Looking to move to PR, but hubby is wary, info appreciated!!!!
It seems to me that Puerto Rico would be the best of both worlds.
We own our own company and can work from anywhere in the world, so jobs are not a problem.
We are not wealthy, but we support ourselves comfortably.
However, we are no longer young. My husband has been through brain cancer (in remission 3 years now), is a type 2 diabetic (completely under control without insulin), and has had a heart attack ( not much muscle damage, but still). He does have a bit of trouble walking in a straight line or any long distance because of the brain surgery. He is worried about healthcare the most.
We want to be outside any city, not in it. Beaches are nice to visit, but we don't want to live there.
We are also concerned about the power grid- sure, we have already looked into generators, but then you have to have fuel available for them.
We currently live on well and septic, so cistern type stuff is familiar. My husband is worried about running out of water in a cistern. Is there much well usage?
Our business is Internet based- you can take a look at SJSent.us, so reliable Internet availability is the biggest thing to me.
So, to summarize: Healthcare availability, power grid, water availability, and Internet availability.
Thank you!!!
- Renting in Puerto Rico - Guide
- New here...considering move to PR soon and looking for a good school - 32 Replies
- Moving to PR - 10 Replies
- Single Girl moving to PR... - 25 Replies
- US Family Moving to PR - 8 Replies
- Recently arrived in PR and looking for People in similar situation - 7 Replies
- Moving to Puerto in the Fall with Hubby and 2 small boys (ages 2 & 3) - 4 Replies
2. If you can get high speed internet which is liberty in the mountains, which is usually doubtful you will have to get dsl which is claro, who is horrible
Many mountain areaa have to relay on satellite which is huge which is very slow and has a max you can use monthly
If you need internet for business you cant even relay on liberty high speed. we just go our liberty service back after 7 plus months and we dont live in the mountain's. We live in a pretty tourist area
Sorry i have to be realist and not give you false hope
Given your husband health problem and the possibility of additional heart attacks I would recommend not to live too far from a hospital. 10-20 minutes at most. Type 2 diabetes is extremely common in PR so there are plenty of doctors that know how to keep it controlled.
Since you both speak Spanish you are not limited as to were to live. When considering the health issues and the desire to live in the mountain, I recommend when looking for a location to speak with the people in the neighborhood to see how they were affected by the recent Maria storm. SO people became unable to leave the neighborhood because some bridges and roads were washed out and having a medical emergency under those conditions could be letal. So the skirts of the mountains 1,000 feet and below may be best and in an area where other than fallen trees and branches were the only obstacle.
I would suggest you two take several trips to the island and nail down where you want to live. Renting is also a good way to get to know where you want to live permanently, as you can move anytime and try a different area.
One more thing, living in a house means yard work, the bigger the yard the more the work, and with the health issues it may be difficult. You may want to consider a condo.
If we have rain you can collect rain water and use a sawyer water system but if you dont have rain you are out of luck. And if you are lucky you might be able to buy 1 case. We had to drive 50 miles to get a case of water still several months after the hurricane. As for wells. They arent readily used here.
And i you did i wouls be checking the well water quality weekly
Most mountain areas dont know have hospitals that could help in a real emergency and you would have to drive a minimum of 30 mins to get to one
And the ambulances here if they actually show up will take a minimum of an hour to get to you
During the last storm the entire island was without electricity, without most cell towers and no phone for months.
Very few wells in PR, cistern is the way to go. You can always burry a huge one of thousands of gallons and use a pump and some solar panels to run it when the electricity goes out assuming you do live in a house. If considering a condo ask the seller and neighbors how they did after Maria. Some condos have generators for the entire building, some don't. If the elevators does not work you will have to deal with stairs.
Sorry but you must know the good and the bad.
Pueto Rico is an island. If you're on an island, REGARDLESS of where that island is, you will be affected by availability of resources. That's a given. Keep a plan B in your back pocket and think outside the box to see opportunity when you might not otherwise have noticed it.
I bought there 3 years ago and have managed through the worst in PR. Still, no regrets. Puerto Rico is truly Isla del Encanto.
We have read that professionals like doctors are leaving the island, hence our worry about availability.
My husband has been a fireman for over 20 years, so he is used to thinking on his feet, but likes to have a plan in place, and is not one to jump into a situation like where to live without a lot of care, so your suggestion of coming and looking for ourselves is an excellent one. We just wanted some feedback from people who are living it daily.
Any clue of why no wells? I understand cisterns, and collecting rain water, is there a rainy.dry season? We had that in Panama- 9 months daily rain, 3 months pretty much no rain. Cisterns were great for the 9 months, not so much for the three. We are on well and septic here.
Gigabit Internet service, Caroline, San Juan, Guynabo. http://optico.criticalhub.com
Hughes Net last I checked was in the island.
For what you need to do without streaming movies, video conferencing or gaming (ping rate) most internet services in PR will be fine.
Regarding healthcare: take advantage of the pharmacies. Pharmacists in PR are highly knowledgable and highly regarding as the "go to" source for many of your basic health needs. And they don't charge for their advice. Plus, many medications that would normally need a script in the States, can be dispensed by the pharmacist over the counter. Think of your pharmacist as a neighborhood nurse practitioner. MDs are good, but scarse and wait times are long to see one, so before you schedule a trip to the doc, head to the pharmacy and see what the guy behind the counter can do for you.
