- Thread starter nyc dad
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Is it really that bad in The Dominican Republic now?
Um, just a thought...for all those of you reporting back on the high crime rate of the DR, how absolutely hell on earth it is now, how terrible we - as foreigners - have it living here, etc. etc. etc....here's a thought: You can always go home 
I came here with my eyes wide open, but my mind open, too. I'm fully aware there is crime here (as anywhere in the world), there are immense divides between rich and poor, and that there is tremendous injustice. The fact is, I MADE the choice to come down here and if I heard myself sounding as bitter, unhappy and altogether hateful of the DR as some of you, I'd be more likely to pack up my bags and get the hell out. Just my 2 cents. Love, Anna
I came here with my eyes wide open, but my mind open, too. I'm fully aware there is crime here (as anywhere in the world), there are immense divides between rich and poor, and that there is tremendous injustice. The fact is, I MADE the choice to come down here and if I heard myself sounding as bitter, unhappy and altogether hateful of the DR as some of you, I'd be more likely to pack up my bags and get the hell out. Just my 2 cents. Love, Anna
Um, just a thought...for all those of you reporting back on the high crime rate of the DR, how absolutely hell on earth it is now, how terrible we - as foreigners - have it living here, etc. etc. etc....here's a thought: You can always go home
I came here with my eyes wide open, but my mind open, too. I'm fully aware there is crime here (as anywhere in the world), there are immense divides between rich and poor, and that there is tremendous injustice. The fact is, I MADE the choice to come down here and if I heard myself sounding as bitter, unhappy and altogether hateful of the DR as some of you, I'd be more likely to pack up my bags and get the hell out. Just my 2 cents. Love, Anna
Sometimes people get fooled. When you have stars in your eyes...ie in love, lust, or blinded by the palm trees and beaches you don't see clearly. You don't see the terrible poverty, the crime, the garbage....etc. After a while cultural shock sets in, usually about 6-9 months after you've move to a place. You start to question everything. How you react to this cultural shock is how you see the place in the future.
personally i totally lack interest in good news. nothing more lame and boring than positive shrieks of joy. i enjoy bad news thou, because dominican periodicos tend to be full of pathos and unintentional humour when describind sad events.
therefore i can assure you that it is not really "that bad" in DR. sometimes a day or two go by without any interesting bad news worth my attention. and even on good bad news days there may be only a handful of stories. thus i must assume that what happens in DR is mostly boring good stuff.
as for those old bores who continiue their "why don't you just go back home" post - why don't you follow your own advice and stfu? since when a human being has no right to complain? i do not support this terror of wide grin. it only looks good on clown's face. why so cheerful, damn it? i like being miserable, thank you very much. and we'd get nowhere if we had to leave whatever we complain about. certainly the world would be full of divorcees and orphants because god is my witness that i have never seen or heard about anyone who never once complained about their partners or kids...
therefore i can assure you that it is not really "that bad" in DR. sometimes a day or two go by without any interesting bad news worth my attention. and even on good bad news days there may be only a handful of stories. thus i must assume that what happens in DR is mostly boring good stuff.
as for those old bores who continiue their "why don't you just go back home" post - why don't you follow your own advice and stfu? since when a human being has no right to complain? i do not support this terror of wide grin. it only looks good on clown's face. why so cheerful, damn it? i like being miserable, thank you very much. and we'd get nowhere if we had to leave whatever we complain about. certainly the world would be full of divorcees and orphants because god is my witness that i have never seen or heard about anyone who never once complained about their partners or kids...
For those who think that living here is paradise 24/7 well wipe the sand off your a** and open your eyes to the real world. We have problems just like any other large city, just add in lack of electricity, water issues, god awful traffic (Capital). Its called life...
We have little traffic, water or electricity problems. Of course we are prepared.
I'm willing to fight for the cause. Where do we begin?
-No offense taken but I clearly stated that Utopia is non existent.
I have many reasons to love and defend the DR but that doesn't dismiss our reality (that the average person doesn't or can't make a difference).
I live with another 359,000,000 people in the US and I know that my vote, my opinion and my tax dollars do make a difference. Yes, we have our fair share of problems. Problems that the average poor Dominican would trade their right arm for. The fact is that the social, educational & political issues are correlated with crime, economy and whatever the next wave may be here or there. No rose colored glasses here. Unity makes strength! The Dominican people have the power to make a stance. Where do I sign up?
Oh! And in regards to Orlando, yes, a nice place to vacation -but that's it!
-No offense taken but I clearly stated that Utopia is non existent.
I have many reasons to love and defend the DR but that doesn't dismiss our reality (that the average person doesn't or can't make a difference).
I live with another 359,000,000 people in the US and I know that my vote, my opinion and my tax dollars do make a difference. Yes, we have our fair share of problems. Problems that the average poor Dominican would trade their right arm for. The fact is that the social, educational & political issues are correlated with crime, economy and whatever the next wave may be here or there. No rose colored glasses here. Unity makes strength! The Dominican people have the power to make a stance. Where do I sign up?
Oh! And in regards to Orlando, yes, a nice place to vacation -but that's it!
