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Ex-pats (3 or more years in the DR), any change of heart?
BushBaby.....
You and I are not apart here.... I agree with modifying and adding to the original thought
See Above
Threads develop with the help of people like you....
I wish I knew how to cut and paste on these machines.... would save all the repitition
Fore !!! WW
i will still stubbornly say that a major reason for leaving DR involves money. people come here with ideas of living a humble, quiet life and they happily take jobs for 400 or 500 dollars. then they find out that it hardly covers the rent, food and some basic entertainment and there in nothing left. they start feeling trapped because they do not even have a money to run back home. eventually the family aids with the ticket and they go back.
others have great business ideas but no clue about dominican labour laws and taxes. they complain about lawyers being too expensive and they want to do everything their way, with no flexibility. they fail because someone puts them out of business, ex employer sues them or they miscalculated the costs.
others come with a dream of running a small restaurant/hotel and they are not prepared for low season, high costs or have no contingency left in case they run into trouble. hence so many businesses in sosua/cabarete keep on changing hands and keep on going bankrupt.
crime? i know many people who fell victims of a crime: home invasion, robbery, fraud. they stay nonetheless because the crime is everywhere. those who leave do it because of a trauma rather than a crime itself. they do it because they have families, they get scared for their lives.
others have great business ideas but no clue about dominican labour laws and taxes. they complain about lawyers being too expensive and they want to do everything their way, with no flexibility. they fail because someone puts them out of business, ex employer sues them or they miscalculated the costs.
others come with a dream of running a small restaurant/hotel and they are not prepared for low season, high costs or have no contingency left in case they run into trouble. hence so many businesses in sosua/cabarete keep on changing hands and keep on going bankrupt.
crime? i know many people who fell victims of a crime: home invasion, robbery, fraud. they stay nonetheless because the crime is everywhere. those who leave do it because of a trauma rather than a crime itself. they do it because they have families, they get scared for their lives.
WW,
no disagreement on anything you said/wrote,
but to ME, the english 3rd language speaker/writer the above quoted original Post of thios topic relates the ''staying/not staying/why/why not"" to the Crime Rate.
no prob to be corrected due wrong understanding from my side.
the posts that followed anyways been a nice insight of "what others think/like/want" or not think/like/want.
cheers
Mike
Mike............. I'm in.... I get it.......... typing is tough and tougher to get the point across !!
Expanding the idea is good....makes for better comments..
One such was made by the POP twins.... about whether "if i knew now, what I didn't now then.." sort of comment
The explorer mentality of the travelling ex-pat seeks the unknown... thats the thrill of it all... they seem to want to research a bit of knowledge, but also want to find out on their own.
They don't truly trust research (imo) they need to taste it firsthand
Its almost if you show them a bit of adversity or one reason why not to go here or there..they say " Watch this.... I'll show you how to do it"
I hear a lot of this mentality on this website and on this thread.
True pioneers/explorers/trail blazers... whatever you call it.
God bless them......
Learn from it , if you want
Ignore it , if you want
WW
I will answer the question of why I left JD. I left because the town is not the same small, inexpensive and safe tourist town that I liked originally. That is the main reason why I did not want to stay. There are many other reasons which are simply personal reasons. I never worked while in the DR except for a little bit of teaching English. I certainly did not expect a living wage from that.
The main reason I left was because my sister was sick and dying with cancer. That event made me realize how important it is to be near family.
I still love the DR for many reasons but if I moved back to the island it surely would not be to JD. There is too much crime and drugs there now. I feel it is not safe like it used to be. Yeah Yeah Yeah it is not safe anywhere in the world anymore. BS it is safe where I live now.
Many people on DR1 make up stories about how people can't survive in the DR because they do not have what it takes. Sometimes life just happens and the DR is not included in that life.
I was lucky that I did not have to depend on work for money there, I did not get taken in by the sankies. I had great friends from many countries and of course Dominican and Hatian friends from all income levels and backgrounds.
In the last 6 months 2 uncles, a brother and an Aunt have passed away. I am glad that I am here to have been with family. So as you see decisions to leave are made for a variety of reasons for a variety of people.
The main reason I left was because my sister was sick and dying with cancer. That event made me realize how important it is to be near family.
I still love the DR for many reasons but if I moved back to the island it surely would not be to JD. There is too much crime and drugs there now. I feel it is not safe like it used to be. Yeah Yeah Yeah it is not safe anywhere in the world anymore. BS it is safe where I live now.
Many people on DR1 make up stories about how people can't survive in the DR because they do not have what it takes. Sometimes life just happens and the DR is not included in that life.
I was lucky that I did not have to depend on work for money there, I did not get taken in by the sankies. I had great friends from many countries and of course Dominican and Hatian friends from all income levels and backgrounds.
In the last 6 months 2 uncles, a brother and an Aunt have passed away. I am glad that I am here to have been with family. So as you see decisions to leave are made for a variety of reasons for a variety of people.
I have made this comment before..... many people who emigrate will return to their homeland for one reason or another... sickness in the family, sickness to themselves, death of a spouse, or just wanting to be close to family.
There doesn't have to be a flaw in the fabric of where they are... they simply want to go "home"... wherever and whatever that is.
Will they be disallusioned with "home' ?
Stay tuned.
My grandparents constantly lamented about not being "home' - Scotland.
They went back once - from Canada .
The visit was nice - seeing relatives and so on.
They never lamented once afterwards and NEVER returned to "home" again.
They stayed in their new, adopted home.
That old saying..."You can never go home" applies.
Perhaps that's why some people keep searching
Being comfortable in your own skin is a blessing
WW
Something similar (not similar but alike) happened to me after I visited NY. From Vegas I was really starving to head to NY and visit family and get some taste of my Dominican Culture. When we went it was a blast, we visited family, went to everyplace you can imagine in NY, NJ, PA and DC including Yankee Stadium (although I hate the Yankees my wife is Yankee diehard fan) and loved it a lot. But in the end I was quite happy to be returning to my low profile desert (believe it or not, Vegas aside from the Strip is really a low profile sub-urban city), cost of living really low here, not a cop siren in every corner, there's no tigueres selling dope in every corner and so on.
Interesting! I left my country at a young age (19), to live in the US 15 years ago and never really long for home.
I don't feel like I have a home, but feel happy to live here for the moment because it was my choice.
I am now ready to move on, but I am not searching anything, just at a different stage of my life when I need something else.
The world is such a big place and thankfully it gets easier to move from one corner to another.
Expat forever ....
Good post.
Fact is many who start businesses here never started and ran a successful business where they came from.
Doing business here LEGALLY is MUCH harder than in the states.
Many folks mistake the sweet, easy-going attitude of the Dominican people for naivete. Nothing could be further from the truth.
that's correct.
the on first sight relaxed handling of business related things/rules attracts foreigners, the more if such foreigners never run a own business elsewhere.
it appears to be simple and extremely productive,
but after some Time they so often find out that the 'business' did not really produce big stuff, or even still just costed 'investments and still needs more investments before a productive period would start.
to form a business at home you need to watch the area/market and when a niche is found you check out what rules and laws apply to that kinda business at a specific area/location, you comply with that and start, and from the beginning you can make a calculation about rentability of your business, timeperiod needed before your investment comes back etc etc.
here on the Island there are Laws, too, but they are just needed in case of filing taxes and of course to not run a business with illegal products/substances.
basically businesswise theres no Law,
but there are many Rules/the ole fashioned at a specific area/location costumbres, and to run any kinda business down here successful you need to study those Rules and behaviors and plan accordingly to them.
No Law will protect you down here when business partners or clients or competitors Ripp you Off or simply take over your business.
Mike
and to add to my above post #237.
the most common reason why new unexperienced small business owners on the Island fail is the leak of Backup Sources.
if some have a 100.000.-US$ to start a business they simply invest all that amount and in case of something small breaking down, like a machine/engine/vehicle etc they leak of the needed 3K to repair that and go on with the business.
too many form a small business over their own financial possibilities,
that is in case of small and mid size businesses here in the Tourist area on the East in my opinion the most common reason for failure.
on many of such businesses the more experienced Eye can see on opening Day that the specific neighbour/new business owner will not survive til Year's end.
Mike
the most common reason why new unexperienced small business owners on the Island fail is the leak of Backup Sources.
if some have a 100.000.-US$ to start a business they simply invest all that amount and in case of something small breaking down, like a machine/engine/vehicle etc they leak of the needed 3K to repair that and go on with the business.
too many form a small business over their own financial possibilities,
that is in case of small and mid size businesses here in the Tourist area on the East in my opinion the most common reason for failure.
on many of such businesses the more experienced Eye can see on opening Day that the specific neighbour/new business owner will not survive til Year's end.
Mike
That is most common reason for small business failures.... undercapitalisation..
lack of funds
WW
lack of funds
WW
IMO, the undercapitalization is a result of incomplete/poor planning.
But that comes with experience.
The vast majority of entrepreneural wannabe's don't fully undertsand the planning process...
Quite right..... they teach that in Business School - the 6 P Principle
Proper Planning Prevents P*ss Poor Performance
Business 101
WW
That's why I'm surprised how Rob and AZB speak so wonderfully about a nation where kidnappings are prevalent. AZB could fit in but WHITE ANGLO SAXON Rob would stick out like a sore thumb. Wouldn't that be a security concern?
LOL, I like this-funeral room standards, LOL
It doesn't make it right but it is what it is my man!
So, in the meantime what are these Haitians doing? I'm sorry you live there. It sounds like a hell hole.
Not really. I've seen a few pictures of Robert. And I saw many native Colombians during my visit there that look just like him.
As for the kidnapping thing. I never worried about that, as I am a pretty poor candidate for such. Unless, that is, they're kidnapping me just for the sake of enjoying my company.
