Noise and the DR - Be Warned

Now don't laugh at me, but there is a phone number to report noise that works fairly well.
809 682 3151   ext 5036


Don't expect miracles, but if you don't try it, it definitely won't work.

Wow, just wow... The audacity of Americans expecting the island to change for YOU?

How about this concept... Let people enjoy their lives. Go buy 99 cent ear plugs. Or better yet, go back to the states in a private community and you can talk about how “those people are so loud” from your gated community.

GregInTheDR wrote:

Wow, just wow... The audacity of Americans expecting the island to change for YOU?

How about this concept... Let people enjoy their lives. Go buy 99 cent ear plugs. Or better yet, go back to the states in a private community and you can talk about how “those people are so loud” from your gated community.

Are you implying the anti-noise line was implemented for Americans? 

In your few months here, have you had a next-door neighbor who plays regaetton at full blast at 2-3 am?

Do you enjoy street music at 6 am on Sunday mornings?

How about those wonderful sound trucks with 40-50 speakers blaring so loud your windows rattle and your ears hurt? 

Do you think the majority of Dominicans enjoy blaring music at all hours? 

If you do you're sadly mistaken.

Wow, wow wow.

A comment from someone who lives is a regulated society who has toss all idea about DR (except probably on vacations) and can't share his experiences of living integrated in Dominican society for 15 years for other expats to understand!!! ......and JDJ has 30 years here I believe!!

Come share with this expat community when you have several years of living here 24/7 in various parts of this country when you really understand a wee bit more about DR.

As someone who lives in downtown Chicago, don't speak to me about noise and music and sirens.

It's like when people visit Chicago and complain about the sound of the El Train. I mean, really... If you don't like it - put in ear plugs.

Ever been to Jamaica? Puerto Rico? It's the same concept. Loud music. Roosters. Sirens. And it's gonna be worse in a city of millions of people.

Reggaeton at 3am? Enjoy your life and family, enjoy your good times. I'll put in ear plugs, I won't expect other people to change their lives and culture for me.

And also, the fact that you referenced Ginger Baker - maybe at your age a retirement community would be a better option. Those kids with loud “boom boom” music won't bother you there 🤣🤣🤣

(On a side note, I'm 36 and a guitarist. Ginger Baker is the best drummer of all time, so don't misunderstand my post as a knock on the greatest of all time. RIP GINGER)

I don't mean to be rude. But after living on my grandmothers farm I would rather hear cocks crowing and pigs doing there thing.  I don't think respecting your neighbors is a (( American thing))I do live in LT when I can and I respect my LT neighbors this is a stressful time for everyone so let's work together to lesion stressors. I also lived in Chicago and yes you have to deal with a great deal of noise. The EL the cars the police and ambulance all the just general noise of a big city. But Chicago sells it self as a BIG city. The DR  does not sells its self as such. Not saying it sells it self short. To me LT sells its self like the Islands of Hawaii, Maui and etc. There Areas  that you can party your heart but if it's residential there's a limit.

You need to realize that this site has many expats looking to retire to ths country and they seek factual information on living here. Noise will be a concern for most if they are made aware.

We don't need to debate this subject it is a fact, and as JDJ has stated, Dominicans too dislike the excesses and the Ministry of the Envorinment is gradually taking action to bring society in line with what is more the norm in the developed world.

DR is worse than virtaully all other Caribbean countries for noise in my wide experience of travel and living throughout the Caribbean where noise laws are enforced better.

For me I live integrated in the campo and have no qualms about the occassional loud music and I am supportive of the community who also have reason to complain about the high volumes preferred by the youth here especially late at night. We can't complain about the preacher though.

Got good ear plugs when needed too but that does not drown out low frequencies

Thank you to all that are contributing to this conversation.  I appreciate the diversity and being able to look at it from more than just one perspective.

One last comment about noise - in the first apartment we rented - in a community of all two story, 4 apartment buildings, I soon grew accustomed to loud music blaring from someone's home or visiting auto, especially during the day. What I also learned is that the music and parties ended by 11 pm or sooner if it was not a birthday or anniversary celebration. Here in Moca, that seems to be the general rule. I've  not been to bars/discos but there's one not far from us and there's never been noise loud enough to carry two blocks. Daytime blaring is sometimes frustrating when you have no AC and need windows open for air circulation, but that's the way it goes....

