Which Area ?!!

elly

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Apr 18, 2006
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Locals,
Can you please name some of the nice and safe places through out the island?!! Like which parts are the safest in general?!! How long would it take you to go from the capital to north coast if you drive? or if one uses the public transportation?!! What r the good and safe areas around San pedro de macoris?!!;)

I will greatly appritiate any infos.

Elly
 

Dolores1

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May 3, 2000
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Gated communities come with a promise of security included. Metro and Guavaberry offer this for Juan Dolio (San Pedro de Macoris).

From Santo Domingo to Puerto Plata is about 3 to 3-1/2 hour drive. It is 225 kms. Time will depend on the bottlenecks when crossing Santiago.

By Metro or Caribe Tours bus takes about 3-1/2 hour to 4 hours because they usually make a stop in Santiago.
 

Hillbilly

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Jan 1, 2002
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You don't make a lot of sense. What do you wantto do?
The whole countryis generall deemed to be "safe" , but like any place else there are those parts of Santo Domingo and some of the other cities that are rather "interesting" shall we say? However, you would never go there anyway, so why worry.?
Public transportation is safe and pretty efficient.
Metro makes one stop in Santiago, and Caribe Torus makes two.

HB:D:D:D:D
 

Hillbilly

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That's a whole nuther thing.

I always suggest Santiago since it is a major city with a lot to do and is near just about everything. Really, you can go from here to Santo Domingo in an hour and a half. Puerto Plataand Sos?a an hour and 20. Monte Cristi, an hour and 45, La Romana, 3 1/2hrs.

Plus, it's cooler than Santo Domingo. less congested, less humidity.

And I'm here :p:p:p:p

Really, it's a nice place.

POP is also nice, as are most of the towns around, like Moca, La Vega, R?o San Juan. Some are closer to the major urban centers than others and some are further away.

Then there are the mountain communities like Constanza-cold- and Jarabacoa and San Jos? de las Matas and Monci?n and Santiago Rodriguez. And the really far places like Restauraci?n and Rio Limpio out near Haiti. All depends on what lifestyle you want to follow.

24/7party? Santo Domingo, no doubt.

Let us know what you like as far a climate, activities and we can help you refine your choices. And, if you are planning to be here for five years, take a few months to pick your perfect place....this is a large place, 19,000 suare miles ( the size of West Virginia or New Hampshire in the USA)

HB :D:D
 

elly

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Apr 18, 2006
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Thank you very much,
I'm researching right now and I just found out about this forum yesterday that's why I'm asking so many q's all at once. well, I'm gonna be going to school there so I'm thinking of having a simple and quiet life so I can concentrate on studying and learning spanish at the same time. Howevere, I wouldn't mind partying once in a while or relaxing at the sandy beaches.
I'm gonna be moving there one month in advance so I can settle down before school starts.

Thanks again,
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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Hillbilly said:
Let us know what you like as far a climate, activities and we can help you refine your choices. And, if you are planning to be here for five years, take a few months to pick your perfect place....this is a large place, 19,000 suare miles ( the size of West Virginia or New Hampshire in the USA)

HB :D:D
Actually HB,

19,000 square miles is twice the size of New Hampshire or, about the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.

But, whose counting....;)

-NALs
 

macocael

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Well since you will be studying in st Domingo your living situation is pretty much decided for you. St Domingo. Travelling to other places from the capital is a cinch. All the major routes begin from here. North to Santiago (a very nice town, very clean!) about three hours on Caribe (metro is nicer, they have on board service). Puerto Plata, about four, if I recall. Cabarete and Sosua, the same. Samana Peninsula takes longer but is worth the trip. Given your age and party proclivities I would say that you would probably like las Terrenas for the weekend getaways. And of course there are plenty of beaches very close to the capital: Boca Chica during the week is quite nice and there is Juan Dolio. ON the other side, a bit further away, is Las Salinas. Another nice area that very few people ever visit is Miches. The ride over the eastern mountain range is stupendous, and the town is a sleepy little place, whose resort efforts never really took off. However, you can visit the "costa Esmeralda" from there, whch is a really nice beach and no one ever goes. At night the little noseeums come out though so camping there is a bad idea.

In terms of safety, well all you really ever have to worry about is sneak thievery and burglary, if you are foolish enough to leave your house unlocked or vulnerable in some way. The petty theft is usually of the purse snatching variety, a guy runs behind you, or more likely these days, a little motorbike. doesnt happen in the campo, but in the capital it is common.
 

elly

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one of my friends told me that San Pedro where I'm planing to move to. is an African village?!! Is it true?! I love african culture, food and the music. Can someone tell me the difference btw ppl in this city and other cities, pls
 

mountainfrog

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Black People

elly said:
... San Pedro ....is an African village?!! .... I love african culture, food and the music.

SPdM had its African influence stemming from sugar plantation workers who immigrated from smaller West Indian Islands (>"tortolos" > "cocolos").
Their traditions, music and dances ("momise" dancers = "guloyas") are still alive (especially in carnival and 29th of June).

m'frog
 
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MrMike

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Hillbilly said:
That's a whole nuther thing.

I always suggest Santiago since it is a major city with a lot to do and is near just about everything. Really, you can go from here to Santo Domingo in an hour and a half. Puerto Plataand Sos?a an hour and 20. Monte Cristi, an hour and 45, La Romana, 3 1/2hrs.

Plus, it's cooler than Santo Domingo. less congested, less humidity.

And I'm here :p:p:p:p

Really, it's a nice place.

POP is also nice, as are most of the towns around, like Moca, La Vega, R?o San Juan. Some are closer to the major urban centers than others and some are further away.

