I wish someone had warned me about living in the DR ...

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Matem?tico

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I'd like to compile a list of what I wish I had known before moving to the DR. And, of course a list of the pleasant surprises as well. Please contribute items in a list format with related explanations. Thanks.
 

mountainannie

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Dec 11, 2003
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1, That working as an English teacher for ANYONE will only pay half of what the client is being charged. DUH...

2. That customer service on the phone is twice is fast if you push the button for "English Assistance press 1"

3. If you have a problem, Go directly to the manager.

4. Never tell a Dominican that he or she did something wrong, if you can avoid it. Find a way to make it your fault. Say you did not understand, Say you explained badly. Until they do it wrong the third time. Then dock their pay. Or change providers.

5. Never be confrontational. Be Sweet. Take time to say How Are you? Even if you do not know who is calling because you will not know who is calling because they will not tell you who it is which will drive you nuts but after you ask them how they are, you can apologize (for not recognizing their name) (even if they are a telemarketer which has just started and they do not call often and are very sweet and STILL AMAZINGLY sensitive) .. and ask them their name. If you are not prepared to spend this time, let the call go to voice mail.

6. Get business cards made up quickly. No one will use yours, probably, but you must have them.

7. Make sure that your HAIR and your NAILS are done well.. This counts big time. Make sure your clothes are ironed.. Unless you want to disguise yourselves as tourists and go to the Zona in Flip flops.

8. Open accounts at two local banks. One bank card will not be working when you want money. Do not use your foreign card any where. Period.

9. Get introduced to a Casa De Cambio to cash personal checks if you have a stash of money in the States.

10. Have a stash of money in the States.

11. Get Medical insurance. Everything costs less with medical insurance.

12. Pay your household help LESS than you can imagine as a living wage and then give her a gift when she does not expect it. Like an extra day off.. or just an extra 500 pesos for a good job. Or a referral to a friend.

13. By pirate DVDs. I know. Copyright fraud is UnAmerican. We do not live there. Get over it.

14. If you live in Santo Domingo and have a car and have drive the kids and yourself to work, consider hiring a driver. Jobs at the US Embassy were starting as low as 8k a month which is the minimum wage and this is only a couple of hours a month. This will save you from a chronic ulcer, a really bad temper, fighting with your wife, and cursing the day you ever decided to move here.

15. Join a gym with a pool .. fast fading.. only a few left.. like the Dominican Fiesta, so that the kids and wife can go there for the day.. preferably with sauna and steam..

16. Do not leave a storage shed full of your stuff waiting for you to go back. Just take the photos and the CDs. You can buy more stuff.

17. The stuff you have there really is not worth the price of shipping. Surely you know someone who needs it, right?

18. Goodwill gives you a tax deduction for it.

19. Hard to get rid of stuff, ain't it.

20. No one is ever going to pay you what you are worth.

Read my other article... here .. Changing Perspectives: December 2008
 

Mauricio

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Nov 18, 2002
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Negative
1. cost of life
2. Selfish, inconsiderate people (capital)
3. I didn't remember the summers were this hot
4. I still don't like rice and beans and neither yucca. or sancocho. or locrio. or platanos.
5. Every month there is another imprevisto that takes you out of your budget (like someone said in the other thread, make a budget and double it).
6. I miss the developed world.

Positives:
1. Beautiful country (outside the capital)
2. Nice weather in autumn, winter and spring
3. I couldn't live my work life like I am doing here.
4. Those dominicans that became my friends are better friends than my dutch friends will ever be.
 

El Hason

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Nov 7, 2013
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Negative
1. cost of life
2. Selfish, inconsiderate people (capital)
3. I didn't remember the summers were this hot
4. I still don't like rice and beans and neither yucca. or sancocho. or locrio. or platanos.
5. Every month there is another imprevisto that takes you out of your budget (like someone said in the other thread, make a budget and double it).
6. I miss the developed world.

Positives:
1. Beautiful country (outside the capital)
2. Nice weather in autumn, winter and spring
3. I couldn't live my work life like I am doing here.
4. Those dominicans that became my friends are better friends than my dutch friends will ever be.

Just curious. You were to outline more negative than positives. What exactly keeps you there? Or the 4 positives means that much more to you? Forgive my ignorance
 

Dark_Scorpion

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Aug 13, 2012
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Both lists. Pretty available women.
Der Fish

The women are overrated. Please stop. Men like you are ruining DR women because they think they are God's gift to mankind. They are not. Dominican women are second rate in bed and terrible conversationists and I've been with enough of them to know ;)
 

Dark_Scorpion

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Aug 13, 2012
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I'd like to compile a list of what I wish I had known before moving to the DR. And, of course a list of the pleasant surprises as well. Please contribute items in a list format with related explanations. Thanks.

I already gave a list months ago so I won't do that again. What I will tell you is that the best benefits of living in the DR are NOT THE PEOPLE. This includes the women. The women, prostitution wise, are cheap in price but so are their services, they are no match for a $1,000 an hour top rated American ex pornstar, in looks or performance. I've been with them so I should know. If you want mind blowing sex save your money and hire top rated American girls. If you want cheap but mediocre sex come to the DR.

The best part about living in the DR is the lifestyle. The weather. The beach. I'm indifferent to Dominicans themselves and sometimes find them annoying. They tend to be backward, incompetent, corrupt, or all the above. There are good Dominicans to but they seem to be underrepresented. The energy costs are also a benefit, last month my power bill was $12, clearly you will never see a $12 power bill in the USA. If you can look past the people the DR is wonderful. If not you won't like it here.
 
