Sandeep said:We live in an area outside of a gated community. Everyone has 2 big dogs and people working around their house most of the time e.g. gardener etc. some people including ourselves employ a armed guard service. Is there a specific area in the DR that you are looking at?
mountainfrog said:Well, we have a fence and a gate.
We don?t have guards I hate their snoring.
Our two dogs like burglars ... not minced, however.
Oh, I forgot, it?s 00 buck shot we use on trespassers.
M?frog
quaqualita said:I live "outside" a gated community and I'm very glad. Of course there is always a god side and a bad side, but I like the freedom and independency, I can basically do what ever I want on my property.
Bad side is that you have no administration/maintainance - you have to check yourself when your cableTV, power, internet.. doesn't work, or complain yourself at the garbige company when they 'forgot' to pick up your garbige, etc.
Security is for me not that much of a big issue. Most Dominicans know, that we don't have a lot anyway. And our six monster dogs do an excelltent job to convince everybody to stay far away. :knockedou
quaqualita
pati said:Joah,
I know how you feel. I asked the same question on my last visit to DR. They did show me some place in Santo Dominigo but they were multi million dollar houses on some cliff. Way out of my league. There's plenty more places I haven't seen yet in DR so I can't say that a nice, safe, middle class, non gated, non guarded place doesn't exist but it looks doubtful.
lhtown said:There are plenty of them in SD. I happen to live in one.
Edited to clarify: I live in a middle class non gated non guarded place not the multi million dollar house on the cliff. Those are pretty scarce.
I now have a minimum of two guys who work for me here at all times. One prowls the grounds at night, the other is here during the day. They both have two-way radios, a machete, and cans of pepper spray. I keep the shotgun. Anyone drops by univited by climbing the fence, and I mean anyone they have orders to hold them, and if they don't stop they will be pepper sprayed and sat on until the police get there. Which here in the hinterlands could be a little while!Criss Colon said:It is kind of like the "Designated Driver Program",only someone is "volunteered" to stay in the house.If you leave your house empty on a regular basis ,sooner or later,you WILL be robbed.
AZB said:I live in santiago, far far away from the self-imprisoned gringos in the north coast. This is the real dominican republic as opposed to sosua, cabarete. These places shouldn't be even called dominican republic as the majority of people there are foreigners. The dominicans who are found in such places are domestic workers, hookers and pimps. There isn't a decent dominican in site for miles. The prices are expensive for real estate and the restaurant charge as though they are still in miami. In simple terms you people are getting ripped off there. Many foreigners are acting like the puerto plata low life dominicans there, ex: if you want any information from them, you would have to buy them drinks, feed them in a restaurant first or bring them gifts from USA, canada before you get a word out of their mouths. Often times these foreigners have business plans for you that will benefit them first, without having to put in a penny from their side. There are alot of foreigners who act like sankies and leeches in the north coast area. Most ex-pats are old and drunks who spend time with hookers (or ex-hookers).
All in all, north coast is disgusting and should not be considered a part of DR. There is no dominican culture to be found there except for the hooker culture. Some people claim that the north coast is booming and that businesses are making money. I was there over the long weekend and saw no trace of that. Many restaurants / bars are empty even on weekends. I just don't know how they make ends meet. I was complaining in santiago, but it seems I make more money in a day than many bars make in a week there.
Does anyone ever consider living in Jarabacoa for a change? I mean, do you gringos ever get to leave cabarete or sosua for a while and see other places on this island? I don't mean going away to santo domingo to renew your residency; that doesn't count.
Have a nice day.
AZB
Criss Colon said:It is kind of like the "Designated Driver Program",only someone is "volunteered" to stay in the house.If you leave your house empty on a regular basis ,sooner or later,you WILL be robbed! :bandit: :bandit: :bandit: CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC