- Thread starter karenssp
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People from other Islands Living in DR
Two people from Bermuda have condos in El Neptuno which is located in Sosua that I know of. Maybe you are one of them?
A Bahamian in the DR....
I have read several posts from travellers to the Bahamas indicating that the Bahamas were extremely boring compared to the DR overall. I found that very surprising.
I hung out at various times in Freeport and Nassau for almost ten years and always had a great time with the local residents and other travellers, thoroughly enjoyed the food and loved the music (soca). The hotels overall are not the greatest (though the Ocean Club on Paradise Island is an exception) but the beaches in the Bahamas are absolutely gorgeous. Even though Bermuda is renowned for its pink sand, beaches on some of the Bahama islands have pink sand as well.
The Bahamians that I know are all very well educated and have a very high standard of living. I never experienced any problems with island infrastructure as I often read about that occur in the DR. And I always felt safe regardless of where I was in either Freeport or Nassau.
I would be interested to hear a Bahamians' point of view on the differences/similarities between the DR (which I plan to visit) and the Bahamas, positive and negative.
Ms. Z
Conchman said:
I have read several posts from travellers to the Bahamas indicating that the Bahamas were extremely boring compared to the DR overall. I found that very surprising.
I hung out at various times in Freeport and Nassau for almost ten years and always had a great time with the local residents and other travellers, thoroughly enjoyed the food and loved the music (soca). The hotels overall are not the greatest (though the Ocean Club on Paradise Island is an exception) but the beaches in the Bahamas are absolutely gorgeous. Even though Bermuda is renowned for its pink sand, beaches on some of the Bahama islands have pink sand as well.
The Bahamians that I know are all very well educated and have a very high standard of living. I never experienced any problems with island infrastructure as I often read about that occur in the DR. And I always felt safe regardless of where I was in either Freeport or Nassau.
I would be interested to hear a Bahamians' point of view on the differences/similarities between the DR (which I plan to visit) and the Bahamas, positive and negative.
Ms. Z
Sosua, go into the Caldwell Banker office in Bermuda and ask who has a condo in Sosua DR.karenssp said:
Well the countries are very different, both culturally, socially and geographically.
Whoever tells you The Bahamas is boring obviously didnt get out much. It depends where you go and what you do. There are 700 islands in the Bahamas from Nassau a small island with 200,000 people to Andros large island with just a couple thousand. The Bahamas has far more watersport opportunities due to many islands in protected waters. There is much more diving, fishing, boating, beaching, etc. Yes the beaches are the best in the world even better than Punta Cana.
The DR has the advantage of mountains (Bahamas highest point is 250 feet!) and much more terrain and many more towns/villages etc areas to visit. The Bahamas only has 300,000 residents while the DR has 8,000,000.
Your observations so far are pretty much on the money however the hotels in Bahamas I would say are of better quality than in the DR, even though as an average the Punta Cana area hotels might be better than Cable Beach strip in Nassau e.g. but there is no hotel like Atlantis in the DR. So at the end its probably about even when you figure shabby hotels on North Coast/Boca Chica area.
Bahamians would be a bit more educated and have a higher standard of living - I would agree with this - The Bahamas has had a huge advantage with small population, high tourism from the proximate U.S., and a history of living off the US via illegal actvities such as shipwrecking (1700's), gun and cotton running (war of independence, civil war), rum running during Prohibition in the 1920's, and then drug running in the 70s and 80's. Many Bahamians families became rich through these actvities.
This high standard of living through illegal activities has negative work-ethic results. Dominicans work much harder than Bahamians (I hope nobody reads this back home or I will be flogged!).
Generally, I would find Dominicans friendlier than Bahamians even though its not really fair to generalize like this. There are many exceptions on both sides in both directions. Bahamas is more racially divided while the DR is very mixed.
I couldn't say which I like better, I'd rather just focus on the good sides of each!
Whoever tells you The Bahamas is boring obviously didnt get out much. It depends where you go and what you do. There are 700 islands in the Bahamas from Nassau a small island with 200,000 people to Andros large island with just a couple thousand. The Bahamas has far more watersport opportunities due to many islands in protected waters. There is much more diving, fishing, boating, beaching, etc. Yes the beaches are the best in the world even better than Punta Cana.
The DR has the advantage of mountains (Bahamas highest point is 250 feet!) and much more terrain and many more towns/villages etc areas to visit. The Bahamas only has 300,000 residents while the DR has 8,000,000.
Your observations so far are pretty much on the money however the hotels in Bahamas I would say are of better quality than in the DR, even though as an average the Punta Cana area hotels might be better than Cable Beach strip in Nassau e.g. but there is no hotel like Atlantis in the DR. So at the end its probably about even when you figure shabby hotels on North Coast/Boca Chica area.
