Another american seeking info

Hello, Indeed111. Did you mean you'd be working in the Rio Grande community? If so, Isla Verde, in the town of Carolina, has many apartments for rent that are right on the beach and it is relatively safe compared to most other areas in the San Juan metropolitan area. Commuting from Isla Verde would be longer then I would personally be happy with (about 30 minutes) but it is surrounded by many restaurants and basically everything else you would need or want. It is largely a tourist area.

If you decide to live in Isla Verde or in another part of the San Juan metropolitan area, you'd certainly want to take the new expressway to Rio Grande (locally known as Route 66 or, according to Google Maps, as Route 188). Route 66 has a toll each way of $1.50 (if cash) or $1.45 (if you have the local version of E-Z Pass). On the bright side, you'd be going against traffic.

If you want to live closer to work you can certainly do so. There are adequate places in Rio Grande. A little farther down the road to the East is the town of Luquillo, which also has adequate places. Farther East is the marina-town of Fajardo, which has a sizable expat community and beautiful coastline but it is about 35 minutes from Rio Grande depending on where in Rio Grande you will be working. On note of caution is that traffic can get very bad on Route 3, the main road through the East of Puerto Rico, and I've been stuck in traffic jams there for hours. Ironically, living in Isla Verde has actually been kinder to me as far as traffic is concerned. I've lived in the East myself but I prefer San Juan because there is more to do.

If you want any more info about the East, just ask.

Hi, Just to add to NomadLawyer's post: I'm not that familiar with the Luquillo area, which is a short distance east of Rio Grande, but I know several Americans who have condos in the Playa Azul condominiums there; some of these people are "snowbirds" and are only here half the year, while others are full-time. They've told me there is a nice community there (the Luquillo area) with activities  and most of life's "necessities" close at hand. There are many stores along Route 3 in this area - Walgreens, walmart, lots of fast food restaurants - "civilization"! Living east of Rio Grande would free you from most of the San Juan traffic woes. And you can still get to San Juan in a reasonable amount of time, depending on traffic, of course.

You might want to take a look at a map for the names of the towns in the Rio Grande area and then look up real estate offers on clasificadosonline.com to get an idea of what housing is available and the names of some realtors.

Good luck!

In Rio Grande, try the Coco Beach community as well.

You might want to ask [Moderated: No free ads] about Rio Grande. They moved from NJ to Rio Grande a few years ago and are a bundle of useful information. I am a local and I visit often because I find it useful.

Feel free to ask me any more questions. I'd love to help.