After reading this post, my heart sinks

jw2004

New member
Nov 26, 2004
21
0
0
Posted yesterday from living forum.
Like so many who move down here, weather is no.1 reason.
I know about the infrastructure problem, I read about the ripoffs on North Shores becuase of the influx of tourist money, the fact you "need to know a general" to feel safe, story about drug money is being channel thro to become legal. The fact if you want to live and enjoy the same kind of material things in Totonto or Miami, it is more expensive here. I can't imagine how the DR government is able to withstand $50 a barrel of oil and IMF loan that never seems to be getting bigger.
After reading the post, my heart sank a little deeper. Last time I was here (Mar 2004), the guide told, milk to feed her baby just had the price doubled. A university graduate, high school teacher wanted to become a tour guide.
I guess human are very adaptable. If you like the weather, you will find a way to swallow the not so good with it.

================================
If Americans want to come down here, cool. But just don't come down here looking for a cheap place to live then b itch and complain when you can't afford your Fruity Pebbles.

If you want to keep buying American groceries and you're not wealthy, don't move here.......you'll be disappointed. I have lived in Washington DC, New York, San Antonio and Santo Domingo (my home) my entire life.

I know where many of the Americans come from, and I know DOZENS of Americans over the past 15 years that have moved here looking for exactly what many are looking for on these very boards. Many of them are stupid enough to sign teaching contracts and bail out on them after a single year and run home to the US or Canada.

The DR is NOT an easy place to live. We have NO electricity in this country any longer. Ten years ago we had 15 functioning electrical plants in the DR, now only 3 are operating. Corruption has run this country into the ground, and it's only getting worse with the continual change of people in office. Each time a new president comes in, the fleecing begins anew and new appointees begin stealing, and old appointees go to jail to place the blame on the new money they're stealing.

A little bit more about my country. Our government refused to pay 85 million dollars to the WMF in 1988, and everything has been downhill since. They also refused to pay 30 million dollars to Venezuela for oil, so I've seen our gas prices go from 20 cents per gallon US (yes 20 cents!) in 1986 to like 3 bucks now.

Crime is way way way way way up..........people are getting stabbed and shot left and right in Santo Domingo and tons of muggings in Puerto Plata. This place is not the place you may have heard about 10 years ago. It's NOT cheap to live here unless you like to live in a concrete apartment with no electricity and sweat all day and eat rice and beans.

That's life here. Sure you can get a maid, but to do what? Clean your dark, damp, mosquito ridden apartment? If you want to live CHEAP and still enjoy your life I'm dead serious move to North Miami or something and buy one of the 80k houses there.

Pretty much every middle income to low income Dominican I know would DIE to get a chance to move to Miami and you people want to come here? Get a grip..........this is not the paradise you're looking for. It's been a country in serious decline for 15 years now. Corruption people can deal with, annoying but you learn how to play the game. 500% inflation in 2 years and massive VIOLENT crime is something entirely different.

There are a lot of Americans and Europeans who come down here who have NO CLUE what the DR is all about. It's not the country you see when you first come where everyone smiles in your face and is supposedly nice. They are smiling because they think you have MONEY. To the common Dominican white skin = money. It's a fact.

Our healthcare here is pathetic. I broke my leg once in Casa de Campo, went to two of the best bone doctors in the country and guess what? Neither of them even set my bone correctly. I ended up spending over 30k US at Duke Medical Center in NC to have surgery and get metal plates in my leg.

My wife's jaws were nearly destroyed having her wisdom teeth taken out here. Many of the "good" doctors here reuse syringes and even smoke while taking out your blood.

Look people, 15 years ago I agree in many ways the DR was an ideal situation for what you guys are looking for NOW. But the DR has changed DRASTICALLY. What was a very naive, peaceful populace 15 years ago (in my opinion a holdover from the Trujillo "fear" regime) has become a bitter, disenfranchised, increasingly violent society.

Take it from me, stay away. You will find little more here than 3-4 hours of electricity a day.....an extremely racist population......and eventually you'll get robbed by someone you think you can trust.

Believe it if ya want, don't if not..........but I've seen this country go drastically downhill in the past 15 years. I can't leave because this is where my family is, and I'm lucky enough to not have to worry so much about the financial concerns.

However, I can tell you any intelligent middle class Dominican is intelligent enough to know even people they've known for over 20 years in this climate you simply can't trust......unless they are your own parents, wife, children or brothers.

Guards/maids/gardeners people have had for over 10 years are robbing them blind. Things are that bad.

Stay away for now, you're not adding anything to our economy but a target to rob.
 

tomgallo

*** Sin Bin ***
Mar 25, 2004
156
0
0
jw2004 said:
Posted yesterday from living forum.
Like so many who move down here, weather is no.1 reason.
I know about the infrastructure problem, I read about the ripoffs on North Shores becuase of the influx of tourist money, the fact you "need to know a general" to feel safe, story about drug money is being channel thro to become legal. The fact if you want to live and enjoy the same kind of material things in Totonto or Miami, it is more expensive here. I can't imagine how the DR government is able to withstand $50 a barrel of oil and IMF loan that never seems to be getting bigger.
After reading the post, my heart sank a little deeper. Last time I was here (Mar 2004), the guide told, milk to feed her baby just had the price doubled. A university graduate, high school teacher wanted to become a tour guide.
I guess human are very adaptable. If you like the weather, you will find a way to swallow the not so good with it.

================================
If Americans want to come down here, cool. But just don't come down here looking for a cheap place to live then b itch and complain when you can't afford your Fruity Pebbles.

If you want to keep buying American groceries and you're not wealthy, don't move here.......you'll be disappointed. I have lived in Washington DC, New York, San Antonio and Santo Domingo (my home) my entire life.

I know where many of the Americans come from, and I know DOZENS of Americans over the past 15 years that have moved here looking for exactly what many are looking for on these very boards. Many of them are stupid enough to sign teaching contracts and bail out on them after a single year and run home to the US or Canada.

The DR is NOT an easy place to live. We have NO electricity in this country any longer. Ten years ago we had 15 functioning electrical plants in the DR, now only 3 are operating. Corruption has run this country into the ground, and it's only getting worse with the continual change of people in office. Each time a new president comes in, the fleecing begins anew and new appointees begin stealing, and old appointees go to jail to place the blame on the new money they're stealing.

A little bit more about my country. Our government refused to pay 85 million dollars to the WMF in 1988, and everything has been downhill since. They also refused to pay 30 million dollars to Venezuela for oil, so I've seen our gas prices go from 20 cents per gallon US (yes 20 cents!) in 1986 to like 3 bucks now.

Crime is way way way way way up..........people are getting stabbed and shot left and right in Santo Domingo and tons of muggings in Puerto Plata. This place is not the place you may have heard about 10 years ago. It's NOT cheap to live here unless you like to live in a concrete apartment with no electricity and sweat all day and eat rice and beans.

That's life here. Sure you can get a maid, but to do what? Clean your dark, damp, mosquito ridden apartment? If you want to live CHEAP and still enjoy your life I'm dead serious move to North Miami or something and buy one of the 80k houses there.

Pretty much every middle income to low income Dominican I know would DIE to get a chance to move to Miami and you people want to come here? Get a grip..........this is not the paradise you're looking for. It's been a country in serious decline for 15 years now. Corruption people can deal with, annoying but you learn how to play the game. 500% inflation in 2 years and massive VIOLENT crime is something entirely different.

There are a lot of Americans and Europeans who come down here who have NO CLUE what the DR is all about. It's not the country you see when you first come where everyone smiles in your face and is supposedly nice. They are smiling because they think you have MONEY. To the common Dominican white skin = money. It's a fact.

Our healthcare here is pathetic. I broke my leg once in Casa de Campo, went to two of the best bone doctors in the country and guess what? Neither of them even set my bone correctly. I ended up spending over 30k US at Duke Medical Center in NC to have surgery and get metal plates in my leg.

My wife's jaws were nearly destroyed having her wisdom teeth taken out here. Many of the "good" doctors here reuse syringes and even smoke while taking out your blood.

Look people, 15 years ago I agree in many ways the DR was an ideal situation for what you guys are looking for NOW. But the DR has changed DRASTICALLY. What was a very naive, peaceful populace 15 years ago (in my opinion a holdover from the Trujillo "fear" regime) has become a bitter, disenfranchised, increasingly violent society.

Take it from me, stay away. You will find little more here than 3-4 hours of electricity a day.....an extremely racist population......and eventually you'll get robbed by someone you think you can trust.

Believe it if ya want, don't if not..........but I've seen this country go drastically downhill in the past 15 years. I can't leave because this is where my family is, and I'm lucky enough to not have to worry so much about the financial concerns.

