There are 46 “free-trade” zones here, fourth largest installation in the world. I haven’t actually been into one, as they are enclosed in high wire fences, guarded by men with guns. Inside, more than 200,000 people of the Dominican Republic, mostly women, work for one of the 520 foreign companies, 6 days a week, ten hours a day. There are no unions here. When the workers at American Airlines started to discuss the possibility of forming a union, all those workers lost their jobs. Wages are steadily decreasing through Latin America as there is an ever-present threat of a less developed nation whose citizens will work for even less money. Seventy percent of the trade-zone jobs are in the textile industry. The Dominican Republic then exports the products, primarily to the United States, with no tax put on them. The workers are, however, taxed on their earnings. There are always applicants for jobs. The products from these zones accounts for 85% of the exports from this country, supplemented by the traditional products of coffee, sugar, tobacco, fruit, leather, silver and gold. The United States is the largest trading partner receiving 51% of the exports and sending 43% of the imports.

Another big industry here is sex tourism. The Europeans are by far the largest tourist population here, accounting for more than 85% of the visitors. Many of the all-inclusive resorts have a reputation for easy encounters with locals, male and female. Prostitution is not illegal here, but neither does the government regulate it. Costa Rica, by contrast, which has legalized prostitution, requires frequent health checks and the payment of taxes. Those who have a particular lust for sexual encounters with minors of both sexes are particularly noticeable here. There were local headlines that a child pornography ring was recently busted and four Europeans actually sent to prison but enforcement of the laws against the exploitation of minors, which do exist, are scarcely enforced. Casinos abound in the resort areas and the Dominicans themselves have a passion for gambling, buying lottery tickets every week in the hopes of hitting the big one. And the local rum is as cheap as the Coca-Cola mixers.

The first Europeans here, in this village on the north coast of the Samana Peninsula, bought and built up the available land. Some even paid for it in coconuts (well, that is the story anyway.) Now the Dominicans have learned from them and large land parcels near the beach are selling for $90 a square meter ($9 a square foot or $36,000 an acre). Even the undeveloped steep mountaintops, where access is extremely difficult, is priced at $12,000 an acre. Construction costs here may run to $100 a square foot.

It is difficult to find a meal in a sit-down restaurant for under $12. Even at the Dominican restaurants, dishes, which feature a very large serving of rice with a very small portion of chicken, meat, or fish, sell for over $4. A good housecleaner, one who is independent and has several clients, can earn that in one hour. A schoolteacher, with a college degree, starts with a salary of about $250 a month. Ten thousand pesos a month, or an annual salary of about $4,000 is considered a good wage in this country.

So know that if you come here, or go to another developing country, to live on a simple retirement income of $3,000 a month, you will be among the wealthy. You will be the target of scams and scoundrels, both foreign and domestic. You will need a large and impressively frightening dog, or an armed guard, as well as bars on your windows and a wall around your property. Sometimes the police themselves are the thieves.

However, you can leave your belongs with impunity along the tourist beaches when you swim. I alone walk at night in this town with no sense of fear whatever. But I am a native New Yorker, well trained by travel. Despite the publicity from some of the all-inclusive resorts who aim to keep the tourists within their own compounds, this is reasonably gentle and safe nation, whose residents welcome strangers.

Should you be robbed, I suggest you consider the old question: “What are the crimes of the bank robber compared to the man who owns the bank?”

If you come here with the attitude that these are somehow “inferior” people, who are fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and serve you, you will be targeted even further.

Even those people who are illiterate are not stupid. Locals will not have to speak English in order to sense an air of “superiority.” One Dominican friend of mine said to me recently; “Everyone is a racist.” I countered with my opinion. I would be a fool, I said, if I did not acknowledge that there are differences in skin color. However, to be a racist, in my mind, means that one assumes that one’s own race is superior. This I do not do. My greatest heroes have been men of color: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela.

If you come here for sexual gratification, you will be given that but not the respect of the community. You will be regarded as the predator that you are. Know, however, that many happy marriages have ensued between Dominicans and foreigners.  But the love and respect that are needed for a relationship are rarely founded with a cash transaction.

If you come with the attitude that your way is better, that you are here to “save” them, they will gladly take your money, listen to your advice, and go on about their own way of doing things. This is an independent nation. It is a democratic nation in which you do not have a vote.

If you are looking for an easy way to make a fortune in real estate speculation, you are already too late for this country. You may be able to clear a bit of jungle in El Salvador.

If you are hoping to establish an “American” colony, with all the conveniences and amenities of “home”, you will be sold a very expensive property in a guarded and gated community and consigned to the company of your own people.

If you do not learn Spanish, you will exist in a pale shadow world, never understanding what is being said around or about you. You will not even be able to talk with ex-pats from other countries. You will lead a lonely and isolated life.

If you understand that as a person of wealth among them, a foreigner whose wallet and passport allow them to travel wherever they wish, you are expected to share a bit with the local population, even perhaps pay a bit of a higher price than the locals. Your foreign income is not taxed here. It will be up to you to decide how to contribute your fair share.

If, however, you come in peace, with a willingness to participate in the lives of the people, to be of assistance as your talents allow, you will be welcomed and respected.

You will be greeted with smiles, waves, hugs and kisses.  Local doors will open to you. Residents will travel 5 hours by bus to visit you in the hospital in the Capital if you are taken ill. You will enjoy completely unspoiled and often deserted beaches lined with coconut palms.

You will be able to bask in the beautiful sunshine of this country and the loving hearts of its people.

If you are interested in a Spanish school in Las Terrenas 

The following are the previous articles Elizabeth wrote for the magazine:

• Life In The Dominican Republic ~ Six Months Down
• Life In A Dominican Beach Town ~ An American In The Dominican Republic
• Preparing For Expatriotism - More From An American In The Dominican Republic.