New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourselves here - 2018

Thanks! I blindly got it! Hah

lgustaf,

Really? You didn't ship anything there? I was thinking of shipping only the bigger items even though I believe I read the value of each item will be taxed once it arrives; I still think it would be the better option over dropping thousands of dollars when I get there. It would be nice to talk to someone who has shipped their belongings!

Rey,
Congrats on getting your house listed! Glad everything is moving quickly for you

Sara

sara_no_h wrote:

lgustaf,

Really? You didn't ship anything there? I was thinking of shipping only the bigger items even though I believe I read the value of each item will be taxed once it arrives; I still think it would be the better option over dropping thousands of dollars when I get there. It would be nice to talk to someone who has shipped their belongings!

Rey,
Congrats on getting your house listed! Glad everything is moving quickly for you

Sara

Shipping your clothes, major appliances furniture, etc is tax free if part of your move, it is the cars that get hit.

Rey, that is great news! How did you find that out? On the UPack site, they have the following written:

"There are no customs fees, but goods are subject to an excise tax. After arriving, your items will need to be cleared at the local tax office before delivery. Our local service center can do this for you — we'll just need the following documentation:

-Declared value — the total value of the shipment (declared at time of reservation and listed on your Bill of Lading)
-EEI form for anything with a used value over $2,500
-Receipts for any new items
-Copy of photo ID
-Copy of Social Security card
-Puerto Rico physical address

The tax official will check everything, apply the tax and clear your items. Be truthful about the cost of items — if they feel there is a discrepancy, you could be penalized with fees."

sara_no_h wrote:

Rey, that is great news! How did you find that out? On the UPack site, they have the following written:

"There are no customs fees, but goods are subject to an excise tax. After arriving, your items will need to be cleared at the local tax office before delivery. Our local service center can do this for you — we'll just need the following documentation:

-Declared value — the total value of the shipment (declared at time of reservation and listed on your Bill of Lading)
-EEI form for anything with a used value over $2,500
-Receipts for any new items
-Copy of photo ID
-Copy of Social Security card
-Puerto Rico physical address

The tax official will check everything, apply the tax and clear your items. Be truthful about the cost of items — if they feel there is a discrepancy, you could be penalized with fees."

Nobody I heard off has payed taxes for their household items. Upack may be concerned with items you may be transporting for sale. Few couches and household items will have a used value of more than 2,500. Besides, you are the one setting the value.

I'll have to give UPack a call to clarify; I will let you know what they say. Used items have a low value so I am hoping that it won't be too costly.

1 or 2 members had used Upack and they never mentioned any charges for the value of their households. Their stuff was mostly boxes and Upack never sees the content, after all you pack and unpack the container. Inspectors would be more concerned with safety than value, so do not pack any nuclear weapons.

Sitka wrote:

I believe in some circumstances squatters can gain legal title to land the are living on.

An interesting topic:  https://www.puertoricolegalblog.com/vie … erto-rico/

Every year the government gives out some small plots of land or give a title to squatters in order to make life easier for some people (in other words buying votes). This happens a lot just prior to elections, hehe just a coincidence. My grandmother and great grandmother got one of those free plots of land many, many years ago.

Hi members, I'm planning my move to Puerto Rico the first week of September.
   My name is Steve Dickerson and I was born in Malawi to British parents working to build roads in the country.  We left when I was 8, lived in Croatia for a while before being placed in a boarding school in England.  Came to the US in 1969, where I finished schooling and entered the retail management field which took me to both coasts.  I entered the US military in 1990 in time for Desert Storm and loved my job immensely.  After leaving the military in 1999, I found jobs at airports where I could remain with aviation.  I am turning 60 in July and I now want to return to Puerto Rico, where our squadron often trained, and settle down.  I have been a volunteer for the Red Cross and tried every avenue to get to PR after the hurricane to no avail.  I know there is still work to be done and I would jump in to help in any way I can.  I am hoping to rent a room from an expat as I am on a fixed pension.  I look forward to hearing from those who have additional thoughts or questions and definitely look forward to meeting everyone when I get there.
***

Welcome! I just moved here last year in June and bought a home in Guaynabo City just in time before Maria haha. Anyhow, I have done updates (exterior painting/new doors) to the home and would be glad to share those contacts.