However, I can tell you any intelligent middle class Dominican is intelligent enough to know even people they've known for over 20 years in this climate you simply can't trust......unless they are your own parents, wife, children or brothers.

Guards/maids/gardeners people have had for over 10 years are robbing them blind. Things are that bad.

Stay away for now, you're not adding anything to our economy but a target to rob.

Hey Man be optimistic!!!

When something goes that bad for so long then IT IS IMPOSIBLE TO GET WORSE!!!
 

LA Woman

New member
Jan 7, 2004
29
0
0
well put

Dear JW2004

I thought what you wrote was well put. I hope that people who are considering relocating here read what you have written. You have spoken the truth whether people want to admit it or not.

This is not the simple little laid-back country people imagine. It's much more insidious than many will lead you to believe.

In my opinion this is a very difficult place to live. If you're considering relocating here please listen to what this man has said. It's his country and he knows it well.

Best wishes,
LA Woman
 

Juniper

New member
Apr 15, 2004
406
4
0
I agree

Dear JW2004:

You are right on target, but the only ones that can see all this clearly are us native Dominicans. I spent several months in Santo Domingo traveling back and forth to Las Terrenas recently and was sooooo disapointed at my own country. It has gone back 20 years but it's worse than 20 years ago because there is so much more crime now.

I have lived in the US since I was 17, got married and raised two sons and a daughter and I feel so lucky to have been able to become an American citizen and to have raised my children here. Now I live in beautiful Miami with all the benefits of a diversified city with American standards.

As far as I am concerned, the US is the best country in the world. Those who stand to differ, are probably the ones who cannot adjust to living in an organized society. And I don't want to hear anyone comparing the situation in the DR to certain areas in NY City. NY City does not represent the entire USA.

And I just hope that things don't get worse in DR for the sake of some of my relatives who still live there.

Juniper
 

Spirit7

New member
Aug 26, 2004
150
2
0
Getting back to the DR.....

Getting back to the DR, the reason this country has gone back a few years is the gullibility and downright ignorance of a segment of the population that has fallen, falls and will fall for the trickery of the band of thieves known as the Dominican Revolutionary Party or PRD. They ruled (un-governed, mis-managed, etc.) from 2000 to 2004 and set us back and continue to do all possible to harm the country to advance their own personal and party interests. Petty and everyday crime is not really up. What is up is the news-grabbing isolated incidents executed to damage the present, decent government at the expense of everyone's well-being.

The assasinations, attempts, hold up of a busload of tourists, etc., etc. are no doubt the work of these hoodlums of the PRD to do damage believing if there is disenchantment with this government they will rise again. My fear is the gullibility and ignorance of the lower classes which may fall for this. In the meantime, let's not paint such a negative picture that will cause people to give up. We shall overcome.
 

tomgallo

*** Sin Bin ***
Mar 25, 2004
156
0
0
tomgallo said:
plus Canada etc... When we compare the USA with the rest of Latin America, I do agree it is a better place.

I want to correct my previous posting :

As per the UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX FOR 2004 (see it at : htttp://en.wikipedia.org)

The US is in spot No. 8th. The 1st Seven countries ahead of the US are :

1) Norway
2)Sweden
3)Australia
4)Canada
5)Netherlands
6)Belgium
7)Iceland


The best latinamerican countries are :

Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Costa Rica
Cuba No. 52
and Mexico. No. 53

Be aware that Human development criteria goes beyond the size of your bank account, house or car.

The DR is around position 92 of 150 countries.

cheers!
 

DR Mpe

Banned
Mar 31, 2003
1,191
36
48
tomgallo said:
I want to correct my previous posting :

As per the UN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX FOR 2004 (see it at : htttp://en.wikipedia.org)

The US is in spot No. 8th. The 1st Seven countries ahead of the US are :

1) Norway
2)Sweden
3)Australia
4)Canada
5)Netherlands
6)Belgium
7)Iceland


The best latinamerican countries are :

Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Costa Rica
Cuba No. 52
and Mexico. No. 53

Be aware that Human development criteria goes beyond the size of your bank account, house or car.

The DR is around position 92 of 150 countries.

cheers!

