Moving to PR from Minnesota

Welcome on Expat.com Sarah10

I hope that other members will contribute to your several queries soon.

Regards

My wife and I are also from the frozen plains of Minnesota. We've lived in Puerto Rico on-and-off for over 20 years. We love it here. Your Spanish language skills are already better than ours, but English is a second language for very many people here. Jobs here are about like up there - in short supply, but they are around. If you have any special job skills, they probably have your type of work available here. My advice: keep learning about Puerto Rico and how you might fit in, then, when the time's right, just take the leap of faith. There's nothing here that will keep you from succeeding.

Thank you so much for the encouragement! We are definitely ready to get out of this frozen place! Especially, after just getting 15 inches of snow yesterday...

A few more questions: How much money would you recommend having saved up to move there, assuming we do not have a job in place before hand? For others that have moved there without a job ready, about how long did it take to get one? Where is the best location to start out, in terms of job opportunities? Also, how are the Universities, any recommendations?? I am thinking about going back to school to be a Radiologic technologist, what are the job prospects in hospitals or clinics there?

Many thanks!

Aside from the fact that Puerto Rico has a great climate there are a few things you might want to consider when thinking about throwing in all your chips and moving there. It may be simplistic to say, but the culture there is totally different than anything you will experience in the states. That matters. The unemployment rate is currently around 16%. Most jobs and especially specialty jobs are filled usually by "palas". That means if you don't have a good friend or family or political connection you aren't going to get the job. Even if you are from there. The jobs that you might have a chance to get are usually given to the locals first. Unless you are very well off financially and can take as long as you need to find a job, I'd suggest looking into trying to find some sort of employment ahead of time. If you do decide to just pick up and go you should probably have a plan B in place in case you run out of money before finding work. On the other hand if you have certain skills that are needed and qualified workers are hard to find in that area you should be able to find something.
  If you are able you should visit the island a number of times to get a feel for it and educate yourself first hand about life there. What your experiences and needs are will give you an idea about where on the island you'd like to live and work. For instance, the San Juan metro area would be the place where more work might be available. It will also be more expensive to live. The crime rate would also be higher. Very rural places and the mountainous areas are quieter and more laid back. But jobs are much more difficult to find. There are communities around the island that have a high concentration of gringos. You might want to check into those areas.
  Aside from the drawbacks I've just talked about, I still think it's a good thing for you to do. There are many wonderous and beautiful things to experience in PR on a daily basis. Even if it's just sitting on your terrace at night in your shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of February hearing nothing but the coqui singing to you. As you delve into this more just remember to keep your feet planted firmly on the ground and your head out of the clouds so you can see clearly and you should be OK.

Thanks for the Advice GreggK. We are planning a trip there soon and hopefully that will give us so ideas. We are starting to save money in preparation for the move which probably wont happen for over a year. We don't expect anything to be easy at first but we are ready for a challenge and an adventure.


I'm not quite sure how to have a job lined up ahead of time as, we can't afford to go there too many times before. I guess having a job lined up would mean having a move date which seems pretty hard to have both. Also, I've read a few comments where people say "I came to PR on vacation and never left" How in the world do people do something like and make it work?! lol

Where you live, where you study and how expensive it will all be will depend on what you want to get out of the island. Some people like to live near the beach and surf every other day. Some people like to live in the mountains and plant fruit trees and farm chickens. Some people like to live in Old San Juan and pretend that they're bohemian artists in a Caribbean version of a Spanish city. Some people like to stay close to the cities to pursue a career. How do you see yourself living on the island?

What do you want to study? This might narrow down your choices. For example, if you want to study engineering you might end up in Mayagüez in the west. If you want to study law or arts you might end up near Rio Piedras in the metropolitan area. Public universities are cheaper than private ones and traditionally offered an education of a higher quality. But this is starting to change. Some universities are halfway decent but some of them are just glorified high schools. But your degree will be valid in the USA and a Pell grant will likely cover your full tuition.

Do you guys have useful work experience, a trade, or specific skills?

Puerto Rico is not Latin American cheap. The cost of living in the island is closer to the cost of living in a poor neighborhood in the States than it is to the cost of living in a good neighborhood in Costa Rica. Keep in mind that the wages are proportional to this.

Public transportation sucks, specially outside of the metropolitan area. Depending on where you live you might want to invest in a car. You can buy a cheap used Japanese car just about everywhere and the cost of liability insurance is a joke.

The better your Spanish is the better your chances will be. You could live in the island with zero Spanish with few problems, but getting a job or close friends will be more difficult. Force yourself to talk in Spanish with your fiancé and rent some Spanish language movies. Your Mexican fiancé will be an invaluable resource. (Mexican Spanish is similar to Puerto Rican Spanish, but not exactly the same. Did he ever tell you that soy sauce is Salsa too?)

If you decide to do an exploratory trip to the island I recommend that you rent an apartment for a week. It will be A LOT cheaper than staying in a hotel and many tourist oriented apartments are owned by expats who might give you some extra insight.

There are some communities where the concentration of expats is high. You might want to look into this. It helps many to cope with feeling homesick or isolated.

Night life will vary. Puerto Rico is not as homogeneous as it appears to be. You will find local Salsa, Dominican bachata music, New York style artsy hipster dives, ocean front bars that blast nothing but Journey, many wannabe gangsta cacos, etc.

My biggest piece of advice is to search for Expat.coms and to contact the authors personally. I could link you to a few if you want. And feel free to ask me any more specific questions or look me up in facebook, etc. (I am very easy to find.) I like gringos because unlike most of us, most of them don't take the island for granted.