I'm moving to Puerto Rico! Please help!

daniellagrace wrote:

Hello! Thank you so much for your website. I found it by googling “living in Puerto Rico”. I am a 28 year old woman from New York, looking to move to to PR. I am looking for a change of scenery. Somewhere nice, safe, and an integrated community (other than San Juan), that is accessible to public transit.  Somewhere quiet with a slower pace, inexpensive and also beautiful. I went to PR last year for three days, and when I stayed in Rincon I thought it was beautiful, however in terms of somewhere to live, I would prefer to be somewhere that is a bit more integrated, and not inhabited by so many people from the states.

All that being said, if I have to live in Rincon for two months while I scope out other areas in PR, that is okay with me as well, because I realize that what I am looking for is a “unicorn” of sorts. I only know a handful of Spanish, and would love to become fluent. I do not have a license, and do not know how to drive a car, so I would need to live next to some form of public transportation system. While I am in PR, I would like to take some drivers ed classes (do you know where they do that in PR?) and get a license.

I am vegan and eat gluten free. It would be necessary for me to live somewhere that has accessibility to fresh/ organic fruits and vegetables. I believe Rincon has some of this which is good for starters. I have googled about vegan communities in PR, and it does not seem there is any such things over there. I have a friend who told me about a town called Yabucoa which is supposed to be nice to live in, but it doesn't seem as if there are any English speaking people there. Also it would be nice to live closer to the beach than Yubacoa.

I would really appreciate any advice you have! I am checking out real estate in Rincon right now, I could use any advice any of you have about anything pertaining to this.  Maybe a recommendation on a trustworthy real estate agent. Thank you so so much. I'm very unsure of what I am getting myself into, and excited for this new chapter in my life.

Welcome

I moved to Puerto Rico last fall from the states, I'm your age and I am vegetarian.  There are a few health food type stores on the island but what you might want to do is either grow some of your own veggies or go to the farmers markets.  There is one in Luquillo I believe? I order fresh veggies from a hydroponic farm on the western side of PR called Ponica Farms, they deliver to my home in Humacao once a week.  It is very reasonable (although vegetables like broccoli, kale, spinach, beets...are more expensive here in PR) and much more fresh than anything I find at Walmart haha. There is also a place called "roots and fruits" that delivers healthy meal kits to you according to your dietary needs.

A few things to think about, if you don't speak Spanish and do not want to live somewhere with a high concentration of people from the states it might be very hard to find a job.  Are you keeping your job in the states and working remotely?

I don't know of any integrated communities outside the San Juan area where you wouldn't need to drive at all.  San Juan has the Tren Urbano and you wouldn't need to drive in Old San Juan... once you see the streets in Old San Juan you wouldn't want to drive there either!  Palmas Del Mar is a resort in Humacao that has many restaurants, beaches, tennis center, golf,  and a plaza with a few shops and real estate offices.  Lots of my friends drive golf carts everywhere within Palmas but you'd still need a car to get to Walmart.  There are lots of people from the states here though. 

For real estate, I looked on Classificados Online (PR craigslist basically) and on point2homes, I found that zillow and trulia did not have many listings for PR.  Listings are still inaccurate and old though sometimes, don't fall in love with a place til you see it.  Are you looking to rent or buy?  You could find something short term on airbandb, especially if it is just you and no pets, and many places offer monthly discounts!   

I don't know about drivers ed here, if you get a license in the states first you can likely get it transferred to a PR one without taking the written or driving test again  (that's what I did).

Good luck!

Donna

What the heck are "integrated communities"?????
Sorry never heard that term
Rey

ReyP wrote:

What the heck are "integrated communities"?????
Sorry never heard that term
Rey

Hmmm I assumed she meant communities with lots of amenities within walkable distance since she does not drive but I guess it could be something else?

Welcome to the forum and maybe Puerto Rico soon.

I don't want to be negative but your rush to move and some of your requirements worry me.

First off job, without a job unless you are wealthy or working remote you are likely to run out of funds soon.

You should rent a place for at least a year to figure out where you want to live and if the community is right for you.

Not driving is a big issue in PR, outside of the metro area, you pretty much have to drive or use Public Cars and they are not reliable in the way you are used to a bus or a train. That means tax and outside the metro area there are only a few areas with them and very likely you will need spanish since you are looking for an area that does not cater to English speakers then the drivers will also have very little english knowledge.

Here are some places to call to take drivers ed: http://mydriverlicense.org/drivers-ed/puerto-rico.html

I am also a carnivore so I only eat vegetables if the wife forces me. But like Donna said, there are farmers market and you can also grow your own and failing that the regular supermarkets cary them but they may or may not be organic.

Your combination or Vegan, no driving, unknown financial situation, and relatively few trips to the island make it difficult to just point you.

As to safe, most of PR is safe and those fenced in communities are not that much safer than the rest of the island. Slow down take the island in, rent for now and keep emergency funds handy in case you want to go back to the states.

As you post more, we may be able to point you more since we do not have enough info, but no car means that PR is probably not going to work for you. Get a driver license in the states then when you come to PR you will get a new driver license in PR with no test, just a fee and pictures.

Rey

I agree with Rey... hate to rain on your enthusiastic parade, but what you want (based on your message) does not exist here.

I still want to hear what she means with integrated communities, Black Puerto Ricans, white Puerto Ricans, African americans, and all gringos intermingle in PR, we do not have any real race issue in PR and sexual preference prejudice are dying out but there are still issues in that area.

What she means is that there is a higher concentration of Americans in Rincon; one of the reasons I chose Isabela as I wanted a more Puerto Rican living situation.

As far as the other wants, Rey is absolutely correct.

Transportation is virtually nonexistent on the west coast. You will essentially be landlocked here without a car. No areas are walkable here, unless you have a death wish as sidewalks are only found in the pueblos (downtown) and larger cities. Trying to find a place to rent or buy will be impossible here without reliable transportation. I would not even consider moving here is you don't know how to drive, as even cabs are unreliable on the west coast and most of the island, and they overcharge consistently.

Your dietary needs are going to be almost impossible to meet. I had a gluten free friend visit last year, and the only place we could find gluten free bread was in the metro around the tourist area. Anywhere else I asked I got blank stares. Nearly everything has some sort of flour here.

While organic vegetable farming is making a surge here, there is still a major disconnect from the farm and distribution. It will get better, but it is nowhere near where it needs to be yet.

Well the no driving thing seems to be somewhat common in large cities with good transportations like NY city, Boston and others. Here in PR is not even close, while there is the "Tren Urbano", it does not go far, it has few stops and it may not be running for long due to the economic issues of the government . As I understand it looses money every year. In metro area you have Taxis, Busses, and Uber. Outside the metro area you are mostly left with private cars that you own or a friend that takes you places from time to time. Like Islandman said being landlocked is not fun. Driving is a necessity not just in PR but in most of the US. Learn to drive or your choices will be very limited in PR and other places in the US.

Hello,

I'm a Real Estate Agent in Puerto Rico. I'm originally from Jersey and been living here for over 12 yrs now and live it. Besides the beautiful weather, the enchanting scenary and the exotic culture the unemployment rate is super high here. Real Estate is hot with thousands of Repos and under market value but if you don't have a job is tough.

Now, if you have a job or a online business there's different places I suggest. Dorado, San Juan, Rincón, Fajardo are hot spots right now being my favorite Dorado.