Moving from WA state to San Juan, PR for Grad School. Many questions!

mlb03 Active member

28POSTS

11 years ago

Hello all

I heard yesterday that I was accepted to the University of PR medical science campus near Centro Medico for the graduate program of my choice. I am very excited! I believe I start school on August 13th and have many questions about what to do from here. I am married and my husband will be traveling back and forth between Seattle, WA and PR to work (Seattle) and be with me (PR).

1. Finding housing: due to the fact that I will be alone about half the time, while my husband is in WA working, what are some safe neighborhoods to consider? I am in my mid-twenties and am, truthfully, a bit nervous about being alone. I was thinking Condado, Ocean Park, and Isla Verde. These are both close to the ocean and close to my campus. (We figure- if we are moving to PR, we want to 'live it up' and be near the ocean). I have been told these areas may have some safe spots for me.

We do have a dog that I will have with me- she is small but will obviously require walks, even in the dark- for this reason, I would like a apt/condo complex that is completely fenced in and secure.

I have looked at clasificadosonline.com but it is difficult to tell which places allow dogs. Unless they say "no dogs," is it safe to assume that they do?

Are there many rentals available as furnished? Again, I have looked but many units do not specify.

If anybody has any ideas for how to search or even knows of any rentals meeting these criteria, please feel free to let me know.

2. How much time will I need there prior to starting school to set everything up? Obviously, we are looking for a furnished apt so that we don't need to buy everything once arriving. How long will it take to set up utilities, and everything else necessary? What is the best option for internet (speedy, good customer service, and reasonably priced).

3. Are there car leases available? None of the dealerships advertise that on their websites, for example the Jeep dealerships. My program is about 2.5 years, so a 3 year car lease would be perfect for us. That way we can just turn it in, and don't have to worry about selling it once I am done with school.

4. Are there any nurses out there that know the process of transferring a nursing license to practice in PR? I believe I heard you need to take a licensure exam and that it is only offered during certain times- but that there is a provisional license I can apply for in person? Does anybody have any information about this process and how long it will take?

5. Health insurance! What is the best way to go about setting this up? And bonus points for anybody that knows whether my husband will need health insurance from the mainland and from PR to be fully covered at all times. He will be spending about 2 weeks in WA, then 2 weeks in PR at a time.

6. We use a credit union in Seattle. Are there any local credit unions in PR or is Banco Popular (?) the best option?

7. Anybody have ideas for the best Airline credit card to get to accrue miles for the frequent trips my husband will take and hopefully get him some extra upgrades to first class?

Thank you SO, so much. This is all of a sudden seeming very overwhelming for me, so if nothing else it was helpful for me to be able to type out all my needs to just be able to see what I am facing. Any helpful info from you guys will be so appreciated.

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mlb03 Active member

28POSTS

11 years ago

Thank you, trekrider. I have looked through your previous posts- all very helpful. It sounds like it may take a while just of sitting in different offices to get everything we need set up!

Anolis Contributor

114POSTS

11 years ago

Just a couple of comments in no particular order:

1) Even though the distances may seem small, traffic can be paralyzingly bad in San Juan at times. Since Centro Medico is a stop on the Tren Urbano, which is a very clean, safe, and timely metro rail line in San Juan, you might consider driving to a metro station parking lot (in some cases parking is free) and then using the Tren Urbano to get to campus.

2) With regard to safety walking at night, Old San Juan is very safe, including at night, as are Condado & Isla Verde; however the different neighborhoods have very different things to offer, so you should do your research. Ocean Park (inside the gated area) is considered safe, but the streets are poorly lit and quiet at night. Miramar is also a good area that is pretty safe at night. Note that it is generally considered unsafe to go on the beaches at night.

3) If your husband has his primary care physician in WA and will just be traveling back & forth 2 weeks there and 2 weeks here, etc., he probably does not need to get an insurance plan in PR; however any medical services he gets in PR will probably be considered 'out of network' and he will have to submit for reimbursement. He should obviously check with his insurance company to confirm.

