New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourself here – 4th quarter of 2016

Hi Lewis1125,
Welcome to the forum.
So far we have very little information about your needs for work, housing preference and your preference for location. While we do not have places to rent we can at least guide you to parts of the island and give you some sites for finding rentals.

There are several posts in the forum about schools that you may want to check out, there is also home schooling available and some entries about that. The reason I send you to read is that the site is not as active at this time with people that have children and not knowing your timeline it may be better to read than to wait for someone with kids to post. Search for school and education.

Welcome to the forum

PS. Also search for kids

Thank you very much Rey for your prompt reply. Do you have any info about the DOD school for children? As military personnel may it be indicated for our kids?

Thanks

Hello Everyone!!!

We are a Hispanic family ready to make the 2017 plunge to Puerto Rico from The Poconos.. (snow for beach) .
So here is my story We are a family of 6 , Two finishing 2nd year of college and a girl 6 and boy 13 (biggest concern). My mother in law lives in Vieques she is in her 70's,  although she is still healthy she has been having some minor health issues which just shows we should be closer to her.

Originally planned to go to Vieques , after some careful review i don't think the school would best fit my 13yr, with that said i've decided in the mainland such as Fajardo, Humacao or ceiba still closer than the Poconos Lol..  Also giving up rent free (can't beat that) In the process of building in vieques, Living on the mainland will slower the building process but hey kids first..

We are planning on making the move in the summer .  Although Humacao  seems more like what we are used to not sure if it will be a financial fit especially knowing we will not be making what we make here.. Sacrifices,,, I'm thinking more into Fajardo.. Like the condo living (break from home ownership responsibilities). Are these safe areas? What are the best neighborhoods in Fajardo? schools? ect....
I would like all thoughts and advice positive or negative...

Thank you
Lee

ReyP - As usual thank you for the info and we'all be sure to stock up for the 6th. I think we'all go with your plan and head east first, after checking out the "town" areas of San Juan, Isla Verde, and Condado.

Lewis1125 wrote:

Thank you very much Rey for your prompt reply. Do you have any info about the DOD school for children? As military personnel may it be indicated for our kids?

Thanks

Sorry I do not have kids, but in the metro area there is Fort Buchanan which should have schooling for dependants.

This may help https://militarybases.com/puerto-rico/
Call them up and ask, post what you find out so other future members have the info.

Hi leela007,
Not sure what you do for a living but PR has an unemployment of around 15% at the moment compared to 4.8% nationwide in the states.

Your mother as times goes by may need to move from Viequez as her health deteriorates, and may need to live with you or a home. Depending on the ferry, airport or helicopter emergency evacuation may or may not be timely.

I find Fajardo to be safe overall and has several condos, must of them in a gated community. Close to PR3 I seen several condos so they are away from the town congestion and are likely to have nice views. Don't know the names but you can see them from PR3 and drive to them. There are several also close to the marinas but I find the smell of the area due to seaweed decomposing a bit too much for my taste.

You should be able to find nice condos in the 100k to150k fairly easy.

Not sure about your mention about Humacao. You may be referring to Palmas as being out of your budget. You should be able to find something nice in Palmas for 250K to 325k. Palmas is very very safe and 50% English with nice schools.

I think I covered everyone and most questions, if not repost please.

Hey Rey P

Thanks for the reply... We are planning to go to Vieques at some point . Just figuring till my 13yr is in his last year or 2 in HS where Id be more comfortable having him ferry to school.. Mom will not leave  vieques She just had her house completed which is where we will plan on building . Purchasing  a condo is not feasible at the moment which is why renting a condo may works best. Not sure of the better sides of town.

I currently coach a school cheer team as well as run a non profit one. .. Im sure thats not gonna be the case there However ,can always try. Unless hubby lands a decent job anything will work.. LOL  Big risk we are taking,, But hey you only live once..  My husband works for Nissan no transfers available. Are there alot of car dealerships close to fajardo?

Lee

Yes several car dealers in the area. You should be able to find condos for rent. Some people use them a vacation homes some want to sell but it may take them a year or more to sell so rent in the mean time.

