The future of Sosua

[ljmesg]

Who is definitely making money off tourism, skin biz or otherwise?

The Airport
The Airlines
Transportation, Taxis, Motos..
Hotels
F&B
Alcohol sales
Illicit drug trade

Follow that money and you will discover the "influencers" and why nothing changes.

Sounds like the good Mayor is fighting City Hall...

 

[cobraboy]

I get it. Sosua is poppin with local dollars! That's why all the business failures and decreased tourism?

The business failures are caused primarily by dreamers who had no idea what they were doing.

The DR is a very hostile business environment, and that is IF you know what you are doing.

 

[cobraboy]

Who is definitely making money off tourism, skin biz or otherwise?

The Airport
The Airlines
Transportation, Taxis, Motos..
Hotels
F&B
Alcohol sales
Illicit drug trade

Follow that money and you will discover the "influencers" and why nothing changes.

Sounds like the good Mayor is fighting City Hall...

The authorities don't care how much sleaze contributes to the economy, and do not care about mongers.

 

[westcan]

Not the dozens I know. They drink like fish and eat out dinner and lunch several times a week.
Tell me where can I get 100 Presidentes ? I'll go there to see that

cucu bar #2

 

[chico bill]

cucu bar #2

Well I went there before and they were 120 pesos but OK, just the bar is a little boring for me

 

[wrecksum]

Looking on the bright side,

No need to reserve a hotel,restaurant,rental car,pasola, (in fact the streets are half blocked with un-rented bikes and police vehicles standing around,),your favourite table anywhere.Waiters are pleased to see anybody so you don't have to wait long.Lots of space on the remaining dance floors.
No music or entertainment much to bother you on the streets.
Parking is no better though for some strange reason.

In fact,it's dull as ditchwater...

I still say it's the Mayor's plan,maybe she got backing from the top for it but according to my sources this is her agenda.

 

[jd426]

Before you kill something , or take it over , you have to bring it to its Knees .. or completely BANKRUPT it .
This is the Short term Future which awaits Sosua... before it gets better , it will get worse ..

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

All levels of Govt seem completely incapable of breaking the mould in Sosua. There are very limited options. With no industry, no significant employment outside the service sector and no prospects of this changing anytime soon, good paying long term jobs are not available to sustain a different economy for Sosua. All this talk about bringing back tourists has to do with not having any other viable options for funding an economy. You can only fund so many bars, restaurants and trinket stores. In the long term, for those that live here full time we don't need trinkets and it's cheaper to buy beer and food and consume it at home as a matter of routine. Bars can be a good time, but those whose day consists of sitting in one bar or making the rounds to several different bars all day everyday isn't of interest to the majority.

Sosua is going to eventually settle into a reality as a place where foreigners live and Dominicans live to service those foreign residents in a slow and steady local economy devoid of significant fast cash influx from transient tourists who blow the bundle in a week or two. Only the best of the new retail and service opportunities will survive and only if they can tap into the long term budget conscious spending habits of affluent residents.

About the only possibility I can think of as being needed apart from better all around utility services is a large La Sirena or National to compete directly with Playero for the household goods market. Sosua needs a place where one can purchase a decent microwave oven at a reasonable price or a lawnmower, BBQ even. I'm not paying $500 for a microwave that is smaller and less powerful than one on Amazon for $125.00...

 

[singletravel]

I’ve been coming here now for 15 years or so. In the old days (yes I’m a single man) it was Boca Chica for sex-tourism and when the place become a drug center and and totally corrupt all the main action moved to Sosua. But in those days Sosua was an amazing place, it was like the south of France. The streets were packed, discos like Moby Dick, Classico and Hi-Caribe were filled every night and the Main Street had bars, restaurants and people everywhere.

Yes there were girls (good ones, bad ones and good ones you convinced to be bad ones ) but hey were mainly invisible. You could meet nurses and school teacher from Santiago, vacationers from Santo Domingo and everyone came, it was fun and the place to be.

Then the internet, cheap flights from NY and no local for-sight (everyone greedy) and Sosua slowly but surely changed into what it is today, a brothel dedicated to hi-rollers (that was a joke) from NY.

So why didn’t Sosua (property values) recover from the recession, people are afraid of investing here and what Sosua turned into.

Now, I agree whats happening will in the short run hurt many places, but if there is a inch of hope it could return to the glory days (a place for all to enjoy the amazing beaches, bars and restaurants and sites) then I agree it’s worth the chance. Then money (like Dream City, Seahorse) will start to appear again and the investment cycle begins again.

I built a house in SeaHorse Ranch back then and when I started there were new homes being built even month, SeaHorse even had a clause in its land contracts that you must start building with six month so to stop speculation on lots, really!!

Now it a new one home every 18 month and they will sell anyone a lot, jijiji. SeaHorse still owns a lot of property but are waiting and waiting and waiting to the climate and investors and owners to appear again and then a hotel and maybe a golf course. At the moment no-one wants to take a chance and I understand, but Sosua has to be the catalyst to move the North Coast.

I know its all wishful thinking, BUT I SAW IT AND IT WAS REAL AND SPECIAL. It’s time for Sosua to make the big change, just arrest a few hi-rollers and the word will be out. Yup it will hurt in the short run, but its the long run the old Sosua could return and that's worth the risk .....

Imho …..

 

[windeguy]

singletravel, Sea Horse Ranch (and Haciendas El Choco) are two housing developments currently well out of the reach of the price range of the typical baby boomer retiree. Check places like Casa Linda and Sosua Ocean Village and possibly Perla Marina if they have land left for that type of construction. It is happening there, slowly but surely at this time. The dream of the golf course near Sea Horse Ranch probably died when the owner Bill Kirkman died and left it to his family.

