9 Definitive Reasons why you should NOT move to the Caribbean?

HOLA I RESPONDED, TO PARAPHRASE YOU LOOK AT A RAINBOW AND THERE IS A BELIEF THAT THERE IS A POT OF GOLD AT POSSIBLY BOTH ENDS. WHEN REALLY YOU YOURSELF CAN BE THAT POT(S) OF GOLD. ALWAYS APPRECIATE YOUR SITUATION, BREATHE EASY AND LAUGH A LOT.  HEY LIFE'S A BEACH WHEREAS I DO NOT LIVE AT THE BEACH BUT I DO LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS OF D.R. NO BEACHES PUT LOADS OF RIVERS AND WATERFALLS. BEAUTIFUL VIEWS AND LOTS OF FRIENDLIES. BE PREPARED. MUSIC IN THE AIR. LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST. GO SLOW. BACK TO THE GRIND OF CITY-LIFE, GRACIAS NO. IN CLOSING I GUESS WHAT I GET HERE IS JOY AND GIVE HERE FROM  KINGS COUNTY AS THEY SAY   "SPREAD LOVE IT'S THE BROOKLYN WAY."

I agree, the story is nowhere near as bad as the title would lead one to believe.

If one were only to read the first half, the initial 9 reasons, then one could say it was written by the average daft gringo who, like many, move off to a developing nation with the insane notion that it's going to be just like home, or has the equally insane notion that they're going to turn it into a Xerox copy of what they left behind. I'm actually amazed that one of his reasons wasn't the language difference. I think that would be a much greater problem than everybody knowing your most intimate details.

Logically, one cannot reasonably expect developing nations anywhere in the world to have all the same infrastructure, services and benefits that we "pampered" North Americans are used to. Just ain't gonna happen!!! And if one is expatriating solely for financial motives then they are probably always going to be disappointed no matter what country they go to. When one expatriates for reasons more related to lifestyle, culture and slower pace of living, then they are more likely to be very satisfied with the results.

I think that the ending of the article is a fairly well balanced look at the real picture, maybe even shows the first half of the article to be a rather humorous, tongue-in-cheek look at the average gringo's expectations. Maybe even worthy of a secondary title, "How not to be a gringo while abroad." 

Cheers,
James        Expat-blog Experts Team

BRAVO

Interesting and humorous as well...I like that

I am interested to know which island or islands you are speaking of.

Where I am I see little of this!!!!!

Ducketts

All problems mentioned in the article are representative of the Dominican Republic at some level. Yet as Isavinon says, they are exaggerated. Tarantulas are certainly not "everywhere" in the DR, especially not in people's faces! Most problems found here can be managed with a bit of patience and experience. By moving here we lose some first-world comforts but in light of all the avantages of living here, I find it to be a good trade-off!

If the early settlers had these trepidations, none of them would have ventured into the unknown.   Unfortunately,  modern man has lost the fortitude & sense of adventure to explore new horizons.  Life has become mundane & lacks the challenge & sheer fun that life has to offer.  I pity our future generations if this weakness continues.  Comfort is a state of mind!

Clearly the title was about getting attention.  Interesting read.

Yes the title is an attention getter.  The article itself was pretty good and rings true in many respects.

I can hardly wait for my summer sheen (sweating moist skin 24/7)

Bob K

Bob, Like your sense of humor.

@clegalbap,

Just one small favor, if you please, kindly refrain from using CAPS LOCK when posting to the forums, it will be appreciated by everyone.

Cheers,
James   Expat-blog Experts Team

So true James, I meant to ask the same. All CAPS means you are yelling and I know the poster wasn;t wanting that..... AND all caps is hard to read.

ducketts wrote:

I am interested to know which island or islands you are speaking of.

Where I am I see little of this!!!!!

Ducketts

Sounds more like the jungles of Costa Rica to me......I've lived here almost all my life and haven't seen a tarantula in 20 years, but maybe it's because I live in the big city. While living in Costambar I rarely saw any tarantula but a frog once jumped on my chest as I was relaxing by a pool.

We see them in the road at night a couple of times a week and just last week our gardener killed one in the back yard.
So they are here

Bob K

I had one 3 weeks ago on my patio.  It's now deceased....

What did you do?  Smash it with a concrete block?
By the way, have your dogs ever been brave enough to kill one for you?

If they are not in your house, why kill them?

We sprayed it with bug speay. it was the biggest spider I have ever seen. No way I wanted it near my place....eeeeeyuck......

We killed the one in the yard as the dogs are always out and about.  The gardener used the Dominican all purpose tool...the machete

Bob K

I have  machetes too and I know how to use em......LOL

I think the point of this discussion and the article -  its not the same as what you know. Its not the same as what you think you know. Its not the same period.

IF you can adapt and adjust you will be just fine............

Actually it should be titled Nine reasons why you SHOULD move to the Caribbean.

Bob K

I agree but who would be "driven" to read that......LOL

Why doesn't one of you who is glad to have moved here write a counter-article with that title and publish it on the web. I am not the proper person to write it because I am a native Dominican.

But one thing I would say, in regards to the "unbearable heat" is this:  yes, the heat and humidity are uncomfortable in the summer, but I've not heard of any one dying of heat stroke in the history of the Caribbean which is what happens in a lot of other countries year in and year out.

