General Info

[QUOTE=Buscemi]IMHO RD2,000 is overpaying them, so get change![/QUOTE]

IMHO, and this is my personal experience of 11 years visiting Santo Domingo, today we can get better value than over a decade ago. My conclusion is based on a analysis of many factors, including price charged by the chica, currency exchange (it was 15-17 per dollar in the 90's), inflation among others. If a girl provide me with a gfe, is pretty, charming, provides repeat session and overall is a good company I have no problem paying 2000 pesos to a chica which is only $55 dollars. What can she buy with $55? I live alone in Puerto Rico and that is my weekly grocery bill, and most items I buy are cheaper here in PR than in DR. And please do not compare the 2000 pesos to their monthly minimum salary of 6,000 weekly, that is a miserable salary and the girls do not work 40 weekly hours with clients. 2000 pesos for at least 3 non rush hours is ok to me, for a shorter session like for example 1 hour 1,000 pesos is ok. If the girl is happy with less then no problem. I never pay in advance except for the casas and always tell the chica an amount but conditioned by their performance. If she left early, is she do not provide something she promised, I say "hey! hey! tragate eso or it is a 200 pesos cut to your payment." I do not expect anybody to agree with me, it is only my opinion. I almost always have a graet time. Be a tigre, be a fair tigre.

[QUOTE=BoricuaOnline] And please do not compare the 2000 pesos to their monthly minimum salary of 6,000 weekly, that is a miserable salary and the girls do not work 40 weekly hours with clients.
[/QUOTE]

Actually businesses valued greater than 4 million pesos the minimum wage is RD8,464/monthly, businesses valued less than 4 million pesos minimum wage is RD5,819.

I have said this before, and I will say it again, you pay what you are comfortable paying and shall pay what I feel is fair!

What you pay your "novia" will really not effect what I pay her next week.

I read this today on a site called Dominican Watchdog: "Tourist killed while drawing money from ATM machine in Santo Domingo" "Ten people have been questioned by the Dominican police on the case of the Bulgarian engineer Constantine Alexander, who was murdered in Bella Vista Mall last week. However, Bulgarian authorities have not been informed of the case yet.

According to witnesses, the victim had been attacked by two unknown men, while drawing money from an ATM machine in the commercial center."

[url]http://dominicanwatchdog.org/dominican_news[/url]

[QUOTE=Helpmann]1. Always use ATM's during daylight Banking Hours (9am - 4pm; M-F)
-Helpmann :)[/QUOTE]

For what's it worth, I read this today: "Dominican Republic, highest cost of living, lowest wages, poll"

[quote]Dominican Republic is the most expensive economy among the seven Central American countries and despite having the highest cost of living, has the lowest wages, revealed Alvaro Alan yesterday in the presentation of the results of a PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey." "The PriceWaterhouseCoopers survey in Dominican Republic took into account a practice of more than 15 years and polled more than 1,100 companies subscribed in Central America.[/quote][url]http://www.dominicantoday.com/dr/poverty/2009/8/7/32838/Dominican-Republic-highest-cost-of-living-lowest-wages-poll[/url]

[QUOTE=BoricuaOnline]IMHO, and this is my personal experience of 11 years visiting Santo Domingo, today we can get better value than over a decade ago. [/QUOTE]

You pay what it costs; hopefully, no more and no less.

-Helpmann ;)


[size=3][b]"10.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$3,000+[/color]

[b]"9.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$2,000 - RD$3,000[/color]

[b]"8.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$1,500 - RD$2,000[/color]

[b]"7.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$1,000 - RD$1,500[/color]

[b]"6.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$500 - RD$1,000[/color]

[b]"5.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$300 - RD$500[/color]

[b]"4.0" and below: [/b][Color=blue]They Pay You ;)
[/size][/color]

[b][url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/showpost.php?p=577334&postcount=911]Helpmann's Scale[/url][/b]

[QUOTE=Helpmann]You pay what it costs; hopefully, no more and no less.

-Helpmann ;)


[size=3][b]"10.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$3,000+[/color]

[b]"9.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$2,000 - RD$3,000[/color]

[b]"8.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$1,500 - RD$2,000[/color]

[b]"7.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$1,000 - RD$1,500[/color]

[b]"6.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$500 - RD$1,000[/color]

[b]"5.0" [/b][Color=blue]RD$300 - RD$500[/color]

[b]"4.0" and below: [/b][Color=blue]They Pay You ;)
[/size][/color]

[b][url=http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/showpost.php?p=577334&postcount=911]Helpmann's Scale[/url][/b][/QUOTE]

This is very funny! Thanks God the girls do not charge itbis and legal.

Heading to Puerto Plata in a few weeks and thought about having some minor dentistry done while there,the dentists are crooks here in Connecticut. Anybody have any recommendations?

