Have you ever considered

[ExtremeR]

GringoCarlos everybody who comes to live in the DR, knows all those problems, in fact some of those things I actually like (well not in the moment but later I just laught at it), it adds to the uniqueness of this country and without it it will lose the appeal. Why do you think Dominicans abroad wants to come back when they retire...

Maybe if you move to a quieter city like Santiago much of all those problems will be brought down not entirely but to an extent.

Disrespectful and argumentative people in the street: go anywhere near where taxistas are gathered, and see men beating on other taxis, shouting ugly words, etc..... Even when they are with friends, their language is coarse, loud and ugly.....Watch when two guaguas block the street as they try to outjockey each other to the curb while impeding any competition (and the rest of traffic) so that they can pick up one extra passenger in their chattara..... Watch people as they pass a bicyle vendor in the street with lots of traffic, and try to run over them, or force them to stop so they can pass...... Follow any girl who would rate a "4" or higher down a sidewalk, and listen to the crude things every dominicano between the ages of 15 and 80 say to them as they pass....Watch the shiny jeepetas try to turn a corner while nearly running down pedestrians and then shouting ugly things at the pedestrian for being in the way...... Try parking where some guy has staked out his own mobile carwashing service (a bucket and a rag) along the curb, tell them "no thanks" and come back to your car with a new scratch down the side, or a broken taillight..... Dominican driving habits in general...

That is so true that is funny, without it it wouldn't be DR.

 

[GringoCArlos]

GREAT THINGS aboutthe DR

Just to balance my messages:

One of the biggest plusses for me here is that the relationships in families here is like it was when I grew up - most dominican children, even teenagers, respect their parents and obey them without resistance or a big argument, grandparents are involved with the grandkids and families on a daily basis, and children normally are respectful to others. Most people say "good morning" or "good afternoon" before dealing with whatever the visitor came for (they don't get in a rush to just start blasting away like they do in other countries). They tell you "goodbye" in their own way when you are leaving.

Another plus is that Dominicans know their neighbors and help if they can when needs arise. In many other places these days, who even knows their neighbors by names, the names of their children, etc - most families there have two or three jobs and are always in too much of a rush to stop and even say "hello" to their neighbors.

The majority of dominicans also seem to respect themselves more, and always have shiny shoes and a recent haircut, and clean, pressed clothes. Not many grungers here. And you rarely see a dominicana outside of her house without her hair and make-up in perfect order, and dressed in her best.

 

[AZB]

gringocarlos, great posts. Like the fellow above, i think you can cut down your complaints about DR only if you move to a city like santiago. santiago has some flavor of the big city but far away from being a big city like SD.
AZB

 

[Adrian Bye]

GringoCarlos, very interesting and vivid posts!

You can also reduce a lot of these hassles if you have hired help to take care of a lot of this stuff, eg someone manages bringing the plumber, does your shopping, etc.

 

[AK74]

gringocarlos, great posts. Like the fellow above, i think you can cut down your complaints about DR only if you move to a city like santiago. santiago has some flavor of the big city but far away from being a big city like SD.
AZB

With very high respect and even love - what is the point of living in a Caribbean ISLAND without being able to swim in the ocean??!!

Cascadapark? Hm... Not a legit substitution.

 

[Skippy1]

With very high respect and even love - what is the point of living in a Caribbean ISLAND without being able to swim in the ocean??!!

Cascadapark? Hm... Not a legit substitution.

Good point but also what is the point is you can not live in peace and safety to live your life as you want to live it.

Skippy1

 

[AZB]

With very high respect and even love - what is the point of living in a Caribbean ISLAND without being able to swim in the ocean??!!

Cascadapark? Hm... Not a legit substitution.

hahahha, you think like I did 10 yrs ago. I used to live by the beach and guess what? I went there only once a month. hahahaha
Simply because we knew the beach is there and its not going anywhere.
Now who said you can't go to the beach while living in santiago? beach is only an hour or so away from here. We go to beach all the time.
AZB

 

[AK74]

Good point but also what is the point is you can not live in peace and safety to live your life as you want to live it.

Skippy1

Exactly!
And for this reason potential ex-pats who think about moving to DR are entitled to know the whole truth about the country. And not countless sells-pitches of people desperately dreaming of profitably unloading their emotional and overpaid real estate purchaes/investments.

 

[DRob]

AK74,

Lots of the folks who move here are on limited budgets and can't afford to live closer to the beach. Even if they can get a house, the price of everything seems to be higher in the beach towns (like everywhere else in the world).

Further, as AZB initially posted, there comes a time when you want to do more than just drink Presidentes and chase chicas all day. Larger towns/cities afford greater options.

Finally, Santo Domingo is 30 min from nicer beaches, and Santiago is less than 2 hours or from Sosua and Cabarete.

 

[AZB]

santiago - sosua = 1 hr and 15 minutes.
Drob said it the best.
AZB

 

[Skippy1]

Quite right

Exactly!
And for this reason potential ex-pats who think about moving to DR are entitled to know the whole truth about the country. And not countless sells-pitches of people desperately dreaming of profitably unloading their emotional and overpaid real estate purchaes/investments.

Everyone should be able to make their own minds up based of a wide range of opinions and experiences......if the thruth hurts some people then thats too bad. thats where a good moderator comes in to allow good wide ranging and diverse opinions not one way feel good anecdotes

Skippy1

 

[DrChrisHE]

Half full or empty I doubt anyone else is as honest and as comprehensive in their responses.
I am sure AZB with a few good friends and a few beers is a great fun guy like anyone else.....
Of all the posters here AZB has my attention most of the time.....but that does not mean I always agree with him.

Skippy1

Absolutely...I thought this thread was about sharing our honest ideas/ponderings about whether we think of leaving...NOT about judging the person for having those thoughts.

When people put their ideas (usually inner most doubts) on the line, they shouldn't be pounced on for sharing after THAT was the request!

My experience has shown me that some of the people who leave are the most confident about their decision to come to the DR and then suddenly up and go without having any further contact with the DR or this board! It's quite an interesting phenom to me.

 

[Robert]

skippy1, enough of the smart a$$ moderator pokes. They are not needed and don't earn you any brownie points. You had 1 post deleted, let's not escalate that to an entire account.

Thanks.

 

[Skippy1]

skippy1, enough of the smart a$$ moderator pokes. They are not needed and don't earn you any brownie points. You had 1 post deleted, let's not escalate that to an entire account.

Thanks.

Dont wish to offend anyone and not being anything but honest good moderators are important ...maybe you misunderstood me and my meanings, they allow good debate and wide ranging views to balance overall the threads. I dont see anything wrong in that sentiment or comment?

Maybe you would elaborate in a PM if you feel you need to

Skippy1

 

[rio2003]

Forgive me?

OK - I wasn't going to join in but I feel that my "Half full and Half empty" comment about AZB has been taken completely out of context and I will now explain and try and restore the status quo in this thread.
As so often happens on here our different nationalities mean different SOH and at times misinterpretation.
The comment about sharing was a quick retort at the end of a very long posting by AZB included in which he gave his very negative view on some "aspects" of the DR - a point he often makes in his postings. That is his perogative of course but it does read in quite a negative way and being the positive "feel good anecdotal" person that I am - I thought I would inject a little humour into the thread. Unfortunately this seems to have gone sadly wrong and I certainly don't want people to think I pounced on him. Perish the thought!
As someone who DID leave - I envy you all that you can be there and I wish that I could afford to again - but my day will come, I am sure.
Now I will leave you in peace to continue - I am off to buy some books and crayons for the poor Dominican schools in the campo!

Rio

 

[Chirimoya]

Apologies in advance for the slight hijack, but it appears that at least one poster misunderstood my second post (No. 18)

For the record, let me just stress that I have never begrudged paying taxes in places I have lived and worked like the UK and Gibraltar where you actually get something in return, even when for the close to 20 years I did so I had virtually no need for state health or education services. Also, nowhere did I say that I would not be paying taxes in the event of returning to my hometown.

It also bears mentioning that as well as parents having to pay taxes for a minimum period of three years before their child becomes eligible, beneficiaries of student grants must undertake to come back and work for a certain period after graduation, so it is not a question of all take and no give.

Thank you.

 

[Jan]

I'm going nowhere

I never plan on leaving DR. Maybe for a vacation here or there but I plan on living, and dying here.

It's not easy for sure, but it is never boring. Always something new happening or some different problem to resolve. Many are problems that I would have never thought of having when living in USA. But it is worth it to be here.

I have my permanent residency now and plan on someday being a citizen.

 

[Lambada]

Meant to get back to this thread earlier but a lightning strike on our railings in yesterday's storm meant a fried modem in BushBaby's study & a fried network card in mine...............all fine now!

I can see in GringoCarlos's illuminating post a lot of things which would hack me off if I lived in SD, too. But I don't have those experiences because I live in a quiet, peaceful, upmarket part of Puerto Plata with for the most part very considerate neighbours. And even if they weren't, the houses are far enough apart from each other for things to have minimal impact. And I too live not far from the beach but choose not to go there.

One issue which hasn't yet been raised is length of stay and how it pertains to tolerance of things we find annoying. For example, the 'hassle' factor is pretty minimal in my life now; it wasn't always so. But now I know which local lawyers I trust, which are good at different things, who to contact if I need info or a 'faster route' through some bureaucracy etc. I think I have become more patient & tolerant on these issues but I also think I have far more contacts now & know who to go to. That sort of a data bank takes time to build up (& rebuild after each election...........) So while I still feel I am learning every day about this country I do feel that there is very little which throws me any more.

With the possible exception of gringo generalisations.........:laugh:

Probably the only one on this thread (or one of very few) without hidden fear of RE prices to go down and less tourists to come with their dollars if the whole truth is said.

I couldn't give a monkey's about the value of our home. When we die it is going to a foundation here - they might be concerned about the value but I'll be beyond caring :cheeky:. People who trot out the same generalisations time & time again yet who want potential expats to have the full picture of the warts here, should perhaps spend a little time extirpating their own. :cheeky:

 

[DrChrisHE]

Time line for aplatinado (Dominicanization)

...

One issue which hasn't yet been raised is length of stay and how it pertains to tolerance of things we find annoying. For example, the 'hassle' factor is pretty minimal in my life now; it wasn't always so. But now I know which local lawyers I trust, which are good at different things, who to contact if I need info or a 'faster route' through some bureaucracy etc. I think I have become more patient & tolerant on these issues but I also think I have far more contacts now & know who to go to. That sort of a data bank takes time to build up (& rebuild after each election...........) So while I still feel I am learning every day about this country I do feel that there is very little which throws me any more.
:cheeky:

Lambada: Have you a generalized "timeline" for becoming "aplatinado"? I'm curious as to how long you feel it takes to get over the hassle factor? We've moved around quite a bit and there is some sense of settling after the two years we've been here but we still have those times when it just seems like everything takes 20 x longer and with more effort to get people to do the jobs they are paid to do. Yes, we have speedial #s of plenty of resources (and I advise all newcomers to start this early--you never know), because in many ways here it is who you know in a circumstance that will make all the difference in an outcome.

SO, can you give us a rough "adjustment timeline" for those wanting to move here? Let's say they have rudamentary basic Spanish down (not DR Spanish) to start...care to make rough guess?

 

[AK74]

Meant to get back to this thread earlier but a lightning strike on our railings in yesterday's storm meant a fried modem in BushBaby's study & a fried network card in mine...............all fine now!

I can see in GringoCarlos's illuminating post a lot of things which would hack me off if I lived in SD, too. But I don't have those experiences because I live in a quiet, peaceful, upmarket part of Puerto Plata with for the most part very considerate neighbours. And even if they weren't, the houses are far enough apart from each other for things to have minimal impact. And I too live not far from the beach but choose not to go there.

One issue which hasn't yet been raised is length of stay and how it pertains to tolerance of things we find annoying. For example, the 'hassle' factor is pretty minimal in my life now; it wasn't always so. But now I know which local lawyers I trust, which are good at different things, who to contact if I need info or a 'faster route' through some bureaucracy etc. I think I have become more patient & tolerant on these issues but I also think I have far more contacts now & know who to go to. That sort of a data bank takes time to build up (& rebuild after each election...........) So while I still feel I am learning every day about this country I do feel that there is very little which throws me any more.

With the possible exception of gringo generalisations.........:laugh:



I couldn't give a monkey's about the value of our home. When we die it is going to a foundation here - they might be concerned about the value but I'll be beyond caring :cheeky:. People who trot out the same generalisations time & time again yet who want potential expats to have the full picture of the warts here, should perhaps spend a little time extirpating their own. :cheeky:

I have to apologize for probably being rude and hurting your feelings. Of course I respect you and love as a good honest person , not a shamless immoral RE fixer-shmixer, agent-smagent , dealer-wheeler. Everybody loves and values you, not only myself.

Je suis desole!

When I have some more free time I will share probably about some decent and good people who were running from DR like from plague (having left $40G- $70G US here). And even now, years later, cannot speak of this country and of its abogados, fiscales, business owners and other cool things with polite, civilized and literate words.

Some of them still have names of their former negocios on the building across from Bayleys (second floor above Internet Cafe).