Consuelo

[todobien]

anybody know anything about the little town of consuelo just north of san pedro de macoris. i went there and it looked pretty poor but i have a chance to buy a nice house for cheap. i heard the schools have a good reputation. what is life like for a gringo in small town dr? thanks for any info. t

[frank recktenwald]

Originally Posted by todobien

anybody know anything about the little town of consuelo just north of san pedro de macoris. i went there and it looked pretty poor but i have a chance to buy a nice house for cheap. i heard the schools have a good reputation. what is life like for a gringo in small town dr? thanks for any info. t

Don't know the place myself but some of my employees live there and they told me that it's pretty caliente and their advice is to start packing and using a bulletproof vest.
Good luck

[Hillbilly]

there is a reason it is cheap.
Consuelo used to be a bustling sugar mill town with one of the best amateur baseball teams in the country, year after year.
However, the closure of the mill and the stalling to get the new mill owners up and running have caused much unemployment with the normal outcome: crime and drugs.

there is a "baseball school" there with kids coming from all over to try for a chance at the bigs...that is about all there is there, except for the lover of one DR poster who should have known better...

HB

[todobien]

i know its cheap for a reason. heard a rumor that the plant may be reopened to make ethenol, with the big shift to that. i went by the place and it looked abandoned. every one was quick to tell me sammy sosa was born here. anyway thanks for the replies. t

[nsangoma]

I'm actually living in Consuelo. Canadian by birth - I have been here since 1991. I don't find the place any more dangerous than other places in the DR. Like anywhere in this country - you have to be careful! Yes, poverty is rampant - due in part to the failure of the sugar industry. Most who are lucky enough to have found employment work in the Zona Franca in SPM or in the tourist resorts of Juan Dolio, Guayacanes, La Romana or Bavaro / Punta Cana. Those that live in the nearby bateyes are in even worse economic shape... The suffering is intense... Let me know if you have any questions...

[todobien]

nsangoma, thanks for the reply. i'm coming to consuelo this week, i am building a house there. maybe we can hook up and you can give me the some local info, i need all i can get. let me know. i'll have my cell with me but no computer. t

[sweetdbt]

Please use your head and at least wait til you have been there before comitting to do something like building a house. I am planning to move to the DR and have been all over the country, including a couple of days in Consuelo, and let's just say that if I were to make a list of the places I would want to live, it would NOT be near the top.

[DominicanBilly]

Originally Posted by sweetdbt

Please use your head and at least wait til you have been there before comitting to do something like building a house. I am planning to move to the DR and have been all over the country, including a couple of days in Consuelo, and let's just say that if I were to make a list of the places I would want to live, it would NOT be near the top.

Been there a couple of times in the last three years and I second your position that it would not be near the top of my places to build a house.