Well.... I appreciate someone bringing up the subject. I was the one that commented earlier on the noise in the heart of LT. I am not so much complaining about it (sure...ask my wife!), since I realize we chose to live here and knew what we were getting into. We understand culture is the primary risk factor in successfully settling in any other country. But I do think, as the OP indicated, those looking into relocating here need to realize noise is an issue, among other things. I have traveled in other "developing" countries and it is a similar environment. People cannot afford to drive cars. Too expensive. So they commute around in every 2-stroke engine based vehicle there is, like motorcycles and scooters. Interestingly this is the only place I have experienced quads driving around the down town area. Quads were never really meant to be driven in business/residential areas, but whatever. My point is most of the intolerable noise here tends to be vehicular.

So, I get it. Noise is a cultural thing. I understand the shouting at each other and such, but is it really necessary to slap a cheap tin muffler on your motorcycle to make as much noise as possible!  My understanding is the current mayor in LT was considering outlawing those mufflers. So, at least someone in authority recognizes that noise for the sake of noise is a bit unnecessary.

In the 10 minutes taken to write this I have experienced every single sound Lennox described in this initial post, and a few additional things. LOL. Where are my 99 cent ear plugs!

I must add, on a more positive note, the sound of the roosters and chickens, at whatever time of day, is really pleasant to me. When we move to Coson we will have to get us a rooster and maybe some chickens   

When roosters are free to roam they cause little annoyance.

When I lived in the city the neighbours kept an old rooster and hen as pets next door in a 5 metre by 5 metre concrete hard enclosed by block walls. They fed them left over meal scraps..rice which got shared by resident pidgeons.

The rooster was regular...4am, 4.30, 5.00, 5.30, 6.00 daily, 20 crows each time and loud echoed by the enclosure. The hen would add a chorous each time which was squawky. Ear plugs were effective to avoid that early alarm call.

I have resident big frogs living outside our bedroom now in the campo where they get their fill of bettles attracted by the exterior night lights. Their croaks are pleasant. The occassional rooster passes close by and the crowing is a passing sound. The pigs kept by a neighbour at some distance will sometimes squeel at each other but barely noticeable. The occassional mule or cow noise from the adjacent field is relaxing. Dogs can be a pain though at night especially if one is on heat and all the local loose males are in persuit. And finally we have our resident couple of birds..fly catcher type..who tap on the windows at dawn and throughout the day too. It is those windows with reflective glazing that attracts them as well as other birds. They cant see you and so you can observe them at close quarters.

Yes the sounds of nature are mostly pleasant in open country. It is humans that struggle to exercise control.

lennoxnev wrote:

When roosters are free to roam they cause little annoyance.

@lennox - I respectfully disagree! 

The roosters by us are free range and they crow all night! We have several in the area (maybe that's the problem?) and it's like "dueling roosters" some times!

The neighborhood roosters are across the street, so not quite so loud. I am now used to them and will miss them when we leave here.

And we occasionally have a horse right next door. One day we thought we heard a horse and looked out the window...and there he was. We throw him apples. I kind of want to take him with us too  :0)

I didn't see my wife's post above. I guess her and I disagree about the roosters. Uh oh. LOL.

Free range for me is 4 acres.

My hen house is 100 yards from the back of the house so no issue there. The visiting roosters are mobile looking for their hens...a crow here then over there, so no problem now for me.

I have heard some people say too that the sound of roosters is relaxing...but not so many.

Actually I'm just adding chicken wire to the boundary fence so I can add a couple of geese, guinea fowl,  a couple of turkey and maybe peacocks to our collection of birds. The ducks are quiet fowl.

It appears that the intent of this thread was to be educational. To describe reality and the options.

It was NOT necessary to be rude Greg.  Your comments were not helpful. You do not live here so you really have no idea.  Several posters with years   of experience here are describing reality!   

For those wanting to live here this is educational and helpful as its outside  many peoples experiences. 

I have been here   17 1/2 years now and  one thing I know is that finding a quite place to reside is very important.   I love the culture and I love the music. What I do not love and will no longer tolerate is   music blasting until  5 in the morning !    That is unacceptable in any culture.   And especially at  83 decibels.  One year at Christmas,  2 years ago, I experienced  6 days of this.  83 decibels almost  22 hours a day for  6  straight days. It was so loud my bed literally vibrated. I called the police no less than  50 times!   AND no  earplugs helped!

