The Weekend Vigilante

Hello from sunny Santo Domingo,

TDV Manager, Michael Bach and I have been on a whirlwind tour from Vancouver to LA and are now in the Dominican Republic (DR) checking on the progress of many Dollar Vigilante clients' residency and passport applications (see more about our DR passport services here) .

I was interested to get Michael's take on our trip. While he hails from Denmark he has lived in Acapulco for more than a decade without once leaving its sunny shores. The results are in: He liked Vancouver, he loves Santo Domingo and he absolutely hated LA.

The differences between LA and Santo Domingo were stark.

In Los Angeles, you are not allowed to do anything, anywhere, except within the "approved" hours.  It was very hard for Mike to get accustomed to this.  We were checking out our hotel restaurant and he looked at the hours.  It was open for breakfast from 8am-10:30am on Monday to Friday and 8am-11:00am on Saturday, 8am-12pm on Sunday... it listed the same types of hours for lunch and dinner. There were so many hours and days listed that we actually had a hard time figuring out if and when we could eat.  We then sat down and Mike ordered some eggs.  The waiter replied, "Sorry, breakfast is finished, it is now lunch".  We asked him when breakfast ended because it was hard to make sense of all the hours and he said "Five minutes ago".  Mike sat with a blank stare, honestly confused and asked, "But, where did the eggs go?"

He found out that everything has explicit times and regulations in the land of the free. Even nightclubs suffer from this same regimentation where there is a constant race to get a few drinks before they yell out "last call" and then throw everybody out into the street at the same time.

The funniest was when we decided to go to a strip club. We asked the taxi driver where to go and he asked us what "kind" of strip club we wanted. We both looked befuddled. He then explained, if you want the girls to take off their clothes, there is no alcohol. If you want to drink, then they won't take off their clothes.  Being from Acapulco the only difference between strip clubs is whether you want the one with midgets on roller skates or the one where they haul you on stage to participate. We sat bewildered.  I said to Mike that there was no point in going to a strip club if the girls didn't strip, so we chose one where they strip but have no alcohol.  As we entered and were ID'ed for the 10th time that night, we were told a list of rules and were told that we have to buy a minimum of $20 worth of drinks to enter.  I asked them how we were going to manage that with non-alcoholic drinks.  They stated that we could buy 6 bottles of water.  Mike and I left before she even finished her sentence.

In Santo Domingo, you can do what you want when you want.  Would you like eggs in the afternoon?  No problem.  And the bars don't close until the last person leaves... as ANY bar would do if they were allowed.  As Mike and I sat at dinner last night at around midnight before choosing which all night casino or club to go to he sank back in his seat and sighed contentedly... "Ah, it's so good to do what we want to do again."

As we walked into a happening discotheque soon after he made the comment, "Look, everyone is happy and smiling!"  That was something you didn't see much of in LA.  Everyone seemed depressed... and it makes sense, we'd be depressed if we lived there too.

SOME SANTO DOMINGO EXPERIENCES

It has been very enjoyable here.  The Melia Santo Domingo hotel is quite nice, the internet is fast and they've recently updated their rooms.  Here is the view from my suite this evening.

If you visit Santo Domingo to apply for residency/passport, I recommend this hotel.  It is about $120/night.  And, if you are looking for an elegant and amazing restaurant, go to nearby Vesuvio.  We had a world class gourmet meal for about $75 for two.

VISIT THE LOCAL JAIL

As seems to be a recurring theme, I visited one of the police stations/jails here in Santo Domingo.  No, I didn't get in trouble like when I was handcuffed and roughed up by costumed thugs in Phoenix or when I had to bail my driver out of jail in Tepic, Mexico.  This time I had just lost one of my residency documents and in order to get a new one I had to go to the police station and file a report.

The people in the station were nice enough.  The mood was jovial as I sat around with the Sheriff and his buddies and we drank some strange alcoholic drink I've never heard of while we waited for the secretary to type up my report.

Santo Domingo Sheriff and Friends

The most interesting part was the "interrogation chair" and the jail.  This is where you sit while they question you:

And if they don't like your answers, then you'll end up in here (you can see the bars inside):

There was actually one "prisoner" in there at the time... he did not look too happy.

The secretary typed up my report quite quickly... I was actually a bit sad that she did it so quick as I was having a great time hanging out and drinking with the Sheriff.  But, all good things come to an end.  As I was about to walk off, the secretary, who by the way was very cute, asked me for my phone.  I gave it to her, somewhat confused.  She then typed in a phone number and handed it back to me.  I looked at her and asked, "Oh, is this the police station number if I need anything more?"

She smiled and replied, "No, that's my number.  Call me."

You see, everything down in Latin America is so much better.  I never expected my visit to the police station to be so enjoyable, but down here, everything is.

