Interesting. When I retire I plan to be a renter, so I can bounce back. Not sure if I am brave enough to cut the cord, as so many here on DR1 have done.
- Thread starter mofongoloco
- Start date
DR vs. Panama Vs. Colombia
Thanks for your forbearance. I knew I was pushing the margins, but I really am interested in how this group of expats compares their experiences. The truth is I can't find anything like DR1 on these countries. I recall that Robert is working on developing another site and I look forward to it. You guys have something special here, and I didn't intend to abuse the privilege of membership. thanks again.
There are many good doctors here and many clinics have top of the line equipment. The only problem is nurses. You have to control what they do if you don't want to have the injection of a bathroom cleaner instead of your medicine by mistake.
I can understand why you would think that. I found that what the nurses did they did well. It's what they didn't do that really shocked me. Not because they were lazy. That's just the system there. Nurses are an underutilized resource. Fortunately medical training is equivalent to US and international standards. In Colombia I am going to get a tour of a hospital where a friend of a friend is on staff.
Cali is a very beautiful city. If your Colombian /hostfriends are well off they, most likely, live in el sur/the south. Things/places you need to see. A must is San Antonio at night time where you can view the city eat a cholado and people watch. Chipichape to me is overrated mall where the posh crowd frequent. It is a great place to find cultured people flock and spend there money on expensive attire. I also recommend going to Lago Calima which is a nice ride outside of Cali make sure you are with people you trust your life with as it is somewhat FARC territory. If you're into salsa Juanchito is a great place to hear great salsa music and watch Colombians add their flare to salsa music. Ask your host for champus to drink, they will be delighted that you know of their drink. Also if you speak colloquial Dominican Spanish please refine it. Enjoy your trip. Y no de papaya.
I visited a friend Cali for the first time this year. Colombians are very very nice. My friend, a Colombian who grew up in France lived in the South of the city. There is also GREAT shopping (loved Studio F !!!!!). Did go to Chipichape, nice mall, but not cheap (was surprised to find some Euro brands like Chevignon).
I went Salsa dancing (Zaperoco and another club with Habana in it) and I absolutely loved it. Calenos are great dancers and hosts !!
I didn't like that drink Champus
but the food was very good in general.Women are stunning even though many did get some little "help".
Spanish is very nice and easy to understand.
I certainly will go back to Cali and visit more of Colombia !
Africaida,
Quiubo mija, me encanta la ciudad. Cali es Cali lo demas es loma. I love it...you definitely need to go to other parts of Locombia. I was so surprise to see so many cultured people even the uneducated people spoke eloquently. The Colombians I know also are francophone I also had a chance to go to hacienda el paraiso Jorge Isaacs. I didn't like champus either, but I didn't want to be rude. As a first time visitor it's a must..The way my friends bragged about this drink I thought I was going to be in heaven with one sip..Vos ten?s que probar esa bebida mijo?? LOL.... I loved the arepas y bu?uelos with my perico in the morning. Did you get a chance to go to la sexta? The first time I went a was amazed at the salsatecas "para que vea mi hijo Colombia es un pais hermoso" replied my Colombian friends. The women there are beautiful but many go under the knife very early. I went to the gym everyday but it is so hard to focus on my workout with so many drop dead gorgeous women smiling at you.. I seriously thought I landed in heaven. It took a long time for me to come back down to earth. Oh bon Dieu...Cali es Cali
I wanted to go to las tres cruces but my friends warned me of the risk so I opted out as I didn't want to be the guest of the FARC.. Also stay away from Popayan unless you want to end up a guest of the FARC. Colombia is a place where being a non gringo is a great thing..LOL...