One thing I always add to the advice - when looking at a place to rent or buy,  check it out  every day of the week and weekend. A nice quiet place on weekdays can turn into a nightmare  on weekends!

By the way, nice quiet places are available in this country!   You can find them, even in the city!  I currently live in the quietest  place I have ever lived in here!   Its amazing, inexpensive and  close to everything (except my office)

Rocky, I had forgotten about the weekend quad bikes in LT with no mufflers racing along the road at the back of Playa de lad Balinas.

I also had a neighbour opposite in Miramar SD whose son had multiple motorbikes and a silencerless quad. He took pleasure in blasting away from his house on the quad and in doing so setting off all the car alarms nearby. It was deliberate I am sure. He seemed to enjoy it.

Before that in Bella Vista there was a Harly owner nearby who likewise liked to throttle up to set off car alarms when leaving or arriving home.

Here in the campo the smaller bikes aren't a problem.

My advice in general would be to avoid apartments as a first choice home. A stand alone dwelling away from main roads and buisinesses especially colmados and of course any entertainment spots. Wherever you like, check it out at all hours. Most of us are sensitive to excess noise and having to use ear plugs after investing won't make you happy.

Coson Hills - Loma Ana - was the quietest place I have lived in DR.

Yes the quads here are the worst. There is one in town that is so loud you have to stick your fingers in your ears when it is close. Our land is in Coson about 400 feet up and it is quiet up there. Although it will be about a year before the house is constructed and we can move

Let's be honest - Lennox had a rough night of sleep and it's obvious in his original post. The man complained about roosters..... Roosters.

It was not an “educational” post. It was a blowing off steam post.

My response wasn't rude. There are countless ways to respond and a disagreement is one of them.

Lennox is a valued poster here with years and years of experience.

You have no idea if he was blowing off steam or not.  I have read probably 98 % of his posts over many years.  I am also the moderator here.

Until you have actually lived here for many months and experienced this I suggest you take a step back!  You have no actual idea of what it is to live here. 

Disagreement is always welcome here.  Opinions are welcome.  Facts are welcome.  Rude is not.

Greg, offer value to the thread about your real experiences in DR rather than Chicago, or in the absence of such knowledge, don't create additional 'noise' and perhaps it is better to go find another forum to troll and have an arguement.

[Post under review]

Greg buddy, you are outta line, imho. I'm not a fan of city living but have lived in several countries and cities plus places where noise factors would far exceed ANY city, even that place you say you live. From the continual noise of fighter jets taking off or landing, day and night, to the hustle and bustle of hundreds of scooters/motorcycles/honking horns/ loud music at all hours....etc etc to roosters five feet away from a bedroom window at the house next door doing it's racket early in the AM onwards.....all these things that cause/create noise should and need to be known and considered when deciding to live anywhere. Noise levels and kinds of noise affect each of us differently, especially those that are twice as old or older (and experienced) as you....

Is GregintheDR really in the DR

noisier roosters here - the all night kind !!

I retract my question.....about RD

clearly Greg is here..
wearing his Toque...... de queda !!

hahaha

back to the issue at hand..... elsewhere in the world

FRANCE

    Jan. 24, 2021Updated 12:41 p.m. ET

PARIS — The crow of a rooster and the ringing of a church bell at dawn. The rumble of a tractor and the smell of manure wafting from a nearby stable. The deafening song of cicadas or the discordant croaking of frogs. Quacking ducks, bleating sheep and braying donkeys.

Perennial rural sounds and smells such as these were given protection by French law last week, when lawmakers passed a bill to preserve “the sensory heritage of the countryside,” after a series of widely publicized neighborhood spats in France's rural corners, many of them involving noisy animals.

In a nation still attached to its agrarian roots and to its terroir — a deep sense of place tied to the land — the disputes symbolized tensions between urban newcomers and longtime country dwellers, frictions that have only grown as the coronavirus pandemic and a string of lockdowns draw new residents to the countryside.