Bahamians would be a bit more educated and have a higher standard of living - I would agree with this - The Bahamas has had a huge advantage with small population, high tourism from the proximate U.S., and a history of living off the US via illegal actvities such as shipwrecking (1700's), gun and cotton running (war of independence, civil war), rum running during Prohibition in the 1920's, and then drug running in the 70s and 80's. Many Bahamians families became rich through these actvities.
This high standard of living through illegal activities has negative work-ethic results. Dominicans work much harder than Bahamians (I hope nobody reads this back home or I will be flogged!).
Generally, I would find Dominicans friendlier than Bahamians even though its not really fair to generalize like this. There are many exceptions on both sides in both directions. Bahamas is more racially divided while the DR is very mixed.
I couldn't say which I like better, I'd rather just focus on the good sides of each!
Ms.Z said:
I am not kidding you. I won't post someones name on the internet without their permission. Are you kidding me?karenssp said:
You will get your answer if you do what I suggest.
Escott
First off I agree with the thought that the Bahamas are boring. You can take your 700 islands and they are just that. Little Islands with nothing on them but FLAT BORING topography. The DR on the other hand is exciting when you go from Desert/Cactus to Lush mountains in an hour or less. Endless sea shores and views that are breathtaking! There is much more in a place to live than watersports. Same goes for most Islands I have been to. Boring topography. Cuba is supposed to match the DR in its beauty but the DR has the highest Peak in the Caribbean and you get snow there. There is NO such place like Constanza with rich fertile dirt in the Bahamas. No City like Santo Domingo. No area like the Zona Colonial. There is NO comparison in my eyes at all. DR is far more beautiful hands down.Conchman said:
I am not trying to knock the Bahamas and Atlantis is world class. It sucked when it was Mervs place but I went there just the same then also. Great place if you want to suck down Bahama Mamas all day long and don't care how much you spend. Tough to compare Atlantis to any place on the North Coast but it would be impossible to spend that much money on the North Coast for 7 nights instead of only 2 nights at Atlantis. Different crowd!
Escott
Conchman said:
In general, I think Bahamians are conservative and perhaps that's why some of the other DR1 posters found the Bahamas boring as compared to vacationing in the DR. I have never seen the kind of soliciting going on in the Bahamas that I read about taking place in the DR.
I have stayed at Atlantis and found it to be too theme park oriented. My personal preference is the Ocean Club. In the DR, I think it would be nicer d stay at a villa at Sea Horse Ranch or Casa de Campo rather than at a hotel. Since I live in NYC and am surrounded by skyscrapers, when I travel, I prefer boutique hotels to the megastructure properties like Atlantis even with all of its amenities.
I would have to add that the higher standard of living in the Bahamas has also come about through higher levels of education as well as the British and American influences. The government and economy are also stable and the Bahamian dollar is pegged to the US dollar.
I have found Bahamians to be somewhat snooty as well. But I think this is a defense mechanism. The Bahamas service industry attitude mirrors that of American service workers. I have found in travelling that countries with high standards of living tend to have workers in the service industries with poorer attitudes than in countries where the standards of living are lower. The exception I have found is in Hong Kong where service workers are considered professionals and are not denigrated as I have read in some of the posts on DR1. Therefore, because they are not looked down upon by others in their country, they project a more welcoming, confident attitude to visitors to their country.
Thanks for the very insightful and infomative response. I am looking forward to my first trip to the DR (hopefully this summer...someone in my group made me angry last summer and I cancelled my first trip to the DR... not planning a large group event this year so plans should go well). From what I have read on DR1, I am looking forward to meeting some really cool, friendly people and embarking on what I hope will be the beginning of many more vacations to the island.
Ms. Z
Pico Duarte
What you say is sooo true.Have you ever hiked up to Duarte??Awesome trip, but I would recommend being in better shape than I was. I did a five day trip up 2 years ago. The KEY IS go at the right time of year....Ahhhhhhh, Didn't mean to change this thread, I just couldn't resist
What you say is sooo true.Have you ever hiked up to Duarte??Awesome trip, but I would recommend being in better shape than I was. I did a five day trip up 2 years ago. The KEY IS go at the right time of year....Ahhhhhhh, Didn't mean to change this thread, I just couldn't resist
Escott said:
Listen, do what I do and hire 6 Haitians to carry your fat arse up thereggn420 said:
I have friends that do it pretty often and have been invited but I "LAUGH AT THEM". I would rather swim 2 laps in my pool! Actually I don't think I have ever done that either...You can't compare the Bahamas to this beautiful country, no way shape or form.
Escott