El Guapo Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Have any of you living in the Lakeside area ever lived in the Dominican Republic? If so, please provide a comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomas Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Two different worlds...DR is hotter than hell in the summer... better beaches in DR than PV....more petty crime in DR...Hurricanes....Hot,HOT,HOT...Much more tropical than lakeside ,HOT!!!! more tourist.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harleybikelife Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 Although I have not lived in DR I met a couple at Open Circle one Sunday morning that live in Ajijic for a year then moved to DR for a year to try it out. After that one in year in DR they then moved backed to Ajijic which they indicated was much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canmex87 Posted September 21, 2014 Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 You really can't compare Lakeside to the D.R. It would be easier to compare to our beach areas in Mexico. ie Puerto Vallarta to Puerto Plata or Puna Cana to Cancun etc. There are some great beaches in the D.R. but similarly there are some fantastic beaches here in Mexico. The weather is fairly similar in both places, great beach weather in the winter months but hot and humid in the summer months. Both countries have some great golf courses but I would give the nod to the D.R. One of the major advantages is that you can drive to Mexico from Canada or the U.S. but must fly to the D.R. There are more amenities here in Mexico than the D.R. We have the benefit of NOB shopping like Costco and Wal-Mart etc. The medical is better here than the D.R. I'm familiar with the north shore and there are very few expats that live there year round. The majority are snow birds. In my opinion the D.R. is a great place to vacation but Lakeside is a fantastic place to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Guapo Posted September 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2014 I figured it was apple and oranges. I've been living in Cabarete on the DR's north coast for a year, and I'm looking for something else. My walk to the beach is just 10 minutes, the weather is great during the winter months, and the women are pretty, but there's not much to do except drink and stare at the ocean. Not to say that's a bad pastime. How's the traffic around Lakeside? Dominicans don't know the meaning of personal safety in anything and less so in their cars and on their motos. No matter how safe you try to be, they'll find a way to suck you into their insanity. And, yes, more American-style amenities (Walmart, etc.) is enticing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydgirl Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 We stayed in the DR (north coast) for five months before moving to Chapala. Although it's a beautiful country with jaw dropping mountain views and some of the most incredible beaches I've ever seen, it can be a difficult place to live. Crime is common, some of it violent. Many people don't go out at night. While we were there, we met a couple at our 10 unit condo complex who had been victims of an armed robbery in their condo a few months before we arrived. A neighbor was shot during this robbery and nearly died. Then a few months later a man we knew tried to stop thieves from breaking into an apartment and he was shot seven times and they attempted to slash his throat (luckily he survived). Every one we knew had a plan if they were robbed, they usually only carried a small amount of pesos in their wallet so they could give it up in a robbery, and hid the rest of their pesos in another pocket. This is not a good way to live. Driving is horrible there. Motos are the most common form of transportation and they will drive on the right or left hand side of the road....or the middle if that works best for them. It's very common for people to be seriously injured or even killed by a moto when they step out into the street. They look to the left to see if anything is coming, and then are hit by a moto zipping along on the wrong side of the road. The prostitution in the DR is awful. At least half the restaurants have a stable of girls waiting at a table to be picked up. Men travel from the US and Europe just to spend time with as many girls as they can fit into their schedule during their "vacation". Many of the girls are very young, 14 or 15 years old. I knew I had been there too long when I started accepting this as the norm. So that's my view of the DR. I won't be going back. Mexico is a much more comfortable place to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sydgirl Posted September 22, 2014 Report Share Posted September 22, 2014 AFter all that post about life in the DR, I saw that you ARE in the DR. Sorry, lot of info you already knew I'm sure. We were in Cabarete as well. Traffic here is much improved over the DR. I had a motorcycle in the DR and a scooter here - always feel much safer on the roads. Love going out at night and being able to walk to a restaurant. Families are out and about at night, kids playing in the street. Just feels much safer. Also, not as many characters here as in the DR, but we do have our share of harmless eccentrics. Lakeside the vast majority of expats are American or Canadian. Not nearly as many Europeans as in the DR. Communication is much easier, every one either speaks English or Spanish. The weather here is amazing. Usually comfortable year round. The breeze off the ocean is wonderful in Cabarete, but can't really keep you cool in the summer. Cost of living is probably comparable, but I do miss happy hour at Mojito's on the beach in Cabarette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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