"Be aware that Human development criteria goes beyond the size of your bank account, house or car." ... bank account, house, car, patriotism, ignorance, lack of language skills and ego... ;)
 

Escott

Gold
Jan 14, 2002
7,716
6
0
www.escottinsosua.blogspot.com
tomgallo said:
I want to correct my previous posting :

Cuba No. 52
and Mexico. No. 53

Be aware that Human development criteria goes beyond the size of your bank account, house or car.

The DR is around position 92 of 150 countries.

cheers!
I have been to Cuba and if they rank it 52 and the DR 92 I don't have any respect for their rules of rating.

Regarding the original post, there are so many issues I don't agree with based on living here I don't know where to start. I have electric off of the grid recently for 20-21 hours a day for the last 2 months. I had before that as little as 4 hours but that was for only a 2 month stretch and never had that few hours of electric before this. For the first time we had to have a special assessment on the condo fees to pay for the xtra gas/oil and that was heavy for 2 months and the third approx 1/3 and now we are back to normal which is 20-22 hours of electric a day. Maybe it will get worse again but you can't tell here what is going to happen in the future. Just look at the strong peso in the face of everything that would lead to a weak peso. Tough to figure.

When I lived in NY I think every year I would hear someone say "It was never this bad before" and I think this is what is happening here post dictator of course.

Time will tell, tourism is picking up and they are building up a storm of rooms all over the country. Hopefully the economy can grow and make the problems of the past seem small in comparison but I am an optimist in a lot of cases where I see potential. Time will tell.

The original poster did NOT post the message but quoted it from somewhere else FWIW.

Scott
 
Apr 26, 2002
1,806
10
0
Mother Theresa

once said that the South Bronx was the poorest place she had ever seen.

Of course, she did not mean that the people there had less to eat or wear than in Calcutta. She meant that it was spiritually dead. Valueless in non-material ways. Having spent time there, I agree.

The point is, yes, there is more to "wellbeing" than "wealth". Those who know the DR and all its faults and come back time and time again understand this.

I have personally been affected by the increase in violent crime in the DR. That said, the situation should be taken in perspective. By no means is crime in the DR growing worse than in other Latin American and Caribbea countries. Rather, it is just catching up.

Traditionally, the gang that robbed the tour bus last week would have been found quickly by the PN. No, it's not that the PN was a fabulously affective police force. Rather, they knew how to capitalize on two Dominican characteristics: Fantamosa and chimosa. The crooks would have shown off their booty, and their neighbors wouldn't stop talking about it.

That the bandits remain on the loose means to me that the PN has essentially become disfunctional. But the country has not. Watch for Leonel's next move.
 

Narcosis

New member
Dec 18, 2003
387
0
0
Porfio_Rubirosa said:
once said that the South Bronx was the poorest place she had ever seen.

Of course, she did not mean that the people there had less to eat or wear than in Calcutta. She meant that it was spiritually dead. Valueless in non-material ways. Having spent time there, I agree.

The point is, yes, there is more to "wellbeing" than "wealth". Those who know the DR and all its faults and come back time and time again understand this.

I have personally been affected by the increase in violent crime in the DR. That said, the situation should be taken in perspective. By no means is crime in the DR growing worse than in other Latin American and Caribbea countries. Rather, it is just catching up.

Excellent post..

Great point..and this should be one of the major concerns right now for the Dominican Republic, money does not solve the absence of basic values, education is a key point for economic growth, but for a country to maintain values that maintain it a viable society, this must start with the family, at home.

The "ghetto mentality" must be overcome by our people. No it's not ok to have children you can't support, or drink beer and rum before you buy milk, or buy a color TV or stereo before you clothes your kids.
 

deelt

Bronze
Mar 23, 2004
987
2
0
But it is sooooo cooooollllllldddd there.... the difference with these country is that they have socialized medicine....something that the US has not been hip enough to accept.

I do believe that many in NYC are spiritually dead. It's a self-for -self mentality...pitiful. That's why I left to move to a town who's spirituality is constantly in question! hahahahaha


tomgallo said:
8th. The 1st Seven countries ahead of the US are :

1) Norway
2)Sweden
3)Australia
4)Canada
5)Netherlands
6)Belgium
7)Iceland


The best latinamerican countries are :

Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Costa Rica
Cuba No. 52
and Mexico. No. 53

Be aware that Human development criteria goes beyond the size of your bank account, house or car.