“Life in the countryside means accepting some nuisances,” Joël Giraud, the French government's junior minister in charge of rural life, said on Thursday. It would be illusory, he said, to idealize the countryside as a picture-perfect haven of tranquillity.

Perhaps the most prominent of these noisy animals was Maurice, a rooster in Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron, a town on an island off France's western coast. His owner had been sued by neighbors — regular vacationers in the area — because he crowed too loudly.

Politicians and thousands of petitioners rushed to the Gallic rooster's defense, and a court eventually ruled in 2019 that Maurice, who died last summer at the age of 6, was well within his rights.
New York Today: Compelling daily stories, transit news and a glimpse at the lighter side of life in the city.

“Our rural territories are not just sceneries, they are also sounds, smells, activities and practices that are part of our heritage,” Mr. Giraud told lawmakers in the French Senate. “New country dwellers aren't always used to it.”

The bill was passed by the National Assembly, France's lower house of Parliament, last January. In a rare show of parliamentary and political unity, the Senate unanimously passed an unamended version of the bill on Thursday.

Greg's comments are not useful and distract from the issues and have been removed. 

Greg can either add value or ask useful questions or go away!

more of the French problem.... unique to say the least

To name but a few recent cases: In Dordogne, a region of southwest France, a court ordered a couple to drain their pond after neighbors complained about incessant frog croaking; in Alsace, in eastern France, a court ruled that a horse had to stay at least 50 feet from the neighboring property after people grumbled about smelly droppings and droves of flies; in Le Beausset, a small village in southern France, residents were shocked when tourists complained about the singing of cicadas. (The mayor responded last year by installing a six-foot statue of one.)

In one of the more tragic cases, over 100,000 petitioners clamored for justice last year after Marcel, a rooster in Ardèche, in southeastern France, was shot and beaten to death by a neighbor infuriated by its crowing. The man later received a five-month suspended prison sentence.

The new law tweaks France's environmental code to say that the “sounds and smells” of France's natural spaces are an integral part of its legally defined “shared heritage.” And it urges local administrations to draw up an inventory of their areas' “sensory heritage,” to give newcomers a better sense of what to expect.

The law doesn't carry any specific penalties or create a list of specifically protected sounds or smells, but Mr. Levi, who represents Tarn-et-Garonne, a mostly rural area of southwestern France, said it would give mayors more authority to smooth over disputes before they ended up in court and would give judges a firmer legal footing to settle the cases that reached them.

“This law doesn't mean that farmers are going to be able to do whatever they please,” he said. “The idea is to create a code of good conduct.”

It is too late for Maurice. But his successor, Maurice II, can now crow with the full-throated confidence of someone who has the law on his side. Corinne Fesseau, his owner, told France 2 television this past week that she was thrilled by the new law.

“The city has its noises,” she said. “So does the countryside.”

Back on track please.  This thread is off track...

Are we in kindergarten or is this an online discussion forum? Wow.

Yes, we have a kindergarten for people like you, until we are fed up and you get fired.

“Planner” the moderator, when you read this.... you should be ashamed of yourself

YOU are the one who should be ashamed. You are a total newcomer in the DR and on this Forum. You know nothing about both. You arrived with a frontal bashing of Lennox and a complete set of bad manners. This thread has been turned into a  complete mess since you posted.

Moreover, we do not need you nor your input. Some of us speak fluent Spanish and know the country for 10, 15 or 20 years.

This is a friendly place until rogue elements confuse this Forum with the Social Media bullshit. This is a privately owned Website and there is a code of conduct you should have read. Planner is in charge and if you are not ok with that, you are free to dismiss.

Greg it is people like you that make others leave this forum. I don't always agree with Planner or Lennox but I still respect there opinions. This is what you are missing is respect. If you use and contribute to this forum in a kind and respectful way you to can gain knowledge about DR.

The 911 system does not “listen” to calls to report noise

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … iar-ruidos

For a few years, the National Emergency and Security Assistance System 911 is where calls have been received to report noise pollution actions. There the process begins that is not always fulfilled. The reason? God knows. It is not known if the Anti-Noise Department of the National Police does not receive the report or if it ignores the complaint when it receives it.

