In retrospect, would you move again to Puerto Rico?

To many questions . You are better off reading our experiences or questions and answers on topics .

To tell you the truth, as a native, I sometimes wish I never leaved the island. However I seen a lot and done a lot that had I never left I would have never experienced. But soon I will be returning to my Isla Del Encanto where I belong, and this time I will be staying.

Being in PR for a non-native can be hard culturally and financially, but most that come stay for a number of reasons. The next 3 to 5 years will be difficult but the economy will recover.

Absolutely!!!! This has been a rewarding and sometimes troubling experience but in the end, we love it!!!! I have come to think of Quebradilla as my hometown.  I will ALWAYS have New York in my heart but I am here now to stay!!!

Just take your time looking for a place to live, don't jump on the first thing and you will find yours.  The people are great, the weather is great, I don't have to tell you about the food, which is great.  It is truly a paradise.  My mother guided me here to this town and am glad of it.

We plan on staying here till the end of our time.

Tonie064,
BrianTX is in the process of buying in Quebradillas I think.

Yes, I know, He and his wife came to our home and we showed him around.  Really nice people.  We welcome them here.

In my case I didn't move to Puerto Rico because I wanted to move to Puerto Rico, I moved here to be with my (then) future wife.
I don't regret that decision, on the contrary!

Puerto Rico as a place to live is pretty good for me although I could also live in other countries as I did before. Right now with the financial crisis things are looking different than 15 years ago when I made the move. Let's see how things develop...

Gary wrote:

I don't regret that decision, on the contrary!

Says Gary while wife with rolling pin in hand watches as he types. 

YES! No regrets about moving to Puerto Rico.

,If I were a four season person and did not need easy access to warm water Western North Carolina would fill my needs. At the moment I am selling my art studio/home in North Carolina to a friend to be here full time. I do not do winters  and the Southern politics can be extremely  uncomfortable. What Puerto Rico offers me geographically can not be duplicated on the mainland. I made a choice 15 years ago and have waited for this time to make my final decision and PR won out over North Carolina. I have the house here and a farm. All I need is an empty  building (plenty of those here) for my studio and I will be settled permanently. No regrets here.

Questions:
If you had to look back on your expat experience in Puerto Rico, would you heartily say "let's do it again"?   From the preparation stage to your actual everyday life in your new country, what did you enjoy the most?  Would you do certain things differently? Could you tell us why? How would you describe the benefits of your expatriation in Puerto Rico so far?

Answers:
It's been 8 months now since I moved to the island and I would say "let's do it again" if the same opportunities presented themselves.  If a loved one had the same opportunity and asked for my opinion, I would say "go for it."  I did not feel that way my first three months!  I had 5 months to prepare for the move from Michigan, and having visited the island several times over the past 20 years (my husband is a native that moved from the island to the mainland in the 70's), I did not really think that I would have difficulties adjusting.  Well, I did.  After switching gears from "vacation mode" to "real life" here, where I needed to take care of business in the construction of a house, finding materials and making selections, lining up medical providers, etc., I had to lower my expectations about how fast things could get done here.  That's been the biggest frustration for me but I am getting better about it.  What do I enjoy the most? The obvious:  weather, fresh fruits and vegetables all year round, no snow, easy breezes, unlimited beach and natural beautiful spots that I only saw on a postcard growing up.  What would I do differently? Nothing comes to mind that I could have done differently to adjust, it just took time and coming to the realization that i couldn't change things out of my control so I had to change my reaction to them, otherwise I would be miserable. The benefits of moving here so far has been meeting great people, learning a new language, functioning at a less hectic pace, and just knowing that I made a large move that many people in my circle of friends back home and family would not have the nerve to do, and I am surviving and doing just fine!

I know what you mean about North Carolina politics. I'm in Georgia, you know, home of the KKK. I bought an apartment in Old San Juan and until I can live in it full time, I'm renting it to vacationers.

I'm happy as a clam...now I have a wood shop on the beach.  Doing woodwork under the palm trees with a great view of the ocean!  Sometimes I gotta pinch myself, it is fantastic.   

I guess I should get my coffee and get to work and build some beach furniture while getting a little tan.

How much was your home heating bill in PR?
How are the other utilities doing?
One needs a fun hobbie, looks like you found yours

Rey,

Heating bill?  what's that? 

My power bill was about $50 last month - but don't have AC yet, and we put in LED lights to reduce the power used so it seems reasonable.

Sitka,
       
Happy to hear you are doing well and have found your calling. Hey, you can probably sell some of this chairs, they look great.

Take care and enjoy that fantastic view and warm ocean breezes.

Tonie

There are a lot of savings in PR due to the warm of the island, and the amount of light it receives (lots of rain lately, I know). But no heating bill, open windows all day to let the breeze in and sunlight, means less lights on most of the day and maybe a fan when the breezes are not strong. At night a bedroom air conditioner or a fan do the job nicely. To cook, gas which is cheaper. While electric is expensive we seem to tend to use less of it. A lot depends on where you live and the amount of breeze you get obviously.

In PR during the day, the main power I use is for my computer and refrigerator. Hardly a single light on during the day.

Our water bill is beyond outrageous. The water company "claims" our little 2-bdrm apartment in VSJ uses enough water in a month to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool -- something not even humanly possible, since it is never occupied more than 10 days a month. Our property manager initiated an investigation, but that was ages ago and we have heard nothing of it.

Take pictures of your water meter before you leave for a trip, see if the water usage goes up. When you return, take another picture. A lot of times you are paying for an estimate and not for an actual water reading. It is possible there is a leak past the water meter or maybe someone is connected to your system and they are using your water.

"maybe someone is connected to your system and they are using your water."

Which is why we initiated an investigation, although I don't know how anybody could.

The pictures of your meter are important even if you just take a day trip a and come back a few hours later, if not using water the meter should not change.
As to somebody connected to your system ..... They may have connected years ago, but most likely it is a meter misread or a leak after the meter

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say something. I read this thread yesterday afternoon and had to pause once I got to lgustaf's post about the KKK.

I currently live in Atlanta as well and have experienced extreme racism here in Georgia and strong racism in the DC area. In the DC area it doesn't come from people you see working and walking around, but it comes from the police.... oh boy the police, and employers. While here in Georgia I've experienced it from everywhere. It doesn't happen everyday but more than it should, and honestly, this was my main reason for wanting to move to Puerto Rico.

But it was REALLY moving and inspiring to see Mrkpytn and lgustaf's comments. I'm still shocked! I'm more excited than ever to get to PR now. I even decided to change my profile pic to match my FB. When I first joined the site I was really apprehensive about putting my picture up because I didn't want anyone to judge me or not help based on the way I look. Ugh, I'm mad my experiences have made it so I even have to think like that. I just really look forward to my move and traveling other places.

Sorry for any typos. I just got a new... and expensive laptop and it skips keys like a rock across water.

Hey, Chris,

I love your profile pic.

My p;rofile pic is of myself, my husband, and two of our exchange students: one from Italy and the other from Switzerland. I live in Alpharetta, which is very homogenous, provincial and conservative. And yes, prejudice still thrives here.

t's a global village. I embrace diversity (Georgia does not) and when you look at the most successful cultures in history, they have done so as well, I feel much more at home at my small apartment in PR than I do in my big-ass house in Georiga, - In PR your have cultural  divergence - American, Spanish. Native American, African -- all on one small island --,Learning Spanish will help me connect  more. Although most do speak English, I just think it an insult to the natives to not at least try to  learn Spanish. 

Good luck in PR.  You seem like a great guy -- intelligent and intuitive. Open yourself to new experiences, dance in the street, and the locals will love you.