Families of Ross Univ. Medical Students

[Marmoora80]

Hi everyone,
I'm moving to Dominica in Jan-07 with my husband (who will be attending the medical school) and son (he'll be 2 years old when we go). I'm a little nervous about the move and was hoping that I could get some help from others here in this forum.

My main issue is: Where is the best place for a family to live, most importantly, my 2 year old son ?

Also, what is the life like really?
What should I REALLY bring with me from America?

I know there is a job database but what kind of jobs are easily accessible over there?

If thinking of teaching, what subject area teachers are needed?

Any info. would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks.
Mar ;)

[Dru]

Many families with kids live in Glanvilla. For HOUSING hints please see:
http://www.valuemd.com/ross-university-school-medicine/68034-housing-dominica.html

For a wealth of "Unofficial Ross Resources", see my survival guide in:
http://freewebs.com/rossresources/RossResource.html

For what to pack please see:
http://www.valuemd.com/ross-university-school-medicine/69202-composite-things-bring-advice.html?highlight=pack+rock

You will not be allowed to hold an official job on the rock. Your visa will preclude this, as you would be taking valuable income away from the native Dominicans. You may possibly be able to work in the Ross Bookstore or the Ross Day school for a nominal wage.

[medic1691]

Hey Mar,

My name is Ashley and my husband has an interview in a few weeks for Jan 07, so maybe we'll be seeing you there. We have three kids they will be 2, 3 and 7 in Jan. I would love to have someone to talk to if we end up getting in. My husband also applied to AUC ad we're waiting to hear from them too. Either way just to have someone to talk who is in the same boat would be great! Hope to talk soon!

[MitchDC]

Marmoora,

First of all congratulations to your husband and family. This is a time full of excitement and anxiety. Having been in Dominica two years ago with my wife and knowing many other families with children (from weeks to years old) I want you to know that it is all worth it and the time in Dominica will fly be.

Housing for families - as Dru stated, many families live about a 10-15 minute walk from campus as the larger apartments and houses are more commonly found there. But with one child you wouldn't have to if you didn't want to. Communicate with the housing director as to what you want and they will have good recommendations as to where you may want to look.

Shopping can be frustrating at time as the local availability can vary from day to day. Most spouses quickly learn of the REAL grocery stores in Roseau and go there weekly for lower prices and more selection that you'll find at the smaller places in Portsmouth & Picard. However, James Store and Tina's will still be your day to day market.

It will probably be cheapest and easiest for you and your husband to eat at the food court (Shacks) for lunch. Subway would be a nice treat every so often, but the Shacks are typically cheaper and offer more selection. I actually miss the jerk chicken salad/wraps/sandwiches.

Jobs, as stated above, are tough to come by. However, there are teaching positions at the Ross Day School for students spouses. I believe the teachers must have their teaching credential but they also hire people for day care type purposes for the younger kids. You can also work at the bookstore on campus - as many spouses do that. You won't make a ton at either place but it will give you something to do while making some money. Contact the University to get the contact information for the Day School so that you can inquire about jobs.

Otherwise you should find other families with kids and hang out with those spouses. Go to the beach, enjoy the sites, shop in Roseau, etc.

There will be great times and rough times. But again, its all worth it in the end. Best of luck to you guys!

-M

Hi everyone,
I'm moving to Dominica in Jan-07 with my husband (who will be attending the medical school) and son (he'll be 2 years old when we go). I'm a little nervous about the move and was hoping that I could get some help from others here in this forum.

My main issue is: Where is the best place for a family to live, most importantly, my 2 year old son ?

Also, what is the life like really?
What should I REALLY bring with me from America?

I know there is a job database but what kind of jobs are easily accessible over there?

If thinking of teaching, what subject area teachers are needed?

Any info. would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks.
Mar ;)

[Marmoora80]

Thanks Dru & Mitch for your info., I appreciate it. I've really read everything there is online about Ross and about Dominica so I'm more comfortable with the move and excited to go there. Thanks for your advice regarding the housing and jobs.

If anyone has any other experiences to share, I would still love to hear from you.

Ashley, good luck with the admissions. Perhaps we will indeed meet over there in January. It would be nice knowing someone when we get there, as you said. Maybe we can make some play dates..hehe. Keep in touch, let me know what happens and what your plans are for getting things ready over there. I'm thinking to take a bed with me for my son-- does anyone know if I can buy a small mattress for him over there? If not, maybe I will just get some bed rails with me or something--I'm open to ideas.

Take care all & thanks again-
Marmoora

[sukhtinder]

okay reality check...

the place is filthy, so children ages 2-7 usually love it. make sure to keep your kid clean to prevent parasites/infections.

NEVER let your kid eat at 'the shacks'. he doesnt have the immunity that adults have, hence making him prone to salmonella/shigella/ecoli/rotavirus infections, i.e. dangerous diarrhea.

make sure your kid is immunized fully, and make sure he sees a pediatrician on every visit home. feed him only the food that you make him. make sure he drinks only bottled h20.

also makes ure you have the best evacuation insurance for emergenices for your family and your child.

good luck ands enjoy your time there!