Speaking of the women, by the way, the amount of beautiful girls here is mind boggling.  And, for the ladies, probably the smoothest guys in the world are from the DR.  The last time I came here with my girlfriend I thought I was in serious risk of losing her to some latin lover on many occassions.  If you are looking for romance, come to the Dominican Republic.

NEW TDV MANAGING EDITOR ANNOUNCEMENT

I'm very pleased to announce that the founder and director of the Mises Institute of Canada has agreed to come onboard with us at TDV in the role of editor and writer.  His name is Redmond Weissenberger and you'll be hearing a lot more from him in the future.  Amongst other things he'll also be writing a monthly Austrian economics focused column in the TDV newsletter.

IN CLOSING

That's all for this week.  I'll be in the Bahamas for the Global Financial Summit next week and then back in Acapulco for a few days before heading to the California Investment Conference in Palm Springs.  Have a great weekend!

Comments

[VD]

Thank you for that fascinating post! I have been *seriously* considering your DR passport but am really concerned that I will not be able to pass the citizenship test as I don't know Spanish (which allows you to get the DR passport). Is this a problem? Do people go down this path to get a DR passport and then after 2 or 3 years fail the citizenship test (so its all been a waste of time/money)?

[mava]

Jeff,

Thank you for another awesome article. I like the comparative view. You were right to pay attention to the general mood "Everyone seemed depressed...". This, by the way, is a recent development, indicating, I think, the developing trend.

Being from USSR, I can say that my own observations and those of my friends and relatives visiting me in US, seem to center on this comparative as well, albeit in a relative sense. They all mention that in US, "Everyone seemed friendly and happy...", while in Russia, everyone decidedly unfriendly and sad, depressed, angry. I tend to think that there is a correlation to the degree of freedom in those respective locations. People still sense unconsciously, what they may not necessarily perceive consciously.

I'd like to know what is your relative feeling for the general mood in Thailand, in this regard.

Speaking of lunch times and strip clubs, you've hit the nerve. For the life of me I can not understand why am I not allowed to drink and smoke where girls are naked, why do I have to buy $10 entry and two $10 bottles of water to enter one and only real strip club in Orange County, California. Can't they just charge $30 and provide first two bottles for free? It is the same thing, so why lie?

I have visited McDonalds in L.A. shortly upon my arrival from USSR (Yep, I actually thought McDonalds is a good thing, and... I wanted to live on the Hollywood blvd, ROTFLMAO), and I was greeted in the same way. The lunch had not started yet, and I was not allowed to order a hamburger as if they didn't have them in stock (may-be they want to pretend that they are "In and Out" and actually server freshly made hamburgers?).

However, I do not want any laws or regulations forcing clubs to do anything or McDonalds to serve what I want. My treatment of McDonalds remains simple: I take my business elsewhere.

Is it true that in DR, the weather seasons are entirely opposite on North and South coastlines, even though the whole country is smaller than the greater LA?

[Jeff Berwick]

VD: The test is very easy and you have 3 years to prepare for it. We actually provide you with the questions and the answers. You just need to learn some very basic spanish on top of it. Basically, "Hola, como estas? Bien gracias." (hello, how are you? good, thanks). That's it. No one has ever 'failed' to my knowledge.

[Jeff Berwick]

mava: excellent comments... yes, i would agree, the main reason people are so depressed in the US is because they are so oppressed.

[VD]

Thanks Jeff. I have had a look at the questions and not being able to understand a single word was worrying. Even more worrying is that I am expected to REMEMBER 50 questions in a language I can't understand.

Hence the question expressing my concern...its one of the reasons I am procrastinating on the DR passport...

[Bill Lodderhose]

Ok, speaking of police, if any of you haven't had the pleasure of seeing the movie "The Other Guys" with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrel you're in for a treat. In fact, this movie is a perfect compliment to TDV, Casey's, Lew Rockwell's and other's sites. Not only does it make a comedy out of the Praetorian Class, at least the police portion but it dives deep into the abyss of our financial follies. Be sure to watch all of the end credits because the Director put together a wonderful breakdown of the last few years of Wall Street busts.

Also I've seen a couple versions. One contained scenes missing from the version I had rented at Redbox which featured an extended scene with Derek Jeter. For your viewing pleasure here's the ending credits with music by Rage Against The Machine...Sweet Dreams America!

http://youtu.be/nGDmbArdFVw

[Eric]

Jeff, this post brings back fond memories. I spent much of the late 90s traveling from the US to the DR, for business. I was young and naive, now old and naive, at the time. I had that place in the palm of my hand, should have been investing like crazy and should have maintained some of the wonderful friendships I made down there.

Oh well.

I always preferred the Jaragua to the Melia, a little more edgy, and the Presidente flows more freely. Also, if it is still there, don't miss a steakhouse called either Davey Crockett's or Daniel Boones, fantastic!!!!!