Hi there,
My husband and I are excited to be moving to PR this spring! We're from NYC, mid-30's, with two kids under 3 years old. I speak intermediate Spanish (and look forward to becoming fluent); my husband doesn't speak any Spanish but is willing to learn.
We're going to be on the island in February to look at homes, and would love to learn more about different neighborhoods from people who are living there. I've been doing a lot of internet research but would love to hear from real people about your experiences on the ground. Here's our criteria list:
1. Safe
2. Family-friendly, near a good private school. Right now we live in a neighborhood that's filled with young families and kids, and it's just so easy to make friends, do playdates and BBQs with our neighbors, etc. I would love to live in a similar neighborhood in Puerto Rico.
In terms of schools and preschools, I'm aware of:
Dorado: Montessori Dorado, TASIS Dorado, Dorado Academy
San Juan Metro Area: the Baldwin School, St John's School, Robinson School
Mayaguez: Casita Montessori de Mayaguez, Escuela Ubuntu, SESO
Would LOVE any feedback on these schools from parents who currently have their kids in them, or advice on which other schools to investigate. I would prefer to put them into a Spanish-speaking environment so that they learn Spanish, but unfortunately all the top schools seem to be English-speaking.
3. Close to a beach. Doesn't have to be on a beach, but within say, 10-15 minutes drive to a beach that's clean and not too crowded.
4. Close to nature and outdoor activities. We like to get outdoors and hike, rock climb, swim in the ocean. We don't know how to surf but would love to learn.
5. Technical talent available. My husband and I own our own software business, and we're looking to hire software developers and other technical talent in Puerto Rico. Therefore, we're thinking of locating the business either in San Juan where most businesses seem to be, or in Mayaguez near the university. Any advice on this? Would it be possible to hire a good team to be based in Mayaguez, or do the best people want to live and work near San Juan?
6. Mix of locals and expats, not too touristy. I'd like to live in a neighborhood that's not entirely expats; I'd hate to come to PR only to live in an expat bubble filled with other mainland Americans and not learn any Spanish or pick up any of the local culture. I also don't want to live in an area where throngs of tourists are constantly coming through (e.g. not Old San Juan).
As my title implies, the areas that we're considering are either the San Juan Metro Area, Dorado, or Rincon / Mayaguez.
San Juan seems like the business hub, is most convenient to the airport, and has good schools but I'm concerned about the traffic (which I've heard can be very bad) and crime.
Dorado seems to check most of our boxes at least on paper, but it would also come with a 30+ min commute into San Juan each way and also seems maybe a bit too expat-y.
Mayaguez / Rincon is intriguing to me as I've read so many raving reviews about the West coast of PR. However, I'm concerned about whether it'll be too remote and difficult to build our business there.
Any feedback or advice about these different areas would be very much appreciated! Thank you!
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