Passing through NYC’s “Little DR”

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,888
7,345
113
South Coast
One does not have to live in WH to be familiar with it. Mr AE’s sister lived there for years and we visited frequently. She had lived with us for several years, but a southern NJ beach town wasn’t her cup of tea, she never assimilated like Mr AE did. She craved the hustle and bustle of city living. (The dopey things one remembers……she told us later that her Dominican friends in WH called her a liar when she told them there were no roaches in her brother’s house. They insisted every American house had them).
 

Sol09

Well-known member
Jan 12, 2017
341
306
63
One does not have to live in WH to be familiar with it. Mr AE’s sister lived there for years and we visited frequently. She had lived with us for several years, but a southern NJ beach town wasn’t her cup of tea, she never assimilated like Mr AE did. She craved the hustle and bustle of city living. (The dopey things one remembers……she told us later that her Dominican friends in WH called her a liar when she told them there were no roaches in her brother’s house. They insisted every American house had them).
You nailed it with need the hustle.and bustle of the city as that is what I have been told is what continues to draw Dominicans to that area. As well as the chaos and other facets of the lifestyle which can be found there and which they are used to and comfortable in.
Also since Dominicans have such a strong community and national pride, it makes since that they want to go where their people are.
 

bob saunders

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
33,444
6,834
113
dr1.com
One does not have to live in WH to be familiar with it. Mr AE’s sister lived there for years and we visited frequently. She had lived with us for several years, but a southern NJ beach town wasn’t her cup of tea, she never assimilated like Mr AE did. She craved the hustle and bustle of city living. (The dopey things one remembers……she told us later that her Dominican friends in WH called her a liar when she told them there were no roaches in her brother’s house. They insisted every American house had them).
I never saw a roach until I joined the military, the barracks in basic training had them. Most immigrants want to be around other immigrants from the same culture. My wife's family is a different from that. Her cousin Julio lives in East Texas hill country, she has a brother in Utah, but the majority of her Dominican family live on Long Island or in New Jersey, North Carolina. She has no family in Washington Heights, though she does have some in the Bronx.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
14,419
3,645
113
You nailed it with need the hustle.and bustle of the city as that is what I have been told is what continues to draw Dominicans to that area. As well as the chaos and other facets of the lifestyle which can be found there and which they are used to and comfortable in.
Also since Dominicans have such a strong community and national pride, it makes since that they want to go where their people are.
Many Dominicans also avoid those places precisely due to most of those things. It’s one thing to go there once in a long while but just for part of a day and for a specific purpose. It isn’t the type of place where you go simply to walk around with no purpose or destination to check random stores, restaurants, parks... God forbid it takes longer than that, you might go crazy. In the warmer months the entire NYC has a special city island effect where as soon you cross the city line the temps actually go up! Imagine what that means when it’s already hot in the suburbs. Add the traffic.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
14,419
3,645
113
One does not have to live in WH to be familiar with it. Mr AE’s sister lived there for years and we visited frequently. She had lived with us for several years, but a southern NJ beach town wasn’t her cup of tea, she never assimilated like Mr AE did. She craved the hustle and bustle of city living. (The dopey things one remembers……she told us later that her Dominican friends in WH called her a liar when she told them there were no roaches in her brother’s house. They insisted every American house had them).
Or simply because a house is in the woods it must be infested with rats, roaches, critters of all types.

If they only knew. Lol

Ok, you do run the very small risk that a deer (or increasingly a bear which admittedly is the scariest of the two) might appear in your backyard while you are there. Those are things no one will experience in much or al, of NYC, especially WH.
 

keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
5,875
3,710
113
One does not have to live in WH to be familiar with it. Mr AE’s sister lived there for years and we visited frequently. She had lived with us for several years, but a southern NJ beach town wasn’t her cup of tea, she never assimilated like Mr AE did. She craved the hustle and bustle of city living. (The dopey things one remembers……she told us later that her Dominican friends in WH called her a liar when she told them there were no roaches in her brother’s house. They insisted every American house had them).
We have had some of my spouses' family visit our home in the Western USA. They are ok for a couple of days, sightseeing, etc..then they can't wait to get back to NYC. As Sol09 posted, there is a strong sense of community in places like Washington Heights, Bronx, even in NJ communities. Being in those surroundings give them the "comfort" feeling of being back in the DR. I remember my spouses cousin telling everyone how quiet our neighborhood was. People could not understand the lack of "noise" where we live. Just being in a desert environment was strange to them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JD Jones

Sol09

Well-known member
Jan 12, 2017
341
306
63
Many Dominicans also avoid those places precisely due to most of those things. It’s one thing to go there once in a long while but just for part of a day and for a specific purpose. It isn’t the type of place where you go simply to walk around with no purpose or destination to check random stores, restaurants, parks... God forbid it takes longer than that, you might go crazy. In the warmer months the entire NYC has a special city island effect where as soon you cross the city line the temps actually go up! Imagine what that means when it’s already hot in the suburbs. Add the traffic.
Sure, Dominicans can be found in every state but demographics prove that the vast majority are in the NYC area. In fact, Dominicans represents the largest immigrant population in NYC with over 3 million which accounts for 30% of the total metro population. No wonder I always run into them when I'm there!
 

