New to the forum.Any info on Santiago Appreciated

conor

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Hi i am new to the forum and thinking of moving to the dr for a while. I am a student(us citizen) and have been living in salamanca,spain the past 5-6months. I wanted to get a change. I was thinking of moving Santiago anybody have any suggestions or info on living there. I have a tri-band cell phone can you get a dominican sim chip for it. Is the hish speed access available in most areas in santiago. Thank you for any suggestions or info Conor
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Its nice that you want to live in Santiago, but...

we need more info. on what you want to know. Living cost? Nightlife? Girls? Local culture? What exactly you want to know?
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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Sort of depends on what you need to know

Technology is fairly easy: Yes.

Now what else do you need to know. ?????

Drugs: DON'T, they will catch you and throw your a$$ in jail...

Just about anything else goes.

HB
 

conor

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I dont know why i picked santiago if you have any other suggestion please tell me. I am a 22/m student studying my main classses online and taking spanish for fun here in spain but i want to get closer to my parent so they can vist and i was looking around and really dont know why i picked dominican republic either. I want to relax and just kick back when i am not online with school and think that dominican republic


These are a couple of ?'s If you have any other info that might be important could you please tell me

What is the average rent for a decent apartment?
How much does it cost to have a decent meal out?
Is it more dangerous then a normal city?
Is the spanish in dominican republic castellano?
Is there a decent nightlife?
How much does a 12pack cost?
Can a us citizen open up a bank account,if so what would be the average intrest rate on a account?
Nice to meet you all thanks for the help
 
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gringo in dr

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May 29, 2003
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Castellano?

The language they speak here hardly resembles Spanish. Many Dominicans tell me that I still don't speak spanish like a Dominican. I take that as a compliment.

Besides their pronunciation or lack of do you recognize these words:

gomas
butaca
guagua
muy chin
naylu


Forget about "usted". I think I'm the only one on the Island that use it.
 

Forbeca

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Mar 5, 2003
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Santiago is a good choice - go for it!!!!

conor said:
I dont know why i picked santiago if you have any other suggestion please tell me. I am a 22/m student studying my main classses online and taking spanish for fun here in spain but i want to get closer to my parent so they can vist and i was looking around and really dont know why i picked dominican republic either. I want to relax and just kick back when i am not online with school and think that dominican republic


These are a couple of ?'s If you have any other info that might be important could you please tell me

What is the average rent for a decent apartment?
How much does it cost to have a decent meal out?
Is it more dangerous then a normal city?
Is the spanish in dominican republic castellano?
Is there a decent nightlife?
How much does a 12pack cost?
Can a us citizen open up a bank account,if so what would be the average intrest rate on a account?
Nice to meet you all thanks for the help



Don't know about prices for anything because i don't rent or pay for anything when I'm there, but Santiago is a very nice town and I think you'd love it once you there.
 

samiam

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Mar 5, 2003
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Conor:

Coming from spanish parents and having lived in Spain (I still visit regularly 2-3x a year) I can tell you, you are in for a change when you come to the DR. Some things for the best, some other just....well I'll let you discover those when you get here.
Personally, I think cities in the DR suck!! Big time. The traffic chaos, the lack of cultural events and the mellow nightlife make dominican cities rather dull compared to spain (then again, comparing those two is very unfair)
The best part of the country is the beach and the campo. I recommend Santiago to Santo Domingo if you
A: Dont mind living in a landlocked city.
B:If you want to explore the charms of the thirdworld its a great base camp because you have all the north shore of the island and the principal mountain range relatively closer.
C: Its a city that still has a rural feel to it. Which I find charming.

I live in Santo domingo mainly because of work. Is a louder, more disorganized citi but it has its colonial zone which has a very nice nightlife and it has a shore(I cant live in landlocked places, its just me) There are some nice places to visit in the south such as Barahona (desertlike), Bani, BAyahibe etc. For your studies, perhaps you'll find more options in this city too.

Anyway, Internet, cel phone communication its OK.

Living quarters: You must be very picky and careful, ususally foreigners get overcharged.(Gringo factor)

Transportation: I forgot this very important part. Here it sucks. Its a pain in the *** and it doesnt work!
 

conor

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samiam- I know spains nightlife is something else. Wild would be a understatement. I cant kept up with all the diffrent fiestas they have here and time scehdule forget it. I do want to travel more and see more of the world and be a little closer to home. I am from fort pierce,fl(1 hour n of west palm) and I live on the beach but i dont mind living in a city that is landlocked. I just want to make sure that it is not to dangerous and doesn't lack normal technology. Good internet is a must for my classes. I saw a ad here in the classfieds for 550/m in santiago for nice looking apartment and the guy is from the states. |I talked to him and he said fast connections where available so i was thinking to try it out for a month or so and check out the city to make sure i will like. i learn in my traveling that getting overcharged as a foreigners it unaviodable.
Oh the other cities you put in the post are they decently sized cities as well


Gringo in Dr- Castellano is the form of spanish here. I do use usted/ustedes here. We also uses vosotros here but i don't think that they use it any where else but porto rico. The words you wrote no clue. What are the def. People here are very proper and correct in speaking and pronunciation. My dad studied in mexcio and the spanish is diffrent to but he gets bye ok here. I was thinking to take a couple of more spanish classes in dr do you know what they would teach?
 

gringo in dr

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Dominican translation below.

gomas - tires
butaca - chair
guagua - bus
muy chin - very little
naylu - no electricity (no hay luz)

If you look around in Santiago, you should be able to find a nice place for 8,000 pesos per month. Right now that is about $160.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Here is the deal...

