Retiring in Puerto Rico

Hi Priscilla, I was getting ready to post almost the exact same question this morning!  The only thing I was going to ask in addition to your questions, is What do you love about living in Puerto Rico?

Looking forward to seeing response from those already down there.

She is one of the moderators from Mauritian, likely she is posting the question to get people to interact more.

Once in a while I do the same, throw a question to see what people think and their experience, not because I need the info, but because I like to know my clients so I can help them better and as members interact they get to know each other better.

Well, Good to know, Hopefully some of you living down there will chime in with some of the Reasons you decided to live there.  Lots of questions about what could go wrong, and how to prepare, and what to do, but nice to get the positive reinforcement that it's all worth the effort. :-)

Mike & Mary

My story is different, I was born and raised until age 20 in PR, so I am a native that has lived in the US for the last 44 years, for me I am returning home. I also have family including my first born, grandkids, brother, a ton of uncles and cousins living in PR.

To tell you the truth here are the main things to avoid:
1) Being underfunded, needing a job or some sort of income that you do not have but hope to get.
2) expecting others to speak English to you
3) Expecting that things are going to be like in the US. PR has a different culture and changes very slowly. You have to adapt to the culture and bring a truck load of patience.
4) Being disrespectful, respect is a big thing in PR, it can get you hurt or killed.

Outside of those 4 you are not likely to have any real issues or problems that can not be solved easily.

Feel free to ask questions in the forum or PM me if shy.

We just moved here in may from Phoenix. Our main reasons for retiring to PR is for the cooler weather and beaches. Yes I kno we could have found those in the US but we fell in love with san juan on a cruise. The non Spanish  speaking hasn't been that bad. Usually there is at least one person in area that understands english (we are slowly learning spanish). Our main problem was not bringing our SS cards with us. (They were in the pod being shipped). You need them to set up electric and water.  We also found out the military base here doesn't see retirees.  Now we need,to find drs that will take tricare

I lived 30 years in South Carolina before moving to Puerto Rico. I have lived outside of San Juan for about 9 months. There are some major differences. Things are a LOT more expensive. Taxes are higher ....10.5% . The normal TnT for a nice home is $2000 per month. Wetter and electricity are also mega-expensive, and are going to be going up even higher soon. Traffic is horrible and pollution/littering is bad too. With the strikes and financial crisis, local trash often is not picked up for 2-3 weeks. Some of the island Is very beautiful, but generally lots/homes are small, and not ideal with children. To get more open space, you must go further outside the city, but traffic is similar to Maryland/DC traffic. Many areas stink from trash. My children attend a private school, and so far I have no complaints.
Most everyone that I have interacted with speaks some english. As long as you try to speak Spanish, usually someone will work with you. However, there have been times I had to call a friend to translate. Overall, i love the experience for my children, but unless you're bringing home 6 figures, and even then, you're going to be spending a lot of extra (unnecessary) money. Needless to say, we willbe heading back to states and only returning to PR for vacations.

Hi v6stef,
You are not retired, you have young children and your housing needs are different.

Most people that retire are looking to scale down on housing, they need 2-3 bedrooms which they can have in an 800-1500 squere foot home. They want to drive occasionally only regardless of traffic. The bigger the place the more to clean and a retired person rather spend time doing what they enjoy instead of cleaning.

There are plenty of rentals in the 500-900 range, i even seen a 1 bedroom home for 250. You are probably spending 3-4 times what most people spend in housing due to your neefs and standards of living.

Most people including expats that retire can live on a budget of 2000 a month fairly easily and still go out to eat 4 times a month including a reasonable number of drinks.

You are not a typical retiree.

In the research of how to retire from a small business I was running into the stone wall of taxes...so much capital gains & ordinary income taxes on money that already had taxes paid on it over 34 years that it was seriously going to cut my projected life expectancy sufficiency.  I started looking for ways to legally reduce that huge tax bill and structure income in a way that would allow me to enjoy travel, a comfortable lifestyle of continued volunteer service and have the interaction I wanted with our many kids and grandkids in the states.  Research led me to Puerto Rico, remembering our wonderful vacations there.  The wonderful people, the lovely weather, the beauty of the island and Act 20/22 cinched the deal. 
Simultaneously, our youngest daughter and her family were looking to relocate to a balmy climate for health reasons so we took them to see what we saw in the island...and they bought a home in Aguada with a beautiful view of the mountain, valley and ocean.    Paying cash for the fixer-upper meant the pressure was off to find work to support the family of four.  A couple of years of remodeling and it is a wonderful home.  Making a living is much easier when you have just utilities and food to pay for.  It's been tight but they have started a company and do phone work/consulting back to the states and never want to leave their island home.  My daughter & grandchildren caught on to the Spanish easier, my son-in-law is having as hard of time with that as I am.   
I bought the home next door to them and remodeled it, filed my Act 22 and got that, set up a consulting company and am filing for Act 20 now in preparation of selling my stateside business.    Ahh, the books I will be able to write looking at my beautiful view!   
There are downsides to every place in the world...paradise has a price and will until the new heaven and earth arrive.  The ants & termites bug you if you let them!  Trying to make islanders behave like the mainlanders you choose to leave behind seems like a silly notion.  There are political and financial issues that have to be worked through in Puerto Rico but I am choosing to go and be part of the solution...I am not relocating to see what they can do for me but what I can do for them.  I am anxiously anticipating the new reality of a retirement that lives to serve...

Hello, welcome!  It sounds like your daughter and her family are really enjoying the island life and now you are taking the plunge as well.  Awesome.  We all look forward to your posts of day to day life or anything that might help us who have yet to make the move.