5 reasons to live in the colonial zone of Santo Domingo (April 2021 UPDATE)

5 reasons to live/leave this city, Dominican Republic, English, Insider Report

Santo Domingo is the biggest city in the entire Caribbean and the capital of the Dominican Republic. From an expat point of view, it might be not as attractive to live there as to visit it for a weekend. If you are a foreigner and work in tourism, hospitality, or real estate, probably Punta Cana or Las Terrenas might be your main place of residence in the Dominican Republic. However, there are still a lot of other expats living in Santo Domingo. In addition to that, many foreigners tend to move to the Colonial Zone. I want to help you have a better overview of 5 reasons to live in Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone.


Approximate reading time: 15 minutes

(Last update: April 10, 2021)


I lived the expat life in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo for almost one and a half years. This article isn’t by default an homage. You should see it more as a little guide for foreigners who are looking for first-hand information. Whenever you plan, consider, or might even daydream to move to the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo – Here you can find some useful information in this article.


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My intention for this article was to give some insights and guidance about the Colonial Zone you might not find elsewhere. There are plenty of websites regarding tourism, hospitality, or sightseeing in the Colonial Zone. But living there for longer? Not much useful information to be found. I would like to close that gap.

During the difficult times of Covid-19, I moved away from the Colonial Zone. When I left the Colonial Zone, there wasn’t much public life possible as you would expect it from a Caribbean city. Due to restrictions, lockdown, and strict controls, it didn’t matter to me in which neighborhood I lived. Because I could neither enjoy nor benefit from all these arguments that would usually convince someone to move there permanently. Thus, I moved to Piantini to a more central neighborhood. It was at the same time a bit more upscale, green and quiet than the Colonial Zone.


Carnaval 2020 en la Zona Colonial en Santo Domingo (1)
Calle El Conde

My article should be therefore a reference to ‘the normal’ Colonial Zone. Not a Colonial Zone during any political interventions because of a global pandemic. Just a regular Colonial Zone before and after Covid-19. Let’s hope, that things go back to this ‘normal’ I was writing about before on my website.

Are you interested in a broader overview of the expat life in Santo Domingo as a whole city? I would like to recommend you a related article that I wrote before any Covid incidents. With the same structure and 5 good reasons to live in Santo Domingo and 5 reasons to leave it again.


5 good reasons to live in Santo Domingo (04/2021 Update)

The Dominican Republic is a magnificent tourism destination in the Caribbean. Many holidays begin in the capital of Santo Domingo and its Colonial Zone to welcome the visitor with a historical flair. But what about living in Santo Domingo? What are good reasons to live in the Dominican capital? Read in this article, what life…


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But this article now is kind of a special edition and focuses on the Colonial Zone with all its interesting facets and peculiarities. It’s more a comparison amongst the different neighborhoods of Santo Domingo. Please follow the link below and get a thorough glimpse about the ‘Zona Colonial’ how Dominicans would call it.

Please let me know in the comment section if you liked the article and what you think about it. You can also send me an eMail to contact@traphil.com and ask your questions in a bit more private manner. I’ll respond to it as quickly as I can.

Click HERE to read 5 reasons to live in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo

5 good reasons to NOT live in Santo Domingo (April 2021 UPDATE)

5 reasons to live/leave this city, Dominican Republic, English, Insider Report

Living in the Caribbean must be a dream and full of coconut palms, beautiful beaches and sunshine. Why not living in the Dominican Republic? Santo Domingo is the city with the biggest population in the Caribbean and the capital of the Dominican Republic. Wouldn’t it be a thing to move there to realize your Caribbean dream? Not at all, I would say. There are some very good arguments, why it’s not a good idea to live in Santo Domingo. Would you like to find out more? Read this article with 5 good reasons to NOT live in Santo Domingo.

Welcome back! You successfully clicked your way through and came here from the previous article in which I wrote about 5 good reasons to move to Santo Domingo. In any event, you are curious why it might be a better idea to avoid living in Santo Domingo. There are always tons of positive articles that encourage you why you should go, live, move to, visit, etc. somewhere. But only a few focuses the reverse of the medal to show you some honest counter-arguments. That’s why you are here – You would like to find out more about possible objections, disadvantages and reasons to not live in Santo Domingo.


Approximate reading time: 20 minutes

(Last Update: April 10, 2021)


Read in this article, what life in the oldest city on the American continent really means for a foreigner. And if you should consider to better look for a different city to realize your Caribbean dream.


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Maybe there are some things you might not find in other How-to-Guides that rather want to sell you a candy story. Moving abroad into a strange culture is a big project that involves the danger of making the wrong decision. Not always are expectations met after moving with your whole kit and caboodle to the Dominican Republic.

You want to be sure before you make a big step and assure you about the natural or artificial problems and challenges a new city has to face. I lived for about 1.5 years in Santo Domingo and before in other capital cities in Latin America. Thus I can comprehend all the doubts and hopes any foreigner has before moving to the Dominican Republic.


Carnaval 2020 en la Zona Colonial en Santo Domingo (7)
Weird snapshot, isn’t it? But also Santo Domingo has its own carnival.

And here I am. I would like to give you some more insights about Santo Domingo and share with you my first-hand insights. Not everything is shiny and perfect and Santo Domingo is also far away from that. Please continue reading this article to find out more about 5 good reasons why to not move to Santo Domingo.

Please let me know in the comment section if you liked the article and what you think about it. You can also send me an eMail to contact@traphil.com and ask your questions in a bit more private manner. I’ll respond to it as quickly as I can.


Next page: Worst traffic situation in Latin America

5 good reasons to live in Santo Domingo (04/2021 Update)

5 reasons to live/leave this city, Dominican Republic, English, Insider Report

The Dominican Republic is a magnificent tourism destination in the Caribbean. Many holidays begin in the capital of Santo Domingo and its Colonial Zone to welcome the visitor with a historical flair. But what about life in Santo Domingo? What are good reasons to move and live there? How is life in Santo Domingo for an expat? I lived an expat life in the biggest city in the Caribbean for 1.5 years and would like to help you with 5 good reasons to live in Santo Domingo. I’m sure that you’ll find all the answers you’re looking for.

Approximate reading time: 20 minutes

Read in this article, what life in the oldest city on the American continent really means for a foreigner. And if you should consider to move to Santo Domingo or to rather look for a different city.


Would you like to read this article in another language?


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I think, that it’s a good moment to analyze Santo Domingo as a valuable residence destination for expats and foreigners. Whether you are looking for good reasons to live in Santo Domingo, you will find them in this article. I could obtain some valuable insider knowledge from the perspective of an expat, because I lived there as well. And I am gladly sharing them with you!

Some years ago. I lived in Lima, Quito and Asunción. All these experiences in other Latin American capital cities helped me to analyze and assess Santo Domingo.

The 5 good reasons to live in Santo Domingo don’t come from researching other websites. I am creating the content of my own experiences and all photos I share are my own copyright. You won’t find this content elsewhere, if it was not linked or copied from. It’s nothing less than made by own observations and opinions about what’s good and bad about Santo Domingo.

I was quite surprised, that so far no other expat blogger treated this topic on whether living or not living in Santo Domingo in a thorough manner. It’s a quite big and international city and many expats lived here.


Plaza Maria de Toledo in the Colonial Zone

But I couldn’t find any comparable article by giving this information from the inside to interested readers who look for this kind of expat information. I hope, that I’ll fulfill your purpose and deliver some valuable insights from the life in the capital of the DR.

Alright then, hope you enjoy my article and will find what you were (re)searching for!

Next page: The Colonial City of Santo Domingo