Why Are People So Angry About Playa Sosua? | Compai Explains Part 3

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-23

[00:00:00]Welcome to Compai's Xpack channel. I'm Compai. I am Sosua's voice of reason.

[00:00:05]Guys, this is part two about the plazas on Sosua beach cuz I had an interesting conversation that I want to relate to you guys and I think that explains a lot of the love-hate situation that's going on with the with the plazas. But before I do that, let me pay some bills.

[00:00:22]>> [music] >> There's a lot of places to rent in Sosua. If you're looking for a peaceful, affordable, and tranquil, look at Casa de Compai, the Sosua [music] city gem.

[00:00:36]>> [music] [music] >> When you're ready to reserve [music] at Casa de Compai, my contact information is in the description down below.

[00:01:01]Guys, thank you for watching my video about my business. If you're looking for a rental when you come down to Sosua, hit me up at casadecompai.com or in the description down below I have more contact information. So anyway, I was on Sosua beach and I was having a a a drink with a couple buddies of mine.

[00:01:20]What I don't know if if my viewership knows my second language is German.

[00:01:27]Um when I came down here, it was a German town and that's why I fell in love with Sosua.

[00:01:34]I was able to get, you know, a really good schnitzel that I couldn't get back in the states, German bakeries.

[00:01:41]I I still hang out with a lot of Germans.

[00:01:44]It was for me it was what I experienced living in New York for the time I did. I had it in the Caribbean at a cool little beach town.

[00:01:52]A lot of people ask me, "John, do you like it better then or do you like it better now?"

[00:01:57]I like it better then.

[00:01:59]I I I like the feel of the town better.

[00:02:02]Um I That's how that [snorts] moment in time when I fell in love with Sosúa, that's always that screenshot that I have. And that's what happens with a lot of people. They fall in love with something and they don't want it to change.

[00:02:17]Now, am I unhappy in Sosúa? No, not at all.

[00:02:21]I I love everything I built here. I love my life.

[00:02:24]It's great.

[00:02:27]But I still am able to see Sosúa for what it is.

[00:02:34]I'll probably die here.

[00:02:36]I got it too too good here. I did I I I am What do I say all the time? I'm doing what I want to do where I want to do it.

[00:02:43]And I hope everybody's able to do that in their life.

[00:02:47]But that doesn't mean I'm negative on Sosúa, right? Just because I liked it better then, I still love it now.

[00:02:54]What I'm saying is and it's it boils down to a couple things. It boils down to mentality and it boils down to economics. And I'm going to get into both of them real quick.

[00:03:05]Most people who come down to Sosúa are unaccepting of the change.

[00:03:11]They want it to be exactly like it was on their first trip. And if you're an expat and you're thinking about coming to the Caribbean, any other country, you want to make sure you're you're moving there for the right reasons.

[00:03:24]Just because they might have a pay-for-play environment.

[00:03:27]They might have a couple good bars or discos that you really enjoy the nightlife.

[00:03:34]That's going to change. They always do.

[00:03:38]If you're going to move overseas, it needs to be for something deeper than just a good time.

[00:03:45]Change of mentality.

[00:03:48]Change of lifestyle.

[00:03:50]Um being able to have the opportunity to do things that you probably couldn't do back home because yes, given the strength of the dollar, we can come down here and do businesses that I we wouldn't be able to do back home. My business Casita Compay is a prime example that there's no way I could do what I did in New Jersey down here. Some I couldn't afford it. I couldn't afford the engineering fees to build something like that back in Jersey or any other American island down here in the Caribbean. You just can't do it.

[00:04:25]So I was able to use the strength of the American dollar to put me in a different economic bracket that enabled me to live a different lifestyle that I couldn't live back home. Those are the things that you want to do to be a successful expat. Not coming down here just because you want to party every night, the girls, all that stuff.

[00:04:47]It really it's it's not doesn't have the the depth that you need to really work this out long-term.

[00:04:56]So I'm seeing and it's predominantly European that are really really really upset.

[00:05:03]They're the ones that are the most intense about this.

[00:05:08]I kind of was like what guys, you've been down here for so long. You've been down here 15 years or more. We've seen a change. We're unhappy with this. And as they kept talking, it dawned on me.

[00:05:23]You're getting priced out of the market.

[00:05:25]That's what these two plazas represent.

[00:05:28]It is like I don't want to say the final nail in the coffin, but it's the undeniable moment in time that Sosua switched.

[00:05:39]We're no longer the spot for the underfunded retiree and the cheap expat. They're getting pushed out of the market. And I had one of my buddies who said, "John, I used to pay 500 a month.

[00:05:53]But I I'm here for 12 months, so why would you not want to give that to me instead of renting for 4 months at 1,200 or 5 months for 1,200?"

