New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourself here

There are several companies that sell solar panels. Just google them in PR and you'll get them. Off grid is best as the electrical grid here in PR is terrible. We have lost many appliances and computers because of brown outs which occur constantly. Water should be a concern as well. The eastern part of the island around Naguabo lies atop the largest aquifer in the caribbean. We are on a 100 family well and have a constant supply of water. Many, many people are not and have serious trouble sustaining a good water supply. Try to keep shipping down. We fall under the Jones act which mandates only union pay scale merchant marines can handle cargo to and from PR. It is cheaper to ship to china than to here. Buy a used car here. You'll pay more but the excise tax for imported vehicles is a killer. Try to get land with fruit trees. We are now eating mangastine, plantain, limes and avocado. You can also grow year round. We get three or four crops of tomatoes every year. The local tomatoes are not to good. Anyway, have fun and we look forward to showing you around our area when you get here. Oh...neighbors house is for sale, four bedroom, I believe two bath, about a quarter acre, stream on property, some fruit trees and on the same water system as us. You would need to put in a pump and cistern. We gave them our old cistern so it would be the pump and pressure tank. He's asking 130K or so, but I believe 75 - 90K would buy it. Later....

Hello. My husband accepted a position in Puerto Rico last year and the kids and I are finally ready to join him next week. MAN, I wish I saw this blog a year ago! We sold everything, except 1 truck, and mailed whatever would fit in USPS flat rate boxes (an interesting experience, if you like Tetris).  We are renting a place in Guanica, in a gated community on the water. We are prepared for the "power/water" situation as much as can be with underground cistern and generator. Our kids are set to go to a private school in Ponce. I am a certified ABA Analyst (behavior therapy for children and adults with Autism and other diagnoses). I would love to find work, but have had no luck researching opportunities, and have limited Spanish. Any thoughts, ideas or recommendations about island living are greatly appreciated. We are looking forward to our new adventure!

Lisa

Hi, Lisa and welcome!  We haven't yet moved to PR but hope to do some renting in the near future.  We've stayed in Guanica a number of times.  It is pretty laid back and of course, beautiful.  The dry forest is fun to hike into and there are many beaches to explore.  You can check out Cabo Rojo and the beach there is absolutely gorgeous!  Good luck with your move and I wish you and your family all the best!  Bless~

Just signed up,
This forum appears to be a quality operation and I hope to contribute where possible.

Curious about tax liabilities in PR.

I have been told one could protect major income from IRS if established as legal resident in PR for at least 6 months.
Any one have any information?

Offline22

offline22: There's a bit of info here about taxes, search blog.
PR has it's on tax system. If you are an official resident of PR you are not subject to US federal income tax but if you are a W-2 employee you are subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes.I don't know the PR income tax rate, perhaps someone else can jump in here.

Hi,

I'm quitting my job this January in order to spend the next 1-2 years developing a handful of various personal and job-related skills, two of which are fluency in Spanish and fluency on the electric guitar (primarily blues and rock style).  I won't be working.  I'll be going alone.  I'll be renting, not buying, a small apartment.  I have intermediate Spanish proficiency (I'm currently reading a short novel in Spanish) but am not conversationally fluent.  I want someplace cheap, safe, warm and where I can stay as long as I want without having to worry about my time expiring.  PR seemed like a good choice, although not as cheap as some other countries.  My ideal location would be a small beachfront apartment where I can blast an amplifier during the day without neighbors complaining, close to a gym (a real gym with Olympic free weights, not a Planet Fitness), close to people, bars, and nightclubs so I can socialize at night, and with a good grocery store nearby.

BUT, I want to tackle my questions one at a time, to keep things focused.  My first question is about health insurance.

I envision moving myself in this order (it may change slightly, but let's use this scenario for now):
(1) Quit job in early January 2015. 
(2) Stay in Massachusetts until at least mid-February (there are some things I need to do here)
(3) Do a one month Spanish language immersion program in Antigua, Guatemala (http://www.ixchelschool.com)
(4) Return for a week or two to Massachusetts to tie loose ends
(5) Move to PR and stay for 1-2 years.  So in 2015, I would be living in PR either Apr to Dec, May to Dec.

Given that I will be in Massachusetts, then Guatemala, then PR, what do I do for health insurance in 2015?

Bupa Latin America does not cover PR for new subscribers.  I'm not familiar with other international health insurance providers.  Puerto Rican residents are not eligible to purchase a health plan through the Obamacare marketplace. 

Should I extend my current employer-based health insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield) from January until  I leave for PR, and then switch to a different health insurance for my time in PR?  Is that even possible?  What health insurance options are available in PR?