4) JetBlue is the best airline for going to & from PR, IMO, but to Seattle I don't know if they offer many flights or are price competitive. There is basically a dedicated terminal for JetBlue in San Juan and if you have Mosaic status you get to skip the bag line.

suzanne12345 Contributor

163POSTS

11 years ago

Housing - we used an agent to rent a furnished apartment. We have 2 dogs and I walk them on the beach as there is no fenced/secure area to let them run. We live on a gated street so it is safe after dark, but if we didn't I wouldn't take them further than the first patch of grass. I would assume dog is fine unless they say so - tons of dogs here!

Time - we had our landlord keep all the utilities in her name and we paid her for the first month while we got everything transferred. That way we weren't without. otherwise, they wanted to turn it all off, schedule a time, then turn it all on... did not work for us!

Car leases available - no. The way they do leases here is basically to buy a car and then sell it back. There are no leases like in the US. Best to find someone TRUSTWORTHY to buy a used car from (take them with you to register etc before handing over $). We ended up buying new. Faster.

Health insurance - we have MCS, cheaper than in the US, good coverage to PR but only emergency care in US mainland.

Banco Popular is the most popular bank here (no pun intended) but we just use our US bank and did not open an account here.

Good luck! We love the beaches and the people here.

mlb03 Active member

28POSTS

11 years ago

Anolis: Thanks for all the thoughts- very good to know that the train runs by Centro Medico. When my husband and I visited, we stayed in OSJ and I did not feel safe at night/would not have gone out on my own. I wonder if different areas of it are better.

Thanks also for the tips about health care and flights! JetBlue doesn't come up in my searches for the cheapest flights but I think they must be bigger on the east coast.

mlb03 Active member

28POSTS

11 years ago

Suzanne: You must live right on the beach then? Are you near San Juan or somewhere else? I'm thinking I will have to use an agent as well. We may do an AirBnB or VRBO for the first month so that we can see our options in person.

Good tip for having the utilities in the landlord's name at first. And bummer about the car leases

just seems like such a hassle to sell again in a few years! But I will need one for school as I will be traveling between many different hospitals and probably at odd hours. I will probably end up doing as you did and buy new- or buy used from a reputable dealer rather than from an individual.

From what I have seen, health insurance is much cheaper than we pay in the states. I am waiting to see if there are any student prices offered through the school.

Thanks so much for your help! I am excited to move because as you said, the beaches and the people were AWESOME when we visited!

Anolis Contributor

114POSTS

11 years ago

mlb03 wrote:
When my husband and I visited, we stayed in OSJ and I did not feel safe at night/would not have gone out on my own.

Although, of course you should always be vigilant at night in all parts of San Juan, OSJ is one of the safest areas of the metro area. There are some nearby areas (la Perla, obviously, and Puerta de Tierra) that are not safe and should be avoided either at all times (in the case of la Perla) or at night (in the case of Puerta de Tierra). Obviously, it may 'feel' different from what you are used to, but it is in fact very safe. OSJ is very touristy, however, so although you probably won't be robbed (literally), you may not be safe from getting ripped off

Gary ViP

1845POSTS

11 years ago

Still you have to be careful, also in OSJ. A friend of mine who has been living there for 20 years or so sat in his doorstep in clear daylight doing something on his iPad. Two young men ran by, one grabbed the iPad, the went 'round the corner, hopped in a car and they were gone.

Anolis Contributor

114POSTS

11 years ago

#10

Gary wrote:
Still you have to be careful, also in OSJ. A friend of mine who has been living there for 20 years or so sat in his doorstep in clear daylight doing something on his iPad. Two young men ran by, one grabbed the iPad, the went 'round the corner, hopped in a car and they were gone.

I believe it, unfortunately.

suzanne12345 Contributor

163POSTS

11 years ago

#11

mlb03, yes we are on the beach in condado/ocean park. Even here I would not go out after dark without my husband/friends. Just this week in the paper they are circulating a pic of a rapist who has struck twice within blocks of me. It's city living, just like I wouldn't walk around in DC or NYC is a sparsely populated area after dark. Good luck with the move. In spite of the many challenges of living here, it's a great experience and we are soaking in every last bit.