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Information
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Articles by Ginnie BedggoodSafe Haven In The Sun?
Headlines in the daily newspapers in the Dominican Republic attest to rising rates of crime, some of a violent nature, a burgeoning drug culture and some 36% of the population living below the poverty line (which means on less than US$2 a day). So, is it still safe to live as an expatriate in the Dominican Republic or is Dominican society falling apart? Can the American and European retirement population still find their piece of paradise in the sun, to make their golden years truly golden, or do they have to surround themselves with high tech security devices in order to protect themselves against robbery ... and worse ... To continue with this article, please click on this link. Debunking Seven Myths about Living in the Dominican Republic by Ginnie Bedggood Some brief notes on the sort of assumptions new residents in the DR arrive with: some accurate, some not.............. Each year more and more foreigners move to the Dominican Republic, lured by the tropical climate, inexpensive property (if you know where to look), high rates of return on investments and a very reasonable cost of living compared to Europe and the United Kingdom and, in some respects, the US also. After 13 years of living here I have noticed that some of the more recent arrivals are different in both calibre, adjustability and simpatico with the locals, from those already living here when I became an expat. A small amount of research has shown that newer arrivals probably could be described as “followers” rather than “pioneers” and many arrive with false assumptions and a set of myths internalised which do not assist in a happy transition. These brief thoughts are penned with the aim of easing the passage of future groups of arrivals. To read the full article please click here. Don't Bring Wigan With You!
We know of at least one British couple who did just this, about a week into their two-week holiday. They even bought a property and thus committed serious money... and they are currently having a difficult time adjusting. They will have an even harder time selling their property - it is in an area notorious for robberies ...
The Mysteries Of The Term 'Mañana' In
The Dominican Republic
Forget The Sunscreen, Bring Your Patience
To continue reading this article, please click on this link. Walk In Their Shoes
Time keeping, as in punctuality, is not a Dominican Republic speciality ...
Culture Shock Revisited
Exprats Or Offshore Waiverers?
Moving to live in the DR takes a different kind of preparation and a good place to start is reading. Instead of diving into the internet for real estate, try consulting a few books on the history, politics, culture and customs of the country. The Dominican Republic A National History by Frank Moya Pons published by Hispaniola Books gave me some ‘light bulb’ moments and provides historical insights as to how and why things are the way they are today. Reading this book a second and third time after exploratory visits to the DR may have left you scratching your head somewhat, is also beneficial. Those who are really keen could extend their reading to works about other parts of Latin America; the DR in many respects has more in common with other Spanish speaking Latin American countries than it does with the nearer English speaking Caribbean islands.
Building A Home In The Dominican Republic
- Part I
The ingredients for this recipe include a sense of humor, a good lawyer (which does not necessarily mean one who speaks good English), patience, a plot of land, an architect (same applies as for lawyer), the ability to laugh at yourself, an engineer/master builder (see lawyer and architect), plans, permissions, your hard earned money to purchase all of the above, and………..did I mention a sense of humor? Readers will note that the article is entitled building a home in the Dominican Republic. I am assuming that your wish is to build a house that you will one day live in - either immediately it is finished or at some stage in the future when you retire from the working world. I am not addressing myself to the concerns of property investors who buy up large numbers of properties or large tracts of land with a view to building homes for sale to others or for rental to vacationers. This is considered a business here and different rules (and taxes!) apply. And in any event I have some reservations about the ethical principles on which that could be based in a third world country and how much the indigenous inhabitants really benefit from such activity. But, I will keep those to myself as they are no part of ‘home' building! To continue reading this article, please click.
