General Information wanted

I will be coming to San Juan within the next month, to look for a 2-3 bedroom place to rent for several weeks next January.

We love San Juan and would like to be in old San Juan.  But we are not familiar with any 'neighborhoods' in and near Old San Juan, tho we do love the central city. 

I am an attorney and my husband is an insurance/risk management executive.  We have 4 grown children.

We'd like to know -
  - what is the best way to communicate with people in the expat community, esp. those in Old San Juan?  Is there an office, another website, etc?
  - do members of  this community get together with others;  meet in certain spots;  support any institutions in old San Juan.
  - any recommendations about the best way to search for a house or apt?
Thanks very much.

How many weeks will you be renting? Do you have a price range?

There are some meet-up sites. An X-Pat site on FB has a meet-up organized in Old San Juan for next Saturday. A couple of us live in or have places there in Old San Juan.

Hi,
  Thanks so much.  We expect to rent for 3, maybe 4, weeks.  I can't even say a price range b/c I'm not familiar with what the range is.

   I think I joined the Facebook group, but is this a different group?  I think we'll be coming down at the beginning of May for 5 or 6 days.  We'd love to have a chance to meet some of you who live in Old San Juan.  Since I am a NYC girl, I like to walk around cities and I don't want to drive all over the place;  plus it is such a beautiful city.
 
  Actually, if you don't mind, I'd be interested in where some of you have your homes in Old SJ -- I don't need the exact addresses, in case that makes people uncomfortable, so just a street name would do.

  One other question - I'm an amateur viola player, so I'm curious to know if there is any sort of classical music community there?

  Thanks again for your help!  I hope I haven't drowned you in questions!

hi Sybil,

One of the one things I love about Old San Juan is that it is SO walkable. If you haven't already booked a place in May, I can hook you up with my property manager who lives there and you can book my place. It is on Norzagaray (between El Morro and San Christobal), so you have a full ocean view off the balcony, living room, kitchen and den. I have 2 bedrooms, but you likely will only need just one. Right? And if you like it, you can book for January, which is the high season. Especially around the middle of the month with the San Sebastian festival, renting in Old San Juan is nearly impossible in January.

Here is the link:https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/11042805?location=San%20Juan%2C%20San%20Juan%2C%20PR&s=4BZi7GXc

Going down this Thursday, but I won't be down in May (visiting mom in Denver), so won't have a chance to meet, but maybe June. It is our plan to move permanently, but that won't be for a couple years yet.

Oh, and Uber is all over the island, in case you want to explore. 

Regarding music: I can say it  is one of the most important scenes in Puerto Rico. It's one of the things I love about the island. It resonates. Salsa, merrengue, bachatta, raggeaton are king, but jazz has been alive forever. Walzing around on my own in OLd San Juan, I found live classical, jazz and Caribbean bands all playing on the same night in the alleyways. And all had their share of enthusiasts.

Sybill,
The facebook group belongs to expat.com (this forum), I monitor both.

It would be cheaper to use Airbnb for a 3-4 week stay, Igustaf, has an apartment right in the Olds San Juan if available. You two should PM each other.

Hi,
  Thanks so much for contacting me.

  I have a vague idea as to where you are located since we have stayed at El Convento.  We are still trying to figure out when we can go down there soon.

  But I am possibly  interested in your house for January.  We would want 2 bedrooms but I gather from your response that you can block off a room -- is that correct?  Is there by any chance a third room we could use if we had family visitors. 

  Also, what would be your rate for January, per week, and also for a few days later in May.

  I do appreciate all the descriptive detail and we would certainly like to meet some locals.  We owned a house in Mexico for a while;  when we first bought it, it was a sleepy little Mexican town.  But as Americans came to retire there over the years, it began to feel like an American old age home, which was why we eventually sold it.  So I am very sensitive to the ex-pat/local issue.

  Thanks again! I look forward to hearing from you.

My apartment has two bedrooms (one with a king bed and the second with a twin/day bed and a chair that converts to a single bed) and the den has a sectional couch that converts to a double bed. So it can sleep 6.

I don't set the rates. My property manager does. She tries to set the rates very conpetitive to comparable properties, so it varies throughout the year, the number of guests, and number of consecutive occupancy days. As I understand, she discounts for longer stays. October to May are the high months.

El Convento is gorgeous. It only recently opened back up to guests. It had no power after Maria, but it opened as housing for FEMA.

I do believe the contact info for my property manager is in the AirBNB link above, so you can contact her directly and discuss your situation.

Let me know if you need any help.

Lindy

Please do business via private messages

I'm not sure how to us PM on this site.  Can you let me know?  Thanks!

Hi,
  Is it possible for you to send me another link to the house,  or perhaps the exact way it is listed on airbnb or VRBO?  And the title you use to advertise?  I'm having trouble with the last link you sent and we are very interested in it.

  Also, can you tell me how to PM on this site?

Thanks so much.
Sharon Riley

Hi Sharon. I sent you a PM. Click on the little envelope icon at the top right on this page. I sent you my personal email address.

Sybil456 wrote:

I'm not sure how to us PM on this site.  Can you let me know?  Thanks!


Go to one of the posts the person has posted. Click on their name, that will take you to their profile. There you will see a send message button. All messages you send and receive will be under the envelope at the top of the forum menu.