Some thoughts on moving to Puerto Rico, or anywhere.

Hi Gregory,
I'm not in the normal expat situation (my wife is active duty military and we are stationed here) but thought I might share some of my observations:

-If you can arrange a pre-move visit, definitely do it - at least a couple of weeks.  Stay away from the touristy areas, experience the driving, go to the supermarket, try to get a haircut, visit the pharmacy, etc, to get a feel for day-to-day living.  We visited PR six times before moving here and living here is about 180-degrees different than visiting here.

-Try to learn as much Spanish as possible.  You can read through one of my earlier posts to see some of the challenges I've experienced with my elementary Spanish.  If/when you come here, having a friend to help out would be invaluable.

-Utilities are not as reliable (or as inexpensive) as they are in the US.  If you need to work from home and need a reliable internet connection, it'll be best to ask around about different providers/home setups.

Anyway, hope this helps and best of luck with your research!

Good morning, Gregory, and Happy Holidays!  Do you have a trip planned to check things out?  I see that you want to further your education but will you also, need to work?  That seems to be a concern for many to find jobs in PR.  We are retired so won't have that issue.  We have a trip planned in Feb. for 17 days in Rincon. 

I agree with all of your points on things to consider before moving permanently.  We hope to do long term rental going back and forth to the states until we know for sure.  We still have a 19 and almost 21yr. that are not quite self sufficient yet, haha.  I've not tried to contact anyone online for rentals but have just browsed different websites.  I think word of mouth also will help out once you get there and check out different options.

Gregory, why the heck would you want to move to Puerto Rico?

"You might approach it in regards to risk/benefit. Just like in the stock-market, greater risk has the potential of reaping greater rewards."

A lot of people get clobbered in the stock market for various reasons. Sound advice is not to invest money you can't afford to lose.

So what can you afford to lose in your hypothetical move to Puerto Rico?

Planning and research is a good idea with any endeavor. But once the battle begins plans tend to unravel.

We don't know your situation. If you are young and can start over if moving to Puerto Rico doesn't work then you've got low risk - you can start over someplace else.

This happened to a couple I know. They moved to Puerto Rico because they love it here (in Rincon), The husband found that he still operate his business here with most of his clients in the US. They'd lost a lot of money in poor investments and had a limited amount of money and wanted to buy a house here. They bought and went into debt restoring it. Everything was hunky-dory until the husband went surfing, had a heart attack and died. Unfortunately they canceled his life insurance a month before. Now, even if they did a risk/benefit analysis before all this happened I doubt they would have included the possibility that the husband, age 51, would die of a heart attack (although a thorough analysis would include worse case scenarios).

Get a piece of paper, draw a line down the center, label the left "Positives", the right "Negatives", and fill in the rest. I guess the problem is, as a secretary of defense once said, do you have a list of the unknown  unknowns?

To be quite frank, this whole business can be described as a bit of wander-lust. I am unhappy in my current living situation. By moving, the worst thing that could happen, is that I might be unhappy there, or I could be happy. I KNOW that I will be unhappy here. I have three different scenarios that I am examining: moving to a better apartment in the same town, moving to a better city in the same state, or moving to a better region of theUnited States (Puerto Rico, according to my wants and desires). After judging the various options, I plan on making my decision on December 31st. Supporting myself in PR is not an issue. I have available $1230 per month to cover expenses for one person.
As far as language is concerned, I can read and write well, but I need to listen and speak "muy lentamente" Talking to various people via telephone taxes the patience of the people I have contacted in PR as they wait five minutes for me to decode what they said and formulate a response.
Also, I have been talking to an English speaking non-Hispanic person in the states about renting an apartment in Bayamon who, while talking with him, seemed to gloss over any negatives about PR, and mentioned sending a deposit via PayPal. This doesn't sound like a scam, does it? Now, I know that PayPal is refundable, but I cannot afford to have funds tied up.
I would really like to fly down there, get a place, and start living. I have a friend in my home town who said if things don't work out, I could come back and live with him. So, if I get down there, and things don't seem right, I will just call it a vacation then fly back (I have not burned any bridges).
Besides, once I get to México, I know that it is just a short drive over the border into Puerto Rico. I've already purchased a sombrero and have been practicing eating jalapeños! I can't wait to purchase a burro and marry a sexy mujer para besar cada día y tener muchos hijos y hijas.
(The last paragraph was a joke).

Gregory L. Schultz wrote:

Also, I have been talking to an English speaking non-Hispanic person in the states about renting an apartment in Bayamon who, while talking with him, seemed to gloss over any negatives about PR, and mentioned sending a deposit via PayPal. This doesn't sound like a scam, does it? Now, I know that PayPal is refundable, but I cannot afford to have funds tied up

PayPal refundable? You can ask the seller to issue a refund.
If he doesn't do that you can go to the resolution center. PayPal writes about that:

PayPal wrote:

In the Resolution Center, you can communicate directly with the seller and try to resolve the problem. If you aren’t able to work it out, we may be able to help you get a refund.

If this landlord is trying to scam you you will lose your deposit. I would never pay a deposit without seeing the place and without the keys in my hands.
Normal practice here is that you pay one month as a deposit and they promise to refund it when you leave the place and everything is in a good shape. Almost always they'll try to find something that's damaged or they simply don't have the money to refund you. One way or another, the deposit is most likely gone..

Thanks for the input. I have not sent any deposit yet. Something didn't feel right. Anyways, I just finished closing a deal with someone in  a city in my home state. The city where I am moving has a world class university and a plethora of cultural Amenities.
I was hedging my bets, and moving to Puerto was dependent on nothing going wrong: something that is unlikely. Thanks to everybody on this forum for the advise. I hope you all are extremely succesful in your endeavors. It takes a lot of guts to make a move like that. 

Sincerely,
Gregory L. Schultz

Sounds like you decided the right thing for you. One really has to be determined to move to another country. (yes, I know, PR is USA but in practice it is another country. You only don't have to worry about a visa/permit of stay if you're a US citizen or permanent resident.)

Good luck in your new place, Gregory!

Well,

I just figured out how I can have my cake and eat it too. After a couple of months of settling in to my new home here in the states, and getting my income well ahead of my outgo, I will fly to Puerto Rico, and spend two or three days walking around Viejo San Juan. That way, I can scratch that itch.

Regarding the Risk v. Reward question raised above by Gregory L. Schultz (and this post is directed at the readership at large, not just Gregory): Forgive me for minimizing this question to one of dollars/euros/krona/pesos and cents, but it is worth keeping in mind that moving to PR will cost you a lot of money unless you already have a job lined up or it is your employer that is sending you there.

You'll almost certainly never make enough money in PR to break even with your expenses (which still counts as a loss when time and opportunity costs are included in the calculation), let alone make a profit. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. But is it the best use of your time and resources? The answer to that is only one that each individual can judge for themselves.

Nomadlawyer, good points!

NomadLawyer wrote:

You'll almost certainly never make enough money in PR to break even with your expenses (which still counts as a loss when time and opportunity costs are included in the calculation), let alone make a profit. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. But is it the best use of your time and resources? The answer to that is only one that each individual can judge for themselves.

You're right there. I make only about 10% from what I used to make back in Europe so economically my move here is a disaster. Good thing that I didