As my foreign landlord told me once, matter-of-factly, "they are a country of thieves".
I tend to agree.
He, by the way, considers his Dominican "wife" of nearly 20 years, a "good Dominican" (his words). She is not, though. I have noticed her lying to swindle money out of him, yet she seems to have genuine affection for him. He is a pretty good guy actually. I feel sorry for him.
I guess you can take the girl out of the barrio but…
There have been quite a few robberies of foreign people in my neighbourhood and even in my building, some even violent. I have also heard of even more Dominican on Dominican crime here in La Romana, with the perpetrator often being identified as a "friend". i.e. my "friend" copied my gate key and stole my car and now he is in jail.
I am totally paranoid about security and have my fortress well-fortified but hey, if they want in badly enough, I'm sure they will find a way. I am very very careful on the street with my bag and very very careful who I let into my house.
I have been swindled out of money by one "fren", maybe 2000 pesos, and have had it attempted a couple of times by other "frens". I now have no more frens here.
I am regularly robbed by merchants, vendors, utilities, professionals and institutions here. There is nothing I can do about it. I can stomp off to the colmado or the moto up the road, but eventually they will do it too.
I engage in the economy in the most minimal way possible, buying only what I absolutely need from the most reliable sources I have found.
Overall, it's a horrible way to live and one of the main reasons I am leaving. The only plus for me is that spending so much time at home and online has helped me professionally, so I was able to secure a better position that will enable me to travel more. I am really hoping that will be more enjoyable than being here full-time.
That is literally the only good thing I can think of.
They just have a thieving mentality I guess. Tigueraje. What a way to live.
I know there are folks on here that really enjoy the country and I think that's great. But personally, I think living so defensively all the time really takes the enjoyment out of life. Considering that this is a Caribbean island, I think it is a stressful place to live. I can hardly wait to leave.