I agree because over time, if proper precautions are not taken accordingly you will find that most of DR's infrastructures will shift to the main Capital causing it to be so congested as every Campesinos will find Santo Domingo to be their new mecca to prove to others they too can and are valid, modernized and civilized as many might be already presuming that they are not within the cultural society scheme of things.


P.S: However, I am still impress with the way DR has been evolving with the boom imagery wise as quite the Metropolis and nevertheless Caribbean constructional mecca it has become which shows in many way a sense of progressiveness nonetheless.

i have been writing for some time about the growing number of people in the middle classes who seem to be able to buy places for more than 300,000 dollars ,,as well as the number of buildings going up , how about the number of newish cars and the large numbers of people in all the supermarkets but especially in the remodeled National

Ricardolito, are you sure that the guys buying 300,000 dollar homes are members of this burgeoning middle class to which you refer? first of all, what salary range or income do you consider to be "middle class"?

brilliant observation, Mr Lautaro. the guys who flee the countryside to the capital are a microcosm of the Dominicans who flee the country, headed to New York to find the mythical pot of gold. when they get there,and realise that it is not what they heard from some folks, then despair sets in. some have sold off their meager possessions to make the great trek. so, they end up homeless, and hopeless, and rip your cellphone off your waistband. that is for starters.

100% Correct with this statement dread. With regards to those guys you were hanging out with, they must have been total idiots because who doesn't know in Haiti they speak Creole/French. I am not doubting you but God these guys must have been living isolated all this time.

[B]Pictures of Holiday Inn | SANTO DOMINGO

Pictures courtesy of HolidayInn.com

Their official website has Santo Domingo's Holiday Inn on the list.[/B]

[B]Interior:[/B]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/GROOM_RFEA_05_E.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/GROOM_SNGL_01_E.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/GROOM_SNGL_02_E.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/GROOM_JNRS_03_E.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/GROOM_BATH_04_E.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/FEATR_POOL_01_E.jpg[/IMG]

[B]Outside the Hotel:[/B]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/WELCM_EXTR_01_E.jpg[/IMG]

[B]Conference Room:[/B]

[IMG]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/hotelmedia/repository/hotelimages/SDQEX/MTGEV_CONF_01_E.jpg[/IMG]

[B]SOURCE:[/B] [URL]http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/sdqex?rpb=hotel&crUrl=/h/d/hi/1/en/hotelsearchresults[/URL][/QUOTE]

Most people go to the National supermarket because the local stores charge much more... That is why National is always full, there are no other large competitors. Also, the people buying the 300k houses and have the new cars, most of them made their money in USA. Iam sorry but I don't see progress for the middle class

I completely disagree with this statement. I wont say some Dominicans Yorks from the USA havent bought some nice houses and cars but for instance in Arroyo Hondo most of the condos we sell are to people who have never lived in the USA but people who have good degrees with good paying jobs. As a matter of fact where we live at one point they made it very difficult for us to purchase a house because of the fact that we came from NYC and their first thought is "drug".

How long does it take for the people with the "good degrees" to afford a house like that? Most high paying jobs in DR are held by the viejos that have 20+ years experience. Why do you think that many professionals leave to USA or EURO? They can make more money outside DR while they are young.

Well I am just going to give you examples of my own family. My mom and dad left DR for good (supposedly) in 1985 and relocated in NYC. Have you seen statistics on how many Dominican children actually make it through college in the USA? It is embarracing but true! My parents are professionals in DR but in USA had to settle for cab driver and home attendant. These jobs barely was enough to get us by. Rent, electricity, gas, cable, credit card bills, car bills and insurance etc and on top of that feed a family of 5. We would have never ever made it in the USA. I graduated college with a bachelors degree and so did my sister with a degree in English literature. My sister taught elementary school and I was working for a Marketing firm making what we thought was good money but when we saw ourselves making money we did not want to live in the projects anymore right. That meant buying a condo, purchasing a car etc and also paying uncle sam for everything he has done for us. At the end of the road we were sooo broke it wasent even funny. It is most Dominicans reality. Most of us when we go to the USA we do not live in a beautiful home in Long Island with 150 thousand dollar job a year therefore we work to get by, to survive. Meanwhile in DR my uncle who was a doctor and decided not to leave the island, got a Doctorate in anesthesiology and was hired by El Centro Medico Nacional currently Centro Medico UCE. Right away he was making good money for Dominican Standards and mortgage a house in Arroyo Hondo. To the whole family it was like wow look at that the ones in NYC how they live and the ones here in Arroyo Hondo. Today im in Dominican Republic and I would never recommend anyone to leave the country. My cousins are young professionals, one is working in a call center making 35 mil pesos a month. In USA its not alot of money but here its enough for a bachelor who lives at home to live comfortably with a car and nice close. Eventually he will get his masters and grow but why go to a country where you do not speak the language, you are not wanted and everything is made soooo much more difficult for you because you are not meant to be there. Dominicans in NYC struggle alot, I lived it. In DR people struggle but they know the struggle and they know the juggle. Why go somewhere where 95% of your kind never makes it?