As for the devastating storms, in the past few years the trend has been for quieter than usual hurricane seasons, the hurricanes have been causing more damage elsewhere lately, it's as if the weatherman just can't get it right every time they predict an extremely active season.  Not sure if this is the work of El Niño or La Niña (if anyone understands this stuff, please explain it here). Plus we don't have tornadoes here (thank god!). 

Besides, when a strong hurricane strikes, properly built structures survive. Here we use mostly concrete block which is more resistant to wind loads than wood frame buildings. This practice started in the 1930's when the city of Santo Domingo was devastated by hurricane San Zenón, following which the dictator Trujillo issued a decree mandating concrete construction.

And in regard to the interminable waiting time to get anything done, I would say while a lot of procedures are still archaic, there has been much improvement, at least here in the DR, since 10 years ago. Best example is renewing your car license plate. You can do it over the internet and in a few days the new license sticker is delivered to your home!  It cannot get any better than that.

But while these are just three positive examples, the first part of the Huffington Post article failed to mention a lot of other negatives.

You guys are doing a great job of providing unbiased information and guidance to prospective newcomers, and as such, you are also doing a great service to the country. There is no other media that even comes close to yours in research quality, objectivity and usefulness. Keep up the great work !

1967  was the last time a direct hit by a major storm has hit the north shore.   They tend to veer off to the north,     Keep up the good work Mother Nature!

Gypsy,  where did it hit in 1967???? 

Thanks Luis, we do our best.

Info from locals,  I have to look it up.  No one remembers exactly here.

There has never been a major hurricane on the north coast. About 10 years ago we had a storm hit Samana and rio san Juan as a hurricane,  downgraded to  tropical storm immediately  and I slept thru it all when it went over Puerto Plata.

You  are geographically protected on the north coast. Much different story on east and south coasts.

yep Jeanne in 2005 I believe brushed by off shore with 74 mph winds.  Not a big deal.  Berfore that?????? years.

Bob K

I was living in Sosua for that one in 2005.  No damage or flooding.

yep and that has been about it for us here on the north coast

Bob K

I read her article and I think it is quite accurate but maybe not daily. Yes you will get bit by the ants , sometimes, and yes you will see the tarantulas, sometimes. But if you come from Canada the mosquitoes here are nothing. Ours along with the black flies and the deer flies are on steroids and they are mean.

Stray dogs are a fact. They are absolutely everywhere. And not only they defecate everywhere but locals and some expats are not better. Very few  clean up after their dogs. It's a constant battle to have people clean up. And dogs are a serious problem on the island. It is a free for all. So many people own dogs but they do not train them or take care of them. They are always loose, never on a leash and they can bark constantly for hours and disturb the entire community. No discipline nor respect for their neighbours.
The rest of her article is actually quite accurate.  But I still love the island. Way better than the freezing cold of our winters in Canada.

@ Gypsy
>If they are not in your house, why kill them?

Yeah, I have to agree with Gypsy on that one.  I don't particularly like spiders, give me the creeps like most people I guess.
Had a nasty experience with a Camel spider once in Oman, while serving in military. Yuk :-(

But unfortunately human instinct is always-  you don't like something, kill it,  even if not necessary.

But some years ago I watched a documentary on spiders, they are actually extremely fascinating creatures  and also very useful, they kill many bugs/insects that we hate, like mosquitoes etc.

Some fascinating facts too... Apparently the silk they produce from their rear end is so strong it would be the equivalent of us ..ermm ...depositing a rod of steel from our “hind quarters” so to speak :-)

So since watching that I have a kind of respect for them and only kill them if absolutely necessary, I have even been known to rescue them and put them outside... Well, as long as they ain't too big, I certainly would not tried that with a tarantula :-)

So take it easy on our eight legged friends, they are actually quite useful- don't kill them for no reason.

Only creatures I could happily kill all day are mosquitoes and cockroaches... But again give  credit where it's due to Mr Cockroach.... they are tough little buggers to dispatch :-)

The single most definitive reason not to move to the Caribbean is if you need to control everything. Those who can't adapt and go with the flow shouldn't bother coming here. But if you're adaptable and easygoing, there's no reason to let any of the things described in the article stop you from living in this paradise. Speaking for myself, I've been here for almost 3 months so far and nothing bothers me anymore. Living in my small Dominican pueblo (Gaspar Hernandez) now feels as normal as living in Canada, except it's far more enjoyable and cheap.

I don't mind the bugs. I live in a gorgeous, well-built house for $130 per month with a sympathetic maid who cleans my place (and clothes when needed) and landlords who insist on serving me delicious food twice daily. We never miss water nor electricity (a HUGE tinaco + inversores do the trick). Go find a deal like that in Canada.

I've never seen big spiders around so far, except once in my kitchen and it wasn't that big. It was a harmless huntsman spider, about 4 inches across. First I was slightly startled by the presence of that beast on my wall but my landlords were not impressed, they actually caught it with their bare hands while laughing.

When living in the DR the most important thing is to SPEAK SPANISH and not be shy to talk with people. They will be more than willing to help you find everything you need and fix any problem. So far in my experience it's actually extremely easy to solve problems in the DR. There are lots of handy people doing all sorts of trades. The other day I needed a wall charger for my Nexus 4 phone and it took me 5 minutes to find one in the city. I just asked a lady who owns an internet cafe; she said "wait for me", left briefly and came back with the exact model I needed, for 5$ (which in Canada would have cost me 5 times the price).

The way I think is if over 10 million people can live here, I can too.