Juan Dolio - South Beach of the Caribbean !!!

[mikey007]

when will it ever look like the south beach envisioned by these developers i still see a lack of progress on the infrastructure

[NALs]

Hey guys, can people stop referring to the rocky coast as "volcanic". For the love of God, stop it already!

There are NO VOLCANIC ROCKS on the eastern plains of the DR. NONE, ZIPPO, ZERO, NADA.

What Fernandez thinks is volcanic is actually coral.

Sorry, after a few posts of volcanic rocks this, volcanic rocks that, I had to say something.

Go on...

-NALs

[NALs]

Originally Posted by giallo

Just a comment from a person who owns property in juan dolio, both land and apartments. I think that all these large investor would not be putting all this money in juan dolio if they did not believe in the area and that they would make money on there investment. I believe just like many people that the infrastructure and the streets just have been done first or atleast by now. But ,it will be done. I would not have bought properties in juan dolio if i did not belive in the area

DR1 members have a tendency to see the glass half empty, even when its full.

Some may actually believe the pessimistic points of views they are spewing here, but I think most are pessimistic because they know that a progressing Juan Dolio means an ever increasing cost of living (and population) which eventually will mean the end of their island paradise as they know it.

Many expatriate, if not most, moved to the DR due to the relatively low cost of living; every other advantage being a bonus (ie. weather, scenery, people, etc).

Change tend to make people uneasy, especially if the change will affect the essence of the place they decided to live full or part time.

Hence, people become NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard).

In the case of the DR1ers living in Juan Dolio, they are in fact powerless NIMBY's and given the powerlessness they have regarding the monumental changes heading Juan Dolio's way, they resort to the cuddly feel, the comfort created by being pessimistic, by wishing the demise and an eventual abandonment of the plans to change their section of paradise.

Alas, being pessimistic is as harmless as swearing that the glass is half empty, when in reality its full!

-NALs

[Matilda]

NALs when was the last time you were in Juan Dolio???

[Fernandez]

Originally Posted by NALs

DR1 members have a tendency to see the glass half empty, even when its full.

Some may actually believe the pessimistic points of views they are spewing here, but I think most are pessimistic because they know that a progressing Juan Dolio means an ever increasing cost of living (and population) which eventually will mean the end of their island paradise as they know it.

Many expatriate, if not most, moved to the DR due to the relatively low cost of living; every other advantage being a bonus (ie. weather, scenery, people, etc).

Change tend to make people uneasy, especially if the change will affect the essence of the place they decided to live full or part time.

Hence, people become NIMBY's (Not In My Back Yard).

In the case of the DR1ers living in Juan Dolio, they are in fact powerless NIMBY's and given the powerlessness they have regarding the monumental changes heading Juan Dolio's way, they resort to the cuddly feel, the comfort created by being pessimistic, by wishing the demise and an eventual abandonment of the plans to change their section of paradise.

Alas, being pessimistic is as harmless as swearing that the glass is half empty, when in reality its full!

-NALs

What are described as pessimistic posts are reflections on the reality in Juan Dolio- although in general the expectations are for a positive future in the area. More depth in the analysis is required, well beyond the simplistic interpretations of one's views as sometimes exposed...
The reality of Juan Dolio is one thing- and that is where it is today. The potential for the area is something else, that I would suspect is what all of those with and without interests in the area would wish the best of. The direction and content of some of the comments posted to date is that they drive to the heart of major issues facing the new South Beach of the Caribbean, and these are the natural outcroppings of develop first / fill in later approach underway in the area.
Important matters that add value to, not detract from, the current positive development tone and potential for future success. Water treatments, hygene and environment issues, lighting, policing, general services and the like. And also, crime- which is a topic we won't harp on here and deal with on other posts, but nevertheless a bigger and bigger issue in the New South Beach.

