One year in PR - my experiences

Just noticed that the punctuation didn't copy over - sorry about the missed apostrophes and quotation marks!

trekrider- you covered things pretty well. Good job. I would have said about the same things as you but probably would have been a little less delicate in my wording. It's always been my intention to let people know exactly what you said at the end. "living in PR is much different than vacationing there." I can't emphasize enough that the dreamers of moving to a beautiful tropical island and living forever in paradise (especially those with very limited finances or no job) do extensive research and visit, not just vacation and garner as much information before making the leap and make sure you have enough money put aside to put a "plan B" into effect. Living there can be wonderful for some and a total nighmare for others. Once you are there you will definitely find out it is nothing like you expected. Even my wife who is a native of PR found out she could no longer live on her beautiful island where she was born. Everything had changed so much in the time she had gone and even she couldn't make the adjustment and we had to leave. It was heartbreaking for me to see how it affected her.

Thank you for your honest observations, I really appreciate it.  We certainly plan on continuing our research on living in PR, at least part time.  Any other helpful information would be greatly appreciated.  All the best to you and your wife, Bless!

Thanks for your insight into life on the island.  I have been in Walmart and got very frustrated when we were on the line for no less than 45 minutes and I swore to my friend that I would not go back but I know that I will.  This is known as Puerto Rican time.  I am very accustomed to this since I have many friends who , even though they live in the U.S., use the excuse if they are late because they are on Puerto Rican time and I have to laugh and learn to live with it.

In regard to the driving, I recently bought the book to study for my written test and have been reading it over. One of the funniest things in it is that it says that you should not park on the curb, well I have seen many parked on the curb here in Humacao and this is not even the metropolitan area. Also the fact that miost stop their cars in the crosswalk which is also illegal and makes us who walk have to walk around the car because you never know when they will start to move.

When I start driving, it will be in small amounts and I have to get my courage up to go long distances.  My friend who we are staying with drives crazy and she doesn't stop at (Pare), she does a Puerto Rican roll or stop (as I call it) and then she cuts in front of people if she is driving in a parking lot and I just close my eyes.

In regard to Spanish, I know Spanish, both my parents were native born Puerto Ricans and they spoke Spanish at home and my Mom also spoke English but some of these words that I see in clasificados for rental houses are very difficult to understand and I have to look them up. I get around pretty well in town with the people but I always refer back to my Spanglish with my husband.  He is a native born Puerto Rican who went to NY when he was 2 and his mother still doesn't speak much English, so his Spanish is good but he can't read it too well or he can't write it.  so my questions is, do they give the written test for the drivers license in English also? Since I got the English version iof the Driver's permit study guide.

Well I have given my opinions and hope that someone will get something out of it.  Thanks again for your info.

Tonie

Excellent points all.

Thanks to all for the replies.  Tonie - I'm not sure about the written test for the driver's license.  Perhaps others can chime in with more specifics.  As a military family, we're allowed to keep our Alaska license and vehicle registry, so apart from getting an ACAA sticker (I think it's for no-fault insurance), it was relatively easy dealing with our vehicle.

I'll certainly do my best to keep posting my experiences/observations.

Thanks. I believe that I can take the test in English.

We've traveled to Jamaica many times and driven there..they are crazy drivers, lol!  So when going to PR we didn't have a problem at all with the driving.  We've experienced the long wait times in line, too, unfortunately but I guess you just have to get used to island time and learn patience. 

We need to learn Spanish, definitely.  My husband can speak a little but I have a long way to go but I look forward to learning.

Tonie: yes, you can take the test in English.

Trekrider: Welcome to Expat.com and thanks for your posts! You describe Puerto Rico as I've known it for the last 13 years.
Nevertheless I love the island

Thanks Gary for the info. I have read over the book in English and most of the stuff is as in NY. There are a couple of things that are different but I guess I will see about the test once we get an address.

I appreciated your comments here. I also wrote about living in PR at Retirement and Good Living blog. It's a wonderful place to live but it isn't easy!! (retirementandgoodliving.com/living-in-puerto-rico/)
Cynthia

Maybe you would want to share some of your experiences here on Expat.com?
Right now one could think that you just want to promote the (good) article you wrote.

I'm sure you have a lot to share and can answer many questions so why don't you jump in and join us? 

I just wanted to add my 2 cents on driving here in Puerto Rico. People drive how they want, it's as simple as that. The police don't enforce any kind of traffic laws but will pull you over for absolutely nothing. I have seen people reversing from an on ramp back into the highway, I have seen people park on the off ramp of the highway to simply converse with their friend behind them. I have seen ppl going down the wrong way on a one way street on purpose, this is absolutely normal. So yea, just expect the unexpected, thats all I can say. Giving tickets here would be like shooting fish in a barrel. But even I have to admit, it's pretty damned entertaining, can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow!

I was nearly killed driving to work down the Baldorioty so always be alert and cautious.

I am pretty scared to drive here, but I know that I am going to have to do it and I will conquer the fear.

I was used to driving on Long Island but I would not drive in the NYC.

I also see the people driving crazy here and know that I have to be driving defensively not offensively and tell my grandson that also when he gets his PR license and car, which won't be too soon.

Good description of life in the San Juan area! I agree that living here is not the same as vacationing here.

tonie0750, when you are preparing for your driving test, keep in mind that some of the questions will be about the specific amount of the fine for certain violations! e.g. If you illegally park in a space for the disabled ("handicapped"), the fine is: a. $250, b. $100, c: $25.  Who would expect that on a driving test?!