Building A Home In The Dominican Republic - Part II
Before you go looking for an architect it is a good idea to have sketched out, however roughly, the idea for your dream home which is in your mind, either using a computer program for this, or even a pen sketch on paper. It is so much easier to explain what you want from a drawing than from thin air, particularly if language issues come into play. It is also easier to get concepts across from paper, rather than assume a two way telepathy between you and your architect. When looking for an architect make sure they are a member of CODIA - this is the professional association of engineers and architects. Without the architect's CODIA registration number on your plans they will not be approved by the innumerable authorities to whom they need to be submitted. When hunting for an architect take the recommendation of someone you trust who was satisfied with the service provided by their architect. Some of the development companies will offer you a ‘job lot' of lawyer, architect, engineer and construction company. Personally, I am wary of these set ups as I am not convinced that this ‘team' approach is in the consumers best interest. You may be told certain things are not possible simply because it is outside the team's experience, or too much trouble. Your own independent architect is far more likely to work to your interests. To continue reading this article, please click.
Building A Home In The Dominican Republic - Part III
A range of building permissions are required before building commences. This is the owners responsibility to obtain, not the architects or the builders, but of course if either of these people have contacts in the relevant departments you can fix a price with them for doing this extra work. Some rich foreigners building here in DR do not ‘bother' to get planning permissions. This is very unwise since at the end of the day any one of the authorities could apply for an order to demolish the building. In Spain recently and as a result of unauthorized use of green belt areas, house owners are now likely to be held criminally accountable as well. This hasn't happened in the DR and usually lack of permissions is not seen as providing grounds for prosecution so much as a financial opportunity. To continue reading this article, please click. Floods In Puerto Plata - Torrential Rains
In The Dominican Republic
Two weeks ago on a Friday afternoon and night we had the most torrential rains. I’m no global warming boffin but in the nearly 15 years I have lived in Puerto Plata I have never seen anything like this. Even our house situated in the uptown area developed a new feature – a fast flowing river in the back garden. If ever one needed proof that when building in tropical climates it is a good idea to build higher than the surrounds, this was it. The fast flowing river sped and tumbled towards the area behind us and disappeared through the back gate into the coach parking lot leaving just the detritus in its wake. We kept the dogs in the house………not that they were exactly volunteering to go out! RUptown had new rivers, the town centre had floating cars so it does not take much imagination to guess at what happened in the low lying areas, those areas down by the port of Puerto Plata which coincidentally house the barrios of the very poor. Everything which wasn’t nailed down went. Hundreds of barrio shacks were totally inundated. Some homes could not withstand the pressure of the water and simply collapsed, their wooden plank walls and zinc roofing joining the surge of debris which swept relentlessly on to the sea. And as more garbage joined the newly formed rivers the more dangerous they became. Garbage isn’t actually the correct word – these were people’s treasured possessions: the photograph of a grandchild, the gaudy painting of the Virgin Mary, the three plastic chairs, the battery operated radio, the Sunday best outfit. To continue reading this article, please click. More Than Merengue
The whole town of San Pedro de Macoris is jumping, awash with excitement. This past weekend it was pretty much awash with rum as well. And many of those celebrating had surnames like Henderson, Wilson, James and Simons.........and probably from his grave Theophilus Civerton raised his ghostly glass as well. So......is San Pedro de Macoris the latest fun spot in the Dominican Republic for escapees from US and UK? Not exactly. The reason for all the excitement was the proclamation of the UNESCO Cultural Heritage Award to the Gulayos Dance Tradition of San Pedro de Macoris, Domincan Republic, on 25th. November 2005. UNESCO honours 'Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity'. The international UNESCO jury meets every 2 years to designate forms of cultural expression which are to be proclaimed masterpieces and in 2005 a little known, outside of the Dominican Republic, dance troupe comprised mainly of elderly people was one of the masterpieces so honoured. The DR's version of the Buena Vista Social Club of Havana, if you will ... To continue reading this article, please click on this link. Last Chance for Pleasures of the Flesh! Carnaval in the Dominican Republic by Ginnie Bedggood
All over the Caribbean, Central and South America one final fling is made at this time of year to assuage the need for partying before the traditional Western Christian Lent period begins, with its history of penance and denial of 'the flesh'. The timing depends on when Easter falls, because dependent on that is when Ash Wednesday occurs (the Eastern Christian Church is different with Great Lent starting on Clean Monday (!) which is often later in the year). Ash Wednesday in 2006 occurs on March 1st, which is very convenient for the Dominican Republic as the culmination of Carnaval celebrations is always linked to Independence Day which is February 27th. Carnaval is thought to be a semantic derivative of 'carne vale' - a farewell to meat, heralding the traditional fasting of the Lenten period. Carnaval used to be celebrated in the Dominican Republic during the week before Independence Day and ended with the colourful Independence Day Carnaval Parade in cities and towns across the country. But why have a little of something when you can have a lot? Now it would appear that the whole of February is taken up with Carnaval and certainly all Sundays in February see mini celebrations throughout the country. To read the full article please click on the link. Glitz, Bling and Merengue!
