Owning a Vacation Home in Caribbean

I get a bit miffed when people refer to the Dominican Republic as the Third World. First, because that term really ended with the Cold War and secondly, it seems to denote an idea that the Dominican Republic is somehow less than the United States. Sorry. But, I don't feel in my gut that the US has any claim to superiority anymore. The history is different for sure and being a much smaller nation where corruption and poverty is abound means things don't get done in the timeframe we Northerners want, if it gets done at all. But, corruption exists everywhere and as does the fight between the rich and the poor.  Still, there are a few things that I have come to appreciate about western industrialized nations, for example; flushing the toilet without a thought for where it all goes, which goes hand in hand with turning on the faucet and having potable water (although I'm from Michigan not far from Flint and that gave everyone in the State pause when it came to water qua...

What is Real Life?  Is it job, mortgage, raising kids and all the like?  I happily tackle all the items on the daily Mom-Do-This list.  (Renamed the To-Do list for what it actually feels like most days...) Then we pack up and fly south to our little slice of heaven in the Dominican Republic and then I'm outside, breathing air and listening to all the birds, frogs and crickets, annoyed at how loud they can be! Somehow nature feels 'real' and the daily grind back home seems like a holding pattern. Does everyone feel this way? I like when the whole family has to live in close quarters without internet really interfacing with one another. Add to that Grandma and all her games and it really is a family vacation akin to what I remember camping with the whole family to be like. With all the video games, apps, streaming TV and such, it’s no wonder we all feel a bit disconnected. It’s hard to be present in each other’s lives, let alone our own. I think we can all agree th...