What is at risk is the posts identifying one side of the New South Beach without regards to the other- creating a veil of secured innocence and dumbfounded silence amongst those who portray an enlightened positivity and comforted "nirvanaish" sense of utopia about current events, uncompromised by their own auras of personal legitimacy and where their lack of attention and defunct admonitions of the outstanding and vital matters that are being left behind in the effort to create the new South Beach of the Caribbean belittle the 1/2 full arguments that can be made.

It's the very changes taking place that attract the investments to begin with. The prospect of a vibrant and beautiful restort community with a portion of full time residents are very real, and in the long run this will materialize - despite the IDGAS types that like to write, but only that which builds on the fluff and not the substance.

[Fernandez]

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/basalt_0857l.jpgA highly vesicular basalt from Hawaii. Highly vesicular volcanic rock is also known as pumice.
The "beachfront" types commonly found highly resemble the above.
Doubt very comfortable for a morning walk...

[STEVE G.]

Reading last posts people would think that there is no sandy beach in Juan Dolio ''...after a few posts of volcanic rocks this, volcanic rocks that...'' . Sounds like someone has an agenda against the developments on the eastern rocky coast part of Villas Del Mar . Come on it's a few min. walking distance to the sandy beach of Villas Del Mar . No need to drive from the other side of a Highway

[Fernandez]

There are no agendas. The question concerning the viability of the apartments being built was based on the suggested price by others of around US$2,500 approximate sq.mtr for apartments to be sold in that area; which raised the question as to why one would want to buy apartments that had no beach front at such an elevated price, considering the building next door is quite inferior in quality, and any apartment (albeit with a commendable view) at the far end of a dark, deserted unpaved street with no beachfront (yes it has beach access), no restaurants, nothing aside from its neighbor building, etc...

No agenda. The "reality" again is that the posted prices have no basis- there are no comps, and there is absolutely nothing, nada, hasta menos que nada, surrounding this property that could in any market, anywhere, command that price. However, there exists an "investor pool" of certain types that might not care about price, and if price is not an issue, they can build 500 such structures all the way down the rock (black coral) front to San Pedro and beyond all the way around the southern tip of the island.

Costa Del Sol, Marbella, Metro properties etc.. are a very different story. And when you have so "sell" into a saturated market with no depth/ no secondary services and other issues, perhaps the real market values will arise. We have (2) individual who own penthouse apartments in certain (to be unamed buildings) that can't get anywhere near their expected price, and in this market the unrealistic expectations of risk/reward are clearly coming to terms.

Really people, those who want to get educated and find out more about the New South Beach need better information from differing sources-

[NALs]

Originally Posted by Fernandez

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/id/basalt_0857l.jpgA highly vesicular basalt from Hawaii. Highly vesicular volcanic rock is also known as pumice.
The "beachfront" types commonly found highly resemble the above.
Doubt very comfortable for a morning walk...

Search all you want about volcanic rocks, the eastern plains of the DR were formed by the lifting of dead coral through the millenia. The only place on Hispaniola where volcanic rock outcrops exist is in the Cordillera Central and that's because many moons ago that mountain range was created by volcanoes.

Learn a little bit about the geography of the island and stop trying to impose what happened elsewhere to the DR, because the DR is the DR and everywhere else is everywhere else.

Capice?

I hope I don't have to post a map showing the different type of rocks/soil that is found in the DR.

Phew, now that the rock talk is taken cared of, I'll focus on the more on topic posts.

-NALs

[NALs]

Originally Posted by Fernandez

What are described as pessimistic posts are reflections on the reality in Juan Dolio- although in general the expectations are for a positive future in the area. More depth in the analysis is required, well beyond the simplistic interpretations of one's views as sometimes exposed...
The reality of Juan Dolio is one thing- and that is where it is today. The potential for the area is something else, that I would suspect is what all of those with and without interests in the area would wish the best of. The direction and content of some of the comments posted to date is that they drive to the heart of major issues facing the new South Beach of the Caribbean, and these are the natural outcroppings of develop first / fill in later approach underway in the area.
Important matters that add value to, not detract from, the current positive development tone and potential for future success. Water treatments, hygene and environment issues, lighting, policing, general services and the like. And also, crime- which is a topic we won't harp on here and deal with on other posts, but nevertheless a bigger and bigger issue in the New South Beach.

