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Mark and Al wrote:

lennoxnev,

You seem to have a very strong grasp of many different areas of the DR. How would you assess the cost of living in Las Terranas vs the Sosua/Cabarete area? Restaurant costs, rent, daily life, things like that....

I lived in Las Terrenas for over 2 years a few years ago and spent over 4 months working in the Sosua/Cabarete a year ago and my comments below are based upon that.

You can buy all manner of fruit and vegetables in Las Terrenas in town from the small shops at very competitive prices indeed. I found such outlets in Cabarete particularly had less produce and were more expensive so I settled for vendors selling from the back of their vans near Sosua to get decent value. Both destinations have a Super Pola supermarket and prices are fairly consistent from this chain (including parent La Sirena) throughout the country. You have a very good alternative in Supermarket Lindo in Las Terrenas and some good prices and Playero in Sosua which I discounted using having found some prices were hiked. I often did my general food shopping in the smaller supermarkets in Las Terrenas further inland at very good prices. My general opinion is that Las Terrenas is cheaper for food shopping compared to Sosua/Cabarete.

When it comes to accommodation and longer term rentals I believe that one will find better deals in the Sosua/Cabaret area if you are flexible where you stay. You will however pay equally high if not higher prices to rent a high standard place in Sosua/Cabarete with pool in good location than Las Terrenas is my assessment based upon the rentals I had in both locations. A point to bear in mind is that the rental stock in Las Terrenas is such that it can be difficult to source in high season due to high occupancy, so rent long term in low season for the best deal. Hotel accommodation varies with both locations having smaller hotels as the norm. I have struggled to find decent hotels to stay in the Sosua/Cabarete area. Las Terrenas has some lovely small hotels in great beach locations.

Eating out is more readily available in the Sosua/Cabarete area with more outlets and more choice. Cheap meals are there too especially in Sosua. But I found the restaurants in Cabarete very expensive and of no better quality than those you find in Las Terrenas.

Buying a drink in Cabarete can be very expensive but that is a better alternative to drinking in Sosua imo where it just isn't nice with hookers all around. Las Terrenas is not a town with many bars but you can drinks cheaply in most outlets including colmados. Even the late night venue La Bodega is cheap.

Probably one of the biggest costs you will encounter when living in Las Terrenas is the toll fee for the road to El Catey. The alternative is a winding and tricky road over the hills to Sanchez.

When it comes to beaches, I am biased. I so much enjoy spending time of day on all the LT beaches which are rarely crowded and all have their own character and calmer spots to swim in all weathers. Their locations are generally spectacular with lush green backdrops and over hanging coconut palms. Truly topical. The main beach in Sosua is actually nice but in my opinion ruined. I've visited many if not most local beaches in DR but the presence of peddlers and hookers is a serious downside and the beach shacks imo are nothing special compared to other such beaches. It just doesn't feel anything like real DR to me. The beaches of Cabarete are wide and of course famed for kite surfing which is great to watch. But they are not what I call leisure beaches where you can laze in shade under coconut palms and close to the water edge and take a dip from time to time and not be harassed every minute by peddlers selling their wares. You get very little of that in LT.

Las Terrenas is a spread out resort off the main road and you need transport to fully enjoy all parts. It is suited to quads and bikes and at weekends the use of a car can be slow going in the narrow one way streets. Many better off Dominicans with second homes in the area come to LT at weekends. During the week it can appear to be very quiet and the typical visitor was European but that is changing. There are many French and Italian owned businesses. Night life is limited and after 9.30 pm it could seem the town is dead at times during the week. Cabarete and Sosua are perhaps the opposite with a busy nightlife and much more commercial. The main north coast road through both these towns can be congested during peak times and a car is a better and safer mode of transport for an expat imo. I avoid going into Sosua and would not take my wife into that town when she was staying with me during my work spell there and we went to Cabarete instead. Such is the stigma of the town for most Dominicans.

Yes I am biased in preferring Las Terrenas. I'm European and I don't like places that are too commercial. I also prefer to be closer to Dominican life that one can find a short distance from the town centre including nearby in Limon and Sanchez. And the general population of LT and Samana as a whole are much more welcoming imo to expats than further west on the North Coast. Imo, it is a good place to bring up younger children without distraction. It does have martial arts groups too.

As you can read here on this forum, many expats differ in their opinion and have made a happy life for themselves in Sosua/Cabarete which may suit some especially anglophiles better. Everybody to their own.