Biggest mistakes and best things

Matilda

RIP Lindsay
Sep 13, 2006
5,485
338
63
As there seem to be a lot of people looking to move here at the moment, I thought it might be useful for them to know what were the biggest mistakes I (and others) made and what were the best things we did. So here goes:

Biggest mistakes

1. Getting shot!

2. Buying a gym.
[I]Had 150 members the first month but my little brain didn't work out that there were no monthly deductions from the bank here, so the second month instead of 150 members plus more new ones, there was nobody again as we had to wait for th 150 members to come in and pay, and most didn't as they had no money that month!!! Plus when we bought it the dollar was at 16 pesos (the rent was in dollars) and 6 months later it was over 50!!! Bye bye gym!![/I]

3. Trusting too many people - ex pats and dominicans

4. Not learning how to be a plumber, electrician or car mechanic before I came here - even basic courses!

5. Leaving my kitchen knives in their knife block on the kitchen work top. have got through 3 knife blocks as they were taken to fix things by all the incompetent plumbers, electricians and mechanics.

6. Not putting any money in a CD when the rates at Banco Central were 46%, or even when they were 23%. Dork!!!

Best things

1. Buying a house
After 2 years, and I love it to bits and it has increased a lot in value, but is much harder work than a house in Uk

2. Meeting and marrying my Dominican husband

3. Buying a colmado.
People will always need food and we appeal to all types of people, Dominicans, Haitians, ex pats and tourists. Everything has a price sticker - Dominican prices for everyone - no one gets ripped off

4. Learning Spanish and then creole

5. Taking out medical insurance 3 months before getting shot!
It only paid 350,000 RD$ towards medical bills by my God that helped!

6. Discovering DR1!!
Has given me lots of new friends and although I have only met a few it has really been a lifeline to have contact with like minded intelligent people. (And I am being serious!!)

Anyone else got a list??????

Matilda
 

chola1978

Bronze
Mar 20, 2006
770
16
0
Biggest Mistakes
1 was setting up a fianaciera and putting a family member as a partner while i was still in Phoenix
2 Investing all my savings in a Call center without having the local support.
3 Trusting people I would have never trusted in the States
4 Spending lots of money making my DR home bigger
5 Buying a jeepeta instead of a reliable car
Best Thing
1Moving here with my family
2 Helping my mother make her dream true to come back to DR
3 DR1
4 Aplatanizacion of my wife, mother and myself
5 Starting a Lunch take out service form my garage.
6 Falling back in love with Santiago, karina and everything Dominican

The good out waits the bad in my case.
 

Pedro Tercero

New member
Dec 22, 2006
54
0
0
Chola -

Why do you say it was a mistake spending a lot of money making your DR home bigger? Just that you think, looking back, you could have done the expansion for less?Or was there another reason?

And, what kind of car do you think is a good one for where you live, in Santiago? Do you think it would also be a good car in Sto. Domingo?

Pedro Tercero

Pedro Tercero
 

alicious

Bronze
Oct 2, 2007
631
9
0
39
As there seem to be a lot of people looking to move here at the moment, I thought it might be useful for them to know what were the biggest mistakes I (and others) made and what were the best things we did.

Great idea! :)

Biggest mistakes

1. Getting shot!
OMG! That's awful..can't believe that happened to you. As far as mistakes...I think the DR is one of the countries I would least want to be sick in or have a medical problem. It is wayyyy too expensive for the care you get.
Well personally, having lived in POP, it's even worse than if you are in Santiago or SD...
Being prescribed about 5-8 medications for a very small problem. Most of those things being unnecessary, but a way for the doctor/pharmacy to make money.
3. Trusting too many people - ex pats and Dominicans

THIS IS A BIG ONE!!!!
I had soooo many problems with this. It is the same as in any country, but even more so in the DR..

I have a huge problem with this...time after time. I am a very big hearted person, which in the DR = getting taken advantage of time after time.
I am a bit less naive now, however, I will never change being nice and helping ppl on the chance that some will take advantage...I am cautious and reasonable...but still give the benefit of the doubt when I can.

But it is something you have to be very careful with..ESPECIALLY in the DR!
 

MikeFisher

The Fisherman/Weather Mod
Feb 28, 2006
13,766
2,195
113
Punta Cana/DR
www.mikefisher.fun
Mistakes:
* starting own business too early without enough knowledge about country, laws, rules(more important than the laws)
* spending too much money on unneeded luxury stuff the first time before you're sure a business aso is established and will bring permanent cash flow for the future, not just for the day or weeks, that includes buying fancy cars/pick ups aso
* too much trust in people from your own nationality, many of them came out they are here since a looong time and never did anything else than to ripp off newbies from their own country, because they always trust first the one from the same motherland=dangerous big mistake
* not to kill a thief 8 years ago which we caught taking stuff of a friend's house, we did not bring him in jail, we let it be like that by that time, we knew the bastard, he was working for us several months before that.after disappearing from the area, 6 years later he's been back, this time in my house. he will never steel again from me.
* not to have a local medic insurance from the very first day, can get very expensive like mentioned above. today i pay 2000 pesos/month for the Humano Platin Plan, that's a 45 euros, in my homecountry Germany i would pay that as the entrance fee to be allowed to see a doctor, you find good medi care here, i've been hospitalized for several things, mostly after accidents, no complain about the doctors work, but you need the right insurance to be accepted at the good hospitals.

GOOD THINGS:
* to meet my Dominican Wife, the best could happen
* not to give up and leave the country after getting ripped off
* making friends, real dominican friends, without them i would have not been able to move on after the first business crashed, the main reason why is till prefer to live in a dominican barrio instead of a fancy residence home with non-spanish-speaking neighbours, and today i could efford a house where ever i want to
* separating myself from prior partnerships, running the business smaller but more effective, 'what is mine is only mine'

to the car to buy here in the country:
Toyota Camry and Corolla, Honda Accord and Civic, they are used everywhere, they are reliable, you find the spareparts at every corner of the country and the mechanics know how to fix them.
don't buy exotic brands used just by a few in the country, even little spareparts can be very expensive to get and it will take time before you receive them from outside the country. but that depends on what you are willing to spend on a car, i am a freak myself for fast cars, if you have the bucks you get anything for any brand.

have fun
Mike
 

Criss Colon

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
21,843
191
0
38
yahoomail.com
"Lets See Now???????"

Biggest Mistake,getting married!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BEST Thing????. My kids!
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dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
mistakes:
eating dominican sausage. only recommended to those who need a quick detox plan.
getting amoeba, para-typhus and several other diseases. good for weight loss thou.
good things:
getting health insurance that covers above mistakes...
 

DunHill

New member
Aug 29, 2003
351
0
0
www.dunhill.ws
BAD:
Trusting the wife of a good friend as businesspartner (yes they are divorced now)
GOOD:
Learned to think as a Dominican, makes life really a lot easier