Recommendations and approximate joining and yearly fees (pros and cons for families) of social clubs such as
Club Naco, Arroyo Hondo, Casa Espa?a, Country Club?
Thanks.
Club Naco, Arroyo Hondo, Casa Espa?a, Country Club?
Thanks.
- Thread starter Matem?tico
- Start date
Social clubs in Santo Domingo?
I guess socialize, exercise, have fun and meet like-minded people. I'm hoping my wife, child, and mother-in-law will have an
opportunity to develop friendships in a safe environment.
opportunity to develop friendships in a safe environment.
Yes to both. Some, even have beachfront properties near Juan Dolio. They often have events and parties for members and reasonably-priced restaurants.
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It's my pleasure. I've visited some of the ones I mentioned and hope to join one once in the DR. I haven't had any luck finding the info I requested online.
Why would it not be safe to find friends elsewhere?
Grew up in that kinda lifestyle and find it extremely boring and fake.
Grew up in that kinda lifestyle and find it extremely boring and fake.
A general observation:
This country will drive you crazy and make you miserable if you do not adjust your way of thinking and your expectations. While Social Clubs, Country Clubs and hobby groups all have their place and usefulness, these are not a replacement for assimilating into DR society & culture.
If you have not lived here before, rather than immediately attempting to duplicate your social conditions from home, spend the first year living in and dealing with the realities of life in the DR. It is frustrating, illogical, time consuming and a real effort day after day. This is, however, a very important and required first step.
If you wish to live here (and thrive) for any length of time, you (and your family) cannot skip this learning experience and acclimation process. If you immediately choose to surround yourself exclusively with those of similar experiences, interests and beliefs then you will never achieve the level of comfort and acceptance of the reality of really living in the DR; Because you will not be forced to reevaluate and adjust your understanding and expectations, you and your family will not reach that "mental place" that allows one to survive long term here.
Every trip to the grocery store, every interaction with the Govt., every time you have to deal with the utility company or the cellphone provider, the bank, the landscaper or the maid, will be an exercise in frustration that will overshadow everything else that is good about this place. Before you surround yourself with like minded individuals in that "safe and familiar" environment you wish to create, you need to be able to coexists among Dominicans first as they far outnumber the members of any social club and are unavoidable on a daily basis.
If you and your family, cannot or do not experience and accept the "real Dominican Republic" you're doomed to fail. Your wife and kids will be miserable and in turn you will be miserable. Social interaction within the walls of a Club should be a brief rejuvenating experience from life outside those walls - not a replacement for it. Yes this acceptance and understanding of life (and all that this entails) in the DR is going to be difficult and an endless source of dinner time conversation. It is, however, fundamentally necessary. Once you "know", then you can go to the "club" and commiserate with others without dreading the the arrival of the time that one must return to face your neighbors and reality.
This country will drive you crazy and make you miserable if you do not adjust your way of thinking and your expectations. While Social Clubs, Country Clubs and hobby groups all have their place and usefulness, these are not a replacement for assimilating into DR society & culture.
If you have not lived here before, rather than immediately attempting to duplicate your social conditions from home, spend the first year living in and dealing with the realities of life in the DR. It is frustrating, illogical, time consuming and a real effort day after day. This is, however, a very important and required first step.
If you wish to live here (and thrive) for any length of time, you (and your family) cannot skip this learning experience and acclimation process. If you immediately choose to surround yourself exclusively with those of similar experiences, interests and beliefs then you will never achieve the level of comfort and acceptance of the reality of really living in the DR; Because you will not be forced to reevaluate and adjust your understanding and expectations, you and your family will not reach that "mental place" that allows one to survive long term here.
Every trip to the grocery store, every interaction with the Govt., every time you have to deal with the utility company or the cellphone provider, the bank, the landscaper or the maid, will be an exercise in frustration that will overshadow everything else that is good about this place. Before you surround yourself with like minded individuals in that "safe and familiar" environment you wish to create, you need to be able to coexists among Dominicans first as they far outnumber the members of any social club and are unavoidable on a daily basis.
