Shopping in the Dominican Republic and Money Transfers

There is a beautiful ocean view from the parking lot...
but no one seems to notice!

La Sirena (the Mermaid) is a chain store much like Walmart. It has fresh produce, groceries, appliances, mattresses, etc. The prices are also very good. There are more La Sirenas around than the other stores mentioned earlier. We were also able to pay by credit card here without any additional charge on goods.  So, that is an option for those not wanting to carry loads of cash. There have been some violent muggings and even murder in the Puerto Plata La Sirena parking lot recently. Thomas has been there three times and I was with him once. There wasn't any parking lot security that I could see, but the lot is barricaded off from the street so there could be security.  I would suggest going there in midday and not carrying obvious amounts of cash. 

Super Pola store front...they all look the same

Inside a La Sirena

Also, owned by the same company as La Sirena is Super Pola.  It's the grocery side of a La Sirena with less of the hardware, appliances, etc. There's one brilliantly located en route from Puerto Plata Airport (which is really closer to Sosua... go figure) to nuestra casita!  It almost makes paying extra to fly into POP worth it, because we can get the meats, milk and staples for our stay right on the way home!  For both La Sirena and Super Pola you will have to have a membership card.  But, they don't charge a fee to join like PriceSmart/Costco. In Sosua there is also Playero. It has more and better baked goods and is our preferred grocery store. But, originally, when we first started coming to the North Coast, they had a bad reputation for raising their already high prices to the point that expats were boycotting them and shopping elsewhere. But, they have since turned their operation around and we are happy to shop there now.
    
On to the topic of money:  Originally, Thomaswas planning on using his debit card to buy

Playero is just west of its competition Super Pola

everything;  range, fridge, mattress, microwave, etc. But, in Santiago he discovered how much more inexpensive those items would be if he had the cash. So, having investigated money transfer options during our signing on the house (Sebastian graciously agreed to bargain with the construction guy next door to have our pool drained cleaned and the deck and roof power washed and roof repainted with elastomeric paint...white to reflect sunlight and keep things cool and hold up in the intense sun and rain...$1,000! Which we estimate was the cost of the paint by itself**!) we decided to use Xoom to send money to be picked up by Thomas at one of many listed institutions. We chose Caribe Express because we know there's a

branch in Cabrera too. Once sent the money can be picked up at any Caribe Express. Larger amounts may require some extra verification and paperwork. But, so far it has never failed. If I send the money via Xoom from my bank account it could take up to a week, but only cost $4.99...if I send it via credit/debit card it's available immediately which costs $14.99. The exchange rate is not ideal, but when in a pinch and you need more than 10k pesos which is the daily limit from the ATM machines, it can be a lifesaver. And we can pay our electric bill online with this which is, according to our friends and neighbors in Cabrera an awesome convenience, sparing us long annoying waits at the Ede Norte office.

We have since changed strategy which money transferring. We have a good relationship with our neighbors and we transfer money directly from our bank account to theirs. They then pay for various repairs, cleaning, gardening, etc.

Puerto Plata's Jumbo and La Sirena are further away
and frankly it's easier to drive the toll road to capital.

UPDATED: Jumbo opened a store in Puerto Plata. It is a direct competitor to La Sirena and is right on the main road, whereas LS is off the Malecon (roadway along beach/ocean) I don't believe we had to have a membership to shop at Jumbo which you do have the have for La Sirenas and Super Pola. Membership doesn't cost anything, but you have to show them your ID and give them your name and address. And, if you forget your card you get to do it all over again...speaking from experience...haha.

This store is about an hour away from the casa

Other than these stores, shopping in DR is much like what you would expect; fruit trucks and produce markets in narrow streets.  In season produce readily available and grown locally.  Cabrera has a supermarket on the main road called Garcias which we frequent. Rebecca's market and produce is further into town and is the choice of most of the locals we've met. (update: both of these supermercados have expanded/built new stores in Cabrera. I no longer drive to Sosua for groceries. They have 99% of what we need.) There's also a pretty nice furniture store just east of Cabarete called  Muebleria Inoa y Reyes (update: This store is now closed 😕) where they have good prices on lots of wooden furniture that look way nicer than the IKEA stuff and even appliances competitively priced.   We were about to drive the whole north coast to La Sirena in Puerto Plata to buy a simple Whirlpool washer when we stopped at Inoa y Reyes.  They had the same washer on sale for about the same price. Sadly, we didn't have enough cash to buy it outright.  Then on our way to Puerto Plata in Cabarete next to Janet's Supermercado (nice grocery store) there was a used appliance store.  And thus began our first experience with a Dominican shop owner...Our Washing Machine

**Total Story Tangent: We have learned that paint is precious. If you buy the good stuff for your house YOU MUST KEEP IT IN SIGHT AT ALL TIMES. Apparently, the fancy paint that was used on our roof...was just wall paint and maybe not even exterior paint. Within a year it was filthy and chipping. I guess painters here are notorious for watering down paint and/or swiping the good stuff and using crappy stuff for your project. Be warned.