[00:06:04]And I had to explain it to them, the reasons why.

[00:06:10]The problem is they're realizing they're going to have to find another place to go.

[00:06:17]Times have changed.

[00:06:19]The the economy is growing too quickly here. And what they're doing is they're trying to be the social justice warrior, right? Where they're saying, "Oh, it's the poor people. Oh, the poor people.

[00:06:30]Oh, the poor people." Um have you noticed how many more Dominicans are driving really nice cars?

[00:06:36]Have you noticed how we're having power outages because so many Dominicans are putting in air conditioners? The demand for electric's going through the roof.

[00:06:44]The Dominican middle class is growing quickly.

[00:06:47]Not because they're poor, cuz they're making more money and they have a they have opportunity for credit.

[00:06:53]This economy's doing very well, but the problem is the guys that are down here living on such a tight fixed budget, the inflation has taken out their ability to live where they've been living for the last 15 years, and they're getting angry.

[00:07:11]If you're that social media content creator, that's all you do, you're screwed.

[00:07:20]If you don't have a tangible job down here and a realistic business, you're going to have problems.

[00:07:29]If your retirement isn't funded enough and you're used to living off of 1,000 1,100 euro a month, you're going to have a hard go now. And that's why that Plaza is a kind of like the last thing in their face. Yep. You're getting priced out. And I said to my one buddy, I said, "You realize you're it's probably you're going to have to find another place to go.

[00:07:57]Where what town in in the Dominican Republic outside of this this North Coast area it's going to be the next spot because there is going to be one eventually.

[00:08:07]Because everybody's getting pushed out here.

[00:08:10]And and I said one thing to him. And then it for me that was one of those those moments where things just started to really make sense.

[00:08:19]Because the Dominicans, they will sacrifice a market to move forward. We seen that with the crackdowns in Sosúa.

[00:08:27]They've sacrificed one market to move in the direction they wanted to go. And they knew there was going to be collateral damage and they did it anyway.

[00:08:38]It's kind of like the beach is saying the same thing to the underfunded retiree and the cheap expat.

[00:08:45]We're prepared to lose you.

[00:08:47]Go someplace else because we're going to change the mentality and we're going to change what's coming in. And this is what brought that thought to my mind.

[00:09:00]I said, "I don't see any new Europeans coming here.

[00:09:05]I don't see markets being replaced from Europe."

[00:09:10]He says, "No.

[00:09:11]No, when when European leaves, it's too hard to get here. It's too expensive."

[00:09:16]And that's the truth.

[00:09:18]For the Europeans to especially after the the downturn of 2008, it was cheaper for the Europeans to have a 70 euro flight to Greece or Spain versus an 800 euro to come here. So, the DR just got priced out of that market.

[00:09:34]That's when the euro all the all the European countries went under the Euro.

[00:09:39]Things got really cheap in for the Europeans in Europe. So, they they stayed there.

[00:09:45]So, we don't have the the influx of younger Europeans coming here in the numbers to replace the guys that are older who are getting pushed out.

[00:09:57]And that's who you're seeing being really upset. We don't want the change.

[00:10:01]We like it how it is. Because you can't have a higher tourist market who's spending $80 a night on an Airbnb and then they're going to a run-down shack on the beach where they might get sick.

[00:10:17]You see what I'm saying? So, especially with the Americans.

[00:10:22]They want to feel they're getting what they paid for. Where the Europeans are more easy-going on that. They're happy sitting in what we know is what we have now on Susuwe Beach, drinking a beer, playing dominoes, doing doing the European thing where they all go together and hang out.

[00:10:41]That's the European mentality.

[00:10:43]Us Americans, we just do our own thing.

[00:10:45]We'll come down with some buddies, but overall, we're not as as collective as the Europeans are. And the mentality of the people coming in is a different mentality.

[00:10:57]They're catering to the North American market and they know that's where the money is because that's where the numbers are. That's where the tourists are coming from. So, guys, it's not that they're trying to hurt poor people. Because when there's people who are coming in who are spending more money, poor people are going to get paid more.

[00:11:18]Right? You know, my employees are very well paid with health care, with vacation.

[00:11:26]They have everything that I had for my employer back in the States. That's how it should be.

[00:11:34]Things are changing. They're changing economically. And I think while as things change economically for those people who are not making any more money, it's creating animosity. And that's what I think you're seeing how things are changing.

[00:11:53]Just my two cents, guys.

[00:11:55]Always remember keep private personal and personal private. Thank you for watching. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe.

[00:12:02]And if you're looking to rent in Casa de Campo Alegre, my contact information is in the description down below. Peace out.