I need an address in PR, P.O. Box rental service

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condorbutch wrote:

I'm moving on August 30th and to help with getting things set up I need an address. I'm thinking about using or renting a P.O. Box until I find a place to rent.

There is a UPS store outside of San Juan, but I'm hoping to find another PO Box rental company on the West Coast, maybe near the town of Rincon?  Does anyone know if there is PO box rental service that is a little closer to Rincon?

Or, if someone knows of a different way to deal with getting an address in Puerto Rico while still living on the mainland, please share your experience.

I am moving in September and I'll tell you about the possibilities I've looked into:

You can rent a PO Box from the post office in Rincon (or any town) and reserve online but there is a risk involved with that. I know some people that went to the post office AFTER reserving and they were told there are no available boxes..even though the online system allowed them to reserve. I would recommend not opening up a PO Box at a post office until you are physically there, if you decide to go that route.

There is another service called My Puerto Rico Address and they are located in Rincon. They have a facebook page and are very responsive to messages and can give you a quote on the exact type of service that you are in need of.
https://www.facebook.com/mypuertoricoaddress/
Due to my job, I need to ship some things to myself via Fedex, and I think I'll sign up for 1 month of service with My Puerto Rico Address in order to do that. Side note-don't ship with Fedex or UPS unless you absolutely have to. USPS is cheapest.

purple sugar

Thanks so much, looks like what I need and can use.  I need an address for applying for a loan to buy a car. I’ll rent a car when I touch ground, so the faster I buy a car the less money I have to spend  on renting one. I’m hoping the loan company won’t ask for a lease agreement to prove I have an address. I’d like to get as much of the leg work done as possible while I’m still stateside with gettting the loan approved. I’d like the process to be all worked out for a loan ready before I move there in August. If there are any problems, I can deal with them ahead of time.

I know all about FedEx and UPS and the cost they charge for shipping. I bought 1st class airline tickets because of the high cost of shipping to Puerto Rico with UPS or FedEx, it’s going to cost my wife and I $500 more to fly 1st class, but each of us of us can take 3 large suitcases for free, that’s a total of 6 of those large wheel type checked bags. We will save money by flying 1st class then it would cost us to pay FedEx to ship the same amount of weight.

Chedk it out for yourself (to make this work, you need to buy your tickets a month and half in advance, or around that much time, try different dates to see a savings. If you have already done a search, then use a “hot” spot at MacDonald’s before you buy your tickets. Airlines ticket sites use “cookies” that remember all your searches, and when you go back, the low priced tickets you saw before are no longer there. You need a different ISP address. I checked with AA and the price was $318, when I returned the next day, the price was up to and over $400, it didn’t matter if I used a later date, the sited remember my IPS address. When I went to MacDonald’s a few days later, the price was even lower $218!!! for the same tickets. I bought the tickets then and there, and didn’t wait.)

From what you’re telling me, I’ll be in PR before you. I’ve helped out a lot of my friends living overseas with my USA address. I’ve lived in Central America for years. If you want, when I get to PR I’ll have a “for real” Puerto Rican address, let me know if you want to use my PR address, no charge, one fellow traveler helping out another traveler, Send a message if you want any help or to talk more about this.

Butch

I forgot to tell you, I love your screen name, I had an 1947 Indian “Chopper” motorcycle and it was painted Purple, I called it “Purple Haze” Thanks for helping me remember a good time on a special motorcycle. Today, that bike is worth a fortune!!

Hey Butch - thanks for the idea on flying first class! I will most definitely look into the different costs! I was stuck on the idea that we'd fly with 2 checked bags and ship whatever else was left. I'll have to consider that as another option.

Are you on facebook or no? If you are heading out to the west coast near the Rincon area, there is a (sometimes) helpful facebook group called Friends of Rincon. Some drama occasionally..but mostly helpful.

Yep, be sure to check out the difference in price with taking 6 large checked bags. With me, it’s (6) 70 lbs bags between me and my wife. Almost 500 lbs! With coach, you get (1) 50b bag or, 100lbs with the (2) of you. So, see what the cost is for 400lbs with FedEx. Again, remember, the cost is depending on when you fly. Like I was saying a month and half in advance will effect what the cost flying 1st class. If you do a good search and find the cheapest days, then it might pay off, just remember what i said about the “cookies” because they make all the difference in the world with what it will cost. Go to a different ISP when you buy.

I thought $318 was a deal for coach, then I went to MacD’s and saw the price for coach for the same flight was $218 a week or so later. I went and bought 1st class tickets for $500 each or $1100 for both of us.

My logic is this, with coach, you get 1 checked bag at 50lbs for free, that’s 100lbs between two of you. Now flying 1st class you get (3) checked bags at 70lbs each or, just under 500lbs for free between the two of you. The cost to ship 500lbs. with FedEx, plus the hassle of packing and taking it to their office or even if they come by to get it, all that bullshit has to be arranged a head of time, then there is the hassle of picking it up or having it delivered might be easy if you have an address in advance, which I don’t have.

So, when you consider everything, I think you’re better off flying 1st class, not only is the flight more comfortable, but it makes dealing with what you want to bring with you a lot easier as well. If the difference was a lot doing it this way, then I’d fly sitting on a pumpkin to save some money. It’s all up to you and your comfort level and, most important, what you can afford.

I’m just offering a different point of view, or a different way to look at something. The coat will only do service to whom it fits.

But hey, if I can be of any help to you guys when I get there ahead of you, don’t feel shy about asking

Butch

What airline areyou flying?

@ Butch It's easier to clear the cookies in your browser.
I have set this to automatically delete all cookies when I close the browser.
The only disadvantage is that you have to log in at sites where you need to  because your login status is remembered in a cookie as well.
The main advantage is that whoever wants to track your browsing behavior cannot do this.

If you can't find the setting for this tell me which browser you use and I'll give you the instructions.

As to having to have an address to get a car loan, if you're going to use a PR bank to get that loan you'll need that address and also a bank account here on the island.

thanks for the information, I tried the site that delete cookies, but it didn’t work with American Airlines. The prices were still high. I’m going to try and get an address, and join a credit union online so I’ll have it when I land.

Thanks for your help

Butch

While in PR open a checking account at Banco Popular and ask for the checks, you will also get an ATM card. You can deposit a check from the states.  Use your states address. I found no other bank in PR will let you open an account without a local address. Not sure what credit unions do. They charge 5 a month for balance of less than 500 and 3 for over 500. If you set up automatic deposit, I believe they wave those fees.
It will make life easier when it comes to renting property or purchasing property since you can wire the money to BP account and when you arrive you can draw a certified check from BP to do the deed.

Once you are permanent in PR, you can move to another bank or credit union.