Potential move, economy & work concerns

Here is my personal opinion on this:
As a medical recorder, you will probably find a job in the Island but likely the pay will be 1/2 or less of what you make right now. While a lot of people know English, the whole country including the government, laws, and contracts all are Spanish. This can be a real issue for you unless you learn it specially if you are trying to find a job and deal with day to day life.

Driving is on the right like in the US, laws are similar, but the signs are in Spanish and speed is posted in kilometres. Drivers have their own way of driving that you will need to get used to. Avoid the use of the horn and do not flip people the bird, people like to be respected even if they don't respect you and can get very confrontational if you use the horn or the flip of the bird.

For much better income I would suggest a job in the mainland that you can do remote and it will not require Spanish or Spanish technical lingo.

As to the economy, things are very volatile right now, but like you I expect that within a few months there will be some kind of agreement that will allow both side to come to an agreement. This does not mean that Islanders will be in good shape after that, but at least we will know the road and the perils ahead. As you are several years away from the move, by the time you arrive there may be some noticible changes, hard to say.

To get rid of high unemployment it is going to take a decade or 2, for that we need more jobs, we need more industries and entrepreneurs.

Not sure what "SO" means, but your SO is an entrepreneur and will need to look around and see where his capabilities fit best and what the island is missing. This would allow him to create his business plan. However according to NomadLawyer, he will need to incorporate and that may take several months.

There are two parallel economics in PR, one above board and then there is the under the table economy which pays no taxes and is probably larger. People trade a lot and also tend to pay under the table as it does not require taxes.

It is hard to say how in demand his skills may be but everyone needs somebody with some mechanical skills. All sorts of mode of transportation even recreational and farm equipment needs a mechanic. If you are good, you will have some customers, the question is how many, can you survive on that and what happens when people need a fix but don't have money? Will chickens do? Will a repair to your place or yard work be acceptable? Since he will be dealing mostly with locals he will need more Spanish than you by the way. A sign outside, and some fliers will likely get him a few customers, making friends and helping them out will get him more, after a while, word of mouth will provide a steady stream but remember that for the most part the majority of the island is below the poverty level, so their ability to pay will be limited.

Hope that helped some. If you have other specific questions ask away!!!
Rey

Hi purplesugar! You are levelheaded in your planning. Your concern about economy is justified, especially since your SO needs to find work locally. IMHO Puerto Rico is screwed, but that does not mean that you will be screwed if you move there. Quite to contrary. If I were you I'd arrange things so I could easily bail out if needed. I would not tie myself down with owning, instead I would rent. Rent is cheap in PR. The nature of your job is perfect if you want to stay or bail - you can work from anywhere. Your SO is multi-talented in useful things and I'll presume a hard worker, reliable, and likeable. In PR it is often not easy to find workers that are good and reliable so theoretically your SO would be in demand once the word gets out.

And then there are other places to live in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

BTW here are intelligent thoughts about PR's fiscal situation:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall … even-then/http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/0 … erto-rico/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/03/opini … .html?_r=0http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/0 … nt-greece/http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/14/liber … igh-video/

Rey: SO = significant other (aka my boyfriend). 
You brought up an excellent point about the locals being able to pay. Trading for chickens certainly isn't ideal. And thanks for pointing out the "under the table" economy. i was actually wondering about that. Perhaps things aren't as bad as they seem on paper.

victor: Yes, he is a very hard-worker and reliable. He has a very high work ethic..which should help him out immensely. Right now he has this sense that he can just go anywhere in the world and he can make money and we will survive. It's great that he has such an optimistic attitude, but I have to be the realistic one and plan thing outs to put us in the best position for success.
Where I live now, owning is cheaper than renting. I will have to look more into real estate and the options in PR. If renting is cheaper then that is the way to go.. but I think we want to live in an actual house rather than an apartment.. either way, we definitely need garage space.. We may ship our ATVs (or buy once there).. and plan to purchase a cheap truck as well. It's definitely a lot to figure out.. rent a furnished place and leave most of our things behind.. or buy and have to ship or buy a lot of things. Exit strategy is a good point. If things get unbearably tough, it would be ideal to just take out the good old credit card and purchase plane tickets out of there and not worry about having to sell property! I suppose purchasing property should be further down the road if we actually get more established.

I have considered a lot of other countries and nothing is decided yet. The advantage of PR is that we don't need any special visas to live or work there and don't have to worry about getting kicked out of the country after a certain time period.  Airfare is cheap. And ATVs, especially Banshees, are most popular in PR.

You can get a 2-3 bedroom house for 300 to 600 depending on where in the island. It maybe a single level house or one of the levels in a multi level house. 4 bedroom a little more but most are 2-3.
Metro is a completly different story but there are some apartment in the 600-900 range.