Quiubo mija, me encanta la ciudad. Cali es Cali lo demas es loma. I love it...you definitely need to go to other parts of Locombia. I was so surprise to see so many cultured people even the uneducated people spoke eloquently. The Colombians I know also are francophone
I also had a chance to go to hacienda el paraiso Jorge Isaacs. I didn't like champus either, but I didn't want to be rude. As a first time visitor it's a must..The way my friends bragged about this drink I thought I was going to be in heaven with one sip..Vos ten?s que probar esa bebida mijo?? LOL.... I loved the arepas y bu?uelos with my perico in the morning. Did you get a chance to go to la sexta? The first time I went a was amazed at the salsatecas "para que vea mi hijo Colombia es un pais hermoso" replied my Colombian friends. The women there are beautiful but many go under the knife very early. I went to the gym everyday but it is so hard to focus on my workout with so many drop dead gorgeous women smiling at you.. I seriously thought I landed in heaven. It took a long time for me to come back down to earth. Oh bon Dieu...Cali es CaliI wanted to go to las tres cruces but my friends warned me of the risk so I opted out as I didn't want to be the guest of the FARC.. Also stay away from Popayan unless you want to end up a guest of the FARC. Colombia is a place where being a non gringo is a great thing..LOL...
The way my friends bragged about this drink I thought I was going to be in heaven with one sip..Vos ten?s que probar esa bebida mijo?? LOL
So true !!!! ahaha ! I could stomach the one were you didn't feel the seeds though, but nothing to write home about.
Yes !La sexta was niiiiiiice !!! Cali by night is like a different city! OMG, love the caleno style of dancing, so much flavor (salsa fan here) and dancing in Cali was a life-long dream !!
I would say though that I thought Women were more beautiful than Men. DR men are more to my taste (Keeping it DR related )
So true !!!! ahaha ! I could stomach the one were you didn't feel the seeds though, but nothing to write home about.
Yes !La sexta was niiiiiiice !!! Cali by night is like a different city! OMG, love the caleno style of dancing, so much flavor (salsa fan here) and dancing in Cali was a life-long dream !!
I would say though that I thought Women were more beautiful than Men. DR men are more to my taste
(Keeping it DR related )I would say though that I thought Women were more beautiful than Men. DR men are more to my taste (Keeping it DR related )
No you didn't young lady..Doudou, if you think DR men are your taste then you haven't tasted un vrai mec Haitien (international,polyglot) comme moi. who'll have you "coup? decal?" to Douk Saga R.I.P all night :surprised... LOLOL.. The Colombian women are wittier than Dominicanas. One has to be on another level to handle Colombian women. Dominicanas are less headache if you are a hombre de verdad.
No you didn't young lady..Doudou, if you think DR men are your taste then you haven't tasted un vrai mec Haitien (international,polyglot) comme moi. who'll have you "coup? decal?" to Douk Saga R.I.P all night :surprised... LOLOL.. The Colombian women are wittier than Dominicanas. One has to be on another level to handle Colombian women. Dominicanas are less headache if you are a hombre de verdad.
Dominican women are more primitive and therefore easier to manage with Colombian women one has to be a smarter man.
I hate to generalize but you are on the money although women from Pereira are a good starter for gringos and others. I'm sure you've heard all of the chistes.:classic: Personally women are women and men are men no matter the nationality. Oiga mire vea..funny I have a Colombian accent when I speak Spanish. I recall going to visit friends in the DR and they were like..pero cono..deja de hablar como colombiano..my reply was..oiga, se me pego el acento no peudo hacer nada..LOL..
You can compare Santo Domingo to Bogota but not Colombia to the Dominican Republic. There are so many different levels to Colombia and depending on what part of Colombia you are in the people are totally different. Dominicans in Sanchez act the same way as Dominican in Bani. Dominicans has a "one size fits all" way of life and thinking, but Colombians are so different depending on what part of Colombia they are from.
BTW Most Colombians and people visiting Colombia hate Cali, I think some call it the "armpit" of Colombia but it does has an acquired taste. If Cali did not have to compete with Medellin I think much more people would take a liking to it.
As for Panama City two words HUMIDITY and TRAFFIC.
Comparing Dominican Republic to Colombia is like Mexico to Puerto Rico can't be done. Even the Salsa music is different I can tell salsa from Colombia right away.
JMB773,
I agree with your post 100% except for the part where you can compare Bogota to Sto Dgo. Are you serious. In what aspect? I would say Bogota is many years ahead of Santo Domingo maybe when talking about the traffic even then I think Bogota is far worse. The paisas always talk about Medellin is the best which I have to say is beautiul but many move to Cali... I notice that there is a lot of regionalism. Travelling from each department can feel like travelling to another country.. Have you any of you made the trip to San Andres? The Colombians brag about the ocean of seven colours but me coming from the Caribbean island find it to be just normal. Best way to travel is by air which is very reasonable prices. Don Kiskeya have spoken. I think since I've x DR from my list of places to frequent as of late I will probably start heading back to Locombia.