Hello wonderful PR interested folks,
I am from WA, and found out about 15 years ago both my grandparents are etc. are from PR. It's been a journey learning about the culture and myself:) I've been to the island 2xs stayed in Condado SJ and Fajardo at El Con returned just yesterday.
My husband and 14 yr old daughter and I are considering moving there we love it so much. Hubs works for Costco and would like to transfer to one in PR. We visited the one main biggest one in SJ and found the area to be a bit congested and are concerned too much time would be spent in traffic.
Anyone know about the one in Caguas? And of nice areas to live around there? Also, my daughter is BIG into soccer. Are there any premier soccer clubs for girls anyone knows of? Universities on the island with girls soccer teams?
Appreciate any input! Thanks, and happy new year!

Felicidades y Feliz Ano Nuevo Corazone76,
Happy New Year to you and family. Love your name. I shop at Sam's Club and no Costco in the northwest town of Hatillo, but there are 2 Costco locations in Caguas, 2 in Bayamon and 1 in Guaynabo which are all close to the San Juan area. Know more about Bayamon which is a nice option and roughly 20mins or so from San Juan if you want to be close by. Rush hour traffic anywhere in the metro area is unpredictable.  Consider areas away from main metro area with less stress and the extra travel time may be worth it. But when visiting prior to deciding on "home" get out there during the rush hours and see how you and husband can expect.  Soccer is very popular in PR but sorry don't have any info on best areas or teams, but will ask my female members and post if any recommendations. Few are in the east coast, mostly on the northwest.  Happy researching and Welcome!! If you don't mind can you elaborate why it took 15 yrs to discover you are a boricua. Stay tuned am sure many expat will get you help..jose

Hi Corazone76,
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on making the decision.
Unfortunatly I am not in the island so I can not help you with the Costco questions. Several of our members do shop at Costco so you may get lucky with one that goes to the Caguas one.
Welcome to the forum.

We made it. Two words: LOVE IT! More later...

Ckang wrote:

We made it. Two words: LOVE IT! More later...

We want all the dirty details and the clean ones too

JoseTosa wrote:

Felicidades y Feliz Ano Nuevo Corazone76,
Happy New Year to you and family. Love your name. I shop at Sam's Club and no Costco in the northwest town of Hatillo, but there are 2 Costco locations in Caguas, 2 in Bayamon and 1 in Guaynabo which are all close to the San Juan area. Know more about Bayamon which is a nice option and roughly 20mins or so from San Juan if you want to be close by. Rush hour traffic anywhere in the metro area is unpredictable.  Consider areas away from main metro area with less stress and the extra travel time may be worth it. But when visiting prior to deciding on "home" get out there during the rush hours and see how you and husband can expect.  Soccer is very popular in PR but sorry don't have any info on best areas or teams, but will ask my female members and post if any recommendations. Few are in the east coast, mostly on the northwest.  Happy researching and Welcome!! If you don't mind can you elaborate why it took 15 yrs to discover you are a boricua. Stay tuned am sure many expat will get you help..jose

Hola Jose!
My name is truly Cora Zornes ( maiden Ortiz) so the nickname fits lol! Gracias for the warm welcome!
My family story is one that tells the history of the times and people. My uncovering of boricua is long but I'll share the short version. Growing up I never knew any family on my dads side but I knew the name of the boarding school he told me him and his siblings attend in NY. I wrote them and got a few records, I also posted a message on ancestry.com looking for the family members listed on his school admitting papers. Several years later I was contacted by who turned out to be my first cousin and we pieced things together. She also confirmed to me that I was boricua, in fact she'd spent part of her childhood on the island. Our grandmother came to NY in most likely the late 1940s50s had kids and the kids where taken from her by the state and put into an Irish catholic boarding school. Supposedly She was put into a mental institution and to this day none we still don't know what became of her. Haven't been able to find much on my grandfather either. So, I've found 2 cousins an aunt and know that my heart is on the island, its in my blood!! Have a goodnight. Cheers CZ

Thanks Ray! Muchos gracias

Yo te veo La Mancha de platano. In English: I see your plantain stain which is a way to say you look Boriqua.

History: As you well know we eat a lot of green Plantain in the island and use it for a lot of different dishes. When you try to peel it and even when taking it of the tree, the sap will stain your clothes and your skin which is very hard to remove. The trick is to soak them in salt water and make sure your hands are wet with the salt water to prevent the stain from sticking to your skin. I bet some did not know that.

More history: Puerto Rico was known as Brinquen or Boriken by the Taino indians. We call ourselves, Puerto Ricans, Boriqua, and  Borriquellos.

All other people are from "Afuera" or outside. When we leave the island people say he or she "Esta Afuera" or is outside. We tend to think of Puerto Rico as the center of the universe so all other places are outside.

Corazone76,

  Wow!! To your nickname idea and interesting feedback.. New it was special and thanks for sharing.  I'm sure you are excited to say the least on digging up more and more info and finding many unknown family members.  Many unknowns lead to Blessed new discoveries.  Wish you lots of happy investigating.  Bienvenido a su Familia y Isla!!  Jose

Hey Ckang, how are things going?
You found places to eat today 1/6?
Are you just laying on the beach or started traveling the island?

Full-on tourist mode these first few days. I had some work stuff come up so that was my excuse for staying on the resort... We did find food at the hotel and enjoyed a nice night of watching salsa dancing! We did venture out to Condado one evening just to see the place. Today we'all finish up lounging around and get prepped for "business" starting to tomorrow when we check out of the hotel and start exploring. Couple of first impressions:

1) The people we've met in the Isla Verde area seem to be very friendly. Yes there are tourists around but the local population has been very helpful, including every Uber taxi driver we've used.

2) Isla Verde seems fairly quiet. Maybe it is the time of year but it is nice. The beach is great and the water is very warm. Are all the beaches like this in PR? We'all find out soon...

3) Lots of condos around and it is making us re-think things. We still haven't seen ANYTHING else on the island but there's something to be said about the convenience of being in town. We weren't planning to rent out the place we get, at least for the first few years but if the rental market is decent, we may consider purchasing something that we can rent out easier. I'm assuming it is easier to rent a place to people in the San Juan, IV, Condado area?

4) What is that chirping noise we keep hearing when we walk by bushes? Sounds like birds but I didn't see any.

5) Got bit (I think) by something walking through Condado on the street. Hurt like a heck but went away after a few hours. Very small bump on leg and I had on pants. No idea what that was about. On that note, very small mosquitoes flying around. Not a ton but enough to make me close the balcony glass door at night. But they are so small that you have to make sure to really close the door all the way.

The chirping you are hearing is most likely the coquí frogs.  That's one of the sounds I really miss from PR!!

Glad you are enjoying PR.
1) people in the interior are even more friendly. Almost all try to help if they can.
2) this is tourist season, so if you find it quiet you are used to more noise than most. Assuring somebody is not blasting music out of their house or car or having a family problem, most places away from the metro area are very quiet. Well relative quiet since nature is noisy. Metro means convenience, inside means nature.
3) not sure what you are willing to pay for a condo but metro area is a lot more expensive. Around Rio Grande, Luquillo, Fajardo and Ceiba you can get a nice condo for 100-150k 2 or 3 bedroom with a view and less than a mile from the beach. I would use a service like airBnb when not in use and make your money back.
4) the chirping sound is one side of a song, those are cricket like creatures, they are shinni dark brown and hard to find. They are a bitch if they get into your bedroom when you are trying to sleep, they hide and make a lot of noise. The other part of the song is the Coqui whick is named based on the sound they make. The two together can make quite a racket, but you get used to them and they put you to sleep once used to them. Nature is good if you have a healthy population of both. If the sound is very early morning or early evenings it could be a bird called  golondrinas, but I bet on the cricket being what you heard.
5) maybe the bite was a wasp or spider. However some mosquito bites hurt like hell the moment you get bitten. We have a large variety of mosquitos some are active at night some during the day. If it hurted if was not the Zika one. Relax they don't eat much. The little ones are mostly around the beach and they tend to bite around the clock but screens should still kept them out. They like tables and chairs, the hide under and bite you while you are sitting having a drink or a meal, you notice it later when you start to itch. Oh it could have also been a horse fly, they hurt.

Respect a kind word and a smile will get you far. Leave kidding until you are good friends, respect is PARAMOND, people are proud of their island and love to show it off.

One more item about #3 - condos. Several people that Airbnb their place tell me that they have a 60-80% occupancy for the Year and they are not in tourists areas. Count on 50%.

Look and your numbers, if you can pay the mortgage on the place + expenses and maintenance with 30-50% occupancy, the place is paying itself and you are making money from the rest. Make the place nice and inviting and you will do fine.

So we left Isla Verde this morning and started east but hit some traffic. We then changed plans and decided to head west to Rincon first. Took the scenic route along the coast. We learned that hanging at the bar/restaurants along the coast must be a regular thing. We didn't think so at first but saw it in every town we passed through. We didn't partake this time but maybe when we head back to San Juan. And the cars with the booming stereo systems is apparently not only a mainland thing.

We stumbled on a place between San Jose and Terranova that had been built recently. Pretty amazing and right on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The maintenance person was there and let us see the place. Right across from a steak restaurant on "CII Panoramica" according to google. My wife didn't like the isolation but after living in Isla Verde for a few days looking at the ocean, we at least agreed that we both want the ocean views and want to be able to see waves. So, as of now, the task will be to determine how affordable that actually is and if we need to change our thinking.

We then transited to Rincon, arrived right before it got dark, and found this very nice bed and breakfast right on the beach. We met some local folks when we went to dinner and got a good history on the area. Sounds like the place is up and coming. Curious to know how quickly though before the prices get insane. We'll stay here a few days and then continue our trip around the island.

Another thing I am curious about is my frame of reference for prices. As several have mentioned on this and other blogs, there are often discrepancies in pricing info. And when the maintenance guy gave me the price he thought the seller was selling for, it was a few hundred thousand less than my estimate. So I thought either he was completely wrong or there is play in the prices online. I've also noticed that Zillow is absolutely not the best source for finding properties. Clasificados and point2homes do better but there's a lot more places out there that aren't listed. I don't think the place we saw today is listed anywhere.

Most places are not listed, as to prices, I can't tell because you have not given any details as to the property or the price being asked. What town was this?

Remember that in PR you have two items that tend to inflate the price asked for:
1) all gringos are rich
2) disconnect with reality, it is a buyers market, they think their place is worth gold and have not done an appraisal.

It is possible you heard his bottom line, or what is left on the mortgage from the maintenance man or he is just taking a guest.

You mentioned something about a Clift. Is the house going to be safe after heavy rains and an earthquake in the 7 range? They can happen together.

All spot on points ReyP. First thing we thought about  as the cliff. Plus absolutely more than we need at this point.

We just drove down to mayaguez and a little further south to joyuda. The beaches are noticeably different from Rincon (much darker). There's a bunch of houses along the road/beach but I think would take a lot of constant maintenance. Not something I am afraid of but since we are now leaning more towards getting something that we can rent easier, we'll want to balance the amount of upkeep required. We haven't looked around much yet in Mayaguez but it has all the common U.S. places strip malls spots (Home Depot, Sams, Kmart, applebees, and many other chains). So it another huge plus for Puerto Rico. All the conveniences of home (that is for the U.S. mainland community) with the island feel.

Maybe we got spoiled by Rincon yesterday but the place does have a nice relaxed vibe and we like it so far. We'll stay there another night and continue the adventure. May move locations just to change it up some and even stay in rincon two more nights because we here that big waves are coming through from the storm in the U.S.

How does Farjado and the east side compare to Rincon and the west? We also drove past Aguadilla, any thoughts on the place compared to the Rincon area? How about Cabo Rojo? We have another 8 days here or more if we cancel the Colombia part of our trip, so we should have plenty of time to see all the mentioned places. Thinking we'lol continue south and come back up on the east side of the island later this week.

Ckang, following along on your posts.  Also considering PR, and feel like west side may be a good fit for me too, although I would obviously need to spend time checking out although number of areas.  Please keep us updated on all the areas you are checking out, and detailed reports of specifics.  I really would like to be beachfront, although I suppose upkeep could be costly?  Thanks for updates!

