The North Coast. Why?

[keepcoming]

I’ve been a member since 2004 but was on the news mailing list and a lurker from pre-2000.

I think DR1 gives a bit of a skewed view of the north coast problems, with focus on the negative by a few members who bring up the same topics incessantly.

There are many people, myself among them, who while recognizing some of the negative issues simply work around them and enjoy the heck out of what the north coast offers.

DR1 itself has had a tone change over the years from the only website where information on a variety of Dominican topics was shared, and was made up of not only an online community, but many who knew each other in real life. While that still exists, that community has gotten smaller.

Problems were always discussed, but with humorous responses and an eye toward having fun dealing with the problems encountered… think Robert, Rocky, Hillbilly, Ginny, Matilda and many many others as great examples of this attitude.

Computer tips, jobs, travel, real estate, girls, sankies, gossip, news, charities, immigration, hotel advice, food, shopping, automobiles… many things… used to be shared and discussed with much light hearted banter.

That sense of positivity, community, and advice on daily living and travel has been replaced in many ways by Groups on Facebook.

Groups such as Everything Sosua, Everything Cabarete, Jobs Cabarete & Sosua and others. Then there are the YouTube vids and blogs for mongers, and Facebook pages for women desperately in love with a hotel worker and wanting someone to tell them that it can work.

People on those sites are excited about the DR, motivated, living their daily lives. There’s much less complaining. There is talk about restaurant openings, charities, music events, arts & craft shows, dinner specials, travel and lodging advice, taxis, etc.

If you want positivity, check out those sites and you’ll see why many of us (myself included after 20+ years) are happy to call the north coast home.

Thank you CFA123...

 

[johne]

Working around almost daily electrical issues is like wearing high button shoes. Or,better yet, a return to the dark ages.

 

[JD Jones]

What electrical issues?

I had my first extended power outage in 6 years here in San Cristobal on Thursday. The circuit was out the entire day until 11 pm.

During that time, my new gel batteries went from 27V to 24.3V.

What's funny is I didn't even notice the lights were off until my neighbor told me at 6 pm.

 

[CristoRey]

Why don't you move to someplace else?

Serious answers only, please.

I left Sosua back in 2014 for SDE then up to Santiago in June 2015. Hated the first three months caused I lived near my office (at the time) up in Guarabo. Sept of 2014 moved to the center of town and I've been happy as a pig in poop ever since. Zero complaints.

From what I'm told, the electricity situation along the NC is going to get worse before it ever gets better. No way would I pay those type of prices with those type of headaches.

All the best.

 

[Gadfly]

Because I can

 

[CristoRey]

Sept of 2014 moved to the center of town and I've been happy as a pig in poop ever since.

*Sept of 2015

 

[josh2203]

I think DR1 gives a bit of a skewed view of the north coast problems, with focus on the negative by a few members who bring up the same topics incessantly.

Me too... What bothers me sometimes that many posters from for example Sosua region report many issues, claiming those to be "North Coast" issues. Let it be robberies, water, electricity, internet service etc, many things are generalized when in fact it's either Sosua or Cabarete to be more precise. I'm not saying that the city of POP does not have issues, but I feel that sometimes specific locations are referred to as "North Coast", ignoring all the other locations there are, where the claimed thing simply isn't the truth...

Rant over...

 

[Big]

You can now rent an entire casa\mansion in a well-known luxury compound for 450 a night, on a popular app. I wonder what will happen in another few years. I would rather live in boca chica or LP9, at least it's close to an ounce of culture.

 

[slowmo]

Being an old guy who enjoys walking, Sosua is the perfect place for me. Stay for a month and get airport rides from friends, never needing a moto ever during my stay.

 

[cavok]

The main complaints about the north coast are the electric and water service. Traffic is now becoming a problem but it's absolutely nothing compared to SD and Santiago.

 

[drisforme]

I live full time in Cabarete for almost 8 years in a house that I build just in front of a beautiful beach with an incredible view . I can kite just in front of my house . Know the handful of great restaurants , 3 good supermarkets around ,close by from airport to get to the states if I need to. Not too far from Santiago where more options are available for buying stuff in general. I love all the above.

However ,Cabarete has drastically changed in the past 10 years.The beauty of the North coast is getting destroyed with so many new constructions where they are no rules to preserve the natural landscape.
See smaller and smaller lot for building houses with many lots with no green area once the house is build.

The infrastructure is not there to support all those new constructions ,so services for electricity ,water ,… are getting worse and worse ,road busier and busier ,as a result people need to plan for this .

Cabarete has also became expensive in comparison of other parts of the world as I mentioned in a different post. Italy ,Spain ,Portugal ,Brazil, all those countries that I visited in the past couple of years are cheaper than Cabarete .My choice to retire may be different today as 10 years ago when I bought the incredible lot where I build my house . Lot which is now 4 times more expensive when I bought it ,showing how prices are getting a bit out of control even if I can benefit from it !

So, yes, moving it’s something that I may consider if I can find again a place with similar criteria which makes me choosing the North Coast 10 years ago .

For electricity and water outages ,I am independent of Ed Norte and Coraplata but I don’t have the control of making builders preserving the natural beauty of the North Coast . It’s the biggest problem that I have !

Let’s see if I can find a better place in the future .

Peace.

 

[BelgianMik]

I don't think a lot of people decide to go live "on the north coast"..... They decide to go live in Cabarete or Sosua or Puerto Plata (or another place), those " are so different. I for example live in Puerto Plata, but I would never want to live in Cabarete or Sosua. And a lot of friends of mine live in Sosua or Cabarete, but would never want to live in Puerto Plata.

I came to Puerto Plata because I met my first Dominican wife in Belgium (at that moment she was already living more than 10 years in Belgium, even had the Belgian nationality) and we came on vacation to Puerto Plata every year to visit her family. After more than 10 years married, we got devorced, she went to Amerika, I stayed in Puerto Plata for é reasons:
1 I have my business here and after so many years I have my regular clients and can live from it (with my new wife and kids)
2 I like Puerto Plata because it was the type of small city I love. A town is to boring for me. A big city I don't like eather. Puerto Plata is like some places I lived before, it has most of the positive things that big cities have (supermarkets, hospitals, fastfood chains, a lot of things to do like movie theater, theater, concerts, live first division football/soccer, etc etc) but not the negative things from a big city (like the crime, traffic etc).. Plus it has a nice combination of expats and locals.

I am not saying Puerto Plata is better than other places, but is the places that has the most things I like. Everybody likes something else. But for me, there is o such thing as people that love the "north coast". Because you can't compare Cabarete/Sosua/Puerto Plata/Costambar etc. Every place is different.

 

[chico bill]

It's green, has an ocean and good mix of expats. Unlike Bavaro it's not dry and sterile looking with nothing but roadside malls, AI hotels, pink tourists and sargassum clogged beaches.

​

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

You can now rent an entire casa\mansion in a well-known luxury compound for 450 a night, on a popular app. I wonder what will happen in another few years. I would rather live in boca chica or LP9, at least it's close to an ounce of culture.

From contacts inside Casa Linda, this has been going on for years. Now, established community members get the privilege of their neighbors' Airbnb clientele hosting Diddy-esque parties where there is more twerking than at a Harris rally.