Hi everyone,
It's so refreshing to hear all these great stories about people having good, stable relationships with Dominicans. I've only been married to my Dominican husband Rafael for a short time but we've been together for a number of years (we met in Ireland but I'll be moving to the DR early next year as we'd like to live there for a while and see how it goes. We always have the option of moving back to Ireland anyway.)
He's an absolutely wonderful guy and would do anything for me (as I would for him). I have a great relationship with his family and friends (I'm fluent in Spanish, which helps) and I love being involved in real Dominican life when I go over instead of being couped up in 'todo incluidos' (even if it does mean dealing with the odd 'apagón'). There's nothing I love more than going to dance bachata and enjoy a fría on a Saturday night and I have very fond memories of all the times we went out to dinner with his extended family.
And, just for the record, not all Dominicans are on constantly on the make. My husband's mother is always bringing me shopping and buying me little presents like shoes, tops etc. and it's as common for them to treat me to dinner as for me to treat them.
I think that some of the people in this forum get a somewhat warped view of the country by living only in the densely foreigner-populated areas of the DR, thereby encountering many of the kinds of Dominicans who gravitate towards these areas to make a quick buck. I've found that ordinary Dominicans from other areas (my husband is from Azua) do not have this kind of mentality.
Anyway, to all those involved in successful realtionships with Dominicanos/as, pa'lante, and enjoy all that cariño caribeño!