El Hijo de Manolo

It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!
Dec 10, 2021
5,065
3,321
113
Dominican Republic
Sure, Dominicans can be found in every state but demographics prove that the vast majority are in the NYC area. In fact, Dominicans represents the largest immigrant population in NYC with over 3 million which accounts for 30% of the total metro population. No wonder I always run into them when I'm there!
But nowhere near as many as 10 and 20 yrs ago. Many leaving NE strong holds like NYC, Northern NJ (Passaic, Patterson, Elizabeth), Boston, DC and heading to lower cost of living spots like NC, Pennsylvania and Indiana
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,888
7,345
113
South Coast
We have had some of my spouses' family visit our home in the Western USA. They are ok for a couple of days, sightseeing, etc..then they can't wait to get back to NYC. As Sol09 posted, there is a strong sense of community in places like Washington Heights, Bronx, even in NJ communities. Being in those surroundings give them the "comfort" feeling of being back in the DR. I remember my spouses cousin telling everyone how quiet our neighborhood was. People could not understand the lack of "noise" where we live. Just being in a desert environment was strange to them.

AKA we lead boring lives in their eyes 😂😂😂
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
14,419
3,645
113
Sure, Dominicans can be found in every state but demographics prove that the vast majority are in the NYC area. In fact, Dominicans represents the largest immigrant population in NYC with over 3 million which accounts for 30% of the total metro population. No wonder I always run into them when I'm there!
That’s mostly because the largest influx of Dominicans in the 1970’s and 1980’s immigrated to NYC. After that original batch, Dominican immigration is dominated by chain migration. You go where the people that invited you live. Once there, some stay and some go to other places. It isn’t because most Dominicans that migrated to NYC went there without a base that already invited then there.

It’s basically the same concept for US born Dominicans. It’s very hard for a US born Dominican to have been born in Montana for obvious reason (no one chooses when or where they are born.) For the most part they are born wherever both or one of their parents live. Does anyone actually woukd had been born and grew up in The Bronx if they were able to choose?
 

Lucifer

Silver
Jun 26, 2012
5,029
940
113
You are weird!
You living in a basement apartment in Washington Heights and faking it in the West Village with your hair dyed blonde and having a fake British accent. You know too much about the Heights and the Bronx to be from anywhere else but the barrio. You have to hide in the closet to eat your fried chicken wings with fried plantains. Then brush your teeth, so no one smells the plantains on your breath.
You are definitely weird.

Self hate is a disease.
I'm weird in so many ways, sir. Let me count the ways.

(But before I begin, allow me to plagiarize a top-40 hit by The Hollies: I ain't weird; I'm just different.)

I'm weird enough to travel to DC and count the 39 stone steps leading up to the SCOTUS building, and then telling myself, "Alright, nincompoop, Chief Roberts sits in the middle, Stevens to his immediate right, Scalia to his immediate left, and so on in chronological order. Oh, snap! That's where Thomas takes naps."
I'm weird enough to want to understand this society, its history and popular culture, or at least make an attempt to understand it. Weird enough to call Charleston and San Fran my favorite cities, yet I've never visited those places. Weird enough to brag about meeting celebrities and famous people, yet not asking for their John Hancocks.
I'm so weird... "So, how weird are you?" Well, I once drove from Cleveland to the southern tip of Ohio... just to step on the same sidewalk my old flame had walked on. See, she left me for another man, and I almost committed suicide. When the pain was just but a distant memory, I decided to visit her hometown, and observe the oldest Memorial Day parade in the U.S, and drive around her high school, her old neighborhood, etc...

Oh! That ain't weird. This is weird: I played the same song, from Cleveland to Ironton, a four-hour drive, same song... ON REPEAT. Sir, I was in heaven. Liberated. And I even met her mom and step-dad, and two of her sisters.

I'm weird enough to have driven from Higüey to visit relatives in El Seibo, Hato Mayor, and Guayabo Dulce, then on to Consuelo, to meet a friend's relatives, and then back though San Pedro, La Romana, and visiting Boca de Yuma, before heading back to my starting point, while listening and singing along to the same song: a bachata by Toño Rosario. NON-STOP.

I'm weird enough to discuss Jackson Pollock with a person to my right, Charlie Hustle with a person to my left, and/or the Hatfileds and McCoys feud with a person in from of me, and the danger lurking in some sections of the Appalachian Trail with a person behind me, and the genius of Scalia's dissent opinions with a person waiting behind the guy who wants my take on Leonard Cohen, Scott Joplin, Lawrence Olivier, John Dos Pasos, and William Carlos Williams.

And I'm also weird to the point that I actually welcome (in fact, I enjoy it) the tag: an acquaintance in Higüey thinks he's ridiculing me by calling me pariguayo inside a colmado replete with folks standing around drinking President Light and others gathered 'round the dominoes table, and all looking up to see who is this pariguayo who just arrived.
I'm weird enough to remain quiet when folks ridicule me: I was with a friend at a photo studio, and the two young men who were assisting her started to talk about me in English... in Higüey. They laughed and had a jolly good time. My friend kept elbowing me, while whispering, "Joseito, they're making fun of you. Say something." No way. Same thing happened at a store in Acropolis: two sales associates engaged in English conversation to ridicule my companion and yours truly. My companion was furious, and mad at me because I would not retaliate with a clever comeback or something.
Whatever, ladies.

