Re-discover Costambar

[kitie carson]

Costambar

Just returned from a 2 week visit and loved it again. The beach in Costambar is beautiful and never too packed.

The "old and shabby" beach restaurants definitely give the beach a little flavor. I drank a beer or H2O at 1 everyday,listening to the ocean and enjoying the sunshine. Ate food at these several times and enjoyed it immensely.

Beakers is a local place to enjoy dinner.

Love it and will be back.

 

[Mark Lloyd]

Oxford English dictionary:- Cosmopolitan

adjective
familiar with and at ease in many different countries and cultures:
his knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish made him genuinely cosmopolitan
including people from many different countries:
immigration transformed the city into a cosmopolitan metropolis
having an exciting and glamorous character associated with travel and a mixture of cultures:
their designs became a byword for cosmopolitan chic
(of a plant or animal) found all over the world.

With the mix of cultures and social backgrounds Costambar is certainly Cosmopolitan, as to the electricity, as mentioned before you can go on the web and find out when it is off and on, everywhere has their plusses and minuses, however the plusses in Costambar far outweigh the minuses!

 

[ffritz]

the gorgon summed it up very well ........ you CAN wander around at night & feel safe.

That's a major draw for us!

 

[the gorgon]

yes, Mark. every where has its plus and minus sides. besides, everyone has opinions on all subjects. i have 3 friends who live there, and from what they describe, and what i see here, we must be thinking of 2 different places. to each his own.

 

[Mark Lloyd]

Each to his own

Gorgon, I fully agree with each to his own, I have lurked on this site for some time before throwing my 10 penny's worth in. So many posters can only throw in there woes and less common do you see positive postings, thus my support for ffritz. I do not want to post an all is rosy in the garden post, however anyone serious about moving to the DR will use DR1 as a huge resource for seeking information on such an important life changing decision. For this reason alone I feel it necessary to support and post positive posts.

The DR internationally has come in for some serious bashing on the international front having a negative impact on the influx of not only tourists but, and more importantly, attracting long term residents who want to work or retire to the island. Of course this in the main needs to be addressed by the Dominican govt but I feel we have a duty to try and throw our support behind an island where we would like to call home. The DR offers so much to the foreign investor, more so than many other of the caribbean islands, and by foreign investor I do not mean the millionaires theres better islands suited to them such as Barbados, what I mean by investors are those that have either sufficient resources to retire or enough to allow them to settle and make a living. It becomes a symbiotic relationship between the investor and the country, where else in the Caribbean can one easily obtain a residency where upon you are entitled to work, without having to get sponsored visas etc. Of course it is possible but in the main these other islands want a lot in return before you are allowed to settle let alone work.

Anyhow that's enough of my waffle!

 

[the gorgon]

Mark Lloyd offers

what I mean by investors are those that have either sufficient resources to retire or enough to allow them to settle and make a living

that is not my idea of an investor. a guy who plows down a few hundred grand to buy his dream house on the beach, and has enough of an income to live comfortably, is a CONSUMER. guys who are living on, say, their 401k, are not investing anything. the fact that they spend some money, and that spills over into the lives of , say, a maid, or gardener, or barber, does not make them any more of an investor than it makes me when i move to Boise, Idaho, and live on Social Security.

 

[ffritz]

This is getting out of hand ...... all I wanted with this thread is to, maybe, encourage some local residents who may have dismissed it to visit Costambar ......

Come & see for yourself what we have to offer as a community, & if I'm lucky you may visit my restaurant too ;-)

(Sowwy Mr Moderator)

 

[the gorgon]

ffritz agonizes

This is getting out of hand ...... all I wanted with this thread is to, maybe, encourage some local residents who may have dismissed it to visit Costambar

you mean that you meant to promote it, and you are dismayed that some people have the temerity to speak dismissively of it...

 

[the gorgon]

local residents who have dismissed it? you must be talking about the Dominicans who are not wanted there by the colonists.