Beachfront upkeep and issues, I'll let Sitka tell you, he has a beach front property and even get crabs running along his yard.
The west reminds me of California beaches with rocky beaches and clifts. Also big waves.
The east side is calmer sea, more sandy beaches, boating is king, surfing in some areas but does not compare to the west. Think boating, scuba, fishing of a beach, tiny boat or peer. Lots of businesses. Travel to Virgin Islands, sand banks, Atols, many protected beaches with dead calm clear water.

Rey is correct, beach front (or even close to the beach) presents a lot of maintenance issues.   The marine environment (ever had a boat mored in salt water?) is unrelenting.   Metal will rust or oxidize quickly, the salt in the air will attack any unprotected metal.  My car is taking a beating from the sea air just parked near the water.

On the north side we have surfing breakers most of the winter months (sometimes big surf), calms down during the summer. ( I think Corona sponsers a surf contest on the west side in March.)   Swimming and wading for kids and others is best in protected coves.  We have nice sandy beaches in our area, some other areas are rocky and rough.

2 favorite beaches in San Juan area:
1) El Escambron - a protected cove that starts shallow and deepens to about 30 feet, protected by rocks and a walking bridge at the deep end that has fallen apart now, but people used to fish from the bridge and jump into the water. At the beach side the water just ripples against the sand, very dead waves almost none existent. Looks across to the Condado beach.
2) Condado Beach by the 2 Hermanos bridge that connects Condado to San Juan. One side (beach is the beach and the other is the lagoon. Many wave breakers creating an area that is dead calm and the water feeds the lagoon.

Lots of good childhood memories at both and they are within walking distance of each other.

In Loiza there are a lot of shallow protected pools for kids, Barriers keep the waves out, some of those pools are only 2-3 feet at the deepest part, great for toddlers. Some of the pools barely reach 1 foot. Lots of places to eat, have a beer, and listen to music, sometimes dance. Great family fun.

Ckang,
Rincon is unique, is gringoland, it is a place that caters to the English speaking community, tourist and surfers. Population drops dramatically right after April as snowbirds and surfers return to the states. There been issues with resources there such as water and electricity from Nov to April due to the influx being so great.

It is a lot more relaxed after April, unfortunately several businesses also close after that.

Aguada, Rincon, Aguadilla have a lot in common but none cater to the snowbirds expats and surfers like Rincon. I and several other Puerto Rican's have complained of reverse discrimination by the businesses there. They don't treat us as well as you guys.

Ckang,
We have traveled through that area (west coast) but I must admit that I didn't get that vibe as a gringoland, perhaps I need more exposure to Rincon.  I'll check it out next week as we have friends that will be at a resort near Rincon.
 
NW Beaches:
Crash boat beach in Aguadilla is nice, but can get crowded on weekends.   

Jobos beach near Isabella is very popular too, nice protected cove/shoreline.

Isabella is a nice area, we looked at some property there and it was a scenic area with great views of the ocean.  Worth checking out.

Most people love crash boat, weekends may be hard to find a spot to park even by the road. Go during the week.

Last time we were at crash boat I saw a guy in "thing" that I gotta get.  Don't know what it is called, but it looked like a floating lawn chair with a built in cooler for his beer.    He is sitting there soaking in the sun, sipping his Medella light, drinking with the girls in bikinis.   People jump in from the pier and swim around, the water was clear.  Very nice.

Sitka wrote:

Last time we were at crash boat I saw a guy in "thing" that I gotta get.  Don't know what it is called, but it looked like a floating lawn chair with a built in cooler for his beer.    He is sitting there soaking in the sun, sipping his Medella light, drinking with the girls in bikinis.   People jump in from the pier and swim around, the water was clear.  Very nice.

I seen similar floating chairs for swimming pools, check their catalogs. There are some also that use your legs to paddle so you can move around the water while having a beer. Its like a combination chair and bicycle that floats

If the currents pull you out to sea, you will be sitting drinking a bear while you wait for the rescue boat and if you have an iPhone 7 (waterproof to 50 meters) you will be able to call for help

I wonder if I could harness Cody (my 80 lb. Labrador Retriever) and have him tow me around?  He loves the water and is a strong swimmer! 

Eh Haw!