I agree with your post 100% except for the part where you can compare Bogota to Sto Dgo. Are you serious. In what aspect? I would say Bogota is many years ahead of Santo Domingo maybe when talking about the traffic even then I think Bogota is far worse. The paisas always talk about Medellin is the best which I have to say is beautiul but many move to Cali... I notice that there is a lot of regionalism. Travelling from each department can feel like travelling to another country.. Have you any of you made the trip to San Andres? The Colombians brag about the ocean of seven colours but me coming from the Caribbean island find it to be just normal. Best way to travel is by air which is very reasonable prices. Don Kiskeya have spoken. I think since I've x DR from my list of places to frequent as of late I will probably start heading back to Locombia.
I mean you can compare the two because they are both capital cities. The Dominican Republic is an island the size of New Jersey. The land mass in Colombia is much larger then the Dominican Republic. A big city is a big city but countries are a bit tricky to try and compare.
Many people treat Puerto Rico like a country but I treated as a state just like Iowa or Maine. I could never compare Puerto Rico to Dominican Republic because for me my SS number is not important in DR, but my bank account at Banco Popular in Ponce all was need was my ID and SS number. Now for San Juan and Santo Domingo I can compare the two cities as far as nightlife, food, airports, museums, cost of living etc.
In my eyes there is a lot of crime in the USA from the viewpoint of a person living in Chicago, but a friend of my that lives right outside of Seattle there is almost know crime. Now do you see how difficult it is to compare to countries.
I once met a girl in school from Santa Martha, Colombia and she hated people from Bogota, all the time I knew her she never had one positive thing to say about people in Bogota.
Colombia is beautiful from the outside looking in, but all the Colombian people I have met over the years really have BIG issues with one another FAR more then Dominicans. Colombians judge other Colombians so harsh IMO.
Many people treat Puerto Rico like a country but I treated as a state just like Iowa or Maine. I could never compare Puerto Rico to Dominican Republic because for me my SS number is not important in DR, but my bank account at Banco Popular in Ponce all was need was my ID and SS number. Now for San Juan and Santo Domingo I can compare the two cities as far as nightlife, food, airports, museums, cost of living etc.
In my eyes there is a lot of crime in the USA from the viewpoint of a person living in Chicago, but a friend of my that lives right outside of Seattle there is almost know crime. Now do you see how difficult it is to compare to countries.
I once met a girl in school from Santa Martha, Colombia and she hated people from Bogota, all the time I knew her she never had one positive thing to say about people in Bogota.
Colombia is beautiful from the outside looking in, but all the Colombian people I have met over the years really have BIG issues with one another FAR more then Dominicans. Colombians judge other Colombians so harsh IMO.
Colombia is a very diverse country with many different accents and several regions. The country is light years away from the DR. Medellin in the department of Antioquia and also El Eje Cafetero (Armenia, Pereira, Manizales) is where you will find the paisa people (my favorite areas) one of the the most hospitable people on the planet. The country is huge. It is about 70% sparsely populated (and gorgeous) jungle, mountains and coastline opening up onto both the Caribbean and the Pacific. It is ideologically divided. This country really has it all, I'm a huge fan of its culture, people, its music, its food. The place is not only beautiful? It's incredible. And, yes, it's safe.
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Thank you quisqueya. I wish I coud speak colloquial Dominican Spanish. btw, that champus rink better not be spittle fermented!
thank you Africaida.
I visited a friend Cali for the first time this year. Colombians are very very nice. My friend, a Colombian who grew up in France lived in the South of the city. There is also GREAT shopping (loved Studio F !!!!!). Did go to Chipichape, nice mall, but not cheap (was surprised to find some Euro brands like Chevignon).
I went Salsa dancing (Zaperoco and another club with Habana in it) and I absolutely loved it. Calenos are great dancers and hosts !!
I didn't like that drink Champus
Women are stunning even though many did get some little "help".
Spanish is very nice and easy to understand.
I certainly will go back to Cali and visit more of Colombia !
thanks JMB. I have heard the armpit remark more than once.
wouldn't be goin there except for friendship.
wouldn't be goin there except for friendship.