The DR is around position 92 of 150 countries.

cheers!
 

santousa

New member
Nov 12, 2003
31
0
0
If Americans want to come down here, cool. But just don't come down here looking for a cheap place to live then b itch and complain when you can't afford your Fruity Pebbles.[/B]
If you want to keep buying American groceries and you're not wealthy, don't move here.......you'll be disappointed. I have lived in Washington DC, New York, San Antonio and Santo Domingo (my home) my entire life.

I know where many of the Americans come from, and I know DOZENS of Americans over the past 15 years that have moved here looking for exactly what many are looking for on these very boards. Many of them are stupid enough to sign teaching contracts and bail out on them after a single year and run home to the US or Canada.

The DR is NOT an easy place to live. We have NO electricity in this country any longer. Ten years ago we had 15 functioning electrical plants in the DR, now only 3 are operating. Corruption has run this country into the ground, and it's only getting worse with the continual change of people in office. Each time a new president comes in, the fleecing begins anew and new appointees begin stealing, and old appointees go to jail to place the blame on the new money they're stealing.

A little bit more about my country. Our government refused to pay 85 million dollars to the WMF in 1988, and everything has been downhill since. They also refused to pay 30 million dollars to Venezuela for oil, so I've seen our gas prices go from 20 cents per gallon US (yes 20 cents!) in 1986 to like 3 bucks now.

Crime is way way way way way up..........people are getting stabbed and shot left and right in Santo Domingo and tons of muggings in Puerto Plata. This place is not the place you may have heard about 10 years ago. It's NOT cheap to live here unless you like to live in a concrete apartment with no electricity and sweat all day and eat rice and beans.

That's life here. Sure you can get a maid, but to do what? Clean your dark, damp, mosquito ridden apartment? If you want to live CHEAP and still enjoy your life I'm dead serious move to North Miami or something and buy one of the 80k houses there.

Pretty much every middle income to low income Dominican I know would DIE to get a chance to move to Miami and you people want to come here? Get a grip..........this is not the paradise you're looking for. It's been a country in serious decline for 15 years now. Corruption people can deal with, annoying but you learn how to play the game. 500% inflation in 2 years and massive VIOLENT crime is something entirely different.

There are a lot of Americans and Europeans who come down here who have NO CLUE what the DR is all about. It's not the country you see when you first come where everyone smiles in your face and is supposedly nice. They are smiling because they think you have MONEY. To the common Dominican white skin = money. It's a fact.

Our healthcare here is pathetic. I broke my leg once in Casa de Campo, went to two of the best bone doctors in the country and guess what? Neither of them even set my bone correctly. I ended up spending over 30k US at Duke Medical Center in NC to have surgery and get metal plates in my leg.

My wife's jaws were nearly destroyed having her wisdom teeth taken out here. Many of the "good" doctors here reuse syringes and even smoke while taking out your blood.

Look people, 15 years ago I agree in many ways the DR was an ideal situation for what you guys are looking for NOW. But the DR has changed DRASTICALLY. What was a very naive, peaceful populace 15 years ago (in my opinion a holdover from the Trujillo "fear" regime) has become a bitter, disenfranchised, increasingly violent society.

Take it from me, stay away. You will find little more here than 3-4 hours of electricity a day.....an extremely racist population......and eventually you'll get robbed by someone you think you can trust.

"""""""""""""Believe it if ya want, don't if not..........but I've seen this country go drastically downhill in the past 15 years. I can't leave because this is where my family is, and I'm lucky enough to not have to worry so much about the financial concerns.

However, I can tell you any intelligent middle class Dominican is intelligent enough to know even people they've known for over 20 years in this climate you simply can't trust......unless they are your own parents, wife, children or brothers.

Guards/maids/gardeners people have had for over 10 years are robbing them blind. Things are that bad.

Stay away for now, you're not adding anything to our economy but a target to rob."""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""'''
[/B]





People are tended to blame anyone else in that something go bad in their lives exept themselves.So we are -people.We blame the government,the country we live in,all the other countries,the chieves, americans, criminals, communists but never blame theselves. If something is wrong in your life IT IS YOU who is the only guilty that this happens.Do not blame you neighbor,your friend or your boss your nation your color of skin or your president.If you want to change the world -first change yourself...... says the old saying.if you want to be happy -be happy., if you want to be wealthy-be wealthy.Everything depends on you -not on him or her.And believe me you CAN be happy even if you are not wealthy or if do not live in the USA.

