Some Only THINK They Want to Go Back...
My wife came to the US at age 17. She received US citizenship about 7 yrs later. Although she always professed that she didn't want to move back to the DR, reliable family sources tell me that she was about ready to do just that when she met me, and decided to give the US another chance. I could always tell by the way she spoke fondly of DR life and disprovingly of American life that she harbored the desire to go back. So when she got a good offer to work at a major bank in her home country, I told her go for it. I had a feeling that, once she tried moving back she would find that (1) the DR is no longer the country she grew up in; (2) she is no longer the same Dominicana who left in 1974; (3) the grass is not always greener on the other side.
We moved to the DR in 1995, lived there for four years. As a profesional (CPA from US) She had an excellent job (VP) at the bank, and we lived in a nice neighborhood. But it was not enough. She disliked living there for too many reasons to go into here, and learned to appreciate Northern Virginia better. In fact, I think I can safely say that, if not for her reluctance to part with her ailing grandmother and her extended family and friends there, we would have moved back to N.Va. by the end of the second year. Since our return in 1999, she tells everyone, Dominican and American alike, that she will NEVER return to live in the DR.
Is her case unusual? I don't think so. Several of her older aunts and uncles came to the US during the turbulent 1960's, worked hard & retired in a nice house in the DR, their dream. Some have already moved back to the US, and others are threatening to do so. We also met many, many younger Dominican-born and people of Dominican descent in their 20's and 30's who moved from the US to the DR thinking it would be paradise or easy living or economically easier or at least less stressful or some such, only to scurry back to the US in less than a year. [We at least gave it a 4-yr try!]
So, yes, many dream of returning to the DR, but many find the reality quite different from the dream when they try it.
Just my two cents worth.
Best regards,
Keith