Welcome! I live in Guaynabo City, nice family friendly neighborhood. Fort Buchanan has a preschool option and good for federal families and many of the teachers speak both languages which is great! Another great option as my son was an alumni there,  Mammolina Centro Creativo Montessori.  Great teachers, Spanish immersion and great activities they hold for both children and families! Hope this helps.

Welcome to the group, if you have questions please feel free to post them.

RiaTere wrote:

Welcome! I live in Guaynabo City, nice family friendly neighborhood. Fort Buchanan has a preschool option and good for federal families and many of the teachers speak both languages which is great! Another great option as my son was an alumni there,  Mammolina Centro Creativo Montessori.  Great teachers, Spanish immersion and great activities they hold for both children and families! Hope this helps.

We get several members with school aged kids, try to stick around, you can probably answer some of their questions.

By the way, welcome to the island and the forum.

Moving to PR from Dallas, TX.    My husband will be working there.  My 22yr old, 15yr old, and 12yr old will be coming with us. 

1. I would like suggestions on what part of the island to move to. We want family friendly, and safest possible.  This will be a HUGE transition for us.  I am partially disabled so I feel a little bit more vulnerable.   

2. Do they have any schools that teach in English?  (I want the kids to learn Spanish but don't want their education to suffer until then.} 

I am excited for the new experience an opportunity to expand our horizons.

Well, where are you moving to? Recommendations for the east are going to be a lot different than recommendations for the west or in the mountains!

Generally though, yes you will be able to find a bilingual school most places that you might move.

Abckittens wrote:

Moving to PR from Dallas, TX.    My husband will be working there.  My 22yr old, 15yr old, and 12yr old will be coming with us. 

Welcome to the forum and to Puerto Rico.

1. I would like suggestions on what part of the island to move to. We want family friendly, and safest possible.  This will be a HUGE transition for us.  I am partially disabled so I feel a little bit more vulnerable.   

2. Do they have any schools that teach in English?  (I want the kids to learn Spanish but don't want their education to suffer until then.} 

I am excited for the new experience an opportunity to expand our horizons.

I assume you will be renting, looks like you will need a 4-5 bedroom home. Two main areas if you are nervous about crimeÑ Palmas Del Mar in the town of Humacao and the town of Dorado which has several communities. But 4-5 bedroom homes tend to be pricier.

The location in reality may depend on where your husband will be working since you did not mentioned him working remote. Those suggested may be close or far from his work.

There are plenty of English private schools, I will let others recommend one for you once you know where you want to live.

Given that you have teenager and older kids, they will likely want entretainment, the places I mentioned have some, but the metro area is where the most activities can be found. Unfortunatly it is the least safe area.
Rey

Just found out my husband will be working in Ponce.  But what I have been reading is that the North West area is the most "American" which would be GREAT to get our "Gringo" feet wet and for the kids to learn Spanish.   How long of a compute would he have from Rincon to Ponce?   Are there communities near Ponce that would be more English speaking and family friendly/safe?

Ponce is a very large city and there is plenty of english there. Washburn school is there and they consistently receive praise for their standards of education. I would NOT want to try commuting from Ponce to Rincon every day.

That trip is likely to be over an hour long each way, probably more.

Almost definitely more. It has taken us an hour or so to get from Ponce to Cabo Rojo the few times we've made that trip.