"I know where many of the Americans come from, and I know DOZENS of Americans over the past 15 years that have moved here looking for exactly what many are looking for on these very boards. Many of them are stupid enough to sign teaching contracts and bail out on them after a single year and run home to the US or Canada."


Americans live anywere in the world(do you have any douts?) and they are not stupid because they live in china,India,russia,japon, over the arctic circle and another countries.they are not stupid that they live their for a while and then leave.They live their for a reason and It is not always money that americans do not live in their home land as many non-americans mistakenly tend to think.Yes sometimes we people can make mistakes,yes sometimes we can take the siver for the gold.All people make mistakes.as for the dominican republic I am sure that most of the foreigners who live here live here for a climate.and many leave this land because they do not find that they were looking for.It is that simple and there is nothing bad about that.

If you do not trust anyone exept your family it is your problem.What I can say? You just can not choose people and thats it.

i am agreed with that who said BE OPTIMISTIC. Look at world from another angle of sight and .......................do not judge the other(or your brother) if you do not want to be judged by HIM.
 

johne

Silver
Jun 28, 2003
7,090
2,963
113
spoken like

deelt said:
But it is sooooo cooooollllllldddd there.... the difference with these country is that they have socialized medicine....something that the US has not been hip enough to accept.

I do believe that many in NYC are spiritually dead. It's a self-for -self mentality...pitiful. That's why I left to move to a town who's spirituality is constantly in question! hahahahaha

a true liberal! Enjoy your new city and the "spirituality". Hope you don't need anything beyond basic medical care such as a bandaid on your finger. Anything else...well,enjoy.

JOHN
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,368
3,150
113
And the funny thing is...

that I have heard many Americans and others from other countries talk so low about their own countries, much how this guy talked about the DR!

Many from the US (many, but not all) keep whinning how the country they grew up in no longer exist, how materialistic their society has become and that it was better when they did not had as much, people who are disgusted with how divided the US has become, etc etc etc.

Many American folks are actually moving out of the US simply because of the political situations there with Bush's ideas and way of governing. A 20-something year old young adult recently commited Suicide in NYC at the World Trade Center area because he has become disenfranchised with the US and why Bush won the election!

Many Americans are screaming that the outflow of jobs, etc is turning the US into a third world country, that neighborhoods that used to be nice a decade ago have gone down the tubes the moment immigrants infiltrated those places!

I have heard of people being sick with the notion that people in the US tend to judge you based on the car you drive, how you look, etc etc etc. I have heard people say that a black person can't even date a white person without having every single pair of eyeballs in the streets starring as if there was something so unbelieveable to see! I have heard many folks who live in the US say that they can't figure out why they are not happy, despite having everything they wanted!

I have heard of people in the US being killed in their own home doorsteps and mothers being killed while watching television because of a lost bullet. I have heard of women being raped, of children being kidnapped (the US now has an Amber Alert system due to the severity of this children kidnapping problem) and the constant fear and threat of a radical terrorist attack anywhere, at any time.

ETC ETC ETC

Why did I post this? Simple, people see what they want to see. Where one person see's misery and hopelessness, others see a utopia and an opportunity.

Remember the old adage, the grass is always greener at the other side of the fence!

Many Dominicans see the faults in Dominican society, but focus on the positives of the U.S. and many Americans see the faults of the U.S. and focus on the positives of the DR!

Everthing is up to interpretation based on one's experiences of life and the world, but one experience is not indicative of the experience others will have.

The fact that you can have a Dominican praise the US and an American depressed at the very same country is a testament to that.

I personally think the DR is a great country. I love it here, I am from here, and I will always live here (unless war breaks some day). And speaking of war, things could have been so much worst here in the DR. At least we are not like Iran or Iraq or North Korea or even Haiti. At least we are not like much of sub-saharan Africa or Palestine. At least we are not like the Balkans or Burhma! At least we are not like the Ukraine or even Sudan and god forbid we ever become like Ethiopia.

Things could have been so much worst, but they are not. All we have to do is stop focusing on what has gone wrong and lets get going in fixing it and moving forward.

An American friend of mine once told me a quote that I have never forgotten.

"what ever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve!"

"Do not expect troubles, as they have a tendency not to disappoint"

There were two poets whom I have forgotten their names, who wrote the following two poems. Read them and then think of the possibilities if the average Dominican was to have that in his/her mind.

Poem #1

I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening,
When I counted my scanty store.

