sosua or SD?

em109

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May 31, 2012
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im going to DR to study spanish for 3 weeks with Instituto Intercultural del Caribe, i have the choice of staying in Sosua or SD in Zona Universitaria. does anyone have any recomendations? I heard that sosua is more touristy is this true? i want the best "local" experience and dont want to be just another tourist...
 

DavidZ

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Aug 29, 2005
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The two locations are night and day different. One is a large city with 3-4 million people, the other is a touristy beach town with a few thousand residents. If you want culture, dining, shopping, very few tourists and a lot of nightlife...mixed with a lot of people, pollution, and crazy traffic, choose SD..if you want laid-back, quiet, beach vibe with a lot of tourists and ex-pats, and still plenty of locals, choose Sosua.
 

em109

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May 31, 2012
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The two locations are night and day different. One is a large city with 3-4 million people, the other is a touristy beach town with a few thousand residents. If you want culture, dining, shopping, very few tourists and a lot of nightlife...mixed with a lot of people, pollution, and crazy traffic, choose SD..if you want laid-back, quiet, beach vibe with a lot of tourists and ex-pats, and still plenty of locals, choose Sosua.
does sosua have a night life other then a "tourist night life"?
 

whiddons

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I see you are going to the school that i posted in response to your request and that I rated a solid 7 out of 10.
Unfortunately if you really want to study and learn some spanish you'll have to go to the Santo Domingo branch. I have done over 12 months of Spanish immersion in 6 spanish speaking countries and finished up speaking damn good but if I had started in DR and especially in Sosua I would not have accomplished jack. Santo Domingo is not the best but since you chose DR as the country to study in you have no choice but to go to the branch in Santo Domingo.
 

em109

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I see you are going to the school that i posted in response to your request and that I rated a solid 7 out of 10.
Unfortunately if you really want to study and learn some spanish you'll have to go to the Santo Domingo branch. I have done over 12 months of Spanish immersion in 6 spanish speaking countries and finished up speaking damn good but if I had started in DR and especially in Sosua I would not have accomplished jack. Santo Domingo is not the best but since you chose DR as the country to study in you have no choice but to go to the branch in Santo Domingo.

why did u rate it a 7 and why wouldnt i learn anything in sosua?
 

DavidZ

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does sosua have a night life other then a "tourist night life"?

There are two main areas of Sosua, El Batey, where the majority of restaurants and bars are...and most of the tourists, and Los Charamicos, with very few tourists, and a few Dominican restaurants and bars...there are several other sections that are almost totally "local" but they are not within walking distance or a quick moto ride to El Batey, where the school is (I think). Within 10-30 minutes in a taxi or public transportation, there are plenty of local bars, places to dance, and places with live music. Also, close by is Cabarete which is a world famous surfing and kiting town, with touristy, but very cool nightlife and more upscale bars and restaurants...and several "local" hangouts as well.
 
Dec 26, 2011
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Check out Meson de Bari for drinks and a nice meal in a nice setting if you go to SD. The Jardin Botanico is worth a visit. The zoo is not. The downside to SD is that though you can enjoy the Malecon, any real beach is a bit of a drive away...Boca Chica then Juan Dolio beyond. But the architecture and historical character of parts of the city are very well worth experiencing.
 

whiddons

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why did u rate it a 7 and why wouldnt i learn anything in sosua?

The Santo Domingo school is a 7 because it has friendly staff, is close to the university, gives you access to reasonable housing by Santo Domingo standards, fellow students are diverse and a different set than the Sosua set.... it's only a 7 because teachers are part timers, facility is small, and most importantly the program is not as consistent and well structured as in Costa Rica.
 

juant

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May 9, 2012
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im going to DR to study spanish for 3 weeks with Instituto Intercultural del Caribe, i have the choice of staying in Sosua or SD in Zona Universitaria. does anyone have any recomendations? I heard that sosua is more touristy is this true? i want the best "local" experience and dont want to be just another tourist...
If you want to focus more in your school and enjoy a little sightseeing i would recommend SD. It is more for the working class people and also for students. Sosua is more for nightlife, more for tourists and also for hooking up with hookers.
 

KateP

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May 28, 2004
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In Santo Domingo you also would HAVE to practice your spanish outside of school. Not so much in Sosua as you'd be able to find many people that could help you in english.
 

kinostar

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May 24, 2012
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Having stayed in both Santo Domingo and Sosua, I would pick Santo Domingo. Sosua has a fairly nice beach right in town and a small interesting Jewish museum (about when Jews came here to escape the Nazis) . It also has loads of guys on the prowl for "ladies of the night" who are in abundance. The working girls will approach guys and the customers will approach any single women. If this isn't your scene, you may not like Sosua. I found it a bit too raunchy for my tastes, like Boca Chica and I joked Sosua has the right name "So Sewer". To each his or her own. Not to judge anyone, but the loud nightlife isn't for me. At least in Santo Domingo, it isn't all over the town.

