Yes and Solar also has a permit for a pistol. So apparently he must have some serious security concerns.
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Deadly Crime in RD targeting EXPATS
Yes and Solar also has a permit for a pistol. So apparently he must have some serious security concerns.
Perhaps the thread should get back on to the subject OP matter or get closed rather than personal attacks.
There are a lot of us (expats) who live here quite comfortably with normal precautions and don't find that the possibility of crime hinders our daily lives.
I don't think deadly crime targets expats generally in DR as the OP states and particularly not in Santo Domingo. Deadly crime was a concern in Santo Domingo for all city residents last year and seems to have improved after the military were deployed for a period and known villains were targeted and still are. The OP was after all based upon the incorrect assumption that the said Italian was murdered in Santo Domingo and we now know he was murdered in the west of the country nearer the Haitian border where crime levels are statistically higher.
The last time there was a clear trend of expats being targeted was through a series of murders about a year ago with several instances as I recall along the North Coast, La Romana and another incident in Bella Vista which was thought to be business related.
DR is as safe, if not safer, than many destinations for tourists and residents alike assuming they stick to normal sensible security measures and don't go mixing vacation with the less desirable locals hanging around areas where they are known to frequent trying to befriend them......and drugs.
There are a lot of us (expats) who live here quite comfortably with normal precautions and don't find that the possibility of crime hinders our daily lives.
I don't think deadly crime targets expats generally in DR as the OP states and particularly not in Santo Domingo. Deadly crime was a concern in Santo Domingo for all city residents last year and seems to have improved after the military were deployed for a period and known villains were targeted and still are. The OP was after all based upon the incorrect assumption that the said Italian was murdered in Santo Domingo and we now know he was murdered in the west of the country nearer the Haitian border where crime levels are statistically higher.
The last time there was a clear trend of expats being targeted was through a series of murders about a year ago with several instances as I recall along the North Coast, La Romana and another incident in Bella Vista which was thought to be business related.
DR is as safe, if not safer, than many destinations for tourists and residents alike assuming they stick to normal sensible security measures and don't go mixing vacation with the less desirable locals hanging around areas where they are known to frequent trying to befriend them......and drugs.
I have similar experiences to ChicoBill and I don't see him as negative. In fact, I see this post as trolling.
I only post a very small amount my experiences, but it's a regular novela where I live where sands shift on a daily basis. Speaking for myself, it's sort of a hobby of mine to culture these types of stories and they seem to regularly show up on my doorstep.
Crime is thankfully a very small part of this, but I stay alert and cautious which I believe has saved me many times from unpleasant situations. However, that means that I can't naively dismiss the dangers, but as you say, it doesn't hinder my daily life.
It's probably also why I find comfortable suburban American life so numbingly unpleasant.
Drugs seem to be the common thread with several of the recent expats reportedly found in pozos. Drugs lead to people who are dealing with large sums of cash, guns and people who are under the influence of those same drugs and or alcohol who become very paranoid.
Drugs affect people in different ways - just like alcohol. There are happy drunks, morose & crying drunks, sleepy drunks and violent drunks - same personalities with drugs.
In college in the late 60s in CA we all were exposed to drugs and our group knew to stay away from two friends when they were high - 'little' Jimmy and Whitney. Jimmy didn't know when to stop & wound up insane in Redding, California and Whitney, was the violent type, who landed in prison in Arizona. Best to just no (to drugs) - now it's only my Ron Barceló.
Drugs affect people in different ways - just like alcohol. There are happy drunks, morose & crying drunks, sleepy drunks and violent drunks - same personalities with drugs.
In college in the late 60s in CA we all were exposed to drugs and our group knew to stay away from two friends when they were high - 'little' Jimmy and Whitney. Jimmy didn't know when to stop & wound up insane in Redding, California and Whitney, was the violent type, who landed in prison in Arizona. Best to just no (to drugs) - now it's only my Ron Barceló.
The robberies and murder of police officers to obtain guns is also linked to drugs.
I knew two men who were murdered in the DR during my 14 years there - both of them were gay. One was promiscuous, the other was murdered by his ex - after the expat dumped him with no compensation. There are lots of people who come down to the DR as sex tourists. The majority of them are men and perhaps are only at risk of getting taken for money or catching some disease. For homosexuals the risks are greater - not only from the higher rates and risk of disease but also from the possibility of violence. Not, of course, saying this to members of THIS board - who are, of course, peacefully reading this board and not going about engaging in dangerous behaviors. But - well - not to say that the DR is more or less dangerous than any place else - those that engage in dangerous behaviors are at risk. And there is perhaps a heightened risk of robberies where the "rich" are cheek by jowl against the poor.
I am not aware of when your specific fourteen year time period spent in the RD ended, but it could not have been in the last twenty five years if you are to assert that homosexuals are at greater risk for violence than non-homosexuals. I can not speak of specific medical statistics regarding health risks, but there is absolutely zero proof that homosexuals have a higher persistent rate of abuse than others currently in the RD. Although I am a straight male, I can assure you there is a very vibrant gay and lesbian community here in the RD currently, specifically in the capital Santo Domingo, as well, many resorts employ members of the Lesbian and Gay community without bias. There have been documented instances of violence against transsexual people over the years, sparingly, and that has been Dominican on Dominican, or Dominican on Haitian, not directed towards tourists or expatriates.
Quite a recent departure for MA.....2-3 yrs ago.
Cabrera is a bit of a hotbed (oops) for gays....
I sleep with one eye open often....
Cabrera is a bit of a hotbed (oops) for gays....
I sleep with one eye open often....
Brother, there's a lot more of them than you think. All you have to do is witness one of the gay pride parades they have here (north and south coast) to get an idea. And those are just the ones who are "out" so to speak.
I don't agree. Gringos will always be a target because of the perceived difference between the have and have nots. Unfortunately there are some ex-pats coming to the DR that are looking for trouble and it will no doubt find them. A small percentage associate with the wrong people and wonder why they find themselves with problems. These are the people you read about. They come to the DR with the same behavioral problems that they had when they left their home country and wonder why things didn't work out so well.
The gringos are the have nots in the parts of Santo Domingo where they reside, and again I refer you to my ultimate paragraph. There I rest my case.
Have Nots ---
That's for sure.... the Dominicans are waaaay richer in SD... filthy rich
add 'ostentatious' to the description
That's for sure.... the Dominicans are waaaay richer in SD... filthy rich
add 'ostentatious' to the description