A Navy hospital ship sat in San Juan harbor staffed with modern equipment and highly-trained doctors and nurses, but many in the interior didn't know it existed or couldn't get to it. I didn't even know it existed until I went down to peruse the destruction to my apartment and the area. Many of those doctors went into the field to treat patients, many on their own time and their own dime. Some of their efforts were truly heroic. Even news crews stepped in to helicopter patients to hospitals running on generators.
Maria created a disaster beyond anything anybody had ever seen in living memory. It was the dismal disaster itself that caused a good many of the casualties of Maria. The hospitals in FL weren't faring much better, being overloaded with emergencies from the island. patients waited forever for treatment. Many were given IVs in syringes because IV bags and solutions are made in Puerto Rico and those factories were wiped out. Many died before treatment.
Puerto Rico is an island. It is vulnerable. That's a fact. If that's too scary, don't move to an island.
My questions are how is it now, not how bad was it during and shortly after.
Water was back on in my apartment in February and the electricity came back shortly after. It would go out now and then, but has been consistently operational for a couple months now. My place is in Old San Juan.
Recovery has been slower in the sticks, largely due to lack of funds. Many residents have given up on expecting help and are going out and fixing things themselves, with or without the experience they need to do it right. If you have any technical or construction experience, there is plenty for you to do.
And yes, it is hot in PR, especially in the lowlands, (very pleasant in the mountains) but seriously, it's very bearable. Atlanta (where I am) gets way hotter in the summer (freezing in the winter) and is just as humid.
Quite a difference between 6 months and 10 days in Texas.
Many businesses closed permanently and needless to say those employees end up without a job. Those that only closed temporarily are doing fine or getting better but up to their ears in debt they accumulated during the time they were closed.
A generator, motor oil, and plenty of gas will let you have power for a few hours every day to keep the fridge going in cases like that in the future.
I owned a home remodeling company for a couple of years, so I can certainly be hands on, and have a son who is an electrical engineer, who would be coming with us.
I do want to be sure that under "normal" circumstances I can get healthcare for my husband, Internet for the business, etc, but we are all certainly capable of handling more than a dirt free, bug free, controlled environment. One of the things our company makes is an all natural bug repellent, DEET free (certainly need it here on the coast).
I think we will come for an extended visit later this year.
Thank you all.
The exception being if you were well-off enough to charter a flight off the island after the storm.
Even here, in the good ol USA, after Harvey all it took was a phone call from the local chief of the tiny local volunteer fire department to get the national guard out with pallets of water and power tools to clear the streets around his house, so he could "get to the fire station to serve his community".
However, I realize what you are trying to say. Of course, disasters do not spare people regardless of their importance or self importance.
The additional cost of shipping really is a problem and it is baked into the prices of everything in the local shops as well. Be prepared for outrageous prices on everything from food to anything else you can get at the local Walmart. I still cannot believe how fast the money goes for 'stuff' here. Then add the 11.5% sales tax on top of it.
If PR could get the US to remove the Jones Act, it would be one of the biggest boosts to the economy and quality of life here.
I don't think the people here even realize how badly they are being screwed over for prices on everyday things.
I was wary about moving here as well, and in many ways already regret it three months in. I have already found myself trying to plan an exit before I become trapped here.
On the positive side, it is a beautiful place and the rent is cheap.
Shop at Costco when you can. It is one of the few places where items cost exactly the same in PR as they do stateside.
It may be a long shot, but contacting the company directly may work!
https://www.airbornewirelessnetwork.com/index.asp
wpotvin wrote:There is a recent entry into PR isp market. Aeronet (http://aeronetpr.com/ ) provides high speed service via microwave transceivers aimed at antennas near El Yunque. Some of my neighbors who could not get Liberty use it. I looked into it and could get it in Rio Grande, it was about the same cost as Liberty and had slightly better speeds available. Anyplace with a view towards the mountains should be able to get it.
One of our members in Rio Grande is using Aeronet
As long as I can get local eggs, milk, fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, and coffee, we should be good to go. I am sure the cats and Thor (The Magnificent- shepherd wolf mix) will miss Chewy.com. but you can't have everything.
I am so sorry that you are not feeling comfortable there. My suggestion is get out while you can, go somewhere you are happy, or you will be trapped and bitter, not a nice way to live your life- you deserve better!
Is USPS dependable? Available easily? (locations). Works the same way there? I am not worried about rates, we have that handled, just availability/dependability of service.
Veesha wrote:trekrider520: certainly makes sense to me. Do you know about outgoing mail? We ship about 40 items a day, mostly to the US, but about 20 percent go overseas (sorry, oxymoron) international. We love and use USPS, they have been very good to us, and we have contracted rates. I am sure that UPS is available also, but not our first choice.
Is USPS dependable? Available easily? (locations). Works the same way there? I am not worried about rates, we have that handled, just availability/dependability of service.
We’ve always used USPS for all of our outgoing mail needs. No problems at all (we were in the metro area), and works exactly the same as all other US locations. Another tip - take care of your postal delivery person. We had a super nice gentleman who would go above and beyond for us. He would always invite us us to his house in Coamo.
Make your relocation easier with the Puerto Rico expat guide
Forum topics on networking in Puerto Rico
Essential services for your expat journey