Triple S appears to be the most popular private health insurance in PR.

You can certainly refine your Spanish in PR but it wouldn't be my first recommendation. This is because many people in PR speak English and like speaking English to native English speakers. I found Panama a much better place to learn Spanish because few people spoke English. But, like you said, you'd run into visa issues eventually in a Spanish speaking place other than PR.

I don't see how you could practice your electric guitar in a beachfront apartment without generating some complaints.

Hi,

Wanted to say thanks to this site and the various contributors on this board as you all were an invaluable resource as I researched my decision to move my family to PR (Humacao). I made the move a few days ago and love being here and my family is joining me this week. Look forward to finding more great info here and maybe someday I'll be able to help others too :-)

Welcome to the island an to Expat-blog!

Welcome, Blukieduug!  I'd love to hear more of your move and transition to PR.  We are looking to move, at least part time, in the near future.  Bless!

Let me know what questions you might have or how I might help. It has all been quite a blur, since we didn't start researching it till June and didn't know it was a possibility until July and made the decision just over a month ago. :-)

I read a lot of things that scared me a little, but I came here twice in July before moving and did a lot of research. There are still challenges, like there are anywhere, but so far, we've loved it. As with most places, there usually are ways to get around some of the challenges. Still trying to find a good way to repel mosquitos though; they like to hang around the front door, but otherwise they don't seem to be that bad.

Hello

My husband and I, and our two small-sized cockatoos, will soon be living in San Juan, and for only a few months.

A concern we have right now is for the safety of our dogs.
What are the best safety practices for making sure our dogs will be safe and well? 

Other than that, we look forward to being of some helpful service to the community.

Thank you.

Obviously, good hydration is very important. It's basically the same as having a dog on the mainland.

  Thanks for the tip on providing enough water for the dogs NomadLawyer.  Is there anything else?

Does anyone else here have safety tips for expat dogs? I'm doing what I can to learn elsewhere on how to protect our dogs. For instance, today when I called the South San Juan Petsmart, two clerks (one English-speaking) were unable to answer my question of "What are the leash laws in San Juan?" 

Who will best know the safety situation there for expat dogs, and what is their contact information?

Other safety concerns include:
1. How safe will our dogs be from being poisoned or killed? What can we do to prevent this?
2. What about how to prevent heart worms, which are caused by mosquitoes? 
3. What areas or neighborhoods of the island are the most "dog-friendly", and have the least amount of mosquitoes?

Anything else? 

I'm aware that too much worry is not helpful, but my questions and concerns are reasonable.

Keep a close eye on your dogs, don't let them off the leash.
In a town or city make sure to clean up after your dog so you don't annoy neighbors.

Where I live there's somebody who is poisoning dogs and cats. I think I know who it is but I have no proof.
Also, many people here think it's funny to try to hit a dog or a cat with their car.

So, to keep my little sata dog alive I always have her on the leash (I don't know and don't care about laws, always on the leash is safe) as soon as we're out of the gate. She can go outside whenever she wishes - the yard is gated and big enough and she can come in when we're home since there's always a door open. At night she sleeps inside.
Most of the day time she sleeps on my lap when I'm working in the office. My wife says: that dog lives on you.

Hello All.

Thank you Gary, for the information, and for your care of your sata dog 

My husband and I are wondering about this ~ is a fenced-in yard recommended when we have dogs living with us? But even then, is it common that a neighbor will harm or attempt to harm dogs who are on their own property?  If so, and even not, what are the laws that help prevent this?  And what ARE the most dog-friendly areas in San Juan, if any?

When we leave our cars and home here, we're already in a good habit of keeping the dogs on a leash at all times; and we always carry bio-degradable poop bags and use them. Until the 1980's we had stray dogs, and plenty of poop we stepped in, but that changed with the new leash and 'pick up the poop' laws. We rarely step in dog poop and see a stray dog now, and when one is spotted, the police get plenty of phone calls about it, until it is returned home or is taken to a humane animal shelter.

Gary, is there a way to secretly video tape who is poisoning dogs and cats in your area?
But what effective use is this kind of proof if it cannot be used to stop and provide justice for the poisoning?

When anyone is seen hitting a dog or a cat with their auto, can their auto license number be anonymously reported to the police, and or animal control? If not, why not? Perhaps there are 'regulars' that routinely murder and maim animals this way and they can be stopped when enough people complain about them?

It's August 2014, and from what I understand, in my informal online research, nothing is effectively and professionally being done by the Puerto Rican people, that takes proactive and humane action, in regards to controlling, and taking care of an ever-increasing dog and cat population. 
Is this current and accurate information?   If this is still the case, why is this so?