The first thing which will strike the visitor is the noise level associated with electioneering in the DR. One method of hyping the candidate is to use vans and lorries loaded up with ghetto-blasters which pump out catchy jingles at strength 95. Well, they would be catchy jingles if you could understand them. It isn't a question of language, but of distortion..... For
the full article please click on this LINK. Can I Count Your Vote? Dunno, Can You...................? The previous article examines the lead-up to these elections. Election Day, 16 May, came and went pretty peaceably as it so happened. The electorate were given a very large voting paper to decide on Senators, Deputies, Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors. Photos of the worthy aspirants were included because not everyone in the DR can read. Even then not all could see................ For full article, please click on this link
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This
was Ginnie Bedggood's first article for Escape from America Magazine
and arose from her bemused observance of some of the incorrect assumptions
being made by some of the newer expat population in the DR or those
looking to move here; assumptions which ranged from 'crime is rampant,
no foreigner is safe' to 'I'm ok, I've got a security guard!'. The
author reflects on changes which have occurred in Dominican society
in the 13 years she has lived in DR & sets these in the context
of what is happening in the rest of the world in relation to crime
and security. She uses her backgound experience of working in the
criminal justice system in UK and concludes that potential expats.
could do a lot worse than move to the DR. 
In
this two part article Ginnie Bedggood, herself a British citizen
who has been living in the Dominican Republic for some 13 years,
targets Brits. who are thinking of relocating here. She notes some
of the unwise decision making processes which have been used to
'inform' such a move recently and cautions on the necessity of thorough
homework and preparation. The author outlines 6 necessary items
in the relocators skill kit in order to adjust to life in the DR
with the minimum of difficulty. She also spells out some of the
scams awaiting the unwary and unprepared and advises how not to
get one's fingers burned. 
The
heading could just as well have read Eastbourne or Swansea, or anywhere
else in the UK. The first piece of advice is: do not base a decision
to relocate to the Dominican Republic on a two-week holiday at an
all-inclusive resort here. Real life is very different. Well, of
course, it must be, silly woman, what sort of advice is this? I
can hear the seeds of scepticism slowly bursting into bud in your
cerebral cortex. But... it happens! 
You
think 'mañana' means tomorrow? Think again! Ginnie Bedggood
analyses her experience of getting an embossing stamp made in the
Dominican Republic. Whilst this tale is humourously written it is
full of understanding of why things appear to take so long to achieve
in the Dominican Republic, as well as containing advice as to how
not to let this increase your blood pressure. The author draws on
some 13 years experience of living in the DR to inform her obvious
simpatico with its indigenous inhabitants. 
The
sub-header is not medical advice. Of course you will need your sunscreen
in the harsh sun of the Dominican Republic. But it is a cautionary
tale for new and would be residents as to exactly how long it takes
to achieve a fairly simple task. New residents who come from cultures
where provision of goods and services is but a phone call away are
easily identifiable here in the Dominican Republic during their
first few months. They can appear frustrated, short tempered and
wear an incredulous look. Yes, getting even simple things achieved
can take a lot longer than you are used to. It is part of the charm
of the country. No neurotic 100 miles per hour lifestyle here, accompanied
by cries of 'I haven't got time'. Dominicans always have time ...
for people. It is just tasks that take a little longer! A hint.