 

[ffritz]

ffritz agonizes

This is getting out of hand ...... all I wanted with this thread is to, maybe, encourage some local residents who may have dismissed it to visit Costambar

you mean that you meant to promote it, and you are dismayed that some people have the temerity to speak dismissively of it...

On the contrary, everybody is entitled to their opinion & this is a forum dedicated to free speech. I just didn't expect an economics lesson lol

 

[ffritz]

local residents who have dismissed it? you must be talking about the Dominicans who are not wanted there by the colonists.

There is a faction in town who don't realise that they are guests in this country & the beach belongs to the Dominicans, just as there is everywhere in the world there are immigrants. For that is what we are. Maybe if we recognised that I wonder if that would change our views on the subject in our home countries?

Right enough pseudo-political banter ....... just get your butts down to Costambar, we may surprise you ;-)

 

[Mark Lloyd]

Gorgon and ffritz, please accept my apologies my intention was not to provide an economics lesson, nor lecture. I agree that we are guests here, and those that contribute to the country will be welcomed and those who don't,won't be, as it is around the world.

From my own experience I feel safe, welcome and have a good range of facilities in Costambar, Puerto Plata is a mere $400 peso return trip away, where you have everything you need, school etc. I have found a bus that comes to pick up the kids and take them to school and back each day along with a number of other children who go to the same school.So for myself and my family it is an excellent base from which to start our new lives. Being able to settle quickly, feel safe, and be surrounded by allot of people both Dominicans and Expats is assisting us greatly and for that i am thankful.

So yes, ffritz to coin your phrase 'Get your butts down to Costambar, we may surprise you'!

 

[the gorgon]

ffritz informs

There is a faction in town who don't realise that they are guests in this country & the beach belongs to the Dominicans, just as there is everywhere in the world there are immigrants.

not really. depends on who the immigrants are. when immigrants go to the USA, and Europe, from other countries, they realise that they are guests in someone else?s country, and act accordingly. they might bring loathsome habits with them, such as noise, and outrageous parties, and other antisocial attributes. they never , however, think that they colonised America, or Canada, or Germany. they do not set up exclusive enclaves, with the intent of keeping the local born people at a distance, nor to have exclusive rights to things like beaches. i better not get started...

 

[ffritz]

Oh yes they do gorgon!

There are large areas in (Y)UK towns & cities that are exclusively populated by non-British born people who make no effort to integrate with society as a whole.

Luckily however in this country many expats have the common sense & are sufficiently well-informed to know that this is just not the best way to enjoy this wonderful country.

It is a very cosmopolitan island!

 

[the gorgon]

fritz informs

There are large areas in (Y)UK towns & cities that are exclusively populated by non-British born people who make no effort to integrate with society as a whole.

and these people make attempts to keep the local born Euros out? are guys from Antigua telling London born people that they need identity cards to enter certain areas? just asking...

 

[Mark Lloyd]

The gorgon - just a question are you American?

 

[ffritz]

I wouldn't know gorgon cos I'm neither a Londoner nor Antiguan.

 

[the gorgon]

Mark Lloyd asks

The gorgon - just a question are you American?

by naturalisation. please explain the relevance of my nationality upon these proceedings. my basic beef is with the people who like to claim that places like Costambar are ?cosmopolitan?, but are not too happy when African Americans enter the place, and with those who refer to Dominicans as ?them?.

 

[Mark Lloyd]

Nothing intended by the question, just thout I would ask, there are African Americans living and visiting as well as colours and creeds from many other nationalities in Costambar. There are also a lot of Dominicans that live work and visit Costambar and this why I believe it has a cosmopolitan feel to it. I have not come across the predjuice you elude to and anyone with such predjuices should have no place in the DR let alone Costambar. I am sure there are certain communities gated or otherwise that by design and probably intent keep themselves to themselves, but I do not think you could include Costambar in that list!

 

[the gorgon]

Mark Lloyd assures

Nothing intended by the question, just thout I would ask, there are African Americans living and visiting as well as colours and creeds from many other nationalities in Costambar.

yes, and i am sure that they are welcomed with open arms.