some brilliant observations there, Commandah. . whenever people assess the merits of the DR in terms of being a habitable ecosystem, they always tell you about the beaches, and the savannahs, and the rolling hills, and bla bla bla. nobody stops to think that stuff like that gets old in a dead hurry. even compared to other caribbean islands, the DR has a lot of catching up to do in terms of things of interest. for me, at least. i am a stereo buff, and the state of high end stereo in Puerto Rico in 1988 was more advanced than it is in the DR in 2016. i saw stuff there that has not gotten here yet, and it amazes me. look at any high end stereo site and you will see posters from all over the world, excepting the DR. i am always exchanging pms with a guy from the Cayman Islands, but have never seen a Dominican in the site. the cultural tendency is to articles of ostentation, and cerebral exertions are unimportant. if you are from a first world society, it is hard to adjust.