les666

Turks & Caicos schooling is very good, medical is excellent with new hospitals being opened soon, connections are good..many flights from the USA every day and a couple from the UK each week...we have loads of info you may be interested in, if you are feel free to email me on <<snip>>

island cassie

I don't know why the Dominican Republic has such a bad press in the UK media - we have lived here for 4 years now with no problems at all. The people are gentle and friendly and we have had no security problems whatsoever. There are enough people here to have a reasonable social round unlike a lot of the smaller islands - couldn't live on a small rock with 10 people and 4 dogs!! Other islands have a very bad crime record although they try to keep this quiet - look what has come out about Antigua recently. Families here have a choice of schools to attend including international schools. Being a bigger island means most of our produce is locally grown and we have a large choice of fruit and veggies - we don't have to wait for the mailboat to bring us salad like the Bahamas!! Viva Republica Dominicana!!

pgtips

Cassie most of the islands are still relatively safe, including Antigua. What happened in Antigua was a disgusting act of mindless violence, but unfortunately if you keep up with the media this could have happened anywhere in the world, including the DR. Apart from parts of Jamaica, Haiti, and now Trinidad and Tobago, most of the other islands are still relatively safe, but like anywhere else in the world one now has to have their wits about them.
Look at quiet Aruba, nobody thought anything could happen there until that young American girl went missing, presumed dead. All of the sudden the worlds eye was on Aruba, just like it was recently on Antigua.

All the islands have their individual beauty, but like anywhere else in the world now, no island is completely crime free.

island cassie

pgtips - that is exactly what I am saying - most islands are relatively safe but some seem to be on the receiving end of undeserved bad press! We are indeed fortunate to enjoy our beautiful island - so happy to have found it and we intend to stay for many years to come.

pgtips

Well give thanks to God that he has led you to this wonderful place, and may you indeed have many happy and safe years there. It is always nice to here success stories like this.

island cassie

Thank you - we would like to extend our best wishes for 2009 to all who are fortunate enough to live in these beautiful places.

Mandy67

Hi I have recently returned from a family holiday in St. Lucia. We hired a car drove around and felt very safe, I cried when I left which I have never done before. Some friends who we met there were home in the U.K. for one month and have gone back out for another month.

I also loved Barbados and Jamaica. I live in the U.K. and would love to move to Barbados or St. Lucia. I have four children and it would be impossible to uproot them all. I am determined when the time is right to go to where I feel most at peace and relaxed which is definitely the caribbean. I had been looking at turks and Caicos which is really expensive for a holiday it does look really beautiful. I will keep looking for a good deal. Thank you for some fantastic information I have enjoyed reading all the posts.

island cassie

Mandy - you are very welcome, and good luck with your choice!

Foxy_fromCanada

Hi Mandy,

Have you also checked out the Barbados forum? If you were interested in Barbados, there is a lot of good info on there that may help you as well.

Good luck.
Foxy

drmellis

island cassie, how many and what are the ages of your children? You mentioned schools in the DR, do you select private and if so what is the typical cost?
Thanks

island cassie

My son is grown and never went to school here - most people send their children to the International Schools and always private as the government schools are not at all suitable for expats. I can try to find out the cost for you.

island cassie

http://www.coralbayrealestate.com/schools.php

Although this is a realtors site - it gives you a good overview of the school situation here. If you need more information you can either Google the schools concerned or contact me directly - it is difficult to say more without knowing which area you are thinking of - there are many more private schools that are not mentioned here.

karibspices

It's quite interesting that asherman had his posting privileges revoked, but Jack Bowman has not met the same fate...... hmmm.....

Foxy_fromCanada

Is he still posting? I haven't seen one from him in a while... (Jack, that is)

karibspices

I don't know, but he was never banned. It strikes me as strange that posters were subjected to his overt and personal abuse without intervention of moderators, but asherman was restricted/banned because others did not like undertones of his posts.