Until a few weeks ago, you called 911 and spoke with an operator, who assured you that they would go to control the noise in your sector or residential area. Now, when you dial, the answering machine tells you that to report noise you must give option two, which according to Máximo Cabrera, they never answer. He has lived this experience on more than one occasion and they have never solved the problem. He lives near El Bolsillo, a small neighborhood in Ensanche Quisqueya.

Given the high incidence of noise in the country, LISTÍN DIARIO was interested in knowing what measures the authorities will adopt to combat the problem that is becoming more and more disturbing. The answer comes from Magistrate Francisco Contreras, Attorney General of the Courts, and head of the Special Prosecutor's Office for the Defense and Protection of the Environment and Natural Resources, who announced that, starting tomorrow, they will initiate a work plan in coordination with the Anti-noise Department of the National Police to provide a solution.

"Actually, we have kept working on this, but it has been very difficult because with the confinement, the noise pollution has increased, and the National 911 System has not been able to respond as it would like because they have to attend to many health cases," he explains Contreras.

He maintains that to control noise they carry out operations, talks, closings and raids of establishments, and visit homes where social peace is being disturbed. “Once again we will ask the judges for orders to reinforce this type of work and achieve control of the situation. Citizens have the right to live in peace and we are going to work on that with new mechanisms, because sometimes they receive our agents with bottles and lots of violence. But we are going to be more drastic with this. "

The magistrate says that they receive complaints of this nature in all the attorney's offices in the country and that they always try to respond. He provided these numbers for those who wish to make their noise complaints, via WhatsApp 809-480-9525 and calling the office at 809-533-3522, option 3.

911 to the noise

According to Law 184-17 that modifies the National System of Attention to Emergencies and Security 911, its function in what has to do with noise pollution, is that, after receiving calls from citizens for red-handed to the laws 64 -00, on Environment; 42-01, Health and 287-04, on Prevention and Limitation of Noxious and Annoying Noise, the agents of the Anti-Noise Department of the National Police appear at the places where they legally proceed before the offenders, who are subjected to the Justice.

But, despite all this, which can be heard very well just by reading, service users complain about the little attention paid to them when calling to report noise in their sector. “Right now, with the situation that we are experiencing of tension due to the coronavirus, one wants to be calm, but there are people who do not understand it, and the authorities have been careless with this. If things continue as they are, we will all be deaf or crazy ”.

That is the thinking of a school teacher who assures that he can no longer put up with the noise at all hours of the day that they do in his area of ​​Las Caobas. He comments that, given the "inoperability", as he calls the attitude of the 911 or Anti-noise operators, he called line 311, which he understands is to report the inefficiency of public servants. "And guess what ... They didn't listen to me either, they took some data from me and that's where it was. Those who have to ensure that noise is not made continue to ignore it, and of course, around my house they continue to make more noise than ever, with everything and a curfew ”, says Roberto García.


Despite what Greg thinks, noise is a huge problem in DR especially for those that choose to live in apartment blocks in the cities. You need to research throroughly, live there all hours before making your move, otherwise you may have thrown your money down the drain literally with an inconvenience you never thought could be so possibly bad.

Coincidentally Just published today by a French woman of Las Terrenas :

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 35#5022922

Here a quick translation.

“Noise pollution in Las Terrenas”

It has been more than a year that villas sold by French nationals to wealthy dominican were turned into outdoor discos in our most famous quarters like “Las Ballenas”, “Cosón” and “Bonita”.

We are in distress because we are obliged to undergo music vibrations for entire nights. We called on authorities, created anti -noise committees, been in gatherings with police colonels, attorneys etc ... No way. The Samaná Province authorities confess to be overwhelmed (...) They send us to speak to our Consul and Ambassador in such a way they call on the highest authorities of the capital.

We are exhausted, in a constant lack of sleep. Do we have to flee from Las Terrenas ? Not so simple  if we have properties for sale in the middle of the pandemic. We got in touch with our Consul ... he is not in a hurry to respond.

Could you advise us, other than gathering proofs of those nuisances and taking pictures of those crowds of excited people who come to sow disorder ?  You would be of great help. Thank you.

Wow!  That's so frustrating.

Many villas and apartments are not being rented by North Americans and Europeans during the pandemic. They are rented to people from Santo Domingo and they have little regard for anyone. They spend the weekend, make noise, trash the place, and leave on Sunday night. Pay off the police, etc. We hope the situation resolves itself once things "normalize".