Exploring a Move

Justpeachyy wrote:

Carolina. Itl go out at random times, usually it's restored in about 1-3 hours.

Weird that you are having issues so often in Carolina. I used to live in Villa Fontana Carolina many eons ago and we rarely lost power, I guess the equipment is old now.

I am interested in hearing from other Expats as to their town and how often they lose electricity and for how long on average.

I don't know much about what tax attorneys do, but I would not move for the tax advantages alone. To me, it's an added plus.

I bought an apartment in Old Town overlooking the ocean. I rent it to vacationers when I'm not there. I absolutely love it, and if I had the resources I would buy another.

The history, culture, natural beauty and general love of life will always be part of Puerto Rico, regardless of the economy. It is for those reasons I'm moving there. And eventually, the economy will pick up, too. Puerto Rico is full of potential.

Igustaf,

Given that I intend to continue in business for quite some time to come and that taxes are by far the biggest single item of my budget (and about exceed all of my other living expenses combined), they are front & center in my calculations.  Are they the sole reason I’m looking at a move to PR?  No.  Are they a “make or break” component to the move?  Oh yes.  Rightly so in my case.

First, just about everyone cares about costs, it’s not just me.  For example, I’d bet that the vast majority of people here would at least reconsider living in PR if their cost of living were to double.  Likewise, if the cost of living in PR were halved, I’d bet that more people would be interested in or able to live there.  I am no different, cost of living matters to me.

Second, we can live just about anywhere we please since my business is quite mobile.  There are so many excellent options….other beautiful places also full of really neat people.  Vina del Mar?  Barcelona?  Berlin?  Anywhere in Florida?  Months on a cruise ship ala Super Mario on Royal Caribbean?  All of the above on a nomadic basis?  When it comes to “interesting”, “beautiful” or “full of warm people”, PR is not unique.  But PR is close to unique as to how low the cost of living (via Act 20) would be for us.  Because that factor is unique among my criteria, it becomes a key decision point for PR.

If we do not choose PR, we will probably home-base in FL (no state income tax makes me happy, warm weather, beaches and some Latin culture make the wife happy) and spend months on end in various locales, PR and especially OSJ included.  If we choose PR….we’ll home base there instead & still travel all over.

We have thought of doing exactly what you have done in OSJ – either buying or leasing long-term (rents are low compared to what buildings cost) and Air BNB’ing it out when we are not in residence.  We’d spend a month here and a month there in residence.

We are blessed with options.  The uniqueness of Act 20 and the very large savings it entails for us makes it a key factor in our decision to live/not live in PR.  Some may view it as crass….but I’d bet that in other ways money greatly influences their own decisions, even if they try to downplay it.  Money is life and life is money.  For example, if you have "enough" (a subjective concept if ever there was one), then you have bought the rest of your life.  If you do not have "enough", then the parts of your life spent earning money probably do not belong to you.

As to PR’s potential:  I agree that it has much potential.  I hope that it shall not end up meriting a witticism often ascribed to Brazil….”Brazil is the country of tomorrow – and always shall be”.  The risk & probability of exactly that outcome  for PR must be borne in mind.

I love Puerto Rico. I choose to live here because of the environment, the individual friendships that are dear to me. I am Puerto Rican. My personal attributes and my political views, my religious beliefs are my own. Generalized labels are offensive.  Financial considerations are important when selecting a place to live, but it should not be the driving force in life.    My friends here in Puerto Rico range from the extremely wealthy to those with extremely limited income.  No two are alike.  The benefits of this forum is being able to learn from  personal, individual experiences.

Frogrock,

I agree with much of what you say but not all of it.  No surprise there, all of us can say the same about everyone else.

I disagree as to generalizations and tend to disdain the modern trend of "being offended".  Generalizations strike me as useful if accurate, balanced, and understood to be general and not applicable in every instance.  We can start with a simple and useful one:  Most Puerto Ricans speak Spanish.

I mentioned elsewhere the financial considerations and why in my personal case they are a key factor in our decision.  Your view is understandable - you have a love of PR and connections there that outweigh other factors.  I do not have such connections in PR.  Given that Puerto Ricans (and for that matter expats in PR) strike me as pretty warm & open (naughty generalization?), I'd bet that making friends would be fairly easy.

I wholeheartedly agree with you on the benefits of the forum.  You are one the people who provides good information, I certainly benefit from that.

Just curious, what is a Rosie Perez attitude? What does she have to do with any of this?

Just as some people on this forum do not care for my attitude and will avoid me (to which I say “fair enough”), I likewise do not care for certain attitudes and will avoid them.  That is especially true if those attitudes cost me money or increase my risk.  If I perceive such attitudes to be dominant in a given place, odds increase that I’ll not call that place home.