[curiousspouse]

My husband and I went down to Ross in 2003 with our 3 children. At the time they were 5, 4, and 2. They loved Dominica. My youngest still asks when we are going to go the the beach. It is scary moving your family to a third world. We lived above Tina's grocery store and in Glanvillia. Both places were nice. I would recommend not living too far from campus (less than 10 minute walk) unless you plan on buying a car or live close to the main road where it is easy to catch a transport. It is difficult for children to walk all the time. I would suggest buying an nice jogging stroller to take with you. There isn't a sidewalk everywhere. You can use the stroller while you are in the airports and check it at the gate so you don't have to count it as luggage. As far as parasites and things don't worry too much about that. We ate at the shacks frequently with no problems. They have french fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc. The only thing I would recommend is not to let your children walk around without shoes. There aren't many parasites in Dominica but I did know a few children who got hook worm. So just keep their shoes on when they are outside. Bring as much as you can with you. Use the maximum amount of luggage space they give you. Once you have packed the things you need pack some things you want. Pack some extras that your child may want like small toys, books, coloring books (you can buy these at James store) just some extra activities. Life in Dominica is quite a bit slower than here in the USA. You will want to have extra things to do. If you want to get a job at the day school you need to contact the head mistress of the day school and let her know you are coming asap. I hope answered a few of your questions. I think our kids adjusted to living in Dominica easier than we did.

[zoe5]

okay reality check...

the place is filthy, so children ages 2-7 usually love it. make sure to keep your kid clean to prevent parasites/infections.

NEVER let your kid eat at 'the shacks'. he doesnt have the immunity that adults have, hence making him prone to salmonella/shigella/ecoli/rotavirus infections, i.e. dangerous diarrhea.

make sure your kid is immunized fully, and make sure he sees a pediatrician on every visit home. feed him only the food that you make him. make sure he drinks only bottled h20.

also makes ure you have the best evacuation insurance for emergenices for your family and your child.

good luck ands enjoy your time there!

We had four kids, drank the water, ate at the shacks and our kids were NOT immunized! They all survived well. Our kids have been sick much more since returning to the U.S. On the island we had our normal run of sickness but nothing that I think was connected to eating/water. None of us ever got diarrhea. So remember "reality" for you may not be everyone's "reality".

[galsail]

I moved to Dominica with my husband, who is the student, and my child who turned two a feww weeks after we got here. The experience is different for everyone, but we adjusted after a few weeks, and yes the children generally adjust much faster than the adults. If I could di it over again, the main thing I would do differently is plan a stop in Miami on the way here, go to a Sams Club or Costco, stock up and ship it in a barrel with tropical. We did that over the last break. Again everyone's experience is different, but my child and husband a picky eaters, we stocked up on snacks, pasta (husband is a pasta snob and doesnt like the brands here) mac and cheese as well as some meds, and diapers, diapers, diapers and wipes. We go through three boxes (from sams) of size 4 diapers and 1 box of wipes a semester. You can find almost anything here, it is just difficult and may cost alot more. They have diapers here, but the quality is different and they are expensive. A friend found it was cheaper to have someone ship them from home than buy them here. Also if your child has sensative skin or is prone to heat rash it will be much worse here.

Things I needed to bring were good knives, kitchen-aid canopener (or another heavy duty brand) potatoe peeler, and cheese slicer/grader, good pans (at least your favorites) my place was stocked but with poor quality dishes, after burning alot of food, I brought some back on a later trip.

I also bring shampoo and soap. They have them here but not always the same brands. You can get baby saop here easily.

It is also a good idea to have childrens tylenol, motrin, and I also like children's tylenol cough and cold, or for infant little colds by pediacare. You can not get those here so bring alot.

As far as houseing I recomend living as close as possible there are a few familes in glanvilla but also on bannana trail and lizard trail. The walk from glanvilla can be long with a little one. You can find a reasonable place close to school if you look hard.

There are virtually no jobs. If you are certified, you may be able to work at the day school if there is an opening.

I would contact the Spouses organization, many families will be leaving the semester before you get here, myself included, and you can probably buy a lot of stuff from them so you dont have to ship so much. I did this and it worked out well. I know many have jogging strollers and toys, clothes, kitchen supplies ect.

Hope this helped

PS another thing, be aware that many landlords do not allow children. Make sure up front children are allowed, we were turned down 3 times because we had a child.

[bobdole]

What about bedding? My wife and I will be bringing our son with us, who will have his first birthday on the island. Do I need to worry about shipping some kind of crib for him?

How much (ballpark) does it cost to ship a barrel of supplies from Miami?

[brob311]

Bring sheets and a crib! My wife and I are bringing a portable crib with us/ easier to pack and cheaper.

[tavuong]

Some people talked about the infectious diseases and immunization prior to the island entry that brought to my attention. I heard that Dengue Fever is serious on the island, and it's fatal to children. Will my children in the big risk? What kind of vaccines they should have prior to entry?

[Dru]

Dengue fever is rare, but as students have testified on the forum, it DOES happen. Your best defense for this is to make sure you bring proper and adequate mosquitoe protection. Check out the Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard, as it is effect and DEET-free. If you feel you want to use DEET, by all means buy it. Do NOT come to the island to see how bad the bugs are, and then decide you need protection. Buy your repellent and pack plenty of it, as you may be applying it several times a day or night. For night time protection some students use a net over the bed, but if you have topical protection, it would not be necessary.


Vaccine development for dengue and DHF is difficult because any of four different viruses may cause disease, and because protection against only one or two dengue viruses could actually increase the risk of more serious disease. Nonetheless, progress is being made in the development of vaccines that may protect against all four dengue viruses. Such products may become available for public health use within several years. Until then, Avon's Bug Guard is probably your best protection.