°µÍø½ûÇø

Welcome to the forums.  Please read some of the pinned threads.  You will need residency to live and work here legally.

Starting a service type business here only in English is going to be extremely limiting!

I'm in Las Terrenas and agree with planner! Although there are a lot of °µÍø½ûÇøs here, most are Italian and French and do not speak English. Without Spanish, you will be limiting your clientele. And you will need residency and a business license if you want to do things the right way!

Also, know that people expect to pay a fraction of what they would in the US here. I'm sure there are folks who would like help with setting up wifi, moving from one phone to another, understanding VPN, etc.; the majority of the work would be short and sweet and not very lucrative.

When I was volunteering at our local library, I offered free IT help to anyone in the community who wanted to stop by during my shifts. It was frustrating, but I've been providing IT support to my parents for years, so I kind of knew what I was walking into! Even for free, there weren't that many people coming in.

If you can fix broken electronics, that could be a need! The heat, humidity, and salt air wreak havoc on electronics! Before moving here, I never had a need to get any electronic device fixed - they usually died around the time they were becoming obsolete! Here, we've had the electronics on an orbital floor cleaner die twice, a laptop that stopped charging (battery was fine, charger was fine - we had an identical laptop to test it with), a high-end receiver that just started turning itself on and off at will, and a nice laser printer that just decided it didn't want to turn on. We found someone to work on the floor cleaner, but he wasn't able to revive it the second time. I didn't want to take my other items to someone I couldn't communicate well with.

@planner

Thank you for your input, yes I would be doing everything legally for sure! Just trying to figure out what the demand is people may need and work with my skills, I have a few that could help for sure.

@ddmcghee

Thanks for all the info! Yes definitely some sort of electronic repair would be a benifit I bet, I definitely would be doing the business legally and all that. Just trying to find info on what kind of services would work best for someone to do. I'm open to anything really. I will be definitely be brushing up on my Spanish of course.

@ddmcghee

I was also thinking if there any smart home / security camera installer Buissiness there?

Thanks again.

Hello Nathan,

The D.R. is not Canada or the U.S. Business is different down here and if you are not fluent in Spanish, you will struggle. Unfortunately it is that simple. Further, the general population is not paying North American labor rates for the services you offer. There is significant poverty in this country and if you are hoping to carve a niche for yourself in the business, you may be surprised.

Generating business and wealth can take a long time if it happens at all. Without savings and a revenue stream from outside the country, you may experience shortages and difficulties.

Definitely, I don't expect to make money the way I do in canada. It's more of a lifestyle change, and to raise my kids with more traditional values and many other reasons, I do understand the difficulties. I have spend a good amount of time in different Latin American countries. Maybe I will focus on remote work. But it would be nice to contribute something business wise that will benifit °µÍø½ûÇøs and locals eventually.

Thank you for the message!

@Steverino7777

Definitely, I don't expect to make money the way I do in canada. It's more of a lifestyle change, and to raise my kids with more traditional values and many other reasons, I do understand the difficulties. I have spend a good amount of time in different Latin American countries. Maybe I will focus on remote work. But it would be nice to contribute something business wise that will benifit °µÍø½ûÇøs and locals eventually.

Thank you for the message!

@Nathan Roddick

Dominicans repair everything! I mean everything.  Yes we have installers of smart devices, security systems, solar etc etc.  you will barely make enough to feed your family, especially in the beginning. 

If you don't have enough $$ to support your intended lifestyle for at least a few years, you will find it a huge struggle.  And without non work related income/ pension you won't qualify for residency. 

We do have a couple of businesses here in LT that sell and install security cameras and systems. We've also had several go under because they had less than reputable employees who cased the homes and rigged the systems so that they could go in and steal everything of value in the home. Because of that, many people now hire companies from Santo Domingo or Santiago to install systems so that the employees aren't here in LT full time with plenty of opportunities to take advantage of their insider knowledge.

Starlink installations were big for a while. The few installers were getting backed up, even with charging several hundred dollars for a simple install! I did my own and helped a couple of friends with their installations.

@ddmcghee

Oh wow, ya that would be terrible. Thanks for the info. That's quite the price for a starlink install  good work doing it your self for sure!. Lots to concider for business opportunities in the area. Even if it's something totally different. Again Im not looking to get rich. Just to help support my family after we bought the land and the house.

Cheers.

So you understand, helping the family is what? Thousand US a month? 2 thousand a month?

Average technician here might make US 400 a month working 44 hours a week. 

Not saying that's what you are worth, that is what the reality is here.

Have you already purchased land and a house? If not, have you spent time in Las Terrenas? It is highly advisable to spend at least a year here before buying property! DR, and LT in particular, are not for everyone! LT is going through a period of tremendous growth in development and at least seasonal population without any changes to infrastructure. The number and length of power and water outages are increasing, and the roads cannot handle the increased traffic. If you are buying a home here, you will want to ensure you have your own water supply (rainwater catchment or well) and solar power that will sustain your home during long outages.

@ddmcghee

Have they gotten stricter with Semana Santa visitors?

@ddmcghee
Have they gotten stricter with Semana Santa visitors? - @DRVisitor

I'm not sure what you mean. The mayor has ended contracts with the companies that have put on the concerts in the past. Last year, the two big concerts (under old contract) were moved off the beach and away from the central area of town. That ticked off a lot of revelers who rented places on the beach, expecting to be able to walk everywhere. Many decided the concerts were too far away and had their own street parties. Or completely clogged up the roads between the beach and the nearest concert venue (the baseball stadium).

I don't think helmet laws or other traffic laws will be enforced any more than usual, the crowds in the street won't be discouraged, music will play at obscene levels, and the people who live in Las Terrenas will be inconvenienced like every other year! I think the mayor is just hoping that people realize it's not the same party it used to be and stop coming!

Many of the rentals that have been around for a while are taken off the market that week - the owners have been burned too many times. With all the new developments, there are still tons of properties available that weekend. A quick look at AirBnB this morning shows over 700 units available for 4/17-4/21.

I've heard that there will be no concerts on the beach or public property this year, but there is a large private party planned for somewhere on Playa Ballenas. We plan to make our last grocery run on Wednesday morning and hunker down on our hill until Tuesday!

Easter week is brutal in every beach or river based tourist areas.  This is the week many many Dominicans take vacation and celebrate.  The best place to spend Easter is in the large cities or in the countryside away from tourist areas.

This year the government banned large concerts and parties on the beaches.  So now there will be a lot of smaller parties, but still loud!  The culture here is big, meaning everything is big. They celebrate big, loud and for days!

@ddmcghee

It seems to be less events advertised then past years so what I mean stricter in allowing. Even though people will do what they will do if not enforced.

Is 700 a high number compared to past years for rentals?

@DRVisitor

I don't recall checking the rentals last year, but I just saw a Facebook memory from 2023 that said there were still over 300 rentals available for Easter weekend with just a few days to go! I think the increase reflects both an increase in supply and a decrease in demand.

We ended up with a lot of rain over the weekend last year which probably kept people in their overcrowded villas and apartments, but there were plenty of idiots taking advantage of flooded streets to "wake board" behind motos. You can stop the organized events, but you can't stop the stupid! 😂