Oh! I'm guilty of attempting to ridicule a few DR1 posters in the past, namely Miguel, Xanadu, cobraboy, and jd426. But if I would meet them face to face, I'd definitely learn a lot from them. I remember Escott saying I had no redeeming qualities, but we never met. And never will.
I know I'll learn a lot if and when I visit NanSanPerdro, Saunders, JD, Windy... and I would must definitely enjoy chit-chatting with AE's other half about the good ol' days of our respective childhoods hundreds of kilometers apart, jugando bolas y volando chichiguas.

But, no, I don't live in NYC or any of its barrios. I reside in Miami, and previously in the GREAT United States of Texas.

AND the only Dominicans I criticize are the communicators and those in the public eye, and only when they make pronouncements bordering on stupidity and sheer ignorance. Heck! I've even criticized the supremely respected Ricardo Nieves.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joseph NY2STI

El Hijo de Manolo

It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!
Dec 10, 2021
5,065
3,321
113
Dominican Republic
I'm weird in so many ways, sir. Let me count the ways.

(But before I begin, allow me to plagiarize a top-40 hit by The Hollies: I ain't weird; I'm just different.)

I'm weird enough to travel to DC and count the 39 stone steps leading up to the SCOTUS building, and then telling myself, "Alright, nincompoop, Chief Roberts sits in the middle, Stevens to his immediate right, Scalia to his immediate left, and so on in chronological order. Oh, snap! That's where Thomas takes naps."
I'm weird enough to want to understand this society, its history and popular culture, or at least make an attempt to understand it. Weird enough to call Charleston and San Fran my favorite cities, yet I've never visited those places. Weird enough to brag about meeting celebrities and famous people, yet not asking for their John Hancocks.
I'm so weird... "So, how weird are you?" Well, I once drove from Cleveland to the southern tip of Ohio... just to step on the same sidewalk my old flame had walked on. See, she left me for another man, and I almost committed suicide. When the pain was just but a distant memory, I decided to visit her hometown, and observe the oldest Memorial Day parade in the U.S, and drive around her high school, her old neighborhood, etc...

Oh! That ain't weird. This is weird: I played the same song, from Cleveland to Ironton, a four-hour drive, same song... ON REPEAT. Sir, I was in heaven. Liberated. And I even met her mom and step-dad, and two of her sisters.

I'm weird enough to have driven from Higüey to visit relatives in El Seibo, Hato Mayor, and Guayabo Dulce, then on to Consuelo, to meet a friend's relatives, and then back though San Pedro, La Romana, and visiting Boca de Yuma, before heading back to my starting point, while listening and singing along to the same song: a bachata by Toño Rosario. NON-STOP.

I'm weird enough to discuss Jackson Pollock with a person to my right, Charlie Hustle with a person to my left, and/or the Hatfileds and McCoys feud with a person in from of me, and the danger lurking in some sections of the Appalachian Trail with a person behind me, and the genius of Scalia's dissent opinions with a person waiting behind the guy who wants my take on Leonard Cohen, Scott Joplin, Lawrence Olivier, John Dos Pasos, and William Carlos Williams.

And I'm also weird to the point that I actually welcome (in fact, I enjoy it) the tag: an acquaintance in Higüey thinks he's ridiculing me by calling me pariguayo inside a colmado replete with folks standing around drinking President Light and others gathered 'round the dominoes table, and all looking up to see who is this pariguayo who just arrived.
I'm weird enough to remain quiet when folks ridicule me: I was with a friend at a photo studio, and the two young men who were assisting her started to talk about me in English... in Higüey. They laughed and had a jolly good time. My friend kept elbowing me, while whispering, "Joseito, they're making fun of you. Say something." No way. Same thing happened at a store in Acropolis: two sales associates engaged in English conversation to ridicule my companion and yours truly. My companion was furious, and mad at me because I would not retaliate with a clever comeback or something.
Whatever, ladies.

Oh! I'm guilty of attempting to ridicule a few DR1 posters in the past, namely Miguel, Xanadu, cobraboy, and jd426. But if I would meet them face to face, I'd definitely learn a lot from them. I remember Escott saying I had no redeeming qualities, but we never met. And never will.
I know I'll learn a lot if and when I visit NanSanPerdro, Saunders, JD, Windy... and I would must definitely enjoy chit-chatting with AE's other half about the good ol' days of our respective childhoods hundreds of kilometers apart, jugando bolas y volando chichiguas.

But, no, I don't live in NYC or any of its barrios. I reside in Miami, and previously in the GREAT United States of Texas.

AND the only Dominicans I criticize are the communicators and those in the public eye, and only when they make pronouncements bordering on stupidity and sheer ignorance. Heck! I've even criticized the supremely respected Ricardo Nieves.
Lol, a Dominican influencer