Reason 1 to live in the Colonial Zone: History and culture everywhere
This article shouldn’t intend to become a history lesson about Santo Domingo or the Colonial Zone. That’s neither my job nor the purpose of any of my articles. You can either read a ton of online articles or watch some interesting YouTube-documentaries about Dominican history. Another idea would be, to move to the Colonial Zone and enjoy all the cultural sightseeing there is.
The reason for that is a sad one: A lack of comparable cultural activities and reference points in other parts of Santo Domingo. No other neighborhood in the capital of the Dominican Republic hosts that vast amount of culture and sightseeing as the Colonial Zone of. If you are an expat and fancy ancient architecture, a Colonial spirit, and historical facts, you’ll be challenged to find that elsewhere in Santo Domingo.
Parque Colón with just a few pidgeons. 
You feel a Colonial spirit in the streets of Santo Domingos oldest neighborhood.
Santo Domingo grew as a city over the last decades exponentially by its sheer geographical size and population. Many inhabitants of the Dominican backlands and other regions of the country came to its capital. Dominicans wanted to benefit economically, find a job and raise a family in Santo Domingo. But outside of the Colonial Zone, you’ll mostly find residential areas, a concrete jungle, and shopping malls.
In my case, I appreciated the variety of cultural and historical opportunities to spend your free time with. Other neighborhoods don’t have that feature. They seem to be rather dull and unattractively designed. It can get a bit boring out of the Colonial Zone because of the missing cultural activities. I know that because I can compare it to other areas of the city (e.g. Piantini or the area around Parque Mirador del Sur) where I spend a greater amount of time.
So – Whether you are a culture lover or not, you’d have at least the opportunity to explore and discover what the Colonial Zone will be able to offer you. It’s on you to make use of it – or not.
Calle El Conde, the most popular street in the Colonial Zone. 
This is Calle Hostos in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo.
It was for me always a welcoming alternative to spend some time in the Zona Colonial. Verifying the historical and cultural facts myself. I’m sure that expats prefer this argument when considering to move to the Colonial Zone.
Next page: The most artistic neigborhood in Santo Domingo