Santiago is in a mess.

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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You think mexico city's smog is bad, wait till you see the smoke filled skies of santiago (recently). It seems the garbage dump fires are blowing smoke and ashes all over santiago valley. I thought it was a cloudy day and sun was barely visible in thick smoke cloud. Ashes are falling all over everything and my allegies are acting up. Many people are having breathing problems, folks, its really unhealthy to be breathing these dangerous toxins.
Other than that, we are having great traffic jams all over santiago downtown. Thanks to water company's pipeline repair project, the whole "las carrera" avenue is dug open. Its very difficult to get across the other side. To get to other side of las carreras, you must take 30 de marzo st or Juan pablo duarte. The traffic jams are getting worse by the expanding project. My friend, the engineer in charge, is breaking his behind to finish it up by semana santa. He thinks he will be tied up here under the hot sun sweating on the street while I will be under the north coast sun.
Economy is worse now than under hippo. Bars and restaurants are empty. No one seem to have any spending money. I think if the trend stays the same, say good bye to many businesses. First ones to go will be small restaurants and discos which seem more visible to folks. No one can afford to pay monumental electric bills and pay the staff when no cash is coming in. DR is more expensive than many cities in USA. I, personally, find everything more expensive here than in atlanta (except for property rent).
But don't worry, the powerful will survive and they will get over the yearly hurdles and stay alive. I predict, folks who will survive these economic crisis will benefit in the good time greater than many.
AZB
 

Malibook

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Jan 23, 2002
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Wow, a lot has changed in the past 8 days!

AZB said:
Economy is worse now than under hippo. Bars and restaurants are empty. No one seem to have any spending money. I think if the trend stays the same, say good bye to many businesses. First ones to go will be small restaurants and discos which seem more visible to folks. No one can afford to pay monumental electric bills and pay the staff when no cash is coming in. DR is more expensive than many cities in USA. I, personally, find everything more expensive here than in atlanta (except for property rent).
But don't worry, the powerful will survive and they will get over the yearly hurdles and stay alive. I predict, folks who will survive these economic crisis will benefit in the good time greater than many.
AZB

3/12/05
AZB said:
Comparison between people who live here dominicans vs. foreigners, I say domincians spend way more money than a foreigner of equal socio-economico status. In bars and restaurants, domincians are always seen drinking black label whiskeys and expensive girly drinks while foreigners sip on local beers. Domincians buy expensive imported brand clothes and imported food brands here, while resident expats count pennies.AZB
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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If you had read carefully, I had mentioned earlier that "in my 7 yrs of living here..." Not just in 8 days. Besides the dominicans still spend way more money than foreigners here. The well-to-do domincians still drink black label and cheves regal whiskeys while the foreigners sip on cuba libres. The problem is the rich are diminishing in numbers with poor economy. You will hardly see any foreigners in santiago spending money anywhere.
Anyway, my post was just to inform you on daily condition of santiago. watch out for traffic jams and if you want night life, go to santo domingo. Santiago is dead for the moment.
By the way, I hardly get any blackouts in my residential neighborhood. Its has been 24/7 for the past month. At least one good thing came out of this government.
AZB
 

gringosabroso

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Allergist in Santiago ? ? ?

Related to the currently poor quality of air in Santiago [& other parts of the DR]
* has anyone consulted a DR allergist for allergy & related respiratory problems?
* Experiences? Names & phone #s.
* Is it necessary to go to the Capitol?
* AZB always seems to have his ear to the ground on medical, chiropractic, cultural, Santiago, & related issues. Comments? Suggestions? Thank you.
 

Lurch

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Aug 8, 2003
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AZB said:
Economy is worse now than under hippo. Bars and restaurants are empty. No one seem to have any spending money. I think if the trend stays the same, say good bye to many businesses. First ones to go will be small restaurants and discos which seem more visible to folks. No one can afford to pay monumental electric bills and pay the staff when no cash is coming in. DR is more expensive than many cities in USA. I, personally, find everything more expensive here than in atlanta (except for property rent).


I recently had to publicly apologize to my wife's aunt (PRD) regarding my two year tirade basically insisting ANYTHING would be an improvement economically and corruption over Hipolito. :tired:

This is certainly not the PLD of the late 90's
 
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Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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I think you need to see a

Neumologist: Dr. Fernando Hernando is #1 in town, and Benjamin Hernandez is #2.

They are both at Clinica Corominas.

Regarding climatic conditions, it is not smog from the refuse dump that is causing the poor air quality, but rather the fires in the mountains that is being carried by the dominant breezes from the East. When the breeze gets reversed than the whole city really stinks of burning plastic. At the golf course today we could see how AZB's part of Santiago was covered with this haze. We could bare lee Camp David Ranch and the Monument was fuzzy in the distance.

Regarding traffic, the problems of Las Carreras are easily avoided...Just don't go that way. HEHEHE

Regarding money in circulation, well if you read the news the Central Bank has taken in RD$127 billion in certificates and had a large increase since December. There is a lack of circulation, no doubt. This little place I was taken to today, a lovely spot overlooking Santiago from the West, seemed to be active enough with people of lower and lower middle incomes and their kids, but they were having fun. Hey, AZB, I'll take you there, totally different crowd from Ahi Bar.....

HB :D:D
 

MrMike

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Mar 2, 2003
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I for one cannot stop sneezing.

Damn these fools for burning trash like that. How can people deal with this crap?
Can we go find these people and beat them? Why has this not been done already?
 

Keith R

"Believe it!"
Jan 1, 2002
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I remember all too well when Duquesa caught fire [or was it set? there was speculation at the time that it was meant as a "controlled fire" that got out of control] and covered Santo Domingo with smoke in 1996. Didn't matter if you were in "good" neighborhood or not -- much of Center-West SD was affected. As a consequence, our window shutters turned brown within 24 horus of being cleaned, so you can imagine what the insides of our lungs must have looked like! My daughter and I had respiratory consequences for quite awhile thereafter...
 

Escott

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Jan 14, 2002
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AZB said:
You think mexico city's smog is bad, wait till you see the smoke filled skies of santiago (recently). It seems the garbage dump fires are blowing smoke and ashes all over santiago valley. I thought it was a cloudy day and sun was barely visible in thick smoke cloud. Ashes are falling all over everything and my allegies are acting up. Many people are having breathing problems, folks, its really unhealthy to be breathing these dangerous toxins.
Other than that, we are having great traffic jams all over santiago downtown. Thanks to water company's pipeline repair project, the whole "las carrera" avenue is dug open. Its very difficult to get across the other side. To get to other side of las carreras, you must take 30 de marzo st or Juan pablo duarte. The traffic jams are getting worse by the expanding project. My friend, the engineer in charge, is breaking his behind to finish it up by semana santa. He thinks he will be tied up here under the hot sun sweating on the street while I will be under the north coast sun.
Economy is worse now than under hippo. Bars and restaurants are empty. No one seem to have any spending money. I think if the trend stays the same, say good bye to many businesses. First ones to go will be small restaurants and discos which seem more visible to folks. No one can afford to pay monumental electric bills and pay the staff when no cash is coming in. DR is more expensive than many cities in USA. I, personally, find everything more expensive here than in atlanta (except for property rent).
But don't worry, the powerful will survive and they will get over the yearly hurdles and stay alive. I predict, folks who will survive these economic crisis will benefit in the good time greater than many.
AZB
I have been trying to tell you all this for a long time. Thanks for validating my thoughts I have expressed for years!
 

Wag

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Feb 4, 2005
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I don't know....

I am not sure how was the night life in Santiago before I got here (Aug 04) but I saw plenty of people in Baha for the Salsa Concert this last Saturday. There is definitively some money to throw around.

I see Francifol, Tribeca and Ahi bar with decent numbers and a few more bars being inaugurated, Shakabana and another one that I do not recall the name.
 

Liberto

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Dec 10, 2004
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Traffic Control

I was in Santiago last week and I noticed that one side of the main highway coming into the city was completely blocked with no detour signs so everyone is crossing over to the other lanes of the outbound traffic. It was like salmon swimming upstream...? Only in the DR.
 

AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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Things are different now than a year ago. Many young folks who go to baja don't spend money at bar. they buy one beer or 2 for the whole night. francifol is a rip off, they charge so much. Anyway, before, the bars were full from thrusday till sunday, but now people are only going out one day a week. Most places are empty all week and only make money one or 2 days a week. That is not enough to keep doors open for very long and swallow losses. Shakabana is empty all week except on saturday. BIU pub has been invaded by teenagers as young as 16 yrs old. Do you think they spend any money there? jevitos still go to Tribecca but even tribecca pub is decently full on saturday only. The rest of the week, they are even letting chopos come in in jeans. mal-vestidos , chopos are able to walk into any bar / disco in santiago area on most week nights. Money is just not there at the moment.
Now folks, santiago will be all empty in semana santa. Most santiagueros will head north to sosua, cabarete and puerto plata from thrusday to sunday. The poor chopos from country side will go there in buses and trash the north coast. The well-to-do santiagueros will stay in AI hotels. Maybe thats why this week is all dead, everyone is saving money for semana santa. I will be in playa dorada and sosua. lets trash noth coast guys Heheheheeh.
AZB
 

AZB

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Escott said:
I have been trying to tell you all this for a long time. Thanks for validating my thoughts I have expressed for years!
What thoughts for for many years? Polution has become this intense becuase of recent wild fires (or garbage burning and shift in wind), traffic jams are due to recent water company project in a major avenue and bad economy is due to poor economy at the moment.
Now what are you talking about for many years? Oh I see, you must be comparing santiago to sosua. Of course how could you have traffic jams in sosua? One street town with one traffic light which doesn't work due to blackouts. Night life in sosua? hahahahahaha. What night life? If you consider ugly hookers latching on to your shirt collar, a fun night in the town, then I rest my case. Lets not compare sosua (one street hooker town) to a great city like santiago. Santiago will get back on its feet soon.
AZB
 

Pib

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Jan 1, 2002
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MrMike said:
Santiago - Santiagueros = paradise.
The same can be said about Santo Domingo. Maybe we can secede while people are out and just block their way back in. Sure there will be a bloody revolution afterwards, but it'll all be for a good cause. :classic:

Hmm... "bloody revolution:". Sounds like a 60's Nueva Trova song.
 

Jon S.

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Jan 25, 2003
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Pib said:
The same can be said about Santo Domingo. Maybe we can secede while people are out and just block their way back in. Sure there will be a bloody revolution afterwards, but it'll all be for a good cause. :classic:

Hmm... "bloody revolution:". Sounds like a 60's Nueva Trova song.

Out with the old, in with whoever stays behind........does the city look empty right now?? I have a friend from Arroyo Hondo who goes to the intersection of 27 de Feb and Churchill Ave to make a fool out of himself by playing baseball with his friends. Rich people like him get bored so they gotta do something outrageous :laugh: :D
 

gringosabroso

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"Neumologist"? Neurologist?

To Hillbilly:

* I'm looking for a Santiago allergist; I think that you tried to help me, but . . .
* I can't find a definition of "neumologist" in my large [1149 pages] English language dictionary.
* I can't find any reference to "Neumologist" in any on-line search engine; I tried 3.
* Graham B told me he's never heard of a neumoligst in the UK, Ireland, or Wales!
* Perhaps you meant to list these 2 MDs, Hernando & Hernandez, as neurologists?
* Enlightenment needed. Thank you for your interest.
 

La Profe_1

Moderator: Daily Headline News, Travel & Tourism
Oct 15, 2003
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I am not Hillbilly but

In Spanish, a physician who specializes in lung disorders practices Neumolog?a. The word is similar in English, but is spelled differently.

Pneumology

\Pneu*mol"o*gy\, n. [Pneumo- + -logy.] (Anat.) The science which treats of the lungs.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=Pneumology

Blame Sr. Hillbilly's 40+ years living here!
 

gringosabroso

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La Profe 1 - MANY THANKS!

Dear Profe,
Thank you for your excellent bi-lingual assistance & clarification. Perhaps, I can struggle on from here? Unclear? Thank you, also to Hillbilly, for the 2 MD references. I hope that the quality of medical care is adequate; I've found that it usually is in Santiago. Feliz Semana Sancta!!