Jumbo in San Francisco de Macorís

[NALs]

A new Jumbo is currently under construction in San Francisco de Macorís.

Drones | 𝙁𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨 𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤𝙨 𝙖é𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙨 on Instagram: "Asi va el supermercado JUMBO ° ° Comparte 🙏🏻📢 Comenta 📝... No cortes la firma 🚔 Da los créditos ✋🏻"

515 likes, 61 comments - dronsfmJuly 1, 2023 on : "Asi va el supermercado JUMBO ° ° Comparte 🙏🏻📢 Comenta 📝... No cortes la firma 🚔 Da los créditos ✋🏻".

www.instagram.com

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It seems the city is going through a boom. If you wonder why, the entire southern and western sides of the city are booming. These are aerial images mostly of the southern side. Hardly any expats live in or near SFM and the same could be said of international tourists as almost none are seen there, unlike in places like Las Terrenas, Cabarete, Sosúa, even in Puerto Plata. This could explain why SFM isn't in the radar of expats. It is far from the besch, so that could be it too.

It will be one of the competition of Jumbo in SFM, the new Bravo supermarket.

The main road through the southern part and the official entry/exit for those going/coming from Santo Domingo.

One of the typical neighborhoods in this part of town.

Another typical one in this part of town.

One of the official baseball stadiums of LIDOM. The home of the Gigantes, the other official team of the Cibao in the Dominican winter baseball season.

Supposedly, the government is building a beltway. Who knows when it will be complete. I tell you this, unlike the planned beltway for Cabarete, at least this is partially under construction. Then again, San Francisco is much larger than Cabarete and, most importantly, has many more voters.

 

[JD Jones]

Lots and lots of money in San Francisco de Macoris

I'll let you guess where a lot of it comes from.

SFM has lost more young men to drugs and/or dealing than any other town in the DR.

 

[M4kintosh]

A new Jumbo is currently under construction in San Francisco de Macorís.

Drones | 𝙁𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙨 𝙮 𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙤𝙨 𝙖é𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙨 on Instagram: "Asi va el supermercado JUMBO ° ° Comparte 🙏🏻📢 Comenta 📝... No cortes la firma 🚔 Da los créditos ✋🏻"

515 likes, 61 comments - dronsfmJuly 1, 2023 on : "Asi va el supermercado JUMBO ° ° Comparte 🙏🏻📢 Comenta 📝... No cortes la firma 🚔 Da los créditos ✋🏻".

www.instagram.com

------

It seems the city is going through a boom. If you wonder why, the entire southern and western sides of the city are booming. These are aerial images mostly of the southern side. Hardly any expats live in or near SFM and the same could be said of international tourists as almost none are seen there, unlike in places like Las Terrenas, Cabarete, Sosúa, even in Puerto Plata. This could explain why SFM isn't in the radar of expats. It is far from the besch, so that could be it too.

It will be one of the competition of Jumbo in SFM, the new Bravo supermarket.

The main road through the southern part and the official entry/exit for those going/coming from Santo Domingo.

One of the typical neighborhoods in this part of town.

Another typical one in this part of town.

One of the official baseball stadiums of LIDOM. The home of the Gigantes, the other official team of the Cibao in the Dominican winter baseball season.

Supposedly, the government is building a beltway. Who knows when it will be complete. I tell you this, unlike the planned beltway for Cabarete, at least this is partially under construction. Then again, San Francisco is much larger than Cabarete and, most importantly, has many more voters.

This boom has been for years. It was considered for a long time the city with highest population outside of SDQ in the early 2000's, until Santo Domingo Este rise to be top on the list.

They even have more shopping and nightlife than Santiago. And it's becuase in part, of what @JD Jones said: money laundering.

 

[Sol09]

Lots and lots of money in San Francisco de Macoris

I'll let you guess where a lot of it comes from.

SFM has lost more young men to drugs and/or dealing than any other town in the DR.

Exactly. I was going to say I wouldn't recommend it as a tourist destination because it's a dangerous place.

 

[chico bill]

Exactly. I was going to say I wouldn't recommend it as a tourist destination because it's a dangerous place.

It's also boring. I didn't see much charm when I visited

 

[NALs]

This boom has been for years. It was considered for a long time the city with highest population outside of SDQ in the early 2000's, until Santo Domingo Este rise to be top on the list.

They even have more shopping and nightlife than Santiago. And it's becuase in part, of what @JD Jones said: money laundering.

All of that is hearsay and has impacted the perception many people have of the place. To give one example, anyone that believed SFM at any time had a larger population than Santiago simply didn't know what they were talking about. Just the province of Duarte, of which SFM is the provincial capital, never had a larger population than the city of Santiago (nevermind the province). Then comes the question: When was SFM the second most populated place in the same country that Santiago is in? Even today SFM doesn't have the infrastructure of typical Dominican cities that are larger like, say, Santiago. I mention Santiago because it's in the same valley, in fact the triangle of the greatest population in the Cibao can be marked by Santiago-La Vega-SFM-back to Santiago. Only the capital region has a greater population than there in the entire country.

If the main drive of its development is money laundering, there wouldn't be enough demand to attract companies such as Bravo, Jumbo, etc. In that case, Sosúa/Cabarete could be first to get those stores. Except for Sirena, most of the other big names from the capital are recently entering or have entered SFM. Lets see if in the coming years Popeyes makes it to there. When KFC open there, it found trouble once the Chinese began to open pica pollos. I think they had to close after that. Imagine a "money laundering business" that had to close due to market pressure. That would be the first! lol

 

[Fulano2]

It's also boring. I didn't see much charm when I visited

It’s Nagua xxl. Not my personal favourite.

