Living in Costambar

Every location has its good side and not so good. Overall, Costambar residents say they love the place, and many have lived there for more than 20 years.

The Cons

The entrance road.
Anyone who has lived nearby for any period of time will tell you about the infamous road linking the Costambar entrance to the main road. It is not paved and deteriorates quickly when heavy rains come. The local Association of Costambar pay contractors to spread earth and gravel on the road every so often to keep the road useable. But every time it rains, some of it washes away. It doesn’t tend to suffer so much from potholes, more from undulations which get bigger and bigger almost every day.
The end result is that it slows down the traffic.

No-one is unable to use the road, but the half mile stretch can sometimes take 5-8 minutes depending on what sort of vehicle is in front of you. It’s a fairly heavily used road; by cars, moto drivers, small trucks and also heavy petroleum trucks delivering to the nearby electricity generating plant.
There has been talk for years of resurfacing the road, but as yet no-one has come up with enough cash to do the job. According to locals, Puerto Plata city do not view the road as their responsibility, and Costambar itself does not have the financial resources to pay for the paving of  the half mile stretch of road. Don’t expect a quick fix on this one – the debate has been going on for years.

The power station
This problem is not so common knowledge to outsiders and in many cases does not affect the majority of residents. Some years ago in 1995, against the wishes of local residents, Puerto Plata city authorities agreed to allow an electricity generating company to build a power station just outside the perimeter wall of Costambar. The outcome was catastrophic for the community. The power station was built just yards from a luxury hotel, the ‘Bayside View Hotel’, which was positioned the other side of the perimeter wall. The hotel, famous throughout the area, and bringing in thousands of tourists a year, had no option but to close. The smoke

billowing from the power plant, and the constant noise made operating a luxury vacationing spot impossible. Now the hotel stands derelict on the hill to the east side of Costambar, an empty shell with little to remind you of the grandeur which once projected on the area. With the fall of this hotel, other businesses also failed, whether due to the power station or not, people’s opinions differ. Latest news on this as of March 2008, is that the power station want to buy the land that they are currently leasing. There is a lot of opposition to this, not only from Costambar, but also from most of the hotel and tourist associations on the North Coast. If they do buy the land, there will be little chance of getting rid of the power station.

The electricity supply
According to residents, the electricity supply is one of the worst on the North Coast, ironic considering there is an electricty generating plant, yards from the perimeter. Power supply is eratic and goes off most days, sometimes for hours at a time. Several months ago the power went off for 4 days. The power company blamed a fault, while some residents speculated that the company shut off the power deliberately as retaliation against complaints. If you live in Costambar, you need a good inverter or as many residences do, your own backup generator.

The water supply
This problem only seems to affect some residents, but recently (March 2008) some complained of not receiving any water for 20 days. CORAAPPLATA, the local water board blamed it on technical faults. Whever the reason, faults don't seem to get fixed quickly here.

The Pros

It is a beach community, so its only a short walk to a quiet beach wherever you live in Costambar. Overall, the beach is good. The main stretch is kept pretty clean and its safe for kids due to the coral restricting large waves/currents.

It is a gated community, albeit a rather large one, so residents benefit from security which restricts access to unknown people. While there is still crime (where isn't there!), it seems to be low relative to other North Coast towns.

The bad road does actually limit traffic into Costambar, which some residents view as a plus. Some have suggested that if the road was repaired, Costambar would get busier, and they prefer it quiet.

It has just enough shops, restaurants hairdressers that you don't actually need to leave the community - unless you want to. In fact some residents say they rarely leave.

Overall it's a pretty friendly community where most people know one another. Many residents have lived there for more than 20 years. While the overal feel is that the population is mainly aged 50+, there are a mix of younger residents and young families who like the relaxed atmosphere.

It's not overrun with tourists. While there are tourists there, and many who return to the same spot year after year, it tends to attract those who return for a reason. There are no big all-inclusive resortsin Costambar, and the beach never gets overrun.

Overall

As we said, it has its good and bad points. You'd need to spend some time there to know whether its the right place for you, but many say it is perfect for them.

All photos, images and text on this website are copyright. Website Created by Dominican Web Design Borg Systems