 

[chico bill]

One thing for sure Sosua won't appeal to anyone if the only shops are ones selling bottom-end Chinese imports and the only food is budget Chinese food sitting for hours under warming lamps - That wouldn't even appeal to Chinese tourists.
But that is exactly the way it's trending

 

[singletravel]

singletravel, Sea Horse Ranch (and Haciendas El Choco) are two housing developments currently well out of the reach of the price range of the typical baby boomer retiree. Check places like Casa Linda and Sosua Ocean Village and possibly Perla Marina if they have land left for that type of construction. It is happening there, slowly but surely at this time. The dream of the golf course near Sea Horse Ranch probably died when the owner Bill Kirkman died and left it to his family.

Yup your probably right, but they still have the land and all they need is an investor ('s) who believe ....

 

[windeguy]

Don't worry, this will save Sosua

Three months ago, an action group consisting of businessmen and politicians field a petition to the Sosúa city council to install a welcome man sized colored lettering sign at the entrance to Sosua township.

The action group then also reported that businesses and individuals were willing to fully fund the project. So the financing side of the project cannot be an obstacle. The spokesperson for this action group said that a large number of cities in the Dominican Republic have already installed such signs. There is still a response to be received from the city council. Wilfredo Olivences (Willy el Chamo) is one of the driving forces behind this project. Willy is a mayor candidate for the 2020 elections.

Source: Sosua News

Aug 26, 2019

 

[windeguy]

Yup your probably right, but they still have the land and all they need is an investor ('s) who believe ....

By the way, Sea Horse Ranch does not say they are in Sosua for obvious reasons.

 

[ljmesg]

By the way, Sea Horse Ranch does not say they are in Sosua for obvious reasons.

And literally has a guard on all 400 corners in the development watching and directing you where to go. It's like driving around Stepford or on the set of the Truman show. Quite a weird feeling.

All of the empty villas, some massive some more modest looking for renters or buyers. Most of these homes completely functionally obsolete with their poor real estate agents showing the properties endlessly. Decay, ridiculous paint jobs, stained ceilings from water damage and bad roofs, horrible furniture (that make the home show even worse), tile and cabinets and fixtures and toilets from the 80's and pools and flat work that have outlived themselves. Many of these beauties listed for $850k, $650k, $1.2M and higher but unsellable at any price. The homes are teardowns. The stagnacy in the market is frightening for anyone looking to invest unless you have a 20-30 year plan and don't care.

The reason homes here stay on the market so long, years and years and years is because the carry costs are almost nothing if you consider less than $2000US in real estate taxes and $200 HOA monthly nominal which it is to most.

At the other expat projects around the town same deal and even less carry costs. There is nothing to motivate these owners to sell so they just remain vacant..in some cases for longer than a decade. It's almost cheaper to just pay the carry cost and do the minimum maintenance (or none) rather than biting the proverbial bullet and selling at a "correct" price. Owners don't want the EGO hit too. I have to think the build costs on these things is much less than half of what they were originally built for...18-20 years ago. A fraction of their current unsellable list price.

This is a bar for new blood to move into the area. New money, new investment and most importantly new ideas. It creates seasonally empty developments. Yes, building new is a better alternative but talk about pure brain damage and difficult to find a good, safe location.

 

[windeguy]

That certainly makes me glad I did not buy there when I might have had the chance.

 

[singletravel]

that's the reason for this thread , to change the obvious into a PLUS. But we all know they are in Sosua

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

... but if there is a inch of hope it could return to the glory days (a place for all to enjoy the amazing beaches, bars and restaurants and sites) then I agree it’s worth the chance. Then money (like Dream City, Seahorse) will start to appear again and the investment cycle begins again.

Taste is as personal as the the colour of socks you wear, but personally, I don't see "amazing beaches, bars and restaurants" that I would classify as outstanding. I can't think of a single local "site" that I have any interest in visiting. Then again I live here all day everyday. I don't drop into to Sosua for a week of intense consumption and fast paced spending. My meals, drink and socializing are mostly consumed and enjoyed at home where I have spent considerable money and energy to outfit my house with all of the comforts that aren't available on a bar stool or in a restaurant somewhere.

Investment and speculation on luxurious real estate in places like Seahorse Ranch are over. Those with sufficient economic resources to buy/build a nice villa who understand the reality will only do so if they can afford to enjoy it and walk away or bequeath it to children. Sosua and many places on the north coast just are no longer attractive to those who do not wish to retire to this country. Better utility service in Punta Cana, better retail stores and product selection can be found elsewhere. This is not going to change anywhere near as quickly as would be needed to reinvigorate Sosua in the short term. Retirees presented with modestly priced turnkey ownership/rental properties in gated communities with an all-inclusive maintenance fee option will continue to trickle into town and at times it could even be a seen as a trend for Canadians if their dollar was to improve. Otherwise, this is the Sosua you get and will have to deal with for the foreseeable future. A recent arrival or tourist's perspective is not the same as someone who has spend 365 consecutive days dealing with all that is required to make a go of it here - even more so for those who opt to live outside of the enclave islands of semi-sanity.

 

[singletravel]

SeaHorse Ranch

please come over and let me show you my home and my brothers , maybe you'll change your opinion .... and yes the guards do a great job directing traffic and make sure you go where you suppose to and yes I sleep with my doors unlocked and open. The homes under SeaHorse management are 100% but as you pointed out, some of the the others try to cheap it out and are in quiet despair. The grounds are beautiful, beach club and restaurant amazing and yes, its expensive (HOA's) but I get what I pay for and that's all I can ask for in life .....

 

[cobraboy]

Fact is the WeekEnd Warriors anywhere in the country don't have to live 24/7/365 in the s#!tholes they help create. So they don't care.