New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourselves here - 2019

AndreaLapenna wrote:

Hello,
I have just moved to San Juan ...going through the struggle to find a job without knowing Spanish yet. Staying here is my top priority, Any help and advice is greatly appreciated.  Nice to meet you all!

Welcome to the Forum and Puerto Rico.
Unemployment in PR has dropped some but it is still around n San Juan area and higher in other towns. I would recommend you apply for federal jobs and jobs in the tourist field provided the jobs will not have you dealing with the locals since you do not have a domain of Spanish.

XpatJon & family here!  Getting ready to relocate to PR from USA mainland.  Currently have some acquaintances that live in PR already, and looking to connect with more people.  Here are some of our interests:

- Entrepreneur
- Online Marketing
- Horses
- The Beach
- Farms & farm animals
- Locally grown foods
- Community participation
- and more!

Will be visiting in October / November.

Xpatjon wrote:

XpatJon & family here!  Getting ready to relocate to PR from USA mainland.  Currently have some acquaintances that live in PR already, and looking to connect with more people.  Here are some of our interests:

- Entrepreneur
- Online Marketing
- Horses
- The Beach
- Farms & farm animals
- Locally grown foods
- Community participation
- and more!

Will be visiting in October / November.

You can live a few miles from the beach and farm, too far up may limit your internet access

Quick update here: our dates to visit are set. Nov 20-26th.

Will be in San Juan for one night to meet with friends.  Currently, sorting out locations where we intend to reside for the full move in March of 2020 (less than 5 months away!) - hoping to stay in a few towns while we're there on our short stay.

Reading all of these forum posts have been so helpful. Thank you!

Hi Xpatjon 😊

Very exciting! You are ahead of us in the moving process so I'll be following your updates.  😉  We are planning to move to PR in about one year from now. So much to do...

Anyhow, I see you've been doing your research on different areas of the island.
Do you have a short list of favorites towns that you will check out when you visit next month?

I can only give advice on the northwest area, especially around Isabela and Quebradillas. Let me know if that is on your radar.

Best of luck!
Kirsten

kircordero wrote:

Hi Xpatjon 😊

Very exciting! You are ahead of us in the moving process so I'll be following your updates.  😉  We are planning to move to PR in about one year from now. So much to do...

Anyhow, I see you've been doing your research on different areas of the island.
Do you have a short list of favorites towns that you will check out when you visit next month?

I can only give advice on the northwest area, especially around Isabela and Quebradillas. Let me know if that is on your radar.

Best of luck!
Kirsten

Hey Kirsten, we have some friends in San Juan and Dorado area from the states, so we are planning one night there to connect with them.

We have been doing quite a bit of research and definitely want to check out the Isabella, quebradillas, aguadilla, and Rincon areas, as well.

Considering we only have 6 days on this trip (hard to travel with our pug and kids) we're trying to pack in as much as we can on this trip.

I've been really inspired by some of the forum chats regarding building vs buying. We were interested in doing this in the states and it seems like some folks have had success in PR, so we might consider this as an option.

So far, we have seen quite a few places on Airbnb for monthly rent at great rates. At this point, we will probably rent via Airbnb when we move in March (also doing Airbnb for this upcoming 6 day trip) and then we're hoping we can find the best spot to reside by venturing around and connecting with folks from here as well as the locals.

We will probably create a blog as well to document our experiences so fellow readers can follow along as well.

Are you intending on residing in Isabella or Quebredillas?

Sounds like you're in for quite the whirlwind trip but I'm sure you'll love it! I would like to follow along if you do a blog. 😊

We are first aiming for Quebradillas because that is where my husband grew up and much of his family is there. His mami is 85 so we want to be near her. Part of the family also lives in Isabela, and I love that area. I haven't (yet) visited Rincon but I've heard it's beautiful and since it's a little more "touristy" that means there are also more places that speak English, if you're still learning your Español.

Staying in Airbnbs is a great way to check out different areas on your trip. Drive around each town and see what feels right! You can also of course rent longer term in the future before you settle on where you buy or build.

Good luck!

Hola from Austin!

My husband and I fell in love with PR on our honeymoon 4 years ago. To be specific, we have fallen in love with the island of Vieques.

We'll soon be making our 4th visit to the island this year. We'd love to make it our permanent home. We're not quite ready to make the full-time move yet, but hope to in the next few years.

On our last visit, we followed a Se Rente sign and found a small apartment in downtown Isabela II which we will be leasing for the next 6 months, a reality check for living on a fairly remote island.

We're very excited to take this step toward becoming a part of the community and thrilled to find this forum and its wealth of info!

elkaydub wrote:

Hola from Austin!

My husband and I fell in love with PR on our honeymoon 4 years ago. To be specific, we have fallen in love with the island of Vieques.

We'll soon be making our 4th visit to the island this year. We'd love to make it our permanent home. We're not quite ready to make the full-time move yet, but hope to in the next few years.

On our last visit, we followed a Se Rente sign and found a small apartment in downtown Isabela II which we will be leasing for the next 6 months, a reality check for living on a fairly remote island.

We're very excited to take this step toward becoming a part of the community and thrilled to find this forum and its wealth of info!

Welcome to the forum,
I would not recommend Vieques nor culebra. They have a horrible issue with transportation, the feries are broken most of the time and transporting a vehicle back and forth is expensive and can be a nightmare. While beautiful, in a medical emergency getting help can be a problem, also the ferry cost is going up, food due to transport is going up, moving cost is going up, getting workers to fix the house or make extensions most of the time means workers having to come in from the main island and be transported, with the transport issues things will be delayed, buying furniture and getting it transported is an issue also. You will be better served in the main island.