I can't remember how many times I've had a discussion with a Dominican here about how great the US is. For some it could be and others not so much. My point is you being Dominican have had a lot of cultural pressure to believe that the US is the promised land and therefore can't make an unbiased judgement.
Many Hispanics on the lower economic scale all over the LA community are generally fascinated with the US and want to live there. The ease of finding work, supposedly good public schools, cleanliness, appearance of order and a functioning police force are very enticing to say the least. Nonetheless, many of these immigrants are finding out that it's a doubled edge sword as those w/o a professional education must work very hard to make ends meet. For some the sacrifice is worth it. For example, one of my best friends parents growing up were from Central America. Furthermore, as the US deviates more and more from a Christian based society to the point of omitting all religious references in schools, etc not to mention increases the whole homosexual/transgender indoctrination of out kids I expect attitudes among Latinos to be changing drastically in the future about the situation in the US.
I have in fact heard a number of Christian and Catholic preachers here in the DR speak about the US's moral decline over the last years. I have also talked with Hispanics in the States about this and many are concerned but feel they will be able to offset this secular in your face propaganda because of the still mostly strong family tradition that remains in the Latin culture.
I have in fact heard a number of Christian and Catholic preachers here in the DR speak about the US's moral decline over the last years. I have also talked with Hispanics in the States about this and many are concerned but feel they will be able to offset this secular in your face propaganda because of the still mostly strong family tradition that remains in the Latin culture.
Your vote?
Ahem, do you even know who actually votes the president of US into power?
Here's a hint: it's not the people.
Interestingly, Dominican elections, on the other hand, are actually based on popular votes.
:cheeky:
Your vote?
Ahem, do you even know who actually votes the president of US into power?
Here's a hint: it's not the people.
Interestingly, Dominican elections, on the other hand, are actually based on popular votes.
:cheeky:
Upon what vote is the vote of the electoral college based?
The people.
That's why in 2000 Al Gore won the popular vote and yet, everyone got George Bush as president. Just as the people wanted judging by how the electoral votes coincided with the votes of most Americans. :speechles
In that same year, most Dominicans voted for Hipolito and they got Hipolito as president.
Hm, now that I think of it, maybe adopting the Electorate System would be good to keep the PLD in power, regardless if most Dominicans want that or not in the next elections. Afterall, the Electorate makes the people's wish come true, as was seen in 2000 in the USA.
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Bush was a disaster but what kind of president would Algore have been?
Top 10 Inconvenient Truths About Al Gore - HUMAN EVENTS
One thing Hipolito had all over Bush and Algore was that he knows yuca and platanos inside out.
If you think things are bad here now wait and see what happens if there is a repeat of the Hipolimoto*.
* Hipolimoto = a disaster far worse than terremotos or maremotos. To be fair a Hipolimoto can reduce poverty because so many pobrediablos may die of hunger.
Your vote?
Ahem, do you even know who actually votes the president of US into power?
Here's a hint: it's not the people.
Interestingly, Dominican elections, on the other hand, are actually based on popular votes.
:cheeky:
What I found interesting was your ignoring all the other times that a U.S. voter may cast his/her vote, including at the state and local levels - voting isn't just for the presidential election you know.
:classic:
I've been traveling to the DR several times a year, to numerous towns and cities, for various short and long-term durations. Frankly, I see changes, but no more or worse than in other poverty stricken areas both here in the US and in other countries.
Want to see desperation. Try Santo Domingo. I mean the barrio in Colombia.
Look, it's a deep global recession in first world countries around the globe. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure what kind of effect that would have on a tourism-and-export reliant economy like the DR.
That especially goes for the drug trade. Desperate people aren't as interested in drugs as in the seduction of runaway drug profits. That will continue so long as we fight a "war" up here while coddling so many users. De-criminalization would make the most sense, but I imagine the people most likely to lobby against that would be the dealers themselves.
Look, there's no "paradise lost" syndrome happening. These folks have dealt with Haitians, Americans, Trujillo, and God-knows-what-else, and folks here are acting like it's the end of the world because some places are looking a little more like Detroit than Destin. Welcome to the depression.
Still a great place, IMHO.
Want to see desperation. Try Santo Domingo. I mean the barrio in Colombia.
Look, it's a deep global recession in first world countries around the globe. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure what kind of effect that would have on a tourism-and-export reliant economy like the DR.
That especially goes for the drug trade. Desperate people aren't as interested in drugs as in the seduction of runaway drug profits. That will continue so long as we fight a "war" up here while coddling so many users. De-criminalization would make the most sense, but I imagine the people most likely to lobby against that would be the dealers themselves.
Look, there's no "paradise lost" syndrome happening. These folks have dealt with Haitians, Americans, Trujillo, and God-knows-what-else, and folks here are acting like it's the end of the world because some places are looking a little more like Detroit than Destin. Welcome to the depression.
Still a great place, IMHO.
Santo Domingo is no joke right now. My family is moving back to US to escape the crime wave that hit our area. Almost every house on our street has been a victim of some crime recently. I feel the only reason we have been lucky is the 10 foot wall with barb wire I have around the house with dogs guarding the inside. They have to leave the house everyday for work and school, and that's when things get tricky. They are tired of being a prisoner inside of their own home. The US has problems, but compared to that is like living in Disney land.