Field notes on life and real estate on the Dominican north-east coast.
Not a content farm. Short, specific, useful pieces on the two towns we know best — Cabrera and Río San Juan — updated as things on the ground actually change.
VA Foreign Medical Program eligibility in plain language, the three veteran-specific clinics in the DR (VCCA, ICVC, Medical Liaison Santiago), the hospital tier above them (HOMS & HGPS), and the working pattern Cabrera-based veterans actually use.
Read the guide →The three buyer archetypes who show up at every farmland viewing — off-grid homesteaders, subdivision developers, community village builders — and what each needs to know.
Read the guide →Honest numbers from the Cabrera area — $80k budget builds, $180k–$320k comfortable builds, $450k–$1M+ luxury builds — and the hidden costs buyers consistently under-budget.
Read the cost guide →A working checklist — the documents to demand, the boundary walk, the seasonal road test, the test question that separates good buyers from buyers who get hurt.
Read the walkthrough →Individual lots, sociedades anónimas, condominios, fideicomisos — the four legal vehicles for group land purchases in the DR, and how to choose the right one before the lawsuit.
Read the legal guide →Why Cabrera stands apart from Sosúa, Cabarete & Puerto Plata. Neighborhoods (Loma Alta, Orchid Bay, Sea Tree), lifestyle, comparison table & 12 buyer FAQs.
Read the area guide →Construction costs, contractor selection, permitting, materials, timelines & oversight — from twenty years of Cabrera builds.
Read the build guide →Pricing per acre, build-cost premiums, appreciation rates, lifestyle tradeoffs & when to choose each.
Read the analysis →An honest, data-driven read from a twenty-year local. Homicide rates, real risks, what long-term expats actually do.
Read the safety essay →Pricing tiers, the Deslinde title, foreign-buyer rules, the step-by-step process, closing costs, build-out costs and the 5 mistakes to avoid — the full guide.
Read the 2026 guide →Appreciation rates, rental yields, the three forces shaping 2026–2030, and tax treatment for non-resident buyers.
Read the analysis →Titles, taxes, soil, floods, boundaries — the due-diligence checklist every serious buyer should walk before signing anything.
Read the buying guide →
The insider's read on the town — where to eat, where to swim, who to see for what.
Read the Cabrera guide →
Aman-adjacent, Discovery-Land-adjacent — and still a fishing town. A guide to the right-now Río San Juan.
Read the Río San Juan guide →