Possible move to Rincon, Puerto Rico

Not sure when you are planing on coming to the island, so I assume it is at least a few weeks away. I will let the expats in the general area of Rincon advise you, I am not familiar with that area. Yes on the CPA, Also look into Act 22 since you have investments, you may be able to take advantage of that. Electricity will be your major expense when it comes to utilities, expect to pay about twice what you pay in the continental US. Today it sits at about 17 cents per KWH, but that is because the cheap oil, when that goes up you will be paying 24 cents or even more. Houses for rent in that area or condos for a year are absolutely your best bet, this way you are free to go anytime and can also look around the island before you purchase or decide to come back to the states.

There are plenty of experts in the Rincon area that will advice you, give it a few days and you will get plenty of advise.

Welcome to the island.
Rey.

Hello I live in Rincon. We have a 3 bedroom 2 bathrooms with a solar hot water tank and water is included . We pay $500 a month.  We are 10 mins from the grocery store .Town center and beaches .  We didn't want to be in the tourist area.   We are in cruces part of Rincon. In the mountains .We have a view of the ocean from the front and back of our place
You can find condos closer to town that are furnished but that prices start at $1100 to $3400.  These are tourist areas
As for buying I suggest waiting a while to see how pr debt is going to effect property taxes as well as other prices.
Depending on what time if year you are coming here. Snow birds are here from oct to April. Prices are higher during this time and you have less options.  These a house right up the street from me 3 bedrooms .1 bathroom with appliances.  Solar hot water heater and cistern for $450 a month .  If you come after April and stay at a weekly rental . You will be able to find a place quickly and not just settle for a place. I deal with natives here and get expats/ transplants.  Native prices not expat and transplant prices.  The higher prices are usually owned by expats and transplant
Sorry but pr health lacks . You make an appointment and plan on sitting there for hours. That's the way it is.  People here will tell you what drs speak English. Everyone here is helpful.  I speak no Spanish.  90% of the people in Rincon are English speaking or bilingual . 
Pr tax is 33% from earned income.
Sales tax has increased to almost 12%
We have lived in 2 other areas of pr and Rincon is far by the best I think as well as many other people. I am sorry but I can't answer the question on taxes on investment income. 
Well as for surprises. It this  anything you need to do will take you 3 times longer then in the states.  Everything from the dmv to banks restaurants.   
And as you have heard I am sure .  If internet is important to you .You must make sure you move in an area where you can get choice (company) internet . Cell service can be difficult if you don't have the right provider .  At&t has the best service .Sprint service is touch and go.   
There are some in expensive furniture store outlet in pr.  I wouldn't recommend shipping anything here .It's not worth it.    The only thing I feel that pr is lacking store wise is linen stores .Pr had one chain .Which left the island about A year ago.     If you would like to chat more .Please send me a personal message and I can give you my phone number .We can text and talk

Of course the power outage and water problem . But location in areas are important .If you move near the tourist area puntas .They are without power and water a lot

Thanks very much for the prompt and helpful thoughts.  Yes, a good internet connection is important to me. I forgot to mention that, so glad you addressed it.  That is a question I would ask before renting a house or condo.  Do I understand right that "Choice" is the name of the internet company?  Do they do cable TV too, or is that separate? Is Cable common, or is satellite TV more popular?

For cell phone, I have AT&T on the mainland and think I will just keep that -- my plan covers PR, so no need to change that

I thought about a condo rather than a house -- at least initially -- mostly because I lack home maintenance skills. (I am not handy at all).    Where I live, there are handymen I know and trust, so its not an issue.  But maybe different when I move to a new place.  Also I want to make sure I am in an area that is safe.  But I can understand why it would make sense to live outside a tourist area.  If I move there, I would like to integrate into the community, as best I can, and not be a tourist.

How do you find the attitude of locals toward expats?  Do people get along well, generally?  Do the expats and locals mix? 

Our idea would be to come down there in June, stay in a motel or short term rental (or something like that) for a couple of weeks, and use that time to look for a one year rental.  Exactly what you said about off season -- look around when there is lower demand.   

I am not looking for the absolute cheapest place -- I have worked really hard to be able to retire and I want to enjoy it.  But at the same time, I don't want to get ripped off either...

Choice is the name of the company and they do both internet and cable as well.
Rincon is very safe. Most of the petty crime happens in the tourist areas.  You can get a house or an apartment with little or no maintenance.  Our place is a 2 family we are on the top floor .We have no maintenance that we have to do. Everyone offers us free fruits all the time .We love the natives in this area .They are so friendly and nice
I will be able to help you find a place cheap. I do this for free. I help expats and transplant find places all the time.  Do you use Facebook?

Hi, I am a disabled veteran planing to take a trip to Puerto Rico next month and look for a place to purchase in the country. A fixer upper would be fine, or even a cuerda + of land. Who or where might I look to find someone to help me with this? My price range is about $15,000. Thank you.

Wantsomesun – love your handle!
----------Housing ------------
My wife, Karen, and I have an apartment in Rincon, Barrio Pueblo. Rincon is sort of like a county with several areas called Barrios. Barrio Pueblo contains the mayors office, town plaza, and many businesses. I can walk to town in seven minutes. My wife and I are the only gringos in our neighborhood, and even though we are close to town there are no tourists here. We are 5 minutes from the Balneario (public beach) and 10 minutes from the surfing beaches. We live on a hill, have tons of natural light, and it's breezy  (that's a good thing). We have a view of the ocean and the mountains, two rooms and a large bath and we love it here. There are many activities and events in Rincon from November through April (tourist season) and the weather, sunsets, and surfing are great. During the Summer season it can get very hot and humid, but then the ocean is nearby. We enjoy the Summer because the tourists are gone, things are quiet; also it's a good time to get to know the local residents, expats and hispanics alike. I have a tour of our little place on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWQm8xGz5P4

There are a lot of (non-tourist) long term rentals in Rincon. When I first came to Rincon in 2002 there was only one condo complex, now there are a zillion and they are all empty and ghost towns most of the time (owners come for vacations, a lot of owners are from the USA and the San Juan area). It sounds to me that condos (enclaves) like these are not your cup of tea (and they are expensive, perhaps $1,000 to $3,000). On the other hand there are a good number of apartment and houses available in the range of $450 to $650, electricity and water usually extra. Our place is $300 per month, utilities included, we were lucky and will keep it forever. I have a friend who is just finishing the construction of a couple of rentals in a great location – I will send info to you via private message. Also I recommend not using a realtor. There are many more rentals available than are known by realtors and with better prices. Try the website classificadosonline.com. When you get here ride around and look. If you see a place for sale ask them if you can rent – selling a house here can take years.

--------Medical--------
Medical is the most important factor to consider in moving to Puerto Rico. If one has a pre-existing medical condition it's even more critical. See this thread (and search other topics, there's a wealth of info here!) for important info: https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=359991

--------Opportunities to get plugged into the community --------
It'll happen before you know it and soon you'll become overwhelmed with social contacts! There are book clubs, game clubs, yoga, events etc. You will make friends with people by just walking the beach!

---------Car-----------
Unless you can't live without your 1966 Mustang or something like that I recommend buying a used car here. We bought a 2007 Toyota Yaris and love it! We found it on classificadosonline.com. The key is to look first thing in the morning and jump on it – good cars go fast. Before this we went out to the many used car places and it was very depressing and disheartening. Try to buy privately. Oh, when a car is registered the state insurance is mandatory ($99), but we also bought a private policy, which I recommend, and it costs about $500 a year.

---------Internet and TV----------
Reliability REALLY varies by location. We use Choice Cable and in our location it is very reliable. But I know people in Barrio Puntas were it sucks. So before committing to a rental ask neighbors if the internet is good or not.

