International Living article about why/how we bought in Las Terrenas

[mountainannie]

Nope, Annie--- "Lindsay" didn't need to list the negatives of Las Terrenas

in her article as you do such a magnificent job

sharing them with DR1 readers in just about every

one of your posts-- Here's an idea:

Why don't you pitch an article to

International Living titled, "Why I Hate Las Terrenas"--

If they pay-by-the-word, you'll be rich!! :classic:

You know, Susan, I actually LOVE las Terrenas

I first moved there 7 years ago

I have great friends there among both the Dominicans and the foreign residents

I don't have many friends among the folks who are part time residents although I am sure that some of you do contribute to the community in some ways.

But there was a huge change in the economy when all the condos were built and the condors came down to swop up the low priced beach places that the Europeans had built.... As was said in the ariticle.

When I go through town at night now most of the restuarants are empty.. when they used to be packed.

In the summers -- when lots of you go back to your OTHER homes, the pueblo just dies..

Last year, for the first time, I had friends FRIENDS who were suffering from HUNGER

Now there are MANY MANY foreigners

Like yourself.. for instance

who came here

and basically run an EXTRACTIVE business..

you promote the place so that you can bring down people to pay off the money that you spent to buy it off the builder

Maybe you pay the minimum tax that the government requires

Maybe you employ one maid

Maybe you employ one gardener

And you bragged once that you had employed 24 people.. but they are certainly not on a full time payroll..

You did say that you will volunteer at the library when you find time...

good..

I am just pointing out that there is a difference between coming to a country to be an assest.. to be a contributing member of the communtiy,. to uplift the lives of the residents



or coming here to exploit the natural beauty

and brag on how cheap it is

International Living is just a real estate shill... not a serious market

I was honored to write the introduction to Ilana's book on living in the DR.

There are no Dominicans who own property on Playas Ballenas any more, It is all foreign owned. All of the rents which are extracted go via the internet.. in dollars and euros.. to offshore accounts... Sure.. there are some people making a bit of money. I have a French friend who makes $1300 a month managing 3 villas for a rich American couple.. who were kind enough to invite her husband on a two week cruise on their yacht.

I am not your enemy.

I am just trying to point out some aspects of life that you might not be seeing.

This is a FOREIGN country.. It is NOT the USA.. And you should be MINDFUL of that and not keep thinking that it is.

You need to listen a bit more to what folks are saying to you and drop the Life Coach pollyanna all is just wonderful in fairyland approach to things,'

People are regularly murdered in LAs Terrenas by machete,

That simply does not happen in Martha' s Vineyard or Myrtle Beach

 

[JMB773]

LT is a typical BEACH TOWN nothing more, nothing less. People go to these place for a little R&R to get away from the "concrete jungles" Santo Domingo, NYC, Paris etc. Living in a beach town 365 days now that is a challenge. I was in Limon and the beach gets boring really fast. I guess to each is own, but give me a guy jumping a subway turnstile in NYC or Chicago and the transit cop gives chase ,but CAN'T catch him.

 

[JMB773]

You know, Susan, I actually LOVE las Terrenas

I first moved there 7 years ago

I have great friends there among both the Dominicans and the foreign residents

I don't have many friends among the folks who are part time residents although I am sure that some of you do contribute to the community in some ways.

But there was a huge change in the economy when all the condos were built and the condors came down to swop up the low priced beach places that the Europeans had built.... As was said in the ariticle.

When I go through town at night now most of the restuarants are empty.. when they used to be packed.

In the summers -- when lots of you go back to your OTHER homes, the pueblo just dies..

Last year, for the first time, I had friends FRIENDS who were suffering from HUNGER

Now there are MANY MANY foreigners

Like yourself.. for instance

who came here

and basically run an EXTRACTIVE business..

you promote the place so that you can bring down people to pay off the money that you spent to buy it off the builder

Maybe you pay the minimum tax that the government requires

Maybe you employ one maid

Maybe you employ one gardener

And you bragged once that you had employed 24 people.. but they are certainly not on a full time payroll..

You did say that you will volunteer at the library when you find time...

good..

I am just pointing out that there is a difference between coming to a country to be an assest.. to be a contributing member of the communtiy,. to uplift the lives of the residents



or coming here to exploit the natural beauty

and brag on how cheap it is

International Living is just a real estate shill... not a serious market

I was honored to write the introduction to Ilana's book on living in the DR.

There are no Dominicans who own property on Playas Ballenas any more, It is all foreign owned. All of the rents which are extracted go via the internet.. in dollars and euros.. to offshore accounts... Sure.. there are some people making a bit of money. I have a French friend who makes $1300 a month managing 3 villas for a rich American couple.. who were kind enough to invite her husband on a two week cruise on their yacht.

I am not your enemy.

I am just trying to point out some aspects of life that you might not be seeing.

This is a FOREIGN country.. It is NOT the USA.. And you should be MINDFUL of that and not keep thinking that it is.

You need to listen a bit more to what folks are saying to you and drop the Life Coach pollyanna all is just wonderful in fairyland approach to things,'

People are regularly murdered in LAs Terrenas by machete,

That simply does not happen in Martha' s Vineyard or Myrtle Beach

NOW!!! Some of you are seeing it is not so great when the people have so much FREEDOM as so many of you stated living in the Dominican Republic allows you to have. The US government is a POWER HOUSE your is a MOUSE . Everything you said is 1000% CORRECT, but it is a problem for the Dominican Government not a woman from Kentucky that decided to move to LT part time.

Perfect example our friend CC he RESIDES in Santo Domingo, but he lives in Boston and the two are a BIG difference.

 

[mountainannie]

NOW!!! Some of you are seeing it is not so great when the people have so much FREEDOM as so many of you stated living in the Dominican Republic allows you to have. The US government is a POWER HOUSE your is a MOUSE . Everything you said is 1000% CORRECT, but it is a problem for the Dominican Government not a woman from Kentucky that decided to move to LT part time.

Perfect example our friend CC he RESIDES in Santo Domingo, but he lives in Boston and the two are a BIG difference.

I am not quite grokking what you are saying about CC

but I live in SD and LT.. I have apartments in both places

I do not have a place anywhere else.

I feel utterly safe here

TODAY

but folks need to be MINDFUL of where they are on the planet

and who their neighbors are

and what effects our behaviors have on our neighbors

and we need to make an effort to be

GOOD neighbors

BETTER neighbors

so that the locals will not feel

obliged to

cut off our heads

with their

machetes

 

[mountainannie]

NOW!!! Some of you are seeing it is not so great when the people have so much FREEDOM as so many of you stated living in the Dominican Republic allows you to have. The US government is a POWER HOUSE your is a MOUSE . Everything you said is 1000% CORRECT, but it is a problem for the Dominican Government not a woman from Kentucky that decided to move to LT part time.

Perfect example our friend CC he RESIDES in Santo Domingo, but he lives in Boston and the two are a BIG difference.

One needs to be mindful that this is an extremely young nation.

Until only a few years ago they were under an extremely repressive military dictatorship funded and supported by the United States and indulged by the Vatican.

Leonel was the first experiment.

But now that he has declared himself King, with the appointment of his wife as the vice regent

we no longer really have an experiment in democracy

so if we are to have a community life

we must make it
for

ourselves

 

[JMB773]

MA I am not disagreeing with ,but I merely pointed out the laundry list of problem you gave the OP about LT is a problem created by the Government of DR. DR is a FREE FOR ALL at best and there is not a future when that is the mindset of the people.

How many time have a poster wrote " you have to know somebody to get things done" this is not COOL!!! One of the BIGGEST misconception about our community on DR1 is that the longer you've been in DR the more knowledge you have about DR and that is true in most cases but not DR. You learn how to deal with non sense more so then a person living in Wyoming. Many of you that love the DR a great deal, choose to look the other way to many things wrong with DR. The color of your skin and the shade of you has a lot to due with how you are treated MORE then MONEY yes I said it more then money. I know a rich not rich, but they do well Mexican Family that visited DR and was treated horrible from the time they landed to when they departed.

btw Among their own fellow latino communities Dominicans are NOT considered one of the nicest people, but to non latino they are SUPER friendly & Spain because most Dominicans look up to Spaniards.

I notice when I was in LT it is a community where Dominicans are treated a 2nd class citizens in the own homeland EVERYONE knows it but never will admit it. The people in LT was not that friendly to me because of my shade being black and Puerto Rican, but when me and my Mexican girl flew to Dublin Ireland the Irish broke their back welcoming us in their country "go figure".

 

[AlterEgo]

JMB, I must disagree with you about how Dominicans are treated in LT.

I will exempt myself and Mr. AE from the picture, because you'll probably argue that we were treated well in LT because I'm a white American.

Many of my Dominican in-laws go there rather frequently, and also to Samana. Believe me, they would not be going anywhere that they were treated as 2nd class citizens. They all live in Santo Domingo, so they're Dominican-Dominicans, not tourists in the general sense of the word.

 

[mountainannie]

JMB, I must disagree with you about how Dominicans are treated in LT.

I will exempt myself and Mr. AE from the picture, because you'll probably argue that we were treated well in LT because I'm a white American.

Many of my Dominican in-laws go there rather frequently, and also to Samana. Believe me, they would not be going anywhere that they were treated as 2nd class citizens. They all live in Santo Domingo, so they're Dominican-Dominicans, not tourists in the general sense of the word.

No, AE.. your people are

CAPITALENOS

and there is NO denying that
they will exude
that

and they will be treated as the ladies and gentleman that they are

but JMB is right

Dominicans are generally NOT the most welcome guests

maybe because they come with 15 to a villa which is clearly marked as sleeping 7

and they play their blaring disco music from their parked cars on the beach

as if that was what we ALL wanted to hear

and in SEMANA SANTA

when they take back the town

they come and get drunk for a week

leave their filthy garbage all over the beach

sleep in their cars

do their business in the bushes

party out with the hookers

buy only beer and rice and beans

cruise the beach fronts in their late model cars

or rent 4 by fours ..primarily from foreigners

and tear up the mountainsides

clog the traffic

drop their styrofoam plates and forks and cans and bottles whereever they happen to finish with them


complain about how high the prices are

and leave

 

[mountainannie]

And I agree JMB, that there is HUGE white privilege going on there... Do not think it just comes from the Dominicans.. although it is rampant in this country.. but there is also the French influence. etc etc etc...

I had an African friend who could not stay because she was taken for Haitian and treated like dirt.

Haitians are generally treated like dirt here -- even though they are allowed to work and given some medical care.

So, yes, definitely. white privilege is very noticable.. because most of the private school population is white foreign born or the few Dominican families who have gone there to start small businesses.. but the local population is of very low education. And the foreign influence has been a very mixed bag.

There were evidently some very good and cool folks in the first wave.. some Italians and some French.. then came the second wave of French .. who were crooks.. dealing in black money and real estate swindles.. and the Belgian real estate developer with a small sideline in cocaine. And they proceeded to just fill in the swamp and build whatever they wanted with no regard to local laws. They even bragged in the paper that they were building up there because it was SO FAR away from the reach of the Dominican State!

They bribed the cops.. they bought the judges in Samana.

Even the last Senator.. when she wanted to get elected.. she just bought the TV station up there. Voila.

So now.. the State is trying to establish some law..

ok.. lots of the horses have left the barn..

but there is an effort going on.

There is an effort to just stop this willy nilly chop down whatever palm tree and build whatever you want.

I stayed at a place run by a dreadful impersonation of an Englishman who told me he was going to blow up the place and build a ten story apartment house with a view of the water!! Not withstanding the fact that there is a law which prohibits construction of anything higher than a palm tree,

There is another rather nasty English person selling real estate there who came down with her two children and built her self a lovely villa to the east.. started taking up with all the younger local men in public,. then doing business with the cocaine dealers.. carving it all up... selling it alll off......

she is still in business there...

goddess knows why

i sure don't

 

[Africaida]

Damn MA, you killing someone's rental business

 

[mountainannie]

Damn MA, you killing someone's rental business

well, you know, I don't want to do that.. I want all the rentals to be full.. And I want all the people who are renting to be paying their full 16 percent itibis to the government....

And I want the owners of the apartments to feel a connection to the Village.. to participate..

I want them to give monthly stipend to the Library to help my friends keep it open.

I want them to scope out the few places that are still Dominican owned .. LIKE Los Pinos.. and steer traffic there...

I want them to touch the hearts of the people.

I want them to sponsor at least one kid through school... take an active interest in the kids- sports teams... listen to my friend Jose when he crys out about something that is a pressing need for the Village.

I just want them to be good CITIZENS...

and not act as if this were some sort of uninhabited little sand spit that they just discovered with these charming little restos

I want them to understand that when they go to the Cubans instead of to the local doctors.. then the local population follows their lead and thinks the Cubans are better doctors. WHich I do not believe they are.. the Cubans are simply interested in money. The Dominican doctors at the public hospital are excellent...

So I am not trying to discourage people from buying in LT.. or going to LT or living in LT full time.. I wish more good people would go there,

What i am trying to do.. and I know you get it, Aida, is EDUMACATE

 

[mountainannie]

and maybe listen a bit when old timers say things like

no wood floors

or know that the Yuca Caliente is one of the hearts of the crooked real estate deals

when i first got there.. the waitress offerred to hook me up with

whatever I needed

you know

the fun stuff

the condo

the villa

the boyfriend


WHATEVER

i wanted

and why was it? she insisted, when she bought me the bill for seven bucks for the breakfast of eggs and cold ham, that I was NOT giving her my cell number?

 

[donP]

Obliged to Murder

...and we need to make an effort to be GOOD neighbors
BETTER neighbors
so that the locals will not feel
obliged to
cut off our heads
with their machetes

Oh, I understand:
All those murders here in LT were induced by hunger, poverty or the need to maintain a dozen children alive. aranoid:
That, of course, should be comforting for the victim's families, right?

BTW, cutting off heads has gone out of style... 9mm rule.


donP

 

[CocoBoy]

LT/ Samana Fact versus Fiction

To me, LT seems cramped and crowded. A little isolated also with only the mountain road or route through Limon to Samana. I don't know if the new road would change that feel. Expensive goods and services with a more limited availability.

Then there is the weather. With a little research weighing true meteorological data, the Samana peninsula is one of the wettest areas of the country.

Regarding the crime, I have had the benefit of an education from my "adoptive Dominican family" (staff) of 7 years who are originally from that area and still travel back regularly to visit family and friends. According to them, the development of the area has brought many changes, not necessarily good ones. I am told of increased crime that has accompanied the influx of workers from other regions and how those without family roots there are usually the worst criminals.

The article and ones like it are really nothing new. For the past seven years there have been articles, posts on DR1, etc. painting an idyllic picture of that region. Presumably to benefit those who have and will benefit from the growth and development. However, many times the information has been partially true at best and down right incorrect at worst. Undoubtedly there have been some gullible and rather foolish individuals that have taken hook, line and sinker and didn't get what they had bargained for.

Like I said previously, for me, it's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there even part time.

 

[Africaida]

Didn't feel cramped nor crowded to me.

Love the place, beautiful, not yet over-developed, good food, affordable for foreigners, but living in LT would be very boring.

 

[donP]

Silence is Golden

And I want the owners of the apartments to feel a connection to the Village...to participate..
(...) I just want them to be good CITIZENS...

Yes, participate. That's good. :bunny:
And, certainly, it is not sufficient participation to denounce a theft at the local police station. :cheeky:
(Although I do not know whether Susan or Jos? went there when they had stuff stolen from their houses...)

The better CITIZEN just keeps quiet when burglared.
Better for the (rental) business, too...

donP

 

[mountainannie]

Yes, participate. That's good. :bunny:
And, certainly, it is not sufficient participation to denounce a theft at the local police station. :cheeky:
(Although I do not know whether Susan or Jos? went there when they had stuff stolen from their houses...)

The better CITIZEN just keeps quiet when burglared.
Better for the (rental) business, too...

donP

I do not know about Susan but Jose certainly did

they caught the guys within two days

a couple of 14 year olds which made Jose feel pretty silly considering all the money that he spent on the bars!

but he got everything back!

 

[mountainannie]

Oh, I understand:
All those murders here in LT were induced by hunger, poverty or the need to maintain a dozen children alive. aranoid:
That, of course, should be comforting for the victim's families, right?

BTW, cutting off heads has gone out of style... 9mm rule.


donP

well i only know the details of two or three of the murders

and machetes are legal without a license here so they are the weapon of choice

one was a murder of a frenchman who played with a young Haitian boy half his age, took him all the fancy places, for about two years, then dropped him without any recompense. The Haitian organized a robbery of his home, stole his motorcycle and cut the man;s throat. I knew the Frenchman. I had seen him with the Haitian. I thought he got what was coming to him

Another was a Swiss woman who was the former owner of the first foreign whore house in town.. The Cabana de Toro

there may not be law

but sometimes there is justice

 

[donP]

Saman? "Justice"

well i only know the details of two or three of the murders

There were more, many really if you include Dominican and haitian victims.

one was a murder of a frenchman who played with a young Haitian boy half his age, took him all the fancy places, for about two years, then dropped him without any recompense. The Haitian organized a robbery of his home, stole his motorcycle and cut the man;s throat. I knew the Frenchman. I had seen him with the Haitian. I thought he got what was coming to him

Most likely this:
Noticis Saman?:eldiariodelabahia.com: En Las Terrenas Polic?a apresa dos haitianos mataron a un franc?s

Another was a Swiss woman who was the former owner of the first foreign whore house in town.. The Cabana de Toro

Probably this:
Estrangulan ciudadana suiza de 59 a?os en Las Terrenas; acusa a un haitiano - listindiario.com

there may not be law
but sometimes there is justice

Hmm?
Noticis Saman?:eldiariodelabahia.com: Asesinan ciudadano franc?s en Saman?


donP

 

[Salsafan]

but living in LT would be very boring.

Well, sooner or later its everywhere boring, if one doesn't have his/her own interests. Above that, MA has mentioned a few other ones