 

[NanSanPedro]

I still want to visit once to try and see Julian Javier.

 

[keepcoming]

I have been to SFM more times than I can count. My SIL lives near there. Other than Sirena, the baseball stadium, and UCNE, there really wasn't anything else there, I never really saw anything else (smaller stores, phone stores, are there). It never seemed that large of a city to me. I can't imagine it having more shopping and nightlife than Santiago. Not the safest place either.

 

[NALs]

I still want to visit once to try and see Julian Javier.

There is a tour of a cocoa harvesting place near SFM. It's called "Sendero del Cacao", if I remember correctly. Nice enough place to combine with a visit to a game in the stadium. That tends to be an attraction mostly with Dominicans, so I have no clue if they offer tours in any other language than Spanish. Near SFM is one of the world's largest producer of organic cacao used in the chocolates of KahKow and I think they still export their cacao to be used exclusively in the elaboration of a gourmet chocolate in Japan. SFM is actually known as "the capital of Dominican cocoa" to the point there is a small monument to cacao in the triangle park shown in the OP.


Edit to add: The triangle park is seen here. It's near the entrance from SD and you'll pass by it on the way to the stadium.

The monument is in the circle.

 

[Tom F.]

I was in the Peace Corps in the late 1980's and lived in SFM. Married someone from a nearby campo, Jaya, some 33 years ago. I've seen a great deal of change and growth over the last three decades. It used to have a little under 100,000 people back then and I think is getting close to 200,000 today. I love going to Macoris with a base in the campo and the mountains. The Sendero de Cacao is very nice, and there are some other ecotourism places imbedded in the mountains near Loma Quita Espuela. Rancho Don Lulu and Fabulous Hotel. For those who live in SFM, Nagua is an hour for a beach trip, or Rio San Juan if you are willing to drive a little further. Las Terrenes and the North Coast are less than 2 hours. Lots and. lots of Dominicans who lived in the US have moved back for retirement. We have dozens with my wife's family who live part of the year there and part here.

 

[rey]

Wow lol jajajajaa ma sorry am not laughing at you ; it just that I found it hilarious how in DR the construction of a supermarket it a sign of great progress in certain cities , I guess me because being from NYC I found it funny

 

[NALs]

Wow lol jajajajaa ma sorry am not laughing at you ; it just that I found it hilarious how in DR the construction of a supermarket it a sign of great progress in certain cities , I guess me because being from NYC I found it funny

That's because you don't know what it means when serious large companies takes an area serious enough to make an investment. These are not made on a whim. Legitimate companies don't survive on thin air. Hint: When will Jumbo open a store in Juan Dolio? Sosúa? Las Terrenas? Why?

Also the creation of jobs which are needed just about anywhere in the DR. Some might say "these are not jobs rewuiring college degrees," yes and neither do most the adults anywhere in the DR college graduates. They need to eat too.

 

[NALs]

All of that is hearsay and has impacted the perception many people have of the place. To give one example, anyone that believed SFM at any time had a larger population than Santiago simply didn't know what they were talking about. Just the province of Duarte, of which SFM is the provincial capital, never had a larger population than the city of Santiago (nevermind the province). Then comes the question: When was SFM the second most populated place in the same country that Santiago is in? Even today SFM doesn't have the infrastructure of typical Dominican cities that are larger like, say, Santiago. I mention Santiago because it's in the same valley, in fact the triangle of the greatest population in the Cibao can be marked by Santiago-La Vega-SFM-back to Santiago. Only the capital region has a greater population than there in the entire country.

If the main drive of its development is money laundering, there wouldn't be enough demand to attract companies such as Bravo, Jumbo, etc. In that case, Sosúa/Cabarete could be first to get those stores. Except for Sirena, most of the other big names from the capital are recently entering or have entered SFM. Lets see if in the coming years Popeyes makes it to there. When KFC open there, it found trouble once the Chinese began to open pica pollos. I think they had to close after that. Imagine a "money laundering business" that had to close due to market pressure. That would be the first! lol

 

[NALs]

Update...

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Jumbo is already accepting resumes to work at this store.

 

[NALs]

Update

 

[M4kintosh]

Wow lol jajajajaa ma sorry am not laughing at you ; it just that I found it hilarious how in DR the construction of a supermarket it a sign of great progress in certain cities , I guess me because being from NYC I found it funny

For example, Almacenes Unidos opened in Punta Cana days ago. Its first store outside of Santo Domingo. Before that, people in Punta Cana used to drive 5-6 hours to SDQ just to buy things from that specific store. That's, I guess, is progress.

 

[JD Jones]

I'm surprised how small those parking are. Jumbo Luperon has almost 600 spaces, and it common to go there and find cars parked anywhere and everywhere.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Wow lol jajajajaa ma sorry am not laughing at you ; it just that I found it hilarious how in DR the construction of a supermarket it a sign of great progress in certain cities , I guess me because being from NYC I found it funny

From NYC, that's rich. I guess if you spelled it Hamilton, you are correct.

 

[bob saunders]

From NYC, that's rich. I guess if you spelled it Hamilton, you are correct.

? Which Hamilton are you referring to?