Expats, those that live in poverty,always dicussed, BUT who are all the others?

[johne]

The majority of all of our discussions are usually centered around the subject title. I am interested in knowing a little bit more about the "other Dominicans" For example, I spent several days last week In Santo Domingo looking at luxury condo apartments in all of the best neighborhoods of the capital. I saw apartments that ranged from $200,000 to $450,000. The $450,000 condo was a giant 3-4 bedroom apartment on the 8th flooor with views across the city and a view of the water on the horizon. Simply beautiful.The other apartment were are very nice residential streets, modern, new constructions, and not cheap.

My questions are: Who lives in these apartments? Do these people work in S.D.? What is their work or profession? Political people?Are they investors that are renting or are they users? Family people? In numbers, not percentages of the population, how many people live at this level in the capital. Or, any other insight you might be able to share about these "other people"

JOHN

[AZB]

There are houses in santiago that cost more then million dollars. A whole neighborhood of millionaires. All of these houses are occupied by dominicans. Many of these folks are business men, owners of zona franca, wealthy families, folks who own financial firms, own huge businesses, restaurants etc.
There are medical doctors ex: surgeons, plastic surgeons, lawyers etc.
Not all rich dominicans are drug dealers or baseball players.
These rich dominicans don't ever mix with tourists. They wouldn't even go to sosua or cabarete to mix with anyone.
Even the upper middle class dominicans won't mix with tourists. This is the prime reasons many expats and almost all of tourists never get to meet the "other dominicans".
AZB

[Robert]

AZB saved me a post, thanks

[KateP]

Originally Posted by AZB

There are houses in santiago that cost more then million dollars. A whole neighborhood of millionaires. All of these houses are occupied by dominicans. Many of these folks are business men, owners of zona franca, wealthy families, folks who own financial firms, own huge businesses, restaurants etc.
There are medical doctors ex: surgeons, plastic surgeons, lawyers etc.
Not all rich dominicans are drug dealers or baseball players.
These rich dominicans don't ever mix with tourists. They wouldn't even go to sosua or cabarete to mix with anyone.
Even the upper middle class dominicans won't mix with tourists. This is the prime reasons many expats and almost all of tourists never get to meet the "other dominicans".
AZB

Politicians...

[Don Tomas]

Originally Posted by AZB

There are houses in santiago that cost more then million dollars. A whole neighborhood of millionaires. All of these houses are occupied by dominicans.

I got "lost" in Santiago once and I think I drove into this neighborhood. All I can say is these houses (mansions) are beautiful and I have lived in Chicago and other major US cities and have seen mansions.

Anyone who says the DR doesn't have money is very misinformed. The country does, it's just not distributed equally.

PS. Personally Santiago is my favorite city.

[DMAO]

That part of the city is called Cerros de Gurabo.

*****It's also my favorite city.

[Toronto2inDR]

the DR is no different then most other countries in the world…show me one where the money is distributed equally…Does not exist!

What I guess you may have meant to say is that there are extreme contrasts with starving poor in close proximity to the rich high life not like the US system where the rich have a relatively large buffer zone.

[Hillbilly]

Professionals but also self made folks, some moeny launderers and industrial people. Like the head of Power One, or any of the other Free Zone factories...Hundreds of them live here.

Just imagine this. The guys that started Financiera Profesional now own 2% each of the Banco Leon. That's 2% of 35 billion...not bad for kids that graduated from college in the late 60s, early 70s.

There is a guy that has 1500 betting parlors-Juanito Sports...

And in Santo Domingo, an old student of mine is the owner of over 2 million meters of Bávaro and nearly half of the Herrera airport, if they ever give it to him.

Money? There is money galore, it just is not that obvioulsy flaunted. Neither Pedro Martinez nor Sammy Sosa or any of the other ball players were accepted into the Santo Domingo Country Club. Stanley Javier was. Why? He is "people" not chopo, and can eat with a knife and fork...comes from a very good family.

Just take a look at the marina in Casa de Campo and remember that those boats are mostly Dominican owned as are the ones parked there in the river.

It is just like Greenwich, Bergan County, Westchester or any other high income area in the states...

HB

[Jon S.]

These are mostly upper-class or upper middle class Dominican families who know how to invest their money well, although, like Hillbilly said, there are money launderers too. Just go to Los Cacicazgos in Santo Domingo, biggest houses I've seen in the DR outside of the houses in Punta Minitas and Henry Kravitz' mansion in Casa De Campo. I'll probably get something in Naco in a few years but if traffic keeps getting worse, it's out of the question. Near Sarasota Avenue in Santo Domingo is a very nice area too, just like Gazcue, always liked that area. Plenty of nice quiet, tree-lined neighborhoods.

[Jon S.]

Sorry, posted the same thing twice by mistake........