Most Dominicans have never been off their island and believe that everyone living in Canada and United States is rich. This is because of two forces, the first is the tourists they see spend money like water and second is, returning islanders want to impress all their friends as to how successful they have become.
The contrasting mistake made by the tourists is not appreciating that the average worker makes much less per month the they do. Cars, clothes, shoes, radios, televisions and even food costs more on the islands than in the states. The only thing that maybe cheaper is housing and that could be debated as most tourists would not be content to live in such small homes. But, don't be fooled by thinking they have a poor lifestyle though. If you want to compare quality of lifestyle, they live in a country that most tourists work all year just to spend two weeks holidays.