If you and your family, cannot or do not experience and accept the "real Dominican Republic" you're doomed to fail. Your wife and kids will be miserable and in turn you will be miserable. Social interaction within the walls of a Club should be a brief rejuvenating experience from life outside those walls - not a replacement for it. Yes this acceptance and understanding of life (and all that this entails) in the DR is going to be difficult and an endless source of dinner time conversation. It is, however, fundamentally necessary. Once you "know", then you can go to the "club" and commiserate with others without dreading the the arrival of the time that one must return to face your neighbors and reality.
easy solution: patience and sense of humour for contacts that you cant avoid, and the rest of them - avoid....
Cdn_Gringo, while many things you say are true, nothing about joining a social club in the DR will preclude the types of activities that one engages in out of sheer necessity with Dominicans from all spectrum of the socio-economic scale.
The "reality" is that Dominican society is stratified, like it or not. It is elitist and snobby at the top. But if you want to get things done and run with like-minded people in terms of status and opportunities, joining a social club is a good idea.
Far better to make use of the privileges than to deny how Dominican society works. Poverty is but a part of the reality of the island, it does not encompass the whole reality.
Like it or not, you are judged by your associations, as well as what you do for a living and where you live in the DR.
Dominican society thrives on it, and the implications are that bottom feeders will always seek like-minded friendships and vice-versa.
The types of associations one makes as an expat can be dangerous if one is not careful. How many times have we heard of stories of people befriending the help only to get screwed with theft, loans that never get repaid, quality of workmanship deteriorating over time, and other situations? All because the boundaries are not respected in the name of a type of populism that doesn't work in the DR?
The "reality" is that Dominican society is stratified, like it or not. It is elitist and snobby at the top. But if you want to get things done and run with like-minded people in terms of status and opportunities, joining a social club is a good idea.
Far better to make use of the privileges than to deny how Dominican society works. Poverty is but a part of the reality of the island, it does not encompass the whole reality.
Like it or not, you are judged by your associations, as well as what you do for a living and where you live in the DR.
Dominican society thrives on it, and the implications are that bottom feeders will always seek like-minded friendships and vice-versa.
The types of associations one makes as an expat can be dangerous if one is not careful. How many times have we heard of stories of people befriending the help only to get screwed with theft, loans that never get repaid, quality of workmanship deteriorating over time, and other situations? All because the boundaries are not respected in the name of a type of populism that doesn't work in the DR?
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Sdq country club
I think it's currently 1,000,000 pesos initial and 6,000 monthly, need to be invited by a member and approved by the board.
Hope this helps.
I think it's currently 1,000,000 pesos initial and 6,000 monthly, need to be invited by a member and approved by the board.
Hope this helps.
it is a rarified air over there at the sdq country club.. every year, i do try to join in with the festivities of the international womenss club were the dearest ladies wives of the executives of multinationals sprinkled with some women spies from the various embassies orchestrated by a ms brugalformerly a stewardess who brags on her dinner for 75 at palmbeach and how she directs leonel and uses the word cono at a public resturant..
dancing forcharity raising money for foodfor the poor
visiting orphanages
doing their bit to undo the damage their husbands are doing
i get in of course since i have chinaberry blue eyes
but it is not a place i would ever want to hang
the dominican fiesta .. so far.. is about the only place i can tolerate
it is not a "social club"
but just a pool.. but a swimmers pool and the best there is.
but i am not here to meet people
and most of my friends are ... well
most of my friends are probably riff raff
dancing forcharity raising money for foodfor the poor
visiting orphanages
doing their bit to undo the damage their husbands are doing
i get in of course since i have chinaberry blue eyes
but it is not a place i would ever want to hang
the dominican fiesta .. so far.. is about the only place i can tolerate
it is not a "social club"
but just a pool.. but a swimmers pool and the best there is.
but i am not here to meet people
and most of my friends are ... well
most of my friends are probably riff raff