still size-able. We needed to buy food for a couple weeks in addition to paper products and kitchen staples and items the condo did not have. The plan is to go grocery shopping every couple weeks since we do not plan to have a car. We did not have internet connection yet as we had to get cords to connect to the modum. Friday morning came a thunderstorm seldom seen. The rain and lightning knocked out the electricity for the better part of the day and still the internet. Sooo, we have been without a conection to the outside world until today, as we both sit in the complex lobby. We are still without service at the condo. The complex is telling us a new and better system is being installed manana. That remains to be seen. The Dominican Way is that no one knows if the tech will show up to service until he shows up.

Through all of this we have gotten unpacked, to the pool a couple times, to the beach, walked to town a few times, and walked in the rain one day 'cause we were bored. It has rained an average of every other day so far and is getting ready to rain again. Still, a bad day in the DR is better than a good day trying to do real estate.

Honey has had a meltdown, or two, with the lack of internet, the slow response to everything, the rain, and the spanish TV shows or english TV shows with subtitles. Some days we get ESPN and some days the same channel is Lifetime. Some days we get ESPN2 and some days the same channel is TNT. But we always get ESPN-Spanish which airs nothing but soccer, except on Saturday night when we get college football.

We are in the process of getting a more reliable internet service and a much better TV provider than that provided by the complex.

 I know we have adjustments to make and I think we are working on them. Figuring out where everything is located, getting used to a slower pace, dealing with different issues.

We have the AC on very little, mostly at night. During the day we keep doors and windows open for a great breeze. Humidity has not been horrible or we are getting used to it.

I have a few photos that I will post with my next post which I will share our experiences with the actual flights and entrance into the DR.

Getting close to departure

We are now only seven days from our departure from Knoxville - one way tickets to the DR. The next stage in our lives. It's starting to become real and I am starting to get excited and looking forward to this move. My excitement is running only about three months behind Honey's.

We've got one car left to sell and a few boxes left to pack. It is amazing; we feel like we are taking very little with us, other than clothes, and we still have quite a number of boxes to load on the plane. Actually we will end up with one stuffed golf bag, two suitcases, and 9 boxes to check in at the airport in addition to two carry on's each. I'd hate to see how many boxes we'd have if we were taking "things". Oh well, we have to take some of us; we need to make our new home - our condo - our's.

This last week is going to be quite hectic. Last minute items to take care of; banking, post office, paperwork, wrapping up real estate items, dinner with friends, and my last week at BNI. We have had something to do every day and every evening for the last 10 days and this continues through this entire week.

We think we had planned this entire process fairly well, but if there is anything we did not anticipate well it is the disposing of the automobiles. We figured we could sell them without much effort and that has not been the case. I always knew that CarMax would buy them, but never figured their purchase price would be so low. I should have put them on the market much sooner to get the value out of them.

Packing boxes has been interesting. So that we do not have to pay an overage charge by the airlines, we have to stay at 50 pounds or less. So I pack two or three boxes and then take them to the UPS store in Sevierville, on Main street,  and get them weighed. This particular UPS store has been absolutely wonderful. They weigh each box for me, let me pull items if overweight, don't charge me for this, and are friendly, helpful,  and nice the entire time. The only items that I am purchasing from them are boxes.

Keep the end goal in sight!!

Continuing the Process!

OK, We've sold the house, but needed a place to live for two months after closing. Even though we were closing on the house on Sept 7, we decided to make the final move to the DR on 10/31/11 - one way tickets. Hooray!!! We needed time to tie up loose ends here and did not want to rush doing this. So, searching for a two month rental, once again we were blessed; we had friends - Audrey & Doug - offer us their spare house for two months.

The "speed bump" I previously mentioned regarding the sale of our house was an issue the appraiser raised regarding the stucco finish. Implying that it was synthetic stucco, not masonry stucco, was causing a problem with the lender because it was a VA loan. I spent time discussing this issue with various experts and house inspectors. It seemed that a stucco inspection was going to be required and that was an expense we were not prepared to pay. Finally, I was able to obtain a letter from a professional house inspector verifying that the stucco was, in fact, masonry and no problems existed. This satisfied all the lending parties. Crisis averted. This did take time and caused some concern and worry.

By the time we went to closing, nearly everything had been sold. Fortunately we had very little to move - five items plus a number of boxes.

Again, we had friends offer to help. Actually, they just showed up on Saturday before closing and said "Let's get 'er done".

Now came the fun part - go to the DR for the first time and finding a place to live. Our initial trip to the Punta Cana area of the DR was a week in late September.  Honey had been corresponding with a realtor in that area. Maria and Todd Williams were transplants from Michigan just a few years ago so they knew the ropes to a move like this. Maria was more than helpful. She told us what documents we would need to set up a bank account and sign a lease long before we got there; so we had everything with us.  Even though we were not her only clients the week we were there, she gave us as much time as we needed and helped us find the right condo, lined us up with a bank and took us there, and helped with getting a mailing address set up. We spent a lot of time together that week learning places, getting things set up to move, and getting comfortable with the area. We could not have accomplished all of that in only one week without Maria'a help.

Now we have a place to call home; and it is just a ten minute walk to the white sands and blue water; 86 steps to the pool; a ten minute walk to town; and a golf course just accross the road. It is quite unbelievable.

Again, the process can be overwhelming; but we just took it one step at a time, kept our eyes on the end result and proceeded. Honey and I spent a lot of time talking about all the aspects and who was doing what in the process. We have done everything in order, never jumping ahead in the process.

We are now at the point where the only items left to do are selling two cars and finishing packing. We did take quite a bit of items with us on our initial trip and the condo manager was kind enough to let us leave our things in the condo. Great negotiations done by Maria.

Starting the Process

We decided it was time to retire and knew we wanted to do that somewhere other than we were currently live. The beach, year round warm weather, golf, an attactive cost of living,  and a much slower pace is what appealed to us. After much reseach, we narrowed our choices to five countries - all in the Carribbean or Central America. After further discussions and continued research, we decided that The Dominican Republic (DR) was the place to live.

While this was going on, we put our house on the market expecting it to take six to eight months, or longer,  to sell. But thanks to a great listing agent and his efforts, we were under contract within 3-1/2 weeks with 45 days to close. Wow, did that throw a twist on things. Now we had to find a temporary place to live for two months after closing. Also, it accelerated our plans by about eigth months.

As we continued to research we found it would be much to expensive to ship furniture to the DR. We figured with the freedom that we were looking for, renting a furnished condo was the best way to go. So now we needed to sell all our furniture and furnishings. I spent a lot of time taking photos and putting items on CraigsList. What a wonderful way to take care of  this issue. We sold nearly all the furniutre through CraigsList. In addition, we had four garage sales and were able to sell most of the miscellaneous household items. Whatever household items that were left after the garage sales we donated to local charities. We were definitely blessed with how well all of the sales went.

An interesting aspect of this entire process is that we had never been to the DR. Only through a dilignet effort on my wife's part, did we know that was the place to go. She did, also, find a great realtor in the Punta Cana area to help us. They communicated on a reagular basis; Maria always finding time to answer any question my wife asked.

We've accomplished quite a bit in a short time - picked a place to retire to, sold a house, sold furniture, sold household items,dealt with a "speed bump" resulting from the house inspection, closed on the house, dealt with everyday problems, continued to work our jobs, research on what is required to live in the DR, and secure required documents to make the move happen. Quite a bit, but taking it one step at a time made it attainable. Remember - "how to you eat an elephant; one bite at a time".

Up to this point it has been quite the adventure - and an exciting one.

I will have photos to post in future blogs, along with more comments on the relocation process.