Santo Domingo - Post Report Question and Answers
Is this a good city for single people? For couples? For families? Why or why not?
Night life could be dangerous, families can enjoy the beach. - Sep 2023
Yes, once out of the office. - Oct 2021
If you are single, just be careful. - Feb 2021
Good for singles. Good for couples. Good for families. - Jan 2021
Yes, but if are a single male, you may have to exercise good judgement in relationships. Also, I've heard STDs are prevalent here, and abortion is illegal. - Jan 2019
Yes / Yes / Yes; Santo Domingo can wear on you with the constant crush of people and traffic, but this country has all of the comforts of the United States with more freedom and great and easy to access outdoors. - Nov 2016
For families with small kids, it can be a decent city. There are few playgrounds but the Embassy usually has a nice nucleus of young kids. Families of older kids complain of the lack of cultural options and social life. Not much of an international community, and wealthy Dominican kids (many related to each other) keep to themselves. Single women seem to team up together. Only a small number date Dominican men. Single men encounter no problem dating Dominican women. Couples with no kids seem to do pretty well. - Apr 2016
Probably better for singles or couples without kids. There are not a lot of things for small children to do. Few parks, and the security situation coupled with the heat and mosquitoes means you need to find indoor activities for little ones. There are some indoor play places but it gets repetitive after a while. Friends who are single seem to go out a lot and enjoy the nightlife, travel opportunities, etc. Some people really like it here, and have requested to extend their tour, others can't stand it, and some think it's so-so. Just depends on your expectations, your lifestyle and what you are looking for. - Jan 2016
The younger single people seem the happiest. Most of the people I know had a really hard time adjusting here and some never did. - Jan 2016
I don't know about good but its ok for all. You can always find something to do. - Aug 2015
Yes to all of the above. - Aug 2015
Absolutely. Each category can find a niche in Dominican society. - Aug 2014
I think it's great for all. Singles and couples can explore and enjoy the nightlife...families can spend weekends at the beach and pool. - Jul 2013
Good for all. - Apr 2013
It is better for couples and families than for singles. There are not a lot of safe venues for singles to get out and meet people outside of the embassy community. - Apr 2013
We loved living there - except for issues with the school. - Jan 2013
Single men obviously have no trouble dating. For single women, it's more challenging, but some do find Dominican males they enjoy being with. Regarding families: if you have young kids, the challenge is lack of playgrounds and green space. You really have to get out of town on the weekends and let them enjoy the beaches. Every hotel has a club to join, so that helps for activities like swimming. And of course, the weather is good year-round. - Jun 2012
Families seem to hang out a lot together. Singles can do the beaches and bars. Restaurants are ok, but never great. If you want to date locals...well you should keep in mind the average Dominican makes it to 6th grade. - Jun 2012
The singles and young, childless couples I know all have a great time. There is a huge amount of nightlife, and no scarcity of singles and other couple to mingle with. There are also myriad opportunities for travel around the island, with as much or as little social element as you desire. Those of us with families lament the lack of secure green space in the city. There are no parks or playgrounds that the RSO has deemed safe enough to play, and many times the parks are littered with trash, and playground equipment is in varying degrees of disrepair. The Mission is building a playground at the Chancery, and there are several private clubs with playgrounds in the city. We belong to Club Naco (they have a diplomatic rate with no inscription fee), and they have all kinds of activities for kids, as well as a playground, 2 pools, and a safe environment. - Mar 2012
This is an AWESOME post for families. There are tons of kids at post, and families here tend to be very pleased with quality of life. Singles and childless couples seem to get bored at times....although there is a decent variety of bars and restaurants, this is admittedly not NYC. - Feb 2012
for singles i don't think so as many dominicans are just behind a visa, for couples yes because you can travel although is expensive, for families stay away. - Feb 2012
Good for singles, couples w/o kids. Is not a kids friendly country, there are parks and playgrounds, but they are in very bad condition - Oct 2011
Yes. The families I know are pretty happy living here. My single friends also enjoy it. There are some great restaurants, bars, and great weekend getaways. If you like to dance, this is your country. Just be careful, a lot of people are just looking for that visa. - Jun 2011
I imagine it is great for singles and really good for couples and families with young children. For families that have teens and want to immerse them in a culture of respect and decency, it may not be the best choice. - May 2011
i'd say its better for families.they interact less with the extremely abrasive dominican society.domincans are very friendly, but not the smartest of people... they love to party but you arent going to have a lot of deep conversations. nearly all men cheat and the women are annoyingly passive. not much of an expat population, small amount of europeans here.making shallow friends is easy, but they rarely have anything of interest to say besides partying - Nov 2010
This is NOT a family-friendly post. It would probably be fine for singles or couples, but not for school-age children. - Aug 2010
We are a family of 6, and I would not consider it a good city for families. It is not like in the States where a family could just go and play at a park. We don't do that here....only because it wouldn't be enjoyable for us to be constantly looking over our shoulder for dangerous situations and watching over our stuff. Our kids have bikes but nowhere to ride them, unless we drive to the school property where there are security guards. In the States, our kids could ride up and down the sidewalk of our neighborhood freely or walk to the neighbor's house to play, etc. ....you can't do that here. I try to make it as fun as possible for the kids. We have a trampoline, we rent movies, we go bowling, we go to the mall, we go to the zoo, aquarium, botanical gardens, movie theatre.....and almost every weekend we escape from the city and go to the beach. - Jun 2010
It is only ok. At school your kids will not get the opportunities because rich Dominican kids' parents will make sure your kids are miserable from sports. And other after-school activities at CMS are very expensive. - May 2009
Single men seem to love the Dominican females who are all too eager to score a green card; single women need to beware of Dominican males--they're charming, and the smart ones know how to hide their machismo until marriage. Not all Dominican men cheat (only most), but almost all Dominican men are chauvinists at heart. - Nov 2008
Like many places, it depends on what you want. All could potentially have a great time here, but people from all of these categories seem to struggle because of some of the difficulties here and the lack of support for those things. - Oct 2008
Great for everyone but large families because of potential housing problems. - Aug 2008
Singles enjoy the nightlife. Families have more mixed morale, often depending on housing. - Aug 2008
All in all, it appears about equal for families, singles, and couples. Perhaps a bit better for singles - as others have suggested, quite easy to make a new friend, especially as a single. - Jun 2008