My interaction over the last 30 years or so with a few dozen Puerto Ricans in the US (almost all of whom are Stateside-Ricans and not actually from the island) left me consistently surprised as to how many of them reminded me so very much of Rosie – both her politics and her attitude, neither of which I care for.  If you watch the last few minutes of “Do the Right Thing” (to name just one example) that grating tone, movement & attitude strike me as commonplace among Stateside Ricans.  Ditto the consistently leftist politics.  I do not care for either and find the latter generally harmful & personally expensive.  Others will of course disagree.

In fairness to the Stateside Ricans, I found them to be very Latin where passion, warmth, hospitality, and “joy of life” are concerned.  For me, these traits weigh on the credit side of the scale.

I have met spent significant time with few island-grown Puerto Ricans.  I mean to remedy that lack.  I will be curious to see how culturally similar or dissimilar they are in comparison to their Stateside cousins.

lgustaf wrote:

Good point, peach. Puerto Ricans want the best that independence and statehood have to offer - can't blame them. As a colony, they can get the best OR the worst. They've experienced both.

Most Puerto Ricans I've talked to would like it when it was the best, but they realize it wasn't and never could be sustainable, and would therefore prefer statehood over independence. They seem to be realistic enough to know that independence, as glorious as it sounds, also would not be sustainable, and subject to even more corruption.

Make sure you vote for your preference come June 11. That is the place to make your opinion count. Some of us would like to vote but we are not resident, so it is out of the question. I have expressed my preference  previously, but it does not count since I can not vote.

lgustaf wrote:

I can't vote, either, Rey. I have an apartment in VSJ, but don't live there long enough during the year yet to get voting rights.

I do talk to people as much as I can when I'm there, and am very interested in the political and econoic future of PR, as it will be my permanent home.

Like you said, it will be your home, so get involved as soon as you can. No point letting others decide for you, specially me, given that my politics are very different from yours.

Once I sell here in MA, I will be full In and involved. Will likely sign up with one of the parties and really get involved.

Justpeachyy wrote:

It's mostly those who want statehood and those who want independence that's the issue here and it's PNP Vs PPD.

Ehm, PPD is not for independence, that's the PIP with around 5% of the voters backing that option. PPD wants "enhanced commonwealth" even though there's no constitutional  basis for that type of status.

I've said this before, since the status issue cannot be resolved here on the island because it's congress in DC that decides, it would be better if the PR politicians would push the issue to the background and start working on getting the economy up and running.

Mrkpytn wrote:

In one bar I stood with a dollar in my hand and I was ignored.

Happened to many others (and me) as well I'm afraid.
You look like a gringo, so you must be a gringo. Once they get to know you and they find out you (try to) speak Spanish things change.

In my experience this is not typical for Puerto Rico, it happened to me in a couple of local watering holes and stores in Germany, too. Heck even in Amsterdam where I was born and raised if I went to a pub in another neighborhood I was initially ignored on occasion as well.

As you know, Mark, an open mind changes a lot

Gary wrote:

I've said this before, since the status issue cannot be resolved here on the island because it's congress in DC that decides, it would be better if the PR politicians would push the issue to the background and start working on getting the economy up and running.

Agreed, we waited 119 years or so, we can get the economy straight then vote on it 3-4 years from now, I do not understand the rush. Besides I would prefer to be a resident when it is time to vote.

Mrkpytn wrote:

In one bar I stood with a dollar in my hand and I was ignored.

I ran into that in Rincon, they would ignore me and serve all the non natives. They would even avoid eye contact. Lovely to be ignored in my own country.

So it does goes both ways.

lgustaf wrote:

I don't think it's discrimination one way or the other. I simply think some are just afraid of venturing too far from their comfort zones.

For all I heard about the French being exclusive and arrogant, I found them warm and accommodating as soon as I even TRIED to speak the broken French I know.I spent three weeks in Paris and couldn't have felt more welcomed.

I am now working to learn Spanish on my own -- working on it a little bit each day -- and although I'll likely never acheive fluency, even after I move, I hope I can at least speak it well enough to break down the culture barrier, or at least put a chip in it.

It's all about attitude.

You hit it right on the head, it is one's attitude as how we react to the world around us.

mandarjones wrote:

Just stay stateside. ***

I am so confused by this person,

nokkieny wrote:

mandarjones wrote:

Just stay stateside. ***

I am so confused by this person,

Unfortunately he's been banned, so now there is no way that he can explain himself, and no way for you to understand him.

nokkieny wrote:

mandarjones wrote:

Just stay stateside. ***

I am so confused by this person,

As was I -- at first.

WarnerW wrote:

nokkieny wrote:

mandarjones wrote:

Just stay stateside. ***

I am so confused by this person,

Unfortunately he's been banned, so now there is no way that he can explain himself, and no way for you to understand him.

He will likely be back May 31st.