[QUOTE=Manizales911]Heading to Puerto Plata in a few weeks and thought about having some minor dentistry done while there,the dentists are crooks here in Connecticut. Anybody have any recommendations?[/QUOTE]

Me personally, no, but I would email Bill Lane at Harborview Condos.
He could help you out.

Well here's the story guys. I'm a 40 year old guy who's finishing up college for the 2nd time. I've been given an opportunity, by a company interested in hiring me when I leave college, to spend up to 10 weeks in a Spanish speaking country learning to speak the language. I'm moving into petroleum production, and they have a lot of interests in South America and would like to have me understanding some Spanish when I get there.

So here's the requirements. I need to present them with a proposal as to how much a 10 week stay would cost. Of course I have secondary motives for wanting to spend an extended period in an exotic land, and so I come to you.

I need to find out why you think The DR is the place to go to spend time with the chicas. Really what I'd like is more semi or non pro action, particularly since I'll be there a while. I'd prefer to stay in a city away from the gringo occupied areas. I am supposed to be learning Spanish remember, so if everyone speaks English, I'll not make much progress. I'd also like any input you might have on how much a small house or apartment might cost for the 10 weeks.

Really I'm interested in any insight you might think would be useful to someone in my position. Incidentally, I do speak a small amount of Spanish already. I'm a middle class, average looking, middle aged white guy, who doesn't mind leaving suburban America to live in less the US standard accommodations.

I hope Jackson doesn't mind, but I'm thinking of posting this in quite a few different forums to get responses from each, but feel free to offer advice on any other countries you might think appropriate as well.

Hopefully come June of next year I'll be running a blog on how things are going, and chasing as much tail as I was during my fist stint in college. In the meantime, I hope to hear from all of you as to where I should spend my 10 week mid life crisis.

Oh. And learn Spanish too. Really.

[QUOTE=Manizales911]Heading to Puerto Plata in a few weeks and thought about having some minor dentistry done while there,the dentists are crooks here in Connecticut. Anybody have any recommendations?[/QUOTE]

There are a few reco's on DR1 for dentists in Puerto Plata, Sosua, & Santiago.
Allow a little extra time for a crown or major work, often times the labs are in another city!

Friends,

I do not know if I asked this question here before. But, I would like a little info if possible. I am considering retiring in the DR. But, I would like to know which cable or satellite company is the most reliable there. I have been getting conflicting responses. I just want to know which system has the most American channels. And service without much maintenance!

Thanks!

[QUOTE=Osanhopps]Friends,

I do not know if I asked this question here before. But, I would like a little info if possible. I am considering retiring in the DR. But, I would like to know which cable or satellite company is the most reliable there. I have been getting conflicting responses. I just want to know which system has the most American channels. And service without much maintenance!

Thanks![/QUOTE]Just remember, blackouts (fuera la luz) are a daily occurrence in parts of the country. If you have a generator where you plan to live or back up power, that would be good. Not sure when there is a blackout whether that will knock out the cable system power. I was in a chica's house during a blackout and she was able to connect to the internet using her Ethernet cable connection (with her laptop using the battery power of her laptop).

Not sure what cable systems exist there, some hotels and apartments where I have stayed the television reception was not the greatest, but usually I watch very little television when I am there.

[QUOTE=RobbyPump]Well here's the story guys. I'm a 40 year old guy who's finishing up college for the 2nd time. I've been given an opportunity, by a company interested in hiring me when I leave college, to spend up to 10 weeks in a Spanish speaking country learning to speak the language. I'm moving into petroleum production, and they have a lot of interests in South America and would like to have me understanding some Spanish when I get there.

So here's the requirements. I need to present them with a proposal as to how much a 10 week stay would cost. Of course I have secondary motives for wanting to spend an extended period in an exotic land, and so I come to you.

I need to find out why you think The DR is the place to go to spend time with the chicas. Really what I'd like is more semi or non pro action, particularly since I'll be there a while. I'd prefer to stay in a city away from the gringo occupied areas. I am supposed to be learning Spanish remember, so if everyone speaks English, I'll not make much progress. I'd also like any input you might have on how much a small house or apartment might cost for the 10 weeks.

Really I'm interested in any insight you might think would be useful to someone in my position. Incidentally, I do speak a small amount of Spanish already. I'm a middle class, average looking, middle aged white guy, who doesn't mind leaving suburban America to live in less the US standard accommodations.

I hope Jackson doesn't mind, but I'm thinking of posting this in quite a few different forums to get responses from each, but feel free to offer advice on any other countries you might think appropriate as well.

Hopefully come June of next year I'll be running a blog on how things are going, and chasing as much tail as I was during my fist stint in college. In the meantime, I hope to hear from all of you as to where I should spend my 10 week mid life crisis.

Oh. And learn Spanish too. Really.[/QUOTE]


I'd suggest that you might be better off with a formal program like:

[url]http://www.spanishcourses.info/spanish/iic_sosua_157_EN.asp[/url]

This one is in Sosua - which is as gringo occupied as it gets and hardly known for non-pro's but I'd suggest your assumptions about that are misplaced.

A formal course of 20 hours a week or more will make the difference between actually learning passable spanish or just pretending. It will make it MUCH easier to justify to an employer. You won't find such courses in non-gringo areas.

I think you can find as much non-pro action as you want in the DR just by getting on a gua-gua and visiting places and talking to chicas. Staying in a comfortable place like Sosua is a very good place to start and doesn't really interfere with that - plus there's plenty of easy p4p pussy to choose from.

Just stay away from the few gringo hang-out in town like Britannia, the Shark bar, etc and most people do not speak any english. You will have no problem being forced to use spanish and totally immersed if you just avoid deliberately seeking out gringos.

You will see on their website that there are costs given for different sorts of accommodation as well as tuition you can use in your proposal. Four hours of class a day 5 days a week will justify your trip, seriously help you learn spanish - and you will probably meet non-pro chica students of english at the same school. This school is right near the neptuno condos/the casino/ the beach/ in a shady old german-cultural association building.

You would be surprised at how little english dominicans speak even in tourist areas. You should avoid dominicans who speak english anyway, they are much more likely to be out to scam you.

As to budget the DR is not cheap. Including tuition, room and board, and some local partying money I'd budget $800 per week, at least $8000 plus airfare for 10 weeks of instruction. It would be very hard to write up a proposal like that without a formal school with a track record - but lucky for you it's in the perfect place to indulge chica chasing.

[QUOTE=Marc Anthony]I'd suggest that you might be better off with a formal program like:

[url]http://www.spanishcourses.info/spanish/iic_sosua_157_EN.asp[/url]

This one is in Sosua - which is as gringo occupied as it gets and hardly known for non-pro's but I'd suggest your assumptions about that are misplaced.

A formal course of 20 hours a week or more will make the difference between actually learning passable spanish or just pretending. It will make it MUCH easier to justify to an employer. You won't find such courses in non-gringo areas.

I think you can find as much non-pro action as you want in the DR just by getting on a gua-gua and visiting places and talking to chicas. Staying in a comfortable place like Sosua is a very good place to start and doesn't really interfere with that - plus there's plenty of easy p4p pussy to choose from.

Just stay away from the few gringo hang-out in town like Britannia, the Shark bar, etc and most people do not speak any english. You will have no problem being forced to use spanish and totally immersed if you just avoid deliberately seeking out gringos.

You will see on their website that there are costs given for different sorts of accommodation as well as tuition you can use in your proposal. Four hours of class a day 5 days a week will justify your trip, seriously help you learn spanish - and you will probably meet non-pro chica students of english at the same school. This school is right near the neptuno condos/the casino/ the beach/ in a shady old german-cultural association building.

You would be surprised at how little english dominicans speak even in tourist areas. You should avoid dominicans who speak english anyway, they are much more likely to be out to scam you.

As to budget the DR is not cheap. Including tuition, room and board, and some local partying money I'd budget $800 per week, at least $8000 plus airfare for 10 weeks of instruction. It would be very hard to write up a proposal like that without a formal school with a track record - but lucky for you it's in the perfect place to indulge chica chasing.[/QUOTE]

I agree with this. Participate in an organized program by day, and talk to Spanish speakers the rest of the time. In my opinion it would be best to get a steady novia and spend all the time with her and/or her family. Try to avoid speaking to ANY English speakers during your time in the country. Also watch only Spanish language TV. Also take Spanish language-learning CDs with you, especially ones where you can listen to dialogues in Spanish over and over.

Particularly if your job is coupled with oil, I would recommend Colombia or Venezuela for learning a more sophisticated level of Spanish. Dominicans, as all Spanish speaking countries, have their own slang and accents, particularly the "swollowing of the s" when speaking. Many times with the colloquial Dominican Spanish, they do not pronounce there "s" leaving you wondering if they are speaking in singular or plural. I have traveled throughout Latin America and by far the most expressive speakers of Spanish that I have enountered were Colombian or Venezuelan, perhaps because they seem to speak more clearly and without as much stucatto. To me the worst speakers are Dominican and those that speak from the roofs of their mouths in the area of Tonatico, Mexico.

Agreed that immersion is the best and fastest way however, your brain indeed will get tired and knowing some ex-pat places will be a welcome relief. I went through stages but had a head start taking two years of the language in college. Problem was, it all went to the back of my brain and 20 years later I got divorced and started traveling. Yes, I stumbled, used wrong words and laughed at myself. Spanish speakers thought I was an idiot. Then Icould carry on a conversatoin. Conversational level is the first step. Then speaking on the phone was nearly impossible as there were no body language cues to work off of. Then it was understanding some of the lyrics in music. Then it was thinking in spenish. Ten weeks will be a very very good start whereevery you go but immersion mixed with some cool ones in the ex-pat community seems best for somebody that never spoke Spinish. If like me, a second language was spoken in your home, the third language will come more easily.

Buenos suerte

PLC f/k/a Slippery