Then there are the mountain communities like Constanza-cold- and Jarabacoa and San Jos? de las Matas and Monci?n and Santiago Rodriguez. And the really far places like Restauraci?n and Rio Limpio out near Haiti. All depends on what lifestyle you want to follow.

24/7party? Santo Domingo, no doubt.

Let us know what you like as far a climate, activities and we can help you refine your choices. And, if you are planning to be here for five years, take a few months to pick your perfect place....this is a large place, 19,000 suare miles ( the size of West Virginia or New Hampshire in the USA)

HB :D:D

HB, we have talked about this before. Please stop encouraging people to come to Santiago, or at least lets have some kind of a screening process. We don't want it to get messed up like PP and SD with all those crazy people. :cheeky:
 

macocael

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From Centro de los H?roes to San Pedro? What gives?

elly said:
one of my friends told me that San Pedro where I'm planing to move to. is an African village?!! Is it true?! I love african culture, food and the music. Can someone tell me the difference btw ppl in this city and other cities, pls


I am beginning to get more and more confused with each post you make. First you tell us that you are going to be attending medical school and intend to live close by the school in the Centro de los H?roes area. Now you tell us you are going to live out in San Pedro de Macoris? How on earth do you expect to manage that? And why San Pedro of all places?

I happen to know that town and the area very well because of my work down here in the sugar plantations. San Pedro does have its cocolo traditions, which are very beautiful, and presently one of the great Cocolo artists, Nadal Wolcott is back there again living. But apart from that it is a sleepy kind of place with not much going for it other than sugar cultivation in the surrounding bateys. it does have a nice malecon.

It is NOT an African village by any stretch of the imagination, but mountainfrog is right, the west Indian sugar workers brought their African influenced culture with them. YOu wont see that much of it in the streets though; you would have to hunt it down.

You are more likely to see the Haitian influence, which in many ways is quite similar. Haitian cutters and their descendents are far more numerous in the area, and Gag? music is heard more often than the music of Guloya. They are not that different by the way. Both groups go in for a very percussive music based on homemade instruments and found objects. They both don colorful costumes which have important symbolic meanings, and the festivities are both rooted in Carnival. In fact, you could argue that these rituals are much closer to the essence of Carnival than the big processions we see here in all the towns during February. Raucous popular carnival was a creation of slaves who adopted the more sedate rituals of their masters and converted them into something that bridges religion, politics and social protest. The lyrics to the songs are quite colorful and racy, if you can understand them. Anyway, the main Gag? festivities take place during Holy week. Batey Consuelo has a pretty raucous version of it, though not the prettiest (apparently San Luis wins it on that count). But Gag? occurs all throughout the island.

So clue us in, just what are you thinking? It is increasingly harder to pin you down.
 

elly

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Hummm, I don't remeber ever saying anything about Centro de los H?roes. maybe you're confusing me w/ someone else. If you go to the very first posting on this thread, you'll see that I have mentioned San Pedro b4 too. anyways =, thanks for the reply It was very informing.
 

HOWMAR

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elly said:
Hummm, I don't remeber ever saying anything about Centro de los H?roes. maybe you're confusing me w/ someone else. If you go to the very first posting on this thread, you'll see that I have mentioned San Pedro b4 too. anyways =, thanks for the reply It was very informing.
This isn't you?

elly said:
Hi everyone,
I'm trying to move to DR to go to grad school. I was wondering if anyone can give me a few tips.

I curently live in Los Angeles and want to move to Centro de los H?roes, Santo Domingo, to attend a grad school,
 

elly

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Apr 18, 2006
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I guess I owe everyone an appology here. I'm not familiar with the names of the cities and when I checked my first posting on this thread I didin't see Centro de los H?roes. But now I remembered. The very first day when I found this web site, I was very excited and wanted to find information so I went to the school website and copy paste the city. However, now I know that's where the mails go and it's just the office. the acual school and where I'm gonna be living at is San Pedro. again I'm sorry for the confusion that I caused and I still hope that you guys be kind and give me more info and what I need to know untill I get on my own feet.
 

macocael

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More confusing still. Sorry you dont make sense!

elly said:
I guess I owe everyone an appology here. I'm not familiar with the names of the cities and when I checked my first posting on this thread I didin't see Centro de los H?roes. But now I remembered. The very first day when I found this web site, I was very excited and wanted to find information so I went to the school website and copy paste the city. However, now I know that's where the mails go and it's just the office. the acual school and where I'm gonna be living at is San Pedro. again I'm sorry for the confusion that I caused and I still hope that you guys be kind and give me more info and what I need to know untill I get on my own feet.

The "very first day" was exactly one day prior to the day you started this thread. Is your memory so poor that one day erases all trace of a name like Centro de los H?roes or a simple word like "the capital"? You'll never survive medical school with a memory like that.

You must be kidding: what school exists in San Pedro that you could possibly consider for medical school? What if any schools exist at all in San Pedro? None that I know of. And no schools simply maintain an "office" or "mails" in Centro de los H?roes. Sorry this is way too fishy. You appear to be wasting our time.


Mountainfrog, you are right, i have been really stupid for lack of reading between the lines. You'd think I would have learned by now. But that is why you are Gold and I am still Silver ;) I owe you a beer.
 
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Chirimoya

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Dec 9, 2002
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macocael, UCE (Universidad Central del Este) in SPM does have a medical school and there are private P O boxes at the central post office at Centro de los H?roes that people use as mailing addresses, so it's not completely implausible. Unrealistic, yes, at least for a non-Spanish speaker.