For life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial's hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.

Poem #2

If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow's will--
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise,
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man,
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!

Why did I share these quotes and poems?

Because we all reach moments of hopelessness and are almost ready to quit in anything that we once had a passion for. Quitting is never good because quitters never win.

Never quit on the dream of a better Dominican Republic and never indulge on the idea that we are doomed to be doomed. Such idea has kept many Dominicans and the Dominican Republic as a whole, in the gutter of nations, not because we deserve to be there, but because too many Dominicans simply believe that we as a nation can't be better.

If you can't change a entire civilizations way of thinking, at least make it your goal to change one mind at a time. Changing one mind is better than none and in the end, you will be glad that you did. Because in the end, your dream will eventually come true.

Never lose hope and please, be much more optimistic in life!
 
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Berzin

Banned
Nov 17, 2004
5,898
550
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The DR may be declining...

but as a tourist we see things differently. Yes, we go there to spend money and have a good time. Yes, some of us go there looking for love in all the wrong places and finding it. But I have made many friends there, people who do not have alot of money but find it not in their pocketbooks but in thier hearts to call me long distance just to say-"Hello! I have'nt heard from you in a while! Everything OK? When are you coming back to see us?!"
The cynic will say it is just about money or the potential of getting out of a bad situation that dominicans befriend americans, but When I get more phone calls from friends in the DR Than from my own relatives that to me says alot.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
13,368
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The DR is NOT Declining!

In my opinion, the DR is not declining. We are just going through a small shake up, as all economies of the world get from time to time.

Those who are weak and quickly quit at the smallest sign of trouble, those become pessimistic and begin to see nothing but the bad, while those who believe in themselves and in the country simply don't give up!

Inflation is down to single digits already, the economy is growing already, prices are falling already, and everything is getting in place for a fabulous 2005, which will most likely be the most fabulous year the DR will see since 2000!

The DR grew like never in its history during the roaring 1990s. Santo Domingo is now richer than ever, there has never been so many construction projects, new cars, restaurants, shopping malls, new neighborhoods, and the appearances of new businesses! The city is now more wealthy, more alive than ever, even than in its former hay days during the 1500s.

The country in general today is in much better shape than it has ever been in its history. We don't have guerilla warfare as we did for so much of our history, we are not causing revolutions, unemployment is still among the lowest ever recorded on this island, there is more money than ever flowing into the country in many different forms. Construction of many types are seen in many areas of the country, many provincial towns have been revived with commerce and life, towns that 10 to 20 years ago appeared to be ghost towns!

The name Dominican Republic is now appearing in the radar screen of the world of international tourism! Our beaches are known the world over and are attracting more tourist with money in their pockets, our colonial city is gaining awareness around the globe and its too attracting more tourist. Our universities are graduating more young adults than ever in the history of this country. The percentage of rich (which is around 10% of the total population) virtually doubled in the past 30 years when in the 1970s only 5% of the population was rich. The percent of the population that is middle class now has also grown immensely. People often forget that the DR did not have a middle class until the 1970s and today the middle class is bigger than ever!

Cruiseships are coming to our shores again, development is reaching many areas, jumbo jets are departing and arriving by huge numbers, cars are more numerous than ever, our primary roads are not dirt tracks anymore, our cities are relatively prosperous and to some extent, even fashionable.

Now, with respect to crime, yes crime is more prevailant today than it was in the recent past. However, the DR was such a safe country that it was too good to be true. How could the DR prosper without attracting some form of crime increase? Especially given that everybody will not prosper at the same time! But the reality is that the DR is simply "catching up" in the crime department to levels that are much more at par with other countries of our types and even there, the DR is still among the safest!

As you can see, I am naturally a very optimistic person. I have to be, otherwise where can I get the energy and motivation to maintain my entrepreneural spirit and love of business which has brought me so much prosperity and happiness. I am not saying that it was easy or that everything I did resulted in success. I have had lots of failures, but did I gave up? Obviously not! The same attitude needs to be taken towards the country in general.

A country is not composed of only politicians or just a mass of land. Countries are made up of millions (or thousands) of individual human beings whose collective behavior, beliefs, and action is reflected in their own level of development and prosperity. If we want a better Dominican Republic, than we must act towards attaining such goal each person at a time!

For me, the Dominican Republic has been more than nice to me. My country has served me well, but that is because I have served my country well too. Every business I start, brings a form of benefit to Dominican society and in return, I get my reward via personal satisfaction and of course, money.