Sosua has alot of English speakers. I didn't use Spanish there as much as other places.
 

Uzin

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Oct 26, 2005
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You un-learn (kind of) any proper Spanish you know in Sosua.... !?!? LOL

(But you learn some cracking DR street slang !)
 

DRob

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Aug 15, 2007
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I agree with the other posters in that the part of Sosua you will likely be in has a strip called Pedro Clisante which turns into a "party town," complete with tourists chasing Dominican and Haitian hookers (or maybe it's the other way around.) That's the norm in that area, but don't think Santo Domingo - or any part of latin america, for that matter - is immune to it.

Santo Domingo is HUGE, noisy, and has crazy traffic, but is tops in terms of cultural offerings. It's hot during the summer, though, and if traffic is bad takes a while to get anywhere. Tons of nightlife (both kinds), and more than a few good restaurants.

Sosua is actually a pretty decent small town during the day, despite the squirrelly reputation. The local authorities are doing what they can to control the prostitution, and have largely succeeded in limiting it to the the above-mentioned Pedro Clisante area, and a few girls around the beach who are a lot more discreet than they used to be.

Sosua is part of what is sometimes referred to as the North Coast Corridor or Complex. It runs from Puerto Plata in the west, through Sosua, then on to Cabarete, Rio San Juan, and up through Cabrera. It's a bunch of towns of varying sizes that run across the coastline. There's lots of variety and interesting things to do there.

I guess my point is you'll likely find whatever experience you're looking for. Some want to work at a mission 26 hours a day, others want to chase hookers nonstop, and most want to do something in between.

That said, if you want to learn halfway decent Spanish, and enjoy typical NA or EU nightlife, consider Santiago. The weather's better, the Spanish is infinitely superior, real schools are abundant, and it's way cheaper to live there. Plus, the beaches of the north coast and the city lights of Santo Domingo are each only about 90 minutes away, so you get to sample both.
 

Viajero

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Dec 16, 2011
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IMO, Santo Domingo would give you many more opportunities to practice your Spanish and expose you to a lot more Dominican culture. A person could get by with little to no Spanish in Sosua because it is a tourist area with a lot of expats.
 

DR Mpe

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Mar 31, 2003
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thats what i dont want, i went to boca chica and it was all old american men with dominican prostitutes, i want to aviod this croud

How about stay in Cabarete and take the carrito to Sosua for school? Only a 15 min drive... 25 pesos each way (70 cents...)

Then also, you might find the "local experience" not that pleasant after a few days in SD. In SD I think you need to know your way around to enjoy it. I still hate to go there after 10 years on the island...yeah I do not know my way around, how to avoid traffic jams etc. etc.
 
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frank12

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Sep 6, 2011
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Ok, i've lived in both places--Santo Domingo and Sosua. So, i got a slightly different take on both. Allow me to give you my suggestion, but before i give you my advice, i want to give you the pros and cons of both places and then walk you through what i think is the best choice for your situation.

Santo Domingo:

1. Traffic is so congested in Santo Domingo that Calcutta, India looks like a country side village on Sunday morning.

2. Traffic is so insane in Santo Domingo that while you sit in traffic in the intersection waiting for the light to change, daylights savings can change several times and you can go through several different seasons--autumn and winter and spring before you finally cross the city.

3. While transversing the city in heavy traffic, you can easily drive into a stolen manhole cover and not crawl out for three straight days. i know this, because i was stuck unconcious several feet down in a stolen manhole for several weeks before coming too and crawling out with both a donkey and a motoconcho driver.

4. While crossing the city, the heat will be so stifling and unbearable that what little hair you still have left on your head will take a northern trajectory route and stick straight up in an attempt to escape your burning skull.

Sosua:

1. Haitian and Dominican prostitutes will approach and befriend you at your weakess moment and charm you when your defenses are down and then drop something into your drink. When you finally wake up several days later all of your silver fillings will be gone and you will have to eat your food through a straw.

2. Locals will smile and befriend you, offer you good, sound, unsolicited advice that you did not ask for, offer you spiked drinks, offer you Viagra, offer you their sister, their mother, and then, just when you think there is nothing more to offer, they will offer you their virgin donkey.

3. The souvenirs and knick-knacks offered throughout Sosua are of such inferior quality that even the Chinese refuse to stamp their names on them.

4. The girls in Sosua are of such superior quality and classiness that they now carry credit card machines in their purses. They also take American Express Travel cheques. Very advanced.

Ok, so, having gone through the pros and cons of both places, i am now ready to give you my recommendation for spanish classes...and my answer is this: get a spanish girlfirend who doesn't speak a word of english and lock yourselves in a motel room for two weeks and speak only spanish together.

Frank
 

gringobachata7

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Sep 19, 2009
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I would pick Santo Domingo. It depends on what you want. If you want to be in a sex tourist town and near sex tourism and dominican prostitutes, go to Sosua. If you want to be in a big Dominican city living like a local Dominican, speaking SPanish and enjoying the culture, come to Santo DOmingo.