Exit strategy or not, it makes sense to rent until you find your dream condo or house. Taking a 6 month or year rental gives you time to look around while still living your life. No need for a mad dash to buy a place.
When it gets close to your date to move let me know I have some connections that can make some of the work easier.
As to furniture, most of us sell almost everything and just ship items we have to have. It can be expensive. You can get a furnished apartment or get cheap stuff at the stores to keep you going for a year or two. After that you can get the good stuff, specially if you want a good exit strategy.
Did I miss anything?

Reyp is right about the rentals. I live on the west coast (Rincon) and you probably can rent a whole house that will meet your needs, garage (carport maybe) and all, and for the costs that Reyp has mentioned. In the Rincon area $600 might do it.

Here are some web sites that will help you see rental and for sale properties in different parts of the island.....Start polishing your Spanish!!

http://www.clasificadosonline.com/http://clasificadospr.com/?utm_source=E … _2015_tope

There are a couple additional concerns for any of us who work online, remotely, for a mainland employer:

1. Which income tax rate is paid to whom? Do we pay the full federal tax rate, or the Puerto Rican income tax, or both, or the special rate of only four percent that applies to certain mainlanders?

2. Which Internet service providers in Puerto Rico provide unlimited bandwidth without interruption, and where is Internet and electrical service most reliable?

lif your income is from a company in the mainland, or you are getting a pension from the mainland, or you are collecting SSN or you are taking money out of a 401k or IRA, you will pay federal tax.
To take advantage of act 20 or 22 you have to apply and be accepted. Is complicated and the job you create must be in particular business types. Need to talk to a CPA.

In PR, employees do not pay federal income tax unless you work for the federal goverment, not sure if this will apply for a company stabished in the mainland. With that said, if you are resident of the island, you are required to pay state taxes. Most companies that employ remote workers retain your taxes based on the state you reside. At least that had been my case, when I was doing traveling contract, my taxes were base of Texas resident, the company I worked was in Tn. and I did work all over the US.

From IRS Publication 570:

U.S. citizen or resident alien.   If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien and also a bona fide resident of Puerto Rico during the entire tax year, you generally must file the following returns.

--A Puerto Rico tax return reporting income from worldwide sources. If you report U.S. source income on your Puerto Rico tax return, you can claim a credit against your Puerto Rico tax, up to the amount allowable, for income taxes paid to the United States.

--A U.S. tax return reporting income from worldwide sources, but excluding Puerto Rico source income. However, see U.S. Government employees under Special Rules for Puerto Rico, later, for an exception.

Thank you all for the useful info. If all goes as planned, it sounds like I'll pay US taxes and file federal taxes AND file Puerto Rico taxes in addition, possibly with some sort of credit. It sounds like it shouldn't be too complicated *fingers crossed*

What area of Puerto Rico are you moving to? Lufthansa tech is moving to Aguadilla, you can Google for more info.
Medical coding is a good skill, there are lot of Drs, whom can benefit from your services, and sure you can work from home. Yeah, Spanish is a must to know language here in PR. I am a Spanish teacher, and I am offering Spanish lessons online. My classes are 1/2 language (grammar/phonics, writing, etc,) and 1/2 culture, (food, music, literature,etc) if you want more info


mery

Talking to a CPA sounds like a good idea.

Some say that a teleworker for a mainland company can qualify for Act 20 *if* the work is performed as an LLC, not as a direct employee. The teleworker would create a qualifying small business and treat the mainland remote work as an export service. But that does indeed sound a bit complicated, and obviously some mainland employers are less willing than others to convert employees into outsource contractors.

As to Act 20 & 22, check with a CPA that is familiar with US tax Laws and PR tax laws, he can also help you file the paperwork required for application to both. Let me know if you need a CPA that meets the qualifications, and that can also explain what will be taxed by US and by PR.
Rey

So...If I work remote from PR 6-8 months out of the year but keep my US residence as my main home, will I need to file taxes in PR?

Congratulations, Purplesugar, how exciting!  We just purchased Rosetta Stone but have yet to use it because we are having trouble with the microphone headset working but we'll figure it out.  Great news for your family!

Congrats!

I will strongly suggest a back up method for internet. We have a hot spot with Sprint, it is included into our data plan and we only pay $5 for the added devise into our account. At least if the internet connection fails or is down for some reason you can still connect using your hot spot.

As per the language, start listening to Spanish channels, get a course at a local community college (relatively inexpensive) or an online course. Once you learn a little bit, practice, practice, practice....do not be afraid of saying the wrong word or your pronunciation.

Good luck!!!!

Frog face, hi what do you charge for Spanish lessons? Not for me but for my grandson. We have been trying to teach him since we moved here a year ago to no avail. He goes to then local h.s
and he did OK last year. Apparently his teachers help him out but I am worried when he goes to college( not sure yet if he is going or to work). He knows that he has to be bilingual to get a job here.

My hubby and I are Puerto Rican and fully bilingual so it's not a problem for us but I hear that even though the books are in English in the universities, classes are in Spanish. He is currently a senior in LA Escuela Superior.