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DRob

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Aug 15, 2007
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I already gave a list months ago so I won't do that again. What I will tell you is that the best benefits of living in the DR are NOT THE PEOPLE. This includes the women. The women, prostitution wise, are cheap in price but so are their services, they are no match for a $1,000 an hour top rated American ex pornstar hooker, in looks or performance. I've been with them so I should know. If you want mind blowing sex save your money and hire top rated American girls. If you want cheap but mediocre sex come to the DR.

The best part about living in the DR is the lifestyle. The weather. The beach. I'm indifferent to Dominicans themselves and sometimes find them annoying. They tend to be backward, incompetent, corrupt, or all the above. There are good Dominicans to but they seem to be underrepresented. The energy costs are also a benefit, last month my power bill was $12, clearly you will never see a $12 power bill in the USA. If you can look past the people the DR is wonderful. If not you won't like it here.

"If you can look past the people the DR is wonderful."

Isn't that a bit like saying "It would be a great school, if it weren't for the students and teachers?" lol

Our favorite nihilist is baaaaack.....
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i knew nothing about DR before moving here. i read nothing about this country, did not talk to anyone who lived here. what a bliss. and i am most glad that i did not discover this forum until few months after i moved in.
 

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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"...and i am most glad that i did not discover this forum until few months after i moved in..."

:D

I guess in that case we wouldn't have a dv8 here...
 

Dark_Scorpion

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Aug 13, 2012
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"If you can look past the people the DR is wonderful."

Isn't that a bit like saying "It would be a great school, if it weren't for the students and teachers?" lol

Our favorite nihilist is baaaaack.....

ROFL! I'm in a good mood today. Just got through watching 300:Rise of an Empire. I'm listening to the soundtrack while writing this post. Anyway I have no problem with Dominicans per se. I just see them as they are. The CDC(Centers for Disease Control) just warned Americans about traveling to DR for cheap surgeries because some American chick just died during an operation. The Dominican doctor didn't have sense enough to use sanitized equipment.

Dominican doctors are like Dominican whores. Cheap in price yet mediocre in service. I want Matematicos the OP of this thread to get this when he or she moves here. I want them to understand that they will come to a beautiful country with beautiful weather and beaches that is populated by many morons. And they will see it with their own eyes when they arrive as I have seen it. And to live here you have to look past it and manage it as best you can.

What do you expect me to say about a nation that needs another nation to mine its gold? Build its roads? Provide it with power? All because the locals lack the ability(apparently) to do it? You want me to say something positive about Dominicans? Fine they are good at doing hair. At least when you can find someone that doesn't overcharge you....
 

donP

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Dec 14, 2008
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A Child from a Boring Woman?

Dominican women are second rate in bed ...

Not true.*
At least I do not know which nation would be first choice.
Anyway, even 'paradise' girls get less exiting after 35 years.... ;) :tired:

donP

*)
But how would you know?
As far as I remember you need Dominican women only to double yourself...... which after all is not the best gift to mankind anyway. :rolleyes:


donP
 

caribmike

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Jul 9, 2009
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"I want them to understand that they will come to a beautiful country with beautiful weather and beaches that is populated by many morons."

Much truth in this... unfortunately. Doubt that will change ever...
 

Dark_Scorpion

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Aug 13, 2012
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Not true.*
At least I do not know which nation would be first choice.
Anyway, even 'paradise' girls get less exiting after 35 years.... ;) :tired:

donP

*)
But how would you know?
As far as I remember you need Dominican women only to double yourself...... which after all is not the best gift to mankind anyway. :rolleyes:


donP

Dominican women are so blown out of proportion. I'm not saying there are no good ones here. They are just really really really really hard to find. Like a super rare diamond. And to the men that found it I say congratulations. But I don't think most men will. I know I haven't. Honestly I'd rather fly down American pornstars to spend the weekend with me over Dominican women. I mean if you want really good sex by a siren that knows what she is doing 2000 pesos won't cut it. 2000 USD is more like it. And nothing will be off limits. No rushing and virtually no rules. All holes available for entry if you meet the price of admission.

I tell you what woman I would want to have. The woman from 300:Rise of an Empire. Her name was Artemisia the villain naval commander. Yeah. I would love to hit that. I'd pay a fortune for her. A woman like that would give you the best sex of your life. It might be your last sex but it would be the best. Those of you who have seen the movie know what I'm talking about. Now THAT is a woman.
 
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Dark_Scorpion

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Aug 13, 2012
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"I want them to understand that they will come to a beautiful country with beautiful weather and beaches that is populated by many morons."

Much truth in this... unfortunately. Doubt that will change ever...

Totally agree. Its never going to change. I have a Dominican history book here at home and Dominicans have been behaving the same way for about 400 years. I can tolerate the locals because I don't deal with them much. When I do deal with them I do so on the most basic level. I give you 60 pesos and you give me bread. I give you 250 pesos and you cut my hair. That is the level I prefer to deal with Dominicans at.

Foreigners begin to have problems when they get into more "complex" dealings with Dominicans. I put "complex" in quotes because what is complex in the DR is often simple in the first world. Real Estate. Banking. Insurance. Medical issues. Big Business ventures. When you get involved in these things with Dominicans their incompetence and corruption will show. Just getting in a car accident in the DR as a foreigner can land you in a world full of problems. Problems you wouldn't even consider in the USA.
 
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