-----------Learning Spanish----------
Good news! There are two Spanish Immersion Schools in Rincon! I've been to both and recommend Rincon Spanish Immersion with Annie: https://www.facebook.com/Spanish-Immers … =page_info

-----------Upsides And Downsides-----------
You probably know the upside already since you've chosen to live here.
Down sides:
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It's difficult to get some things you might be use to. For example the supermarkets (yes there are two in town) don't have a lot of stuff you find in the States, and sometimes they are out of stuff. For example sometimes Half 'n Half is available then it's not. However there are farm stands and a farmer's market in the plaza on Sundays. Also many people use Amazon Prime, and many things not available here can be shipped USPS, and mail boxes, which most people have, are not a problem. Hey, I just bought a pair of Nikon binoculars online!
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Noise. And plenty of it. Roosters (which I'm so used to I don't hear them anymore), dogs (I still hate the barking), loud parties, roving cars with huge loudspeakers announcing advertisements and stuff.
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Medical care (I've been over that). However dental care is quite good.
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Sales Taxes – 12% now!
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If one needs anything from the bureaucracy (e.g. driver's license, register car) it can be a slow and frustrating go.

Hello; I'm also a disabled Veteran. My wife and I live in Barrio (Neighborhood) Cruces, Rincon; literally a 9 min drive to the public beach. We pay $275/mo. for 2br, 1ba, on 6.5 acres. When I told my landlord that I needed a larger place, he offered to build me an extra (larger) room, with another bathroom, and a two car garage; all out of cement. He'll increase the rent to $325, which I think is still quite reasonable. It's not perfect, but it suits our needs for now. My wife and I are simple folk. We like the quiet, and fresh air. There is no cable tv up here, so I have Dish. The DSL here is slow, so I use my Sprint phone for internet (tethered to my laptop), I get cable/4G speeds. AT&T and Sprint are the ONLY two cell companies (in my humble opinion) worth considering... since they're in a price war right now, Sprint is offering up to 50% off your AT&T bill. I've been with Sprint for about 17yrs, and have no complaints; I've got a legacy unlimited (no throttling), plan. I cannot speak for AT&T, as I have never used them.

I would go to Clasificadosonline.com for rental availability. If you need a furnished place, until you get settled, you may find something there. Clasificados is also a good place to contact a realtor, as some absentee homeowners utilize them for managing properties, for rentals.

I have lived Arroyo, Guayama, and now Rincon... Rincon, by far is my choice for a quiet place to live, good simple folks here.

I use the VA for my medical care, and the Mayaguez VA is about a 20-25min drive from my mountain home. I have absolutely no complaints about the VA here in Puerto Rico!

Feel free to hit me up, should any of you have any questions, Veteran or not!

Mac-

victorlglass;
Thank you for the information; very helpful and I like your place. Do I get a pretty woman to clean my place if I rent there? Thanks again for the help.

Mac. We must be neighbors .I am on car 412 km 4.9

I guess so! At km 4.0, take that right turn down the steep hill, back up the other side, right at the top, first right, after the small Catholic church... last house on that dead end, that's us!

Wow you all are incredibly helpful.  Thanks so much.  (I am not a veteran, but for what its worth I have huge respect for those who are  -- one of my big regrets in life is that I never served my Country). 

For us, probably health care is the biggest concern, even though we are in our 50s and in good health.  Everything else we can deal with.  (Even housing is not that big a concern -- once we are down there we will look around and find a nice place that we like and can afford -- and if it turns out that we made a mistake, it will only be a rental, so we can move elsewhere)

We have considered keeping a place on the mainland, spending 4 or 5 months up here (at least to start with), and the rest of the year in Rincon.   Other than emergencies, we could see doctors while we are on the mainland.  It would also make things a little bit easier if we get down there and find that we made a mistake and want to move back.  I don't think that will happen, but I know it has happened to some people, so I guess anything is possible.

mac00677,
Hi fellow veteran and thank you for your response, information advice and help You've answered some questions I was going to ask.
I'm going to look into the info you gave me.

wantsomesun wrote:

Wow you all are incredibly helpful.  Thanks so much.  (I am not a veteran, but for what its worth I have huge respect for those who are  -- one of my big regrets in life is that I never served my Country). 

For us, probably health care is the biggest concern, even though we are in our 50s and in good health.  Everything else we can deal with.  (Even housing is not that big a concern -- once we are down there we will look around and find a nice place that we like and can afford -- and if it turns out that we made a mistake, it will only be a rental, so we can move elsewhere)

We have considered keeping a place on the mainland, spending 4 or 5 months up here (at least to start with), and the rest of the year in Rincon.   Other than emergencies, we could see doctors while we are on the mainland.  It would also make things a little bit easier if we get down there and find that we made a mistake and want to move back.  I don't think that will happen, but I know it has happened to some people, so I guess anything is possible.

The cases I seen here in the forum of people going back for health issues have been cases were either they had major health issues or they needed very specialized medical care which was harder to come by in the island. Seems the vast majority of the expats main issue is the long waits in the doctor office and doctors overbooking, but once seen they were for the most part satisfied with the doctors and care. One case I heard of a doctor with no bed side manners, but I heard that only once. Could be happening more often and people may not be complaining about it in the forum, so who knows.

We are still in the process of getting settled a bit further south of Rincon.  My two cents,  bring your kitchen & decor items along with your personal belongings. We moved from San Jose, CA to Cabo Rojo, PR and used Upack's relo cube. They dropped the cube off at our house(12/10),  the movers filed it up the next day and it was picked up later in the afternoon.  Three weeks later (1/8),  it was dropped off at our new home and the driver helped us unload it and took the cube back that same morning.  Keep in mind this was over the holidays, Christmas, New Year's Eve and Three Kings.  For the door to door service it was less than $4,800. It couldn't have been easier.   Well worth it to have our house feel like a home in less than three weeks.  Just my kitchen items alone would have been well over 7k to replace. I've found the cost of household goods to be much higher than in CA. While you can find some fair quality items used on Classificados Online and even fewer still on Craigslist, the good quality items tend to move very quickly and the resale value is usually close to the price you would expect to pay during a really good sale at a department store (much higher than I expected for used).  You will have to create an itemized list with estimated cost/value as it will have to clear the tax office.  As all of our goods were for personal use with no individual item exceeding a value of $2,500, no taxes were applicable.

I was a mortgage broker so real estate is/was my area of expertise. Prior to arriving,  I arranged to meet with several real estate agents, each has their own listings, unlike the mainland,  there really isn't a central database for listings.  Some of the rentals had for sale signs posted while others did not. As previously stated, Real Estate agents often act as property managers. In the end,  I found our rental by driving around the area we wanted to live in and saw a small hand written sign on the gate.  Beachfront property, the upper unit of a two-family home just $550 for a 3bedroom/2bath. I arrived a week before my husband (12/15) to look at properties, by 12/26 we had signed our lease agreement.  We had booked a room via AirBnB for our stay while we looked for a permanent place.  I would still recommend meeting with one or two agents as they will have a lot of neighborhood specific information, such as, during heavy rains the street floods,  during tourist season that quiet corner restaurant has live music 4 nights a week etc.

I concur with the recommendation of purchasing a car here over trying to bring yours over.  Surprisingly, car prices were much more affordable than what I was expecting after the sticker shock over furniture prices. We purchased through a dealership and they handled all of the paperwork for us. It was a two day process of driving Rt 2 from Aguadilla down to Cabo Rojo and stopping at every dealership we found on the southbound side.  Rt 2 is a divided highway so the following day we drove from Cabo Rojo up to Aguadilla to visit the dealerships on the northbound side. 

***Downsides ***
Surprised by how expensive produce is in the supermarket.  Almost $4 for two cucumbers, $3 for a head of lettuce, $5 for grapes!  Most of it is being imported from the mainland,  so stick with the roadside fruit stands and frozen vegetables. I'm seriously considering an edible garden if I can figure out a work around to the salty air.  But even this has a bright side,  best pinapple ever! 

Timing, you will need to learn to wait.  Things have a different speed here. People take their time, government moves at a glacial pace.  We purchased our car on 1/4, even with the dealership handling the registration, we don't yet have it back and have been advised that it can take up to 3 months. For our Internet/Cable provider it took three appointments before it was installed (they were no-shows for the first two appointments - over the holidays). So just take it in stride,  even this has an upside.  You're in Puerto Rico! The people are friendly,   the food is good, the weather is amazing and the scenery is picture perfect.

I love all the helpful replies, everyone, much appreciated!!

Shayuuurie - thanks so much for  your response.  It sounds like you have handled all the logistics of moving, etc. great. 

Do you speak Spanish?  What did you do about health insurance? Are you working down there or retired? 

Your advice about talking with some real estate agents makes sense to me. There are all sorts of things you cannot necessarily know about a place or a neighborhood without local input.  I am thinking that between RE agents and just chatting up some local people, I can learn what I need.  If it takes a few weeks living in a motel or short term rental in order to find the right place for us, that is fine.

I don't think the slower pace of things will bother me too much.  I have lived a pretty fast paced life (not in a  bad way -- just with career, etc.), so it will be a big change.  But slowing down is a big part of what is motivating me to retire young and move.  If that means I have to wait longer for the cable guy or the car title, so bit it.  Once I am not working, I will  have plenty of time!

We also lived in joyuda cabo rojo . Very nice. However it takes a long time to get to many places especially if you live further south in cabo rojo.  ( the most beautiful sunsets)
However most people don't speak English in Cabo rojo .  Definitely a beautiful place to visit . But I could only deal with living there for 7 months . Joyuda is a vacation spot for the natives and many homes are used as vacation rentals .So every weekend was new people most of the time very loud . Bars would compete with there music. I just couldn't take it. People would hang out on our pier til 4 am making noise. Leaving trash all over .Fishing hooks etc. My husband spent hours every day in the ocean cleaning up trash and beer bottles and cans .I couldn't see us spending that kind of money to deal with that

I actually live up closer to Mayaguez (2) than Cabo Rojo (100). We are smack dab in between a row of houses on the Beachfront and nothing is behind us, just South of Calle Plan Bonita. There are no bars or restaurants within what would be a city block in this somewhat rural area.  About half a mile in either direction there are plenty of both,  but we can't hear any noise coming from the establishments. It was the sound of the birds & crickets that initially kept us up at night (urben dwellers that we were).  Oh and the people on horseback,  we were not expecting that.  Now, barely a month later I'm used to the birds, crickets and the occasional clattering of hooves on the pavement. 

Both my husband and I speak very little Spanish,  but between the two of us we get by with a little help of pointing and pantomime. We wanted to live were the locals live, going native, so to speak. Being in an area where we are required to use our Spanish is what we were looking for.

We are usually the only ones on the beach,  about 8 houses south of us,  the beach has eroded exposing rocks,  most people don't cross it,  they turn back.  The same is true about 15 houses to our north,  effectively we have a private beach.  We absolutely love it, at the moment.  I signed a 6 month lease, just in case we are singing a different  tune once summer arrives. The trash we pick up, is what has washed ashore, it wasn't left by anyone on "our" beach. 

We retired young, both of us are in our late 40's. I do plan on selling crafts on Etsy, and renting out our guest room on AirBnB, just so I can have something to do and new people to meet.  But we are not working.

Insurance, we went with Cigna. They have an "international" plan that covers PR, Guam & UsVI, and every other country but not the mainland US, nor Hawaii & Alaska.  The catch being you must provide a non-US address to qualify. All you need us a friend or relative who lives abroad. All of our correspondence is being sent to our mailing address. Getting a mailing address, PO Box, is important. As we are living outside of the city, and not in an urbanization  (planned community) our address isn't really an address, it's our street and the nearest mile marker, so essentially 4 of my neighbors have the same address as we do. All of our packages are shipped to the post office as a mailing address with our PO BOX number listed as our "unit number" it is the work around for companies not mailing to a PO Box.

Reading this blog and others really helped with preparing for the move.  Dig around in the archives, just about every question you have has be asked and answered.  Feel free to send direct correspondence if you have specific questions about anything.

Shayurrie  - Thanks for your helpful advice.  I thought we were young, doing this in our early 50s, but you guys retired even younger than we are!  That's terrific.  I am interested in this Cigna plan you mentioned.  But do you have to tell them you live someplace other than Puerto Rico, in order to get that coverage?  (I would not be willing to do that).  Or can you be honest about where you live, so long as you do not live on the mainland US?  Also, does it cover healthcare in mainland?  I would need that coverage because if I had any serious medical condition (cancer, major surgery, etc.), I would want to be treated in a mainland hospital.  Sorry for the detailed questions, but health care is one of those items I really want to get right!

Yep,  retired early enough to be able to enjoy it, that's the plan.   

Unfortunately, the international cigna plan will not work for you as it does NOT provide coverage for services on the mainland,  Alaska or Hawaii. They do know that we live in PR and that is the mailing address as well, they need a non-us address for the software to be able to go to the next screen,  it will not accept a US zip-code.

Rincon has a church called church without walls I have been told if you go through the church you can get an insurance plan that is reduced because it's a group plan.

To sandrarduncan and Mac. We are coming to Rincon ( actually staying in Anasco) March 8 for 15 days for the purpose of assessing retirement possibilities. We have visited several times but want to get the feel of living there. It is unclear to me how to contact people directly, but I would love have lunch and pick your brains while we are there. I am Vietnam vet, my wife a retired schoolteacher. Is it ok to put my email here? I will check the thread to see what you say . Thanks, Lane

Lgerhardt wrote:

Is it ok to put my email here? I will check the thread to see what you say . Thanks, Lane

@ Lgerhardt > As a reply to your question, do note that private details ( emails, phone numbers etc ) are not accepted on the forum as a security measure.

If you wish to send your personal information to a particular member, please do it in private.

Thanks

Priscilla

sorry for the off topic

Hola and how are you. As a resident of Rincon and having lived in San Juan for some 13 years I feel much more at peace in Rincon. Outside of San Juan Rincon is the second largest population of English speakers so you can get by on very little Spanish. Health is good with many doctors speaking English. We are 20 minutes away from Walgreens, Kmart, Sam's Club and Home Depot.  The town has about 43 restaurants, 6-7 yoga studios, lots of activities as well as a good community with plenty of hotels, inns and guest homes. Rentals are somewhat expensive but good deals can be had away from the town center and the beach. Beach property is expensive compared to the rest of the island but still cheaper than Calif., or Hawaii. Rincon is the third smallest town on the island so this is small but you are 2 hours from San Juan which isn't a long drive at all. Health care insurance can be purchased from local providers or all major us providers. Home insurance as well as car insurance is cheap. Taxes on property are very cheap but that may change; their favorable laws that exempt expats. Sales tax is 11.5% which is very high, gas and electricity are reasonable with options to go solar. Rincon has many tutors so learning Spanish is easy. There are book clubs as well as environmental and animal rescue foundations.  What can I say I love Rincon and Puerto Rico. Hope I didn't leave anything out but feel free to contact me for more info. and see our local newspaper, elcoquiofrincon.com.

If you plan to purchase Lajas, Cabo Rojo and SanGerman are relatively cheap and not far from the VA . You really have to look hard to find something in that $15,000 range but a small place, made of wood can be had. Look to bank foreclosure, Banco Popular, Oriental bank or First bank. They should have web sites. Rincon is way too expensive but very nice. Also check classificadosonline.com.  Good luck.

Hello!!
My fiancé and I are considering a move to Rincon! Can anyone tell me about the school system? Are there any good schools in Rincon? Are the schools safe? Do they speak English? I would actually love for my children to be in a bilingual school, but I would like to know all of the options!  Private vs public?  We don't have kids yet, but along with healthcare and safety, education is a big concern! I am a teacher in New York, and would be curious about becoming a teacher down there as well!
Thank you!!

You will want a private school.