Thanks, Tonie

What a great opportunity for you purplesugar!  Before our move we purchased Rosetta Stone for the entire family (we have two boys, 9 &10) to learn.  However, I felt like it wasn't doing a good job of teaching conversational Spanish, although we learned a lot of nouns!   About a year ago, I started looking for other (free) options, and found DuoLingo(free online or as an app), Spanishdict.com, and even a video series called Destinos.

For a program similar to Rosetta Stone but much more affordable, accessible, and interesting, I use Fluencia by SpanishDict.com.  I can't remember the price, maybe $100 for a year of unlimited access and less if you purchase two years.   Both DuoLingo and Fluencia are great for kids because they are accessible as apps or through a website, and they combine pictures and conversational context with the topic being learned.  My boys even watch Destinos with me if I play it while they are in the room  .

Now that we are here, I often search for talk shows on the radio to get myself familiar with Puerto Rican Spanish.  I am also preparing to take lessons with Spanish Immersion Rincon in Sept.  We live in Aguada, so it will also give me a chance to get out and practice the Spanish I am learning:)

Good Luck and keep us updated!

Thank you, curlygirl, for those other suggestions!

I would recommend trying a short three months stint here. 90% of Northamericans who come here move back in 3-6 months. I live in the Tourist Zone, this is a very common theme. You are either cut out for island life or you aren't. I moved here four years ago and have never looked back, but I speak Spanish fluently and have lived in a latin country before. No amount of research will prepare you for the overcoming the daily difficulties, things that  you take for granted in your home town.

very good advice. You have to live it to decide.

I came here in May 2006; I'm still deciding if I want to stay...

I plan to stay in PR for at least the next 250 years.

I moved here 8 months ago and am taking it one year at a time.  My husband is Puerto Rican, so he's home.  I, on the other hand, am still adjusting and not making any commitments yet.  It's a different lifestyle than the states in many ways.  If I stay in "long vacation mode," I can enjoy myself.  If I switch to "conducting business mode," I get frustrated and disappointed.  Things take a lot longer to accomplish or are more complicated than they need to be.

You guys and my wife and I have a lot in common, we are both Puerto Ricans with a mainlander wife. We will be HOME again but for you ladies it is an adjustment to a new culture, new food, new language and a very inefficient set of systems that would make little sense if you are used to the states.

But remember that we also had the same situation when we moved the states, new language, new culture, new ways of doing things and not everything made sense to us.We made it and got used to it. In my case I left when I was 20 and have been in the states for about 43 years. PR sometimes feels a little strange to me because I been in the states longer than I was in PR, but the RICAN kicks in after a few days and I feel right as home. It took a while (over 5 years) for me to be comfortable in the states, specially with the language. I am still learning English, there is always something new to learn.

Once you learn more Spanish and socialize more you will feel more complete. You have a great house and a very nice location with a nice view, it is a little isolated but quiet and a lot less crime than in metro area.

We will hang out often with you guys once we make it to the island.
Rey

Do you know of anyone who is well knowledgeable for both PR and USA taxes?

Bribri, what are the particular concerns about taxes?
In general you pay federal taxes like you normally do provided that the money is not made in Puerto Rico. If the money is made in PR like as employment or your own company, you pay PR taxes and no Federal. If you are working for a federal agency then you will be paying Federal and may have to file a PR income tax where you will get credit for taxes payed to the Federal goverment. But this is generic, your particular situation will determine the taxes. You should consult a tax expert. Typically you will pay either federal or local and depending on the situation and type and source of income you may have to pay both.

I would like to get referred to a CPA that has knowledge for both so we can make sure our taxes are done appropriately.  I most guarantee my husband and I will still have to file federal taxes due to having VA disability income and working for a company in PR would probably mean we have to file PR taxes I would assume. I need to figure how that all would work, if we file it at the same time or differently. I noticed you all have H & R Block out there, we most likely will have to go there to get our information.

Once you are in get a CPA to do your first tax and to plan for the future, after that HR will likely be fine. A financial advisor may also be a good idea, pay for advice, don't give him money to invest otherwise you have to transfer the money and you wind up with a huge tax bill.
This April you have state tax and federal, next year federal and potentially PR. So you have time to find advisor and CPA for 2017 tax in April 2018.

I can tell you my personal experience. I have a retirement pension from New York and  Social Security Disability. I still pay federal taxes.  I do not have any income earned in Puerto Rico so I do not pay any Puerto Rico  (i.e. State) income tax.   

I know someone who has VA disability and Social Security. He does not pay Puerto Rico taxes.

Before I moved to Puerto Rico, my accountant in New York was able to find out about  Puerto Rico taxes.  Also, I remember finding some information through Turbotax and the H&R Website. 

If you are a millionaire or higher, there are special tax breaks, Law 20, that Puerto Rico has established to attract very wealthy folks.