We moved to pr im 2014 amd only took a couple of suit cases. Sold everything in our 38,000 sq ft home im the states as well as our vehicles. Not worth shipping anything here
The only regret i have is not taking my linen here. We have marshalls im many places on teh island. a few tjmaxx, sam juan has a Macy's  and a bed bath and beyond store. Still ahvent found anything affordable or nice. I use my amazon prime to buy these things

Hello you cam add me to your contacts if you need help amd links

Ok, so given that he will be working in Ponce (in the mountains), where would you suggest we live?  We want to be somewhat near the beach, and other amenities.  We want a family friendly community that will be easy to adjust to.

I'm sure you can find an area in Ponce that would fit within your specs. It has quite a lot to offer.

Might i suggest juan diaz town.  Its to the east of ponce. Ponce isnt a very safe place to live. Ponce is very high crime

Best Buy sales Cheetos how Does Best Buy sell Cheetos,

Hi! We are New Hampshire residents who are considering retirement in Western PR. We have stayed for a couple of months each winter in the Rincon area.
We are familiar with some aspects of life in PR but need to do a lot of homework before the transition from tourists to residents. We have plenty of questions, trying to make the numbers work with accurate information.

Hi calvacheherewecome,
Welcome to the forum and hopefully Puerto Rico soon.

When asking questions, it works best to make a new post for each category or related questions. The more granular the better, if you mix multiple subjects or questions, the responder may not respond because they only know the answer to 1 of the questions and not the entire set of questions. So try if you can to do multiple posts and you will get the best results with less confusion.

We are here to help.
Rey

Thanks, Rey. Can I ask what area of pr you're enjoying?

calvacheherewecome wrote:

Thanks, Rey. Can I ask what area of pr you're enjoying?

I like the east coast, moving to Ceiba. It has some nice beaches a good size expat community including several members of this forum.It is 45 min from San Juan, and the east is the gateway to Vieques, Culebra, many mini islands, Scuba, Snorkeling, Boating, Largest marinas, and is the gateway to all the rest of the other Antilles Islands. Lots of people like to go island hopping. Also I have family all over the east and central east of the island.

We have been through there a few years ago. We had a week in Vieques, and a few weeks touring the rest of the island. We can't seem to tear ourselves away from Rincon.
Island hopping is a great idea!

We getting a sailboat for island hopping. Puerto Rico and all of the Caribbean is good for that. Tons of little small boat harbors and lots of fun places to visit.

calvacheherewecome wrote:

We have been through there a few years ago. We had a week in Vieques, and a few weeks touring the rest of the island. We can't seem to tear ourselves away from Rincon.
Island hopping is a great idea!

Go where your heart tells you to go.

Hi, we are looking to build new and was hoping for some recommendations about builders and engineers as we enter the design phase.  Thanks!

Daryl603 wrote:

Hi, we are looking to build new and was hoping for some recommendations about builders and engineers as we enter the design phase.  Thanks!

Welcome to the forum and Puerto Rico soon. I will be doing the same, sorry I dont yet have contacts but in a few months I will be going thru that.

Building is expensive, you have to buy the land and then you need Engineer, a crew and the materials. Right now the crews and materials are getting more expensive due to the demand.
Rey

Hola, everyone. I am a New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots in the process of buying a home in Puerto Rico. Am very excited to finally fulfill a lifelong dream and be on the island as resident hopefully soon.

rambla wrote:

Hola, everyone. I am a New Yorker with Puerto Rican roots in the process of buying a home in Puerto Rico. Am very excited to finally fulfill a lifelong dream and be on the island as resident hopefully soon.

Welcome to the forum and hope Puerto Rico soon.
I am returning to PR after many years in the states.

Where are you buying , Rambla/

My husband and I are taking our "discovery trip" to Rincon to look for property. We will be there July 10-Aug 8 and we are hoping to meet some expats. I checked the "Events" tab a came up with nothing so hoping others can share some fun ideas and where everyone hangs out in the summer. Is there an "expat weekly/monthly social" or anything similar?

This is our 3rd trip so we are getting pretty close to deciding on where/when to move. We are 60/56 and empty-nesters. Looking for Salsa dancing, and live music. Love to surf, scuba, swim, sail...Excited for the next chapter!

See you soon!