The following cities in the Dominican Republic may either have a school that teaches spanish or are nearby one.

PUERTO PLATA-SOSUA-CABARETE AREA
This is one of the playground of the world. Tourism is everywhere with everything that that applies. The area does have some local and international flavor. Puerto Plata is a decent size city, it has a nice "downtown" or old part (though few buildings are really old in this town). The area from Puerto Plata to Sosua to Cabarete offers most of the necessities one might need to make this their permanent or temporary home with out giving up too much luxuries. This trio of towns have a decent nightlife, but of the three probably Cabarete is more gueared to the young croud. Cabarete is a one road town (meaning the entire town is on one road, literrally). It's the windsurfing capital of the Western Hemisphere, so it has a hip and young ambience. Lots of young folks from Europe and the America's hang out here and can make life fun and interesting for anyone willing to live here. The beaches are excellent, in most cases better than Florida's due to the mountain back drop and "half moon" curve most beaches tend to have. The locals are for the most part friendly and there is lots of things to do when you are not studying. However, keep in mind (like everywhere in the world) if you don't go where the action is you will be bored to death.

SANTIAGO
It's a city with a population of about 800,000 possibly more. It's a prosperous town with alot of American influences in it's development. For example, many of the shopping centers along Avenida Juan Pablo Duarte are in the American style of strip malls. The nightlife here is good, but not better than Puerto Plata area, however, Puerto Plata is only about an hour or two away. There are extremely few tourist in town, that may be good or bad, depending on your preference. There are some nice neighborhoods in town, nice stores, a couple of new shopping malls, Mc.Donald's, Burger King's, Pizza Huts, etc. The town is near a very appealing but small international airport. It's very close to the Central Mountain range which is the adventure sports capital of the island. In the mountains you can go mountainbike riding, horseback riding, water rafting, tubing, canyoning, hiking (like the tallest mountain in the Caribbean at over 10,000 ft). The city is only a 2.5 hour drive along a smooth four lane super highway from Santo Domingo. It's a short drive to the Samana peninsula where the word paradise fits exactly into the atmosphere there with palm clad hills, secluded idillic beaches, and friendly people. It's a nice town with nice things to do, should really consider it, but don't make it your final decision until you've visited either Santiago or any other town you have in mind.

SANTO DOMINGO
This is with out a doubt the most exciting city in the entire Caribbean. Over 3 million people call it home. It has an endless number of bars, discos, nightclubs, restaurants, casinos. It also offers bowling, horseraces, greyhound races, cockfighting, car racing, high quality baseball, tennis. It has it's fair share of beautiful and expansive parks with jogging trails and the like. Lots of nice areas, but like all major cities in the world, there are some pretty depression sections also. Lots of people from all over the world (mostly dominicans though) and from all walks of life. Rich folks on spiffed up SUVs are as much of a common sight as are "chiriperos" or push cart vendors scratching a living by selling fruits and lottery tickets. There is alot of potential in this town for people to make, just get aquainted with the right folks. There are many golf course within striking distance, it has a beautiful palm lined avenue skirting the Caribbean sea. Lots of Museums, an aquarium, a nice zoo, monuments ranging from obelisks to a huge pyramid-cross structure named Faro-a-Colon, commemorating the discoverer Cristopher Columbus. It has a Colonial Zone where many buildings were built in the 1500 and 1600. You can see where Columbus hanged around and bragged about when he used to live. His palace is still standing, many palaces, nice squares, very nice area with open air cafes and interesting shops. There are about 8 to 10 shopping malls ranging from the chaotic and very unoganized as Mercado Modelo to the super exclusive marble everything glitzy glamour of Plaza Central. Absolutely anything you could ever want is available somewhere in the city. The crime level is relatively low for a city of it's size and economic malaise, but stuff do happens, most people only hear about stuff happening thought, they don't really witness it or are part of it. Just take care as you probably do in Spain or back in Florida and you'll be find. Many people say Santo Domingo has a Miami-Rio-Spain thing going with an African tint. Get aquaited with merengue music because it's everywhere. When I say everywhere, I mean everywhere. The cost of living in Santo Domingo could range from the cheapest you'll ever live on to the most luxurious and pocket sucking lifestyle ever, just depends what you want in terms of luxuries and comfort. Overall it's a pleasant city.