What is at risk is the posts identifying one side of the New South Beach without regards to the other- creating a veil of secured innocence and dumbfounded silence amongst those who portray an enlightened positivity and comforted "nirvanaish" sense of utopia about current events, uncompromised by their own auras of personal legitimacy and where their lack of attention and defunct admonitions of the outstanding and vital matters that are being left behind in the effort to create the new South Beach of the Caribbean belittle the 1/2 full arguments that can be made.

It's the very changes taking place that attract the investments to begin with. The prospect of a vibrant and beautiful restort community with a portion of full time residents are very real, and in the long run this will materialize - despite the IDGAS types that like to write, but only that which builds on the fluff and not the substance.

So basically, what you are saying is that the basic infrastructure needs to be in place before a boom can occur.

Ok, sure enough, in many other places in the world that is the case; but alas, the same underlining message from my last response concerning the rock issue underlines this one as well.

While in many other parts of the world things function a certain way, that is not necessarily the case in the DR and you should know that by now.

Let me just throw a few example of successful booms in the DR that occurred before basic infrastructure was in place, and in some cases, are still not in place.

PUNTA CANA-BAVARO: the area boomed like crazy in the 1990s/2000s. Massive resorts worth millions of dollars were built up and down the coast, massive residential developments sprouted like wildfire, etc. In the mean time, the area didn't had the basic infrastructure to support a boom and yet, the DR being the DR, a boom occurred none-the-less and in the end, its been pretty successful.

Nevermind that the area's road network is sub-par, that its sewage system is virtually non-existant, general services, water treatments, policing, you name it are not really there.

You see, in many other countries, a boom would not occur given those conditions. But that's the case in many other countries, the DR is different. Punta Cana is now one of the top 10 beach destinations in the world and the only connection it has to the rest of the country is a two-lane road that was paved by orders of Balaguer in the 1980s and has never been resurfaced since; despite the exponential growth of the Punta Cana area in terms of economic importance and quantity of tourists. In other countries, a four lane highway would had been necessary to propel a boom, in the DR all you need is an idea backed by lots of money and voila, things just happen.

BAYAHIBE: this place was deserted, inhospitable. Today it has a collection of resorts that cater to europeans and Americans, particularly to Italians. The place is a major resort area by Caribbean standards, its very successful with a relatively high occupancy rate and a high percentage of satisfied tourists. In the mean time, Bayahibe lacks many of the basics that you deem necessary before any development can actually be created and yet, there is Bayahibe.

CABARETE: something similar occurred to Cabarete. Did you know this village for all practical purposes didn't exist in the 1980s? This is a creation of the 1990s, lacking all the basic infrastructure to support a boom and yet, a boom occurred. The boom occurred first, the basic infrastructure followed later.

Examples abound and that's how things work in the DR.

The DR is not like many other parts of the world so my suggestion is for you to leave your common sense that explains how everything works and fails elsewhere in the world.

In the DR, things are different, they are VERY different. Its a mystery, and in the end, things simply happens when everyone said it couldn't be done.

Juan Dolio will be a success, that's a given. In the mean time, you guys can complain about the roads, about the lack of this and the lack of that and wonder how will it be a success if this is not done first, or that is not done first. The roads will be fixed, the basic infrastructure will be put in place... all when you least expect it. And the weird part is that much of it will be a success and you will wonder how was it possible. The truth is that it wasn't possible, but the DR being the DR, it just happened when everyone said it couldn't.

Whether you want to take my word or not is irrelevant. Sooner or later, you will witness exactly what I'm trying to explain to you and you will just wonder and ask yourself, how? How is it possible? In the rest of the world its not possible? How?

The answer: its the DR. Things just happen when people say it can't be done. Period.

-NALs