You could live in Luquillo, Fajardo, Ceiba and be close to the ferry and make a trip to Culebra or Vieques weekly or monthly per your desires.

As to renting, that is the way to go, sounds like you do not yet know exactly where you want to live in the island, so rent for 6 months to a year, become familiar with the island and then decide.

Hi Everybody, my name it is Santiago and I am From Colombia. I have been living outside of my country for more of 7 years working as Telecom Consultant, that has given me the chance to live in different countries and cities and for the last year I have been here in Puerto Rico.
I am living now in Carolina, and until now I have chance to travel to a great number of beaches on the island, but still there are a lot which are remaining to visit an know.
For my kind of job, I could stay for 1 year or probably only 3 months, so I must enjoy the island.

SantiT wrote:

Hi Everybody, my name it is Santiago and I am From Colombia. I have been living outside of my country for more of 7 years working as Telecom Consultant, that has given me the chance to live in different countries and cities and for the last year I have been here in Puerto Rico.
I am living now in Carolina, and until now I have chance to travel to a great number of beaches on the island, but still there are a lot which are remaining to visit an know.
For my kind of job, I could stay for 1 year or probably only 3 months, so I must enjoy the island.

Welcome to the forum and Puerto Rico.
Glad you are enjoying the island, don't forget to also visit the different river pools and other natural attractions.

Flying out tomorrow to San Juan!  Getting ready for our permanent move in April 2020!!

For all that need information, this is just a overview of Puerto Rico from living here.

We have been living in Puerto Rico for 4 years and we have seen it grown fast from after the Hurricanes Maria and Irma hit. The island is still picking up momentum from what has happened but these event have made Puerto Rico the next Beverly Hills, Dubai, and best vacation spot for all people. The tourism, food, and real estate industries are picking up exponentially and will continue to rise in production. If you are looking to purchase real estate now is the time. Not to mention expanding business and moving franchises to spice the island amenities up even more. There possibilities are endless.

Property prices are going to start rising although there are A LOT of vacant land, homes, and properties that are just waiting to be utilized and remodeled. You can get a whole family house in Puerto Rico and pay less than $1000 a month for living.

The air is great and fresh from being by the ocean. All the green foliage makes this an ideal place for growth, new beginnings, and self healing of all kinds. The climate is tropical and warm all year round with heavier winds during the winter time. The temperature cools down significantly in the winter and each coming year is projected to be colder. Hurricane season is usually very bountiful in rain and it is made known how to protect and accommodate for that type of weather when it gets heavy.

As for the animals in Puerto Rico, the island is full of stray dogs and cats. The rain forest is home to many species of animals and plants. There are Iguanas, small lizards, cockroaches, small snakes and various insects that enjoy the tropical weather. There are many kinds of birds that you may see each day such as cranes, orioles, hummingbirds, parrots, and finches if you are in the right place. We enjoy seeings all the butterflies and dragonflies in the natural gardens around the island. There are no large predators or highly poisonous species that inhabit Puerto Rico. The weather is perfect in Puerto Rico so you can grow almost anything as for food crop or decorative plants. The cacti and succulents are very popular.

The beaches are fantastic and there are various beaches around the island of Puerto Rico and surrounding islands of Vieques and Culebra for more experiences. There is a cave system that runs through the island where people can travel and explore.

This is island life people and it is different from living in another place. The gas is distributed by the liter and sometimes you have to pay $7.00 for milk. Puerto Rico has a lot of love and beauty to offer its residents and visitors as long as the resources are appreciated and respected.

I hope this is helpful to anyone wanting more information about Puerto Rico and living in Puerto Rico.

It's been few months since my introduction post so I decided to post few updates.
We did relocated to PR in September.We are still under transition.Month of September was tough for us, busy with purchasing car and organizing our life here. The change of the weather didn't help, September was very hot in PR while in NYC was the nices whether at the time when we left.
Starting October our life here begun to go much smoother.My wife found here thriving home school community and decided to home school our two children. We also joined local Salvetion Army community center where my children take music and swimming classes as well as all kind of group activities and my wife and I go there to the gym and the pool (this place has a beautiful pool).
So far I like living here but to my surprise my children and wife have a mix fillings. We decided to stay here for at least one year and reevaluate our situation. Whatever the decision is going to be I'll keep you posted.

Darius D wrote:

It's been few months since my introduction post so I decided to post few updates.
We did relocated to PR in September.We are still under transition.Month of September was tough for us, busy with purchasing car and organizing our life here. The change of the weather didn't help, September was very hot in PR while in NYC was the nices whether at the time when we left.
Starting October our life here begun to go much smoother.My wife found here thriving home school community and decided to home school our two children. We also joined local Salvetion Army community center where my children take music and swimming classes as well as all kind of group activities and my wife and I go there to the gym and the pool (this place has a beautiful pool).
So far I like living here but to my surprise my children and wife have a mix fillings. We decided to stay here for at least one year and reevaluate our situation. Whatever the decision is going to be I'll keep you posted.

Glad things are looking up for you. It is not easy to move to another country even if it is part of the US. Things specially government is not optimal and backward, it is always warm and the language is usually hard to pick up, but as time passes it grows on most people.