Never let your frustration show for real. Be laid back about all
of this, demonstrate that you, too, understand the mysteries of
the term mañana. And smile ... 
Communication
difficulties with those working for you in the DR stem not from
language alone, but from an inability to understand where the other
person is coming from and a failure to share a common set of expectations.
In this article Ginnie Bedggood shares her understanding of Dominican
staff, based on some 13 years experience of living in the Dominican
Republic. She focusses on staff most expats will employ, such as
a maid, gardener, car mechanic and, for those brave enough (!) electricians.
Most
new residents in the Dominican Republic, certainly the retiree population,
will have weekly if not daily contact with a maid (cleaning lady)
and gardener, so I'll start there and come on to other contractors
and employees later. We have had the most marvellous cleaning lady
for the past 10 years; she is now part of our family. But unfortunately,
illness has put her on long term sick leave, although, of course
her job is always here when she recovers sufficiently. So, I have
had to find a new cleaning lady and thus am reminded of some of
the issues. Boy, am I reminded! I have been spoiled for 10 years
- when you get a treasure, since not everyone is, cherish her. And
walk in her or his shoes for a better understanding of what to these
people are ordinary life challenges, yet to you and I would be insurmountable
problems. 
When
I first became an expat I had not read any of the mountains of material
available about the psychological processes one goes through in
this transition. Bad preparation, you may think, but it really never
occurred to me and I certainly never felt the need. And that coming
from a background as a University teacher of social work and as
one familiar with notions of change, loss and transition. 
No,
it isn’t a typo. The ‘secret’ of a successful
relocation to any country in the world lies in careful planning
and preparation. Some ‘secret’, huh? But if it is so
obvious, why don’t more people do it? Maybe because human
nature does strange things when outside of its comfort zone.
Not
for the faint-hearted, gullible, stupid or otherwise impaired adventurer
but, if you are none of these things other than an ‘adventurer',
building your own home is eminently do-able in the Dominican Republic.
Last month I covered finding your plot of land, ensuring it was saleable by the vendors, finding a good lawyer and title searches. The next step is drawing up plans, finding an architect and subsequently finding a builder. 
In Parts 1 and 2 of this article I covered finding your plot of land, title searches, finding a lawyer, architect and construction engineer. Now you are almost ready to begin construction work…….almost, but not quite! 
You
look out your window, you see cars floating past and you pinch yourself
to see if you’re dreaming about a James Bond film remake.
But this is no dream, this is for real. And where is this happening?
The normally sun-drenched tourist destination of Puerto Plata on
the north coast of the Dominican Republic. 
The current
wave of English speaking expats from US and UK was not the first
such group to move to the Dominican Republic. Ginnie Bedggood traces
patterns of migration in the Caribbean in the nineteenth century
and examines the cultural heritage such migrations have produced.
She specifically focusses on those who moved from English speaking
Caribbean islands colonised by the British, in order to pursue employment
opportunties in the sugar cane cutting business in the Dominican
Republic, noting the similarities experienced then by these immigrants,
known as Cocolos, to some of the situations faced by Haitians today.
Ginnie Bedggood is herself British, but not proud of her country
of origin's colonial legacy! 
A description
of how, costumes, masks and vejigas for Carnaval are made; the historical
significance of these and an explanation of some of the Carnaval
'characters'. This, of course, relates to Carnaval in the DR. If
you lived in some parts of Mexico, you could be celebrating The
Day of the Oppressed Husband........................! 
As
many English councils have just had their local elections and as
the Dominican Republic's local and congressional elections take
place on 16 May 2006, I thought it might be apposite to share a
few thoughts about the similarities (few!) and the differences (many!)
between the UK and the DR. 
"Eight
more days and it will all be over," I said in my previous article
about the 
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2006 casabush.org. All rights reserved.