I believe that luck exist, but not in the fashion most people imagine it. The harder I work, the more luck I have! To me, the DR has been wonderful because I have been wonderful towards the DR. For those who for whatever reason never gave the DR a chance (either by always thinking of moving away or by being pessimistic about the country) those people received very little from the DR.

This same principle can be applied to every country in the world. Using the United States as an example, any human being in the United States who gives to that society sencere humble service, that society pays it back and then some. Any human in the United States who wants something for nothing, doesn't get much from that society.

There is no such thing as something for nothing! In the end, we all get what we paid for!
 
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El Americano

*** Sin Bin ***
Dec 10, 2004
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Nothing in life is easy other than losing it (life).

If something is wrong in your life IT IS YOU who is the only guilty that this happens.Do not blame you neighbor,your friend or your boss your nation your color of skin or your president.If you want to change the world -first change yourself...... says the old saying.if you want to be happy -be happy., if you want to be wealthy-be wealthy.
[End Quote]

I am curious, if a person does not have a decent basic education how do you expect them to pull themselves up by their own "bootstraps" as we Americans say? There are two things a government is careful to control and also careful to avoid that same public perception, who gets a good education and who gets good health-care. If a child starts out in this life without ample access to both his or her chances of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps is greatly diminished.

I have held some sort of job since the age of 12, I started out as a paperboy, was a U.S. Sailor, McDonalds cook, mall security guard, Toyota sellsman and now I am a data analyst so I think I am qualified to speak on pulling yourself up because I did all of this after being kicked out of my home by a single mother at 15. The one tool that provided a door and opened the next was my basic inner-city education, something you can get if you pay more attention to the teacher than to the tennis shoes the "players" have.

I am Black, so once I understand more spanish I will have no problem adjusting to life without Fruity Peebles, I think I'll have two fresh mangoes for breakfast instead. But to be in a place where I will be able to blend in without people knowing I am "Black" will almost be healing, at least for awhile.

But if you are a White person earning 20Kto 35K U.S. with a mortgage, car note, and student loans you are a fool to think escaping to the DR will solve all your problems, a fool because you do not have the prerequisite all people who are comfortable in their environment have, access to power and the money to buy that access. If you plan on moving to any nation without 100K in assets you are an amature and you get what you deserve for not being prepared.

Because I look Dominican I will not have hordes of new friends trying to help me spend the money "I don't need". Because I am smart enough to blend in with my environment I won't be wearing U.S. fashion unless I am going to the club, and just like all the others I will be taken as a player trying to impress the ladies or some DomYork looking for action. I will gladly stand in lines, sit in tight confined bus seats, or walk an unpaved road because that is the life of the average DR and I am no better than them.

So if some people are put off because they cannot really LIVE in their house with their DR maid to clean and raise their kids, I say you probably were just fooling yourself anyway and probably no better than the rich police commish
too cheap to pay the taxes on his illegal alien maid, then complain illegal immigrants cost you a White House job.

People there is a difference when the only time you feel secure is when some armed guard is in place to keep "the brutes" in check. If you are that kind of person the only reason you entertain living in the DR is to take advantage of their economy, you have no intentions of giving back other than the few coins here and there or the gratuity paid for the company of some poor and young girl/woman. So if this is you, stop complaining and learn about life beyond the gate or go back to where you came from.
 

El Americano

*** Sin Bin ***
Dec 10, 2004
30
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Nal0whs said:
A country is not composed of only politicians or just a mass of land. Countries are made up of millions (or thousands) of individual human beings whose collective behavior, beliefs, and action is reflected in their own level of development and prosperity. If we want a better Dominican Republic, than we must act towards attaining such goal each person at a time!

For me, the Dominican Republic has been more than nice to me. My country has served me well, but that is because I have served my country well too. Every business I start, brings a form of benefit to Dominican society and in return, I get my reward via personal satisfaction and of course, money.

I believe that luck exist, but not in the fashion most people imagine it. The harder I work, the more luck I have! To me, the DR has been wonderful because I have been wonderful towards the DR. For those who for whatever reason never gave the DR a chance (either by always thinking of moving away or by being pessimistic about the country) those people received very little from the DR.

HERE HERE!!!!!!! Very wise, very true, and very much the entreprenuer, this post should be a :classic: