My husband I are moving to PR Jan 1st!!

Hi kbwalker1210, welcome on Expat-blog!

I hope other members can help you.

I wish you good luck
Christine

kbwalker1210 wrote:

-Are there any international codes or costs when using our cell phones from P.R.

No international code is needed. If you have a nation-wide plan, PR should be included. To be sure check with your cell provider.

kbwalker1210 wrote:

-Where are some safe areas to hike and camp?

I wouldn't know. Not too many people do that. 99.999% of the transport is by car.

kbwalker1210 wrote:

-How much to rent a car or taxi fares

Taxis are not cheap (and I don't trust the drivers. Not many taxis have a taxi meter...)
For rental check the national rental agencies  - they are all here and you should be able to get rates from their sites.

kbwalker1210 wrote:

-I have driven ambulance for the past 4 years. Would there be any jobs like that? i also love to babysit or clean houses!

The job market is difficult. You would need to be fluent in Spanish.

kbwalker1210 wrote:

-My husband is a welder and an all around handyman. Any leads?

Same as above, it ain't easy to find a job these days.

Thanks to you both for responding! Does anyone else have any advice on hiking and camping. I've heard (from my friend's parents and a few others online) that Puerto Rico is a great place to do both camping and hiking, but to watch out for certain areas. It would be great to know what those areas are.

This would be a fun way to explore some of Puerto Rico and not to just look at most of it through a car window. My husband and I do a lot of hiking and camping even here in Houston and surrounding areas and it's the 4th Largest city in the US so I know that there has to be great hiking and scenery in a place that is less city than Houston.

Thanks Gary and Christine and to future responses!

kbwalker1210 wrote:

Thanks to you both for responding! Does anyone else have any advice on hiking and camping. I've heard (from my friend's parents and a few others online) that Puerto Rico is a great place to do both camping and hiking, but to watch out for certain areas. It would be great to know what those areas are.

This would be a fun way to explore some of Puerto Rico and not to just look at most of it through a car window. My husband and I do a lot of hiking and camping even here in Houston and surrounding areas and it's the 4th Largest city in the US so I know that there has to be great hiking and scenery in a place that is less city than Houston.

Thanks Gary and Christine and to future responses!

Did you guys visited before PR? If not I think you should visit first before living here

No we have not visited. We are looking for more of a spontaneous move! An exciting adventure. We aren't your normal plan a year ahead to do everything kind of people. We are in our 20's and seizing the day while we are young! Just wanted to see if anyone could point us in a direction once we got off the plane. Otherwise we will wander and eventually find it right?

I would suggest to you that a spontaneous move to Puerto Rico could quickly turn to disaster or even tragedy if you don't arm yourselves with some knowledge and common sense before taking a blind plunge like that. Do either of you speak Spanish? Do you know anything about the customs, the crime rate, places you should stay away from for your own safety? I'm not trying to scare you away, I'm moving there myself. But it's not like moving to another state. It's a whole different world.  There are things you need to learn before going to a place like PR. At least one thorough trip to the island before hand would be well advised. It's a beautiful wonderful place and so are the people for the most part. But once you are there you will definitely realize "you aren't in Kansas anymore Dorothy". Just remember, it's possible to be spontaneous and informed simultaneously.

Gregg

We are asking for information to be "informed" Thanks. Do you have answers to any of the questions that you asked us so that you may help further inform us?

I'm sorry if somehow we have led you to believe that we have not done any research. We have friends that are from there and that have lived there for years, but we just thought we would get different opinions.

I was under the impression that you were doing this totally on a whim. Since you already have feedback from friends who can tell you a lot, I'll just relay my experience.
I've been to PR numerous times and simply put it just feels like home to me. I don't speak Spanish but I did marry a beautiful Puerto Rican woman from Mayaguez(west coast). PR has numerous qualities that I guess would qualify as drawbacks, but no matter where you go there are always trade offs. But for me the positive qualities far outweigh anything negative. But all those qualities both negative and positive are all relative as none of us see and experience things the same way. There is plenty to do there and a lot of wonderful things to experience. It's just an adjustment because it's so different than anything we have in the states.
  We are planning to make the move sometime this winter. It can't come soon enough for me. Try the following link to get you started on places to see. places.eyetour.com. There are a lot of short videos of places around the island. Look up any info you can on the internet. Use Google images and Google Earth. Oh, it also helps to not dislike the sound of the Coqui. They are everywhere on the island and will sing you to sleep every night. Look them up on the www and see if you can find  some audio of them. And as I tell everyone, when you go to Puerto Rico remember that you will always be a guest there. Be respectful and act accordingly. Have fun.

Gregg

Thanks! That was very helpful!

That sounds like a great adventure.. The phone should work if you have a national plan. The job situation in Puerto Rico is difficult, just like everywhere else. El Yunque is a great place to hike, don't know about the camping restrictions.

The taxis in the tourist zone, do not have meters, they have a set fee.  So lets say from Isla Verde to Old San Juan, it will be about $20.00.  Isla Verde is the closest tourist area to the airport.
Everything outside the tourist zones the taxis have meters.

Good luck!

puertoricoistheplace wrote:

That sounds like a great adventure.. The phone should work if you have a national plan. The job situation in Puerto Rico is difficult, just like everywhere else. El Yunque is a great place to hike, don't know about the camping restrictions.

The taxis in the tourist zone, do not have meters, they have a set fee.  So lets say from Isla Verde to Old San Juan, it will be about $20.00.  Isla Verde is the closest tourist area to the airport.
Everything outside the tourist zones the taxis have meters.

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the info!! We have 5 days until we step foot into PR!!

Good Luck! Drop us a line once in awhile to let us know how you are doing.

Gregg

Hello:

If you are looking to move to PR be aware that the island is a very different place.  You could be accepted and taken in by many but if you don't speak the language and it is obvious that you are a foreigner you may be putting yourself into a situation you don't want to be in.

Before you go, check out some sites on the net in Luquillo and Isla Verde (right across from the airport) where there's a small group of north americans that live there. I've been to one store going up to El Yunque (luquillo) that the owner is north american. She may be able to help you. I don't recall right now her name.

Camping like you do here is USA is something you should think about seriously before you embark in such adventure.  Safety is of much conern.  Please don't get me wrong, my island is very friendly but there are some people you really don't want to meet just like anywhere in the world.

Check out Rincon also, there's a big group of north americans there too.  That is on the South West part of the island, surfers world really.  Lovely, small place but you will feel at home and safe there.  On your way there stop in Isabella, one of my teachers in high school Myrna Hau owns a resort Parador Hau I THInk it's called, there are villas you can rent and you can camp there too. It is out of this world.  Safe, safe, safe!"

Also check out the island of Vieques.  That is a lovely place to go and very, very safe.  Not much to do but to live peacefully, enjoying the ocean and locals. Another small group of north americans there.  Some have websites for car rentals which are $60 and up per day.  Rental cars from the mainland are not able to take the ferry boat to Vieques so you are forced to bike, take taxis or rent a car there.

To buy a ticket for the ferry to Vieques you have to go to the office,( you can't fax a reservation, they don't answer faxes period, I Tried) which closes for lunch and the process is silly beyond believe.  The employees are not too friendly and are full of themselves. Sorry to say that but as an expatriat it is alien to me how people were treated when I was there.

Two places you must be very careful and not go into until you have some friends is "La Perla", that is in Old San Juan.  It is a "barrio" facing the ocean just ask around you'll be told what not to do.  The other one is "Pinones". Don't walk or bike there at night by yourselves until you know some people.  Just ask around!

Good luck to you and hope you make some friends there. I love my island, just can't get used to that life again. 30 years in USA spoiled beyond spoiled.

Cool I know you guys will like it here.

Car rental price is pretty much the same as in the mainland US, as we have basically the same rental companies, like Alamo, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, etc. I guess you can check their websites to see if there are any special fees for PR.

Although there certainly are taxis here, they mostly cater towards visiting tourists who basically want to go to the same places, which is why they usually have fixed fares. They are registered and have to follow rules and laws, so it's not like just some weird random dude uses his car as a taxi.

I'm an attorney here in PR and through my line of work, I've come to know several paramedics and people who drive ambulances. If you are a paramedic, you need a license, but it's a pretty easy test from what I hear. I'm sure that area does have jobs, although the job situation in PR is currently pretty rough.

Your husband being a welder and handyman, well, he might find something, but definitely not for the same as he would earn in the mainland US.

Anyway, I'm a local so if you guys wanna hang out at some point, let me know I'm sure I can show you a few interesting places.

You guys sound awesome!  I don't know many couples that would spontaneously move to PR, but that's exactly what my roommate and I did.  We showed up at the airport with our backpacking backpacks, and hadn't even figured out a place to stay for that night.
I won't lie, it's been a little tough.  The job situation is not as easy as I thought it would be.
But I really think you're going to love it!
Get in touch when you get to Puerto Rico.  My roommate and I would love to show you guys around San Juan.
 

kbwalker1210 wrote:

No we have not visited. We are looking for more of a spontaneous move! An exciting adventure. We aren't your normal plan a year ahead to do everything kind of people. We are in our 20's and seizing the day while we are young! Just wanted to see if anyone could point us in a direction once we got off the plane. Otherwise we will wander and eventually find it right?

My suggestion to you is don't do it. If you have no idea what the island is like, you have no clue what you are getting into. It is a very difficult place to live in, very violent and not too receptive to Americans. It is very costly and difficult to work in - because of the culture. Why would you want to move to Puerto Rico? Why? It is not the place for an adventure. Trust me.

A lot of Puerto Ricans share the same sentiment as karma10. I've had a lot of them say exactly the same thing to me when they find out I will be moving there. And she is absolutely right about a lot of it. On the other hand I've always said pretty much the same stuff to people who want to move to NYC. Crime is also rampant where I live in Virginia. Truthfully, I really don't think PR is a place to go to on a whim. It's so very different living there than what we are used to in the states. In my opinion it's best to make a move like that thoughtfully, methodically and purposefully. Too many things can go wrong very quickly. Having said all that, I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from moving there who approaches it in an intelligent mature manner. For as many PR's that have tried to discourage me from moving there I've had at least twice as many tell me I should do it. I know quite a few natives and non natives who have lived there for years and are extremely thankful every single day to be there and can't imagine living anywhere else. How well you do there depends solely on your own personal needs and expectations. I personally have been working on getting there for almost 8 years. During that time I've spent a lot of time educating myself about the island, it's people and culture. I've been there a number of times and my wife is a native. I weighed a lot of things back and forth and in the end PR made the most sense for me. I'm almost 60 years old so my wants and needs will be a lot different than those younger than me. I too did some very impulsive things when I was 20. Some worked well and others didn't. But all the experiences enriched my life in one way or another.

Thanks to all who answered! We are here in Puerto Rico. We never asked for anyone to tell us whether we should come or not because our minds were already made up.... so thanks Karma, but our tickets were already booked and we were already coming!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to everyone else who had helpful things to say. It's been great being here so far and it is definitely nothing like the mainland and that's what we were looking for. We aren't a scared/timid couple. We are pretty tough and hearty!

We have already met some awesome locals and we will be meeting up with our second family tomorrow that have been friends of the family for years. They've been over to visit us in the US so now it's time to visit them in PR!

karma10 wrote:

My suggestion to you is don't do it. If you have no idea what the island is like, you have no clue what you are getting into. It is a very difficult place to live in, very violent and not too receptive to Americans. It is very costly and difficult to work in - because of the culture. Why would you want to move to Puerto Rico? Why? It is not the place for an adventure. Trust me.

So far the adventure has been awesome. Maybe you should take another positive look at your island. If it's so terrible...why do you live here?

I don't know what the heck is up with karma10 but I love Puerto Rico. I lived for several years in New York and returned here to Puerto Rico because I missed it so much. Don't get me wrong, NYC was great too, but I guess there's no place like home. I live in the San Juan area, if you guys ever need anything, just let me know

What happened to you guys? Don't leave us hanging! :-D

Are you still on the island? How is it treating you? Would you like to go out for a beer sometime?

You are going to be totally and completely miserable here unless you live in an all-american condominium, of which none exists. If there had existed such a place I would have moved there myself. Most, not all, of the people here loathe americans/foreigners. After trying to fit in and be part of the community I finally realized that since i was not Puerto Rican, I would *never* be acepted in the community or treated fairly. At the market they will overcharge the gringos, the clerks act disgusted to see you, all they want from you is your money. Sincerity is non-existent. Lots of corruption, intimidation, passing the buck, and so forth. The single worst place to live on Planet Earth. Glad I left when I did... If you havent moved yet, please think again. Regards.

Hi Guys,

Now that you are 2 1/2 months into your trip to PR how is it going? Is it everything you expected? Drop us a line, I'm sure a lot of us would like to know how you feel about it by now.

Gregg

I would be interested in hearing about your experiences so far also. I moved here 2/15 and stayed with a friend near Ponce for a month. He's from here, so he knew many great out of the way places to see. Now I'm in San Juan a bit far out, but within walking distance to the beach, renting from former NYers like me. I live in non-tourist area and barely speak spanish, but almost everyone has been very pleasant. I'm in my 40's and moved alone. I've been to OSJ once so far, with a group. I'm on a tight budget, but making it frugally. No car. For me the local food is the biggest adjustment - so much fried food and meat. Want to hear some others' experiences and ways of adjusting.

i wish i can help but no idea at all hope other member can help

welcome on board..