Considering a move to Isla Verde (from CA)....a few questions

I can't help with a lot of your questions, but I just recently went through with the car shipping research so I'll help you out with that.

They require you to completely empty your car.  No belongings in trunk or the seats.  It must be completely cleaned out or they will reject it.  For how much it'll cost in taxes to import you can usually check:

https://siscon.hacienda.gobierno.pr/Sis … 1Form.aspx

But that site seems to be down right now (it is what I used).

As for income taxes, it depend on the situation, but based on the minimal info:

Currently, you make $87,000 which puts you in the 28% bracket for Federal and 33% bracket in Puerto Rico.   The kicker is you also live in one of the most money hungry states which gives you 9% state taxes that you wouldn't see in PR.  So, theoretically paying the higher tax bracket in PR but not paying California income taxes will save you a small bit.

This is just to give you more than things to think about, I don't know enough about your situation to provide anymore info.

Found one more page that talks about the car tax rates that isn't down:

http://www.hacienda.pr.gov/arbitrios/ar … -vehiculos

Would I deal with traffic every morning if I lived in Ocean Park or Condado to Isla Verde? Or would it be a breeze?
If you leave early early in the morning not much traffic. If you leave around 7 or 8 in the morning you'll probably be stuck in traffic. There's not many side roads and there's only one highway that takes you to isla verde. There's certain areas you want to avoid in Condado because it's heavy traffic getting to the highway.

Could I find a decent rental with a great view and ample spaced 1 bedroom in these areas for around $1200-$1500?
You could, but it depends on how you want to live. If you look for a place that has a generator for when the power is out and a cistern when water is shut off then your rental will be a bit pricier. You can look at http://www.clasificadosonline.com/m/
For rentals.
.
Any idea about what the import tax cost would be? Could I load it with my belongings and/or would I have to pay any taxes on my possessions? Guitars/Electronics/misc possessions? If, not about what would it be to ship a small container of items? No furniture, but clothing/3 guitars/and a few misc boxes.
When you ship your car you might not be able to load any belongings other than a suitcase. That's what we were told by our shipping company. You wouldn't pay taxes on your belongings. A container to ship would be about 2800. We made the move in 2015 from Temecula to Isla Verde. If you're not taking much maybe it's be cheaper to take it on the plane with you?

Any idea what exactly a single guy with 1 allowance would pay in PR income tax on a $3600 biweekly paycheck?
Up to 61,500 I beleive is the magic number you pay 8430 in taxes any amount over the 61,500 you pay 33% tax on that. If you don't own a house in CA have kids or anything else you can deduct don't expect a tax return from PR. If you make a decent amount of money you can expect Hacienda to take a good portion of that.

Isla Verde is a great place to settle in and get your feet wet and it's close to and has mostly everything.

Hope this helps!

Not sure about the salary negotiation, it depends on your company. I would suggest you ask the company what the salary range is for that position. Typically jobs in PR pay 1/2 to 1/3 of the salaries in the states.

A lot depends how much of an active life you live, such as clubs, restaurants, deep sea fishing, sky diving, sailing and other activities like that will likely drain your budget if not careful. If you live a more sedentary life and go out occasionally then you will need less to live.

There are plenty of 1 bedroom and efficiency apartments to rent in that area between 800-4000, depending on your luxury requirements. Being a rental you can always change your mind and move to a different location when the contract is up. ONE BIG ITEM, most apartments are just the walls, cabinets, and bathroom stuff. Most have no stove or refrigerator and few have furniture. So budget for that, you can rent these items, or buy, or see if the landlord has some spares to use while you get what you really want.

Thanks all for the great info!

I now have a good idea on how much to pay to ship/import my car. Thanks for the calculator link! I'll do further research on shipping quotes for the items I do end up taking. I imagine I'll downsize as much as I can and ship or use airline baggage to bring what I need.

So maybe not live in Condado due to morning traffic, but will still consider renting in Ocean Park as it looks like I would not need to jump on the highway. I'll work at 8:30am right next to the Intercontinental. Walking would be cool and a 5 min drive is great too. I'd still like to be close to bars/restaurants with direct access to the beach. The nice part is they will house me for a month or so after I get there, so I can figure that part out as I go.

Thanks for the info on the taxes. I would have close to the same salary there as I do now and thought I would end up with more take-home pay due to no federal income tax. Wrong. It looks like I may end up paying a bit more in PR income tax. If anyone knows exactly how much tax I would pay on a 93K annual salary, I would be curious. (Single, no kids/deductions/property, 1 allowance).

Any other advice is welcome. I am nervous but excited at the opportunity. I figure this will be a great time to learn Spanish! I would live there for about 18 months. I'm single and I love hiking/exploring/music/traveling.