I wondering if any credible research or studies been done that help explain why the people of Puerto Rico have not solved this problem by now? And I'm wondering if there are any genuine solutions happening in Puerto Rico right now. Please let me know what they are.  Please also provide links with accurate and informative research and solutions, when or if any can be found.

Deborah, we recently got a Siberian Husky puppy for my grandson. We luckily live in a house with a fenced in yard and he roams all through the yard. We did take him walking without a lease a few weeks ago since he is still young-2 1/2 months old and he was fine but it was just down the road to a neighbors house.

Mynhusbandbis beginning to train him on walking using a lease but he us still young..

One way to prevent poisoning , is to train your dogs not to eat from anyone beside yourself. We are training our dog not to take any food from anyone beside us.

Best of luck on this new venture of coming to PR.

So what happens after your dog gets trained not to take food from strangers(i'm not even sure that can be done) and somebody throws a nice piece of juicy steak laced with poison over the fence when nobody is looking? Do you really think your dog won't eat it?

I know this is called the Expat.com but please remember this is NOT another country  even though it feels like it sometimes...... trust me, go to the DR THEN you will know what it means to be an expat.  We have more WALGREENS and WALmarts than any other state in the union.  CVS is here as well.... IT's AMERICA with a Spanish accent.

Debrah:
go on FB... we are all involved in dog rescue... There are many sites you can volunteer and donate to.... they all need help.   My Sato was rescued from the garbage of Pueblo... there are LOTS of good people here who care for dogs but you only need one nut who doesn't lke the dog barking: I have an idiot neighbor ( I live in a condo) who complains my dog barks day and night: interesting since he works all day and the dog sleeps with me --- he must be sleep barking since i don't here him!!  MORONS are MORONS in any language...only here  hot tempers and DRAMA prevail.... You need a Ph.D. In psychology to figure out WHY some people here treat dogs the way they do;  get involved... we can't save them all but was CAN make a difference.

m

Hello "We're moving where?"

Thanks for the information about Walgrens and Walmart, yet I'm not clear on how it pertains to dog welfare in Puerto Rico.

In regards to businesses in Puerto Rico, I'm aware that there are tax incentives, as mentioned in online financial resources like this one called "Forbes":   http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/ … void-irs/. 

Thanks for tips on behalf of dog welfare in Puerto Rico, please continue to share them.

The misunderstanding with your fellow condo neighbor is unfortunate. When hearing another dog barking inside your complex, would you feel comfortable taking your quiet dog to the neighbor? Would showing them that it's not your dog that is barking resolve this?

I think that was about a previous post for someone looking for garden supplies and cow manure.... NOT about dog rescue. 

Check FB.... we are HUNDREDS of volunteers rescuing dogs every day... the govenmnet does NOT support anyone. the government shelters are generally KILL shelters....
All Sato rescue is one, Save a Sato, San Francisco is another.  dead dog beach project...  Christie Bickles,....Alma Febus.... Gloria Marti.. Glenn ..... these are the Heros of rescue here.

Debroah, Latin tempers are NOT to be reasoned with  especially when liquor is involved.... people are jerks and you dont' go visit them to "explain"   NOT a good idea....you just glare at eachother....

NEWS is my Business is a good source for local busines in English as is Carribean businees news PR....
Check FB.... must better info...

Hello toni0750.

Thank you for the information.

My sincere and best hoped-for wishes for the cold climate-loving and love-to-roam-and-run sled dog husky. May this pup's life be a long and happy one.

This information I'm going to share next, may or may not pertain to the husky pup, and you may or may not know what I'm about to share.   

My daughter and her family live on the Oregon coast and have a Siberian "wolf dog". He is part wolf and husky.  To help keep this cool-climate wolf dog physically feeling cooler, in the sometimes 80 + degree summers, she has his coat shaved short. The close shave does help him pant less.   

