Help with neighborhoods/ apartments

Moving to San Juan.....didn't think the news would come so fast since my husband's interview was only yesterday.  I am from NYC/NJ and my husband is from south Brazil. We have lived in DC, Milwaukee and most recently Phoenix. We are also expecting our first child in July, so we have plenty of time to start worrying out the education situation in PR. For now, we just need to find a place to live close to my husband's job at Plaza Bahia/ Paseo Caribe. I think this is in the Fuerte Geronimo area. We would like affordable, safe and walking distance if possible. I was open to a whole range of neighborhoods before I saw this
google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=z9TaNiFcvX6E.kIwdQl0AgBMo

My husband would have to walk home at night, so I guess Old San Juan is out, since there is a big stretch of "not safe for walking at night" and "never enter under any circumstance." Does anyone know if this map is accurate?
I guess we'll have to expand our budget a bit for Condado, so my next question is how do we find a rental? I've tried zillow, enceuntra24.com, craigslist PR, but it seems to pretty limited.  Are there any secrets to finding a long term rental on an island full of vacation rentals?

Lastly, Dorado seems to be where all of the Americans are and could be an option depending on the San Juan traffic. Any advice would be appreciated?  I have to say that map is kind of terrifying, but we are excited to try something new. Thanks!

Hi jbecaj,

The area between Paseo Caribe and Old San Juan is called Puerta de Tierra.  I used to live in OSJ and would ride my bike, walk, and jog between OSJ and Condado during the day.  I never had a problem, and did that many times.  I still do on occasion.
 
My friends from PR told me to avoid that area at night, as it is off the main tourist path.  OSJ itself, however, is quite safe to walk around - it is very family oriented and there are often lots of events and activities.

For rentals, you can try Clasificados online.  It's kind of like the Craigslist for PR.  When we were looking for rentals in that area, it seemed that there were considerably more furnished apartments than unfurnished units. 

Many of my wife's co-workers live in Dorado, but the commute into OSJ from Dorado can be long.

Hope this helps, and best of luck with your transfer!

www.clasificadosonline.com

Hi jbecaj.

Old San Juan is very safe to walk around, even at night; however I'm going to point out the obvious and say that it is about 2 miles from Paseo Caribe. Even if the intervening area, Puerta de Tierra, was safe to walk through at night (it is fine during the day) this is farther than most people want to walk on a regular basis.

If you are in Condado you could walk to Paseo Caribe, but whether the walk home is considered safe may be depend on what you mean by 'at night'. At 8pm there will be a lot of people about & it is surely fine. At 1am I would think twice. Others could perhaps comment more constructively on this.

Unfortunately, if your husband needs to get to or from work in the middle of the night, he should probably plan on driving - in which case there are many good areas that are accessible by car.

Thank you for all of your replies! He'll be managing a new restaurant, so it will mostly be late nights.  I thought walking would be nice, because I've heard the traffic is bad. According to advice, it will be best for him to stick to driving. I saw an episode of House Hunters International and Miramar didn't look so bad, so we'll continue looking for places there and in Condado, with a guaranteed parking spot. I only seem to be finding the scams on the clasificados sites.  Company is sending us there Jan 5th to secure an apartment!

Any chance your husband is managing the new Fogo??

I know there are tons of agents out there, but I used Alberto - [email protected] when I had 1 day to look for apts and he was great. Knowledgeable, no pressure, super helpful. Also I have 3 teen daughters, one with a lot of infant experience, if you ever need a sitter. :)

Condado is a solid choice.