Now you have an idea of what these three places have to offer. All you have to do now is visit the places on your own and make a pick based on the information you got and on how comfortable you feel. Enjoy the Dominican Republic to the fullest when ever you decide to follow Columbus footsteps (from Spain to the new world).
 

conor

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Nal0whs- thank you very informatative on all three cities I think that i am going to rent the place in Santiago for a month or two then travel around and check the cities on the weekend and pick which one suits me the best

Gringo in Dr- Are those words in a dictionary or just devopled in Dr over time
Here they would be

tires-llantas
chair-silla
bus-autobus
very little-muy poco or un poco
no eletricity-ninguna electricidad
Is all the voc. like this. I hope not i will have to learn spanish all over again and i still have some trouble when talking here. Oh..Well if so no problem as long as cerveza y donde esta mcdonalds o las chicas.

The apartment i saw for 550$/m was a 2bedroom ,2bathrooms,a office, it is furnished and cable tv . The first month my dad might come for a 1week for a confernce in DR and then stay with me for 3 weeks or so and help me get set up. So i think it might be worth it at first to know i have a place and a room for my dad if he comes. I then can look and I think i will find a better deal while there but i want to kept two bedrooms because my family will come visit very often. You think that is a OK plan to start off at first

Do you live in DR if so where? How do you like it?

?I read somewhere i think that the intrest rate on dollar account is 10% and 22% pesos. If right is there a min. amount or a dangerous risk?
If wrong do you know the intrest rate on normal savings and cd(1 year) Thanks A Lot Conor
 

gringo in dr

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I know what the spanish words should be, but dominicans have made up their own words for many things. You just have to learn them one by one.

I personally live in Santiago and I do like it here.

I have never looked for a furnished place here. I know one of my friends rents a furnished place for 8,000 pesos per month but it is only one bedroom. If you need a furnished place up front, it doesn't sound bad. But if I were you I would plan on looking for another place and buying the furniture down the road. The difference in rent should pay for most of it over 1 year.

I don't think anyone would suggest investing any money in the dr banks right now.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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When you get here, look in the paper to get a feel for what is

available and then look around.

$550 a month is a lot for an apt.

Santiago is just 1.5 hours from St Dgo, not 2.5

I doubt that whatever Spanish you learn will be confused with a native speaker so don't sweat it. You will always have an accent, so go with the flow..

HB
 

santanatwins

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Jan 20, 2004
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some info

I recommend you hire a taxi to drive you around santiago for a few hours. Find an area you visually like and look for "for rent" signs hanging in the window and just call the number. I found it beneficial to have my driver call and ask questions for me since the person thinks that a local is calling about the apartment.

Santiago apartments I looked at were in the range of $120 to $160 a month unfurnished.All the places I saw were asking for first, last and an extra month deposit which goes to the lawyer who draws up the lease.

I don't recommend renting a furnished apt. For about $1500 you can buy the basics to get you up and running: bedroom set, dining room set, stove, frieg, cooking-gas tank, and some basic kitchen items.

Electric company charges you a deposit fee to get service so don't tell them you have alot of electrical stuff.....2 light bulbs, hot water tank and a frieg is all you have (wink..wink). Your monthly bill will run you around $10 to $15 a month.

Look for a place that's located on an off street. You will appreciate the quiet. Nothing like a Moto-concho driving by every 5 minutes to disturb your afternoon naps.

Taxis to just about anywhere in the city will run you about $2 to $4 U.S.

A weeks worth of groceries will run you about $50 U.S.

Cell phones with prepaid service will run abround $10 to activate with calls costing about .30 cents a minute.

Night life is good. Anything you like can be found, from a small cozy bar with ambient music to large clubs with loud music and touristy resturants will cost you about $15 for a descent meal.
 
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Hillbilly

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Pretty good advice

Except that Taxis are RD$70 to most places and even double that is less than US$3.00...

All depends on what Daddy wants his boy to live like....

HB
 

santanatwins

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hey.....70 pesos?????????

I'm sorry........I should have said 100 to 150 pesos including tip.

When you take into account the distance you travel sometimes.......you can be that cheap.

And a taxi from the city to the airport goes for around 300 pesos. so that is why I said $4
 

conor

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Feb 6, 2004
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Thanks for the tips.
I think on this site i was reading that you can just overstay your visa and pay a small fine. If you did overstay would you have a problem with getting a lease signed and is there any other problems that would come along with the overstay.
Is there any thing else that anybody thinks i should know before coming i was planning on buying my tickets in the middle of march and coming in the last week of april. Thank for all your guys help
 

Hillbilly

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Please read carefully

Taxis are 70 pesos for most rides in town, up to $100 pesos if you go maybe from zona franca to Villa Progresso. NO TIPS! WTF!

Taxis to the Airport are at RD$350-400 depending on where you are in the city. Ens. Libertad will be perhaps RD$450, Pueblo Nuevo RD$400 and Rincon Largo RD$350....but it is negociable, of course...

This was as of last night, and with gasoline proices as they are this week...

HB