safety in DR

shawnschneider

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Jul 19, 2004
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I am looking for local information on the safety situation for americans in the dominican republic. I have heard that you need guards at your house and it is not safe to walk around by yourself. I would like to visit and possibly for a month because of the cheap prices but want to feel safe. How does it compare to say, Mexico? Is their much trouble with Haiti citizens? I don't know much about the island and any problems with it's neighbor. As an example, say I went out for a walk to the store at midnight or a drive around the island with my girlfriend, would I likely have trouble. It's just the security guards that have me a little spooked. I walk around in Mexico just about anywhere and never had a problem. Any information will be greatly appreciated. I want to rent a villa for a month in December, january, or February if anyone knows of a nice place close to the beach for $2500 or less for a 2 bedroom for a month please email me at Pilot921@cs.com.

Thank you all in advance for the help!

Shawn
 

ERICKXSON

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Dec 24, 2002
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if you were able to walk anywhere in Mexico city at night my MAN! you can do about anything in this Country island as far as our neigbors haitians never had a problem something else there's nothing special about americans in this side of the world and trust me none of the one reading this site have a guard in their houses, now i suggest you to mingle with the board elders they can answer all the questions you may have.
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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Daytime is quite safe, normal precautions apply. Not too many stores open at midnight! Wouldn't advise walking in isolated areas, alone, after dark.
For that price, you'll have the pick of properties. That is "tourist price", there are many which are less expensive.
I've lived here 12 years & don't have a guard (many would say it is a job creation scheme!). I do have dogs, however.
People's patience is wearing a bit thin at present (power outtages, inflation, devaluation etc). If you come across a noisy group at night, best not to be confrontational.
Enjoy your stay, it's a great place, despite the above!
 

Ken

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Jan 1, 2002
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Not much different here than any place. In your country, I'm sure there are sections of many towns and cities where you probably wouldn't choose to walk, especially at night. Same is true here. My wife and I have lived here since 1986 and are not worried. We live in Sosua, but she often goes to Santo Domingo alone and walks around without trouble.

Of course if you come here and flash a lot of money and jewelry you will probably have trouble. But I suspect that is true in Mexico, also.
 

Conchman

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Jul 3, 2002
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While the DR has a lot of armed security guards, I've never understood this because crime is less here than in many other Caribbean nations where you dont' see guards but crime is much more evident. Maybe because they are so cheap in the DR, at around $100 per month.
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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Ken said:
Not much different here than any place. In your country, I'm sure there are sections of many towns and cities where you probably wouldn't choose to walk, especially at night. Same is true here. My wife and I have lived here since 1986 and are not worried. We live in Sosua, but she often goes to Santo Domingo alone and walks around without trouble.

Of course if you come here and flash a lot of money and jewelry you will probably have trouble. But I suspect that is true in Mexico, also.
I don't know of one person who has had these types of problems in Sosua or Cabarete. I know I haven't and I am often out late at night with a pocket full of pesos and dress nicely.

Scott
 

shawnschneider

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Jul 19, 2004
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Thank you all for the great responces. I kinda figured it wasn't as bad as I've heard, but better to be safe than sorry! If anyone knows of a house with a pool for a month please email me at pilot921@cs.com I will be looking for the next couple of months comparing prices. Where is the part of the island with white sand beaches?
 

jcarn

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Jun 28, 2004
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Ken said:
Of course if you come here and flash a lot of money and jewelry you will probably have trouble. But I suspect that is true in Mexico, also.

On that note, be careful about what you consider to be alot of money and what you consider to be pocket change. Not that I had any problems on my trip to DR but, I'll give you a few examples.

- you know how in the us when you go to the atm and take out money it gives you options to take out $20,$40,$60,$80,$100, or $200? In DR it gives you the option to take out the equivalent in pesos of $2, $4, $6, $8, $10 or $20. I tried to take out 10000 pesos (US$216) and the machine told me it didnt have enough money so I took out 5000 instead and drove to another machine to take out another 5000.

- what you may consider chump change most dominicans do not..... You should have seen how happy the security guard got when I gave him 100 pesos (roughly US$2) for watching my car outside a casino (I didnt HAVE to give him the money but he let me park in a reserved spot right next to the door). Or how pissed off the dominican sitting next to me at the poker table got for losing the peso equivalent of like $20 at the poker table while I turned the equivalent of $10 dollars into $78 dollars in pesos playing poker. Although she wasnt pissed off at me personally, she was slamming her fists on the table because of her bad luck.