This very intelligent family wolf dog LOVES to roam and run, and forages and eats just about anything, like a wolf can do. He is big enough to reach up high, and he is smart enough to open the refrigerator door. When not closely watched, he's been known to eat an entire loaves of bread, including the plastic bags the bread was in; and he often will eat my daughter's family meals on the dining table, or when the meals are stored inside the refrigerator.

~~~~

Our two cockapoos feel the most physically comfortable themselves in cooler climates, than like what Puerto Rico continually has. They can even most comfortably enjoy running and laying in snow. So for the warmer climate in Puerto, we'll be bringing plenty of "gel pads" for them to lay on, and we'll keep their coats cut short.

If you or anyone has tips on how to keep dogs physically feeling cooler, please share them.

Dear GreggK.

It is an unfortunate reality that a dog could be harmed in the dog's own yard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the protections we'll be using is having our dogs wear dog collars with a Puerto Rican design, like the ones available at this online store:patriapet.com/dog-collars-and-leashes-puerto-rican-s/29.htm. This tactic may at least help distract maybe even one patriotic Puerto Rican person from even considering harming our dogs.

Not much else I know of other than to keep them trimmed, well hydrated, plenty of shade and one thing a lot of people don't think about, watch their feet on the hot asphalt. I'm a vendor at farmers markets and I see people bring their dogs in the middle of the Florida summer and walk them on the hot asphalt. Quite often I have to point out to them that their dog's feet are burning up. Most of them never thought about that. The ones that don't seem to believe me I tell them to take off a sandal and see for themselves. Try not to take them with you if you have to go to the store and leave them in the car. It's hot there, they wear a fur coat 24 hrs a day. Not much else you can do. If you have a marquesina or other shaded area you could keep a small wading pool filled with water for them. I'm just guessing here, but you probably won't be able to afford central A/C. If you live up in the mountains it will be a bit cooler at night.

Gregg, Hopefully not!!! We are usually here with him and when we are not, we put him in the cage so if we have to go to town, etc.

I pray for his safety and I feel pretty good about my surrounding neighbors.

Thanks Deborah for the lease info. They are really cute.

Make sure your dogs are on heartworm medication. Also be prepared to use something like "Frontline" to keep fleas and ticks away. Take them to a reputable vet to find out what new shots they may need because they are in PR. Call the USDA in PR to find out what you need to do with the dogs to bring them in. When we went down all that was needed was a general health certificate and proof of certain vaccinations.

Thanks again "We're moving WHERE?" for the info.

This past week I've been studying dog welfare at the online places that you have kindly recommended.  It has warmed my heart to know that so many do care about animal welfare in Puerto Rico. 

Thanks also for reaffirming that my research is going well. This research is better protecting our dogs, and our hearts, for what is or may be in store for us. We do however look forward to creating many happy memories while in Puerto Rico, and we hope that our presence in Puerto Rico will add to the feelings of happiness that are present there, despite the suffering that can be found anywhere. 

In response to how it is better to avoid inflaming short tempers, I can completely understand this,  and especially when there is absolutely no reasoning with a defensive, drug and/or alcohol induced state of mind. Some people will easily become defensive & attack when they do not know how to successfully handle being made wrong, and this is how even an alcohol-free and drug-free, but a pumped-up and pride-filled person could behave, as well. 

Thanks again for the heads up and all the information you and others are providing here. We will remain optimistic, yet realistic and wise, about the environment we are choosing to place ourselves and our dogs in within San Juan.

On the other hand, the "dog" people are very friendly and welcoming and most parks are open to dogs unlike on the mainland.... so just look for a dog mamma or papa and you will have a new set of friends for life....

Thanks so much again GreggK for all the tips.

We have the dogs ready to be officially accepted at the airport in San Juan.

It's a great reminder of yours to protect the dog's paws from being burned. We even make sure that our dogs walk AROUND gas and oil pavement too. This way, their paws won't be soaking up more toxins.

I'm interested in your comment about how central A/C may not be affordable. We plan on making sure we will have air conditioning. If you know about this, what is an average difference in price between central and non-central A/C in Puerto Rico?

Our dogs, if they knew you all here, and could understand what you are doing for them here, they'd sure wag their tails and grin.

The electric rates are extremely high unless you are fortunate enough to live in a place where utilities are included. It cost us $300 per month to run one A/C in one bedroom only at night. That was 3 years ago. Rates have gone up since then. Read the news. PR electric company uses oil for their power plants and they are sinking in debt. Hence they keep raising rates.

We're moving WHERE? wrote:

I know this is called the Expat.com but please remember this is NOT another country  even though it feels like it sometimes...... trust me, go to the DR THEN you will know what it means to be an expat.  We have more WALGREENS and WALmarts than any other state in the union.  CVS is here as well.... IT's AMERICA with a Spanish accent.

We've been here before...