Wow!  We certainly don't have to know how much fines are in the states.  Weird~

I got a $150 ticket for parking in the wrong direction I Rincon were such practice is common place. I had a surf board o top of my car at the time. We'd gone to a bakery and were back in 3 minutes, and there' was the ticket and the stealth cop was nowhere n sight.

Shuttzie- If you lived here in Florida you would know how much the fines are. They are posted all over. Red light running is $264 and they have cameras everywhere. Every handicap parking spot states it's a $250 fine for parking there without a permit. I've seen cop cars with "Parking Enforcement" lettered on their vehicles raid the Walmart parking lot busting people for using handicap permits fraudulantly, to the point of harassment.
Illegal right turn on red is $264. But littering is only $50. And Victor, sounds like you may have pissed somebody off at one time and they have a relative in Rincon that's a cop. You are being watched. It's highly unusual for tickets like that to be given out in PR. Or maybe it's just a cop that doesn't like surfers for some reason. You know it had to be a vengeance bust if you didn't catch the tell tale flash of the ever present blue lights off in the distance somewhere.

Then again Victor, Maybe the Alcalde needed some home improvements done and sent out his highly trained police force to write some extra tickets to generate the needed income.

Wow! 150 bucks for a parking ticket!
The only parking ticket I got here was in Old San Juan, $15 if I remember it right. Now, that was at least 10 years ago....

$150 is outrageous.  In Illinois here there are no fines posted other than in a construction zone and sometimes on a handicapped sign but rarely.

Victor , what store did you go into that you were gone only 3 mins. I read this to my husband and he wanted to know was h.tcthis regular time or Puerto Rican time?

I went to the bank today and did two transactions within 1/2 hr, then I went to the grocery store and it took over an hr
And the cashier kept looking at her watch. She obviously was on PR time, ha ha

We went into the bakery on the corner on the town square, across the street is the Cash & Carry. Got a loaf of bread. It was a quick transaction, but enough time for a cop to zoom in. Maybe it was 5 minutes, but no longer than that. The ticket was effective, I don't park in the wrong direction anymore. I also got a $50 ticket for parking with one tire over the white line on the side of the road. That was effective too, I never park over the white line now. So in a sense the tickets worked if intent was to reduce parking violations. However, there might be another aspect that is insidious. Is this ticketing selective in some way? I guess all ticketing is to some degree, for example on the NJ Turnpike most people speed (limit is 65) but few people are pulled over, so there is a selection process, conscious or unconscious. And of course that other people were speeding is not a valid defense for not getting the ticket (driving while black might be). I got the ticket for parking over the white line while attending a "Save The Parrots" benefit at the Lazy Parrot in Rincon. Many people attended and many got these tickets, it was like a feeding frenzy for the cops. This event was attended mostly by Gringos. You'd think that the cops would lighten up given it was a fund raiser. On the other hand the thought just ocurred to me that the event planners might have gone to the cops and explained the situation and ask that parking like this be allowed for the event.

Another incident although not involving a car. A new business in Rincon, the Rincon Brewing Company, got a $1,000 fine for staying open past midnight. What actually happened was they'd locked the doors before midnight, no customers inside just staff, and they were just cleaning up.

I am not saying that there is something malevolent going on here. But I'm not sure what the thinking and policies of the town are when they enforce like this. There seems to be a disconnect between enforcing laws and being businsses friendly. From what I've seen in Rincon the town does not get that surfing has brought a lot of business and people into the town but instead views them as pot smoking undesirables (okay maybe a little pot smoking goes on!). I'll stop now in order to avoid a diatribe.

trekrider,  This may surprise you and others who replied to your very precise rundown, but PR in 1969, yes, 1969, was very much the same as it is today, but without the high incidence of crime.  I vacationed in PR from NYC a couple of years before moving.  I took a teaching job at Sagrado Corazon, Santurce, if any of you know it.  There are similarities, in particular, driving.  The road to Carolina, even then, was jam packed.  I took the written test, but flunked the driving test.  I never drove again. Pulled right out in front of a truck. But the drivers weren't beserk and did seem to obey the rules, just too many cars.  I was provided excellent medical services at Ashford Medical Center by an internist/surgeon, whose name I have now forgotten, but I take it healthcare has degraded, as has the the quality of life.  No Internet then, but PRT was a misery, and backouts were common.  I lived in the Condado, Hato Rey and just south of RP on a street called Calle Pto Principe.
Noise was generally not a problem.

At 71 yo, I guess you can't go home.  All things being equal, which they aren't, it would be nice to move back to a nice house on the beach, but just too many things militate against it.  To those of you who are new to PR relocation, these replies are very accurate (Banco Popular was horrible, but I never had the experience of waiting in a retail store) and you would do well to think twice, three times and more before jumping off the cliff.

DM

Interesting observations of PR, DM. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you, DM, and welcome!  If you have more to like to share, I'd love to hear it.  How long did you live in PR and any reasons why you left?

Have a blessed day!

trekrider - another change since the late sixties (or even that last 10 years), at least in the Rincon area - large number of condos going up without additional infrastructure created to support them - particularly water. 10 years ago there were mainly houses and land for sale, now mainly condos and land.

The metro San Juan area must have been completely different when economic times were better.  I frequently ride my bike around Escambron Beach and past the Normandie Hotel.  It looks like it was a beautiful hotel back in its day.  Unfortunately now it is literally falling apart.  I've heard that they are trying to get developers to restore the hotel - hopefully they are successful.