Campo v. City Living in DR

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Security. In the Campo, unless you live in a gated community with dogs and a guard, you have no security. In the City you have your neighbours, sort of a safety in numbers thing. I have property in the campo and although in a nice area with some neighbours my wife feels insecure there after dark.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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campo? unless it is casa de campo there will be no power, no internet, no cellphone signal, no running water, no functioning toilets and no road to speak of. as bob said, the security is poor but so are the people. therefore there is nothing to steal.

pros... well... i will not say peace and quiet because campo has it's dramas and there always will be someone with a car full of speakers blasting bachata. but campo is close to nature and here it is really stunning. one can have horses and ride them everywhere, including a local colmado.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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I have lived in the "campo" and slept in hammocks. There is something to be said for that lifestyle: if you are willing to do without 3/4 of your "normal" stuff, it is doable.

There are a few places where you can have a little of both. Places like Los Almacigos or El Rubio or Pedro Garcia or Villa Trina or Janico. They have 'connectivity' with the rest of the world, but are small, quiet places way off the beaten path. Then you can go even further off in places like Cenov?, or Juncalito or some of the tiny spots around the country that nobody but the National Police have even heard of.

The question is why? Do you want to be removed from telephone service, internet, television, newspapers, water, electricity, and human contact? Oh you can do it alright, but you lose contact with health services and transportation, too.

I think you might like a quiet town--anywhere in the country--rather than the major cities...some are nicer than others but yet close to those essential services like health care, cell phone service and internet.

The search might be interesting. Post what you do here so we can all benefit from it.

Cordially,


HB
 

Givadogahome

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Sep 27, 2011
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Depends what you consider campo, if you mean basic living off the beaten track, no or little running water, people still digging holes to poo, tin roofs and plywood walls then that is easily found over the back end of La Caleta, you can forget you've just driven through a sh1t hole to get there. If you consider campo to be 25 miles away from civilization then that is also easy to find, but brings up different issues and hurdles, drilling for water, trash, emergency, seclusion (vulnerability), house sitters are more reluctant to stay away from civilization, signal, etc etc. The word campo is used a little like barrio here, it often depends on the individuals interpretation of what campo/barrio is.

A small sleepy village is about as cut off from society as I'd like to be here, out on your own would play with my mind too much, unless I had a number of staff living there also.
 

leromero

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May 30, 2004
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Living in "the campo" is an exercise in self-sufficiency. If you want to be comfortable you will need to build and provide water/electricity for yourself. It's doable if you are prepared to invest in your own basic infrastructure. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of the Dominican government.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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If you are looking for "Peace & Quiet", you must look "Elsewhere"!
Dominicans are, "by nature",...................... LOUD!!!!!!
And so are their Dogs, and Chickens, and radios.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
"CB" takes his "SHOW" on the road all the time!
 

jabejuventus

Bronze
Feb 15, 2013
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Living in "the campo" is an exercise in self-sufficiency. If you want to be comfortable you will need to build and provide water/electricity for yourself. It's doable if you are prepared to invest in your own basic infrastructure. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of the Dominican government.

Exactly.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,069
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South Coast
Okay then. Are there any pros and/or cons of Campo v. City living that are unique to the DR?

Unique to the DR? I don't think so.

Mr. AE's whole family lives in Santo Domingo. They have lovely homes, landscaped yards, etc., their lives not much different than ours in NJ. Even the large homes in gated communities have bars. One brother was robbed while the family slept, they cut right through the bars. The air is polluted with gas & diesel fumes, the traffic is atrocious. The shopping, dining and cultural offerings are good.

I consider where we live the campo. We bought land, built a house, dug a well, etc. We have bars too. We have a dog, no real security other than him, the gate, walls, fences etc. Dusk means lock the gate and the doors, during the day everything is open. The air is clean, we walk to the beach. It's cooler out there. Our neighbors are all Dominicans, poor ones. Some of them resent us, some think we're millionaires [not even close]. Most of them have known Mr. AE and his family for 50+ years. We're the only one with a well. The city water comes to the area irregularly, sometimes our neighbors show up with 2-3 five-gallon pails and ask for water. We need an inverter because the electric service is pitiful in the campo, it's not a luxury. We have to drive 30+ minutes to San Cristobal to shop at La Sirena, but we have an array of fresh fruit and vegetables all around where we live - including on our own land. Our home has never been invaded/robbed, but anything that's not nailed down outside seems to be fair game. Including an entire onion harvest that was awaiting a truck pickup. And most recently, an 12' tall, 30" diameter mahogany tree stump that was supposed to go to the mill - must have taken 15 men to lift it onto a truck. They're a determined bunch.

To us it's a no-brainer and the pluses outweigh the minuses. We come to DR to relax, not sit in traffic and sweat in the city.
 

Criss Colon

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Jan 2, 2002
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"AE", give me the email address of those "Haters", I'll send them a "CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC"
Message!
They all have computers, RIGHT??????
CC
 

curious29

New member
Sep 20, 2012
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campo all the way.
and living in each campo is different, because they are different.. in some of them electricity blackouts are for 10 hours/ day, in some for 3-4 hours.. some have fast internet, some haven't ...some have good roads etc.
I live in campo in Barahona region and love it.... mountains are also nice... you just need to be specific what kind of view you like....And like was said before, Dominicans are usually very loud people...so its better to live far away from colmado/bar...but its the same like in bigger city