The majority of the people on this part of the expat-blog forum may be US Americans but that doesn't mean that there are no real expats (like me) in Puerto Rico. Apart from that I would bet that many of your fellow US Americans here on the island may feel they're in a different country, even although that's technically wrong because PR is a US "protectorate".
Then, AMERICA includes South America, Central America and North America (of which the USA is a part). So Puerto Rico already was part of America even before it was handed over to the USA by Spain after the Spanish-USA war.

DeborahMarchant wrote:

I'm interested in your comment about how central A/C may not be affordable..

In your profile you say you're from Seattle. From what I read online you pay something between 4 and 8 ct per kWh. Here on the island we pay almost 30 ct per kWh...

DeborahMarchant wrote:

Gary, is there a way to secretly video tape who is poisoning dogs and cats in your area?
But what effective use is this kind of proof if it cannot be used to stop and provide justice for the poisoning?

When anyone is seen hitting a dog or a cat with their auto, can their auto license number be anonymously reported to the police, and or animal control? If not, why not? Perhaps there are 'regulars' that routinely murder and maim animals this way and they can be stopped when enough people complain about them?

Maybe I could do that but even if I gathered proof it wouldn't help a lot. The police wouldn't be very helpful (to help a foreigner to fight "one of their own") and even if I would be successful I most likely would have to sell my house and move out of the area.
Everybody knows everybody in the barrio, you know, and either you're part of the clan or not. My wife has been living here for a long time and many people in the barrio are (distant) family. They accepted me and in the mean time  I'm part of the clan. That's worth a lot.
As long as I keep my "sata perra" under control, make sure she doesn't poo where she shouldn't and she's not loose on the street nobody, will hurt her. The poisoning is a (stupid and primitive) reaction on animals that come in the yard of the people I think who're doing this.

Lately a change in behavior is starting to become visible on the island. A well known tv personality, Susan Soltero, is doing a lot to fight animal cruelty, She's -next to her meteorologist job- an animal cruelty investigator for the PR dept. of health. Since she's well known people are listening to her. She also got people jailed for animal cruelty. Check out this site: http://www.amigosdelosanimalespr.org/whoweare.php

Too bad we aren't neighbors Gary. I think you and I would get along very well. I guess we are sort of neighbors since it's been pointed out ad nauseum that we are "Americans".. Well put reply by the way.

Hi GreggK. Thanks again.

With all the sun in Puerto Rico, are solar panels being made more and more affordable for the general public, and easily accessible to install and use? Or is this solution still way off in the future?
The pets will benefit from us humans getting on the ball with this.

GreggK wrote:

Too bad we aren't neighbors Gary. I think you and I would get along very well. I guess we are sort of neighbors since it's been pointed out ad nauseum that we are "Americans".. Well put reply by the way.

Should you guys ever decide to give PR a second change you should check out our area.
I think you're right - we would get along pretty good. Americans or not, we're cyber-neighbors

Hi Gary

That's Great News! to know about, how a well-loved, respected, and influential person in PR, who is also an animal rights activist, is being listened to, and followed, more and more. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I can understand how turning in a neighbor for animal cruelty may be impossible to anonymously do, and that the poisoning neighbor, and-or their like-minded associates, may retaliate against you, if they learned it was you.

There is a genuine cause to be made, (beyond the compassionate need to protect vulnerable animals), for turning in those who are deliberately making animals suffer. After only just really making myself aware of the animal cruelty in PR, (it takes inner courage to confront this), I'm warning my family and friends about this, and I'll add the great news you mentioned too.

But.

I know that my sister will NEVER come to PR, because she does not want to have to witness, and subsequently be emotionally and mentally injured seeing sentient beings, like dogs and cats, deliberately being made to suffer at the hands of humans.

My animal-loving sister, and millions like her, abhor animal torture. Once they know about the reality of what is currently happening, if they don't already know about this, they will never think twice about putting all their money, time, and thought into placing themselves within such an unhappy, helpless, and emotionally and spiritually ugly environment for stray and abandoned animals.

The end result of such bad advertising is a loss in billions of tourist monies.

But the primary loss is not about money, for the souls who live, work, and govern in Puerto Rico.

It's going to take a long time to establish a different attitude towards animals in this country.

Quite some people in the area where I live have guard dogs on a chain and they think it's completely normal. Others get themselves a puppy and spoil the animal when it's small and cuddly but put it out on the street when it gets bigger.
One woman I know sews clothes for her puppy, dresses it (complete with hat) and has a lot of fun doing that. When the puppy gets bigger she loses interest and kicks it out on the street. With a little luck she thinks of feeding the dog(s) who used to live in her house and stay around.

Dogs and cats that die on the street are not being removed but left there and nobody cares.

I'm sure that the people in the barrio think I'm not right in the head because I walk my dog several times per day, buy dog food, take her to a vet when needed and let her inside the house. Not that I care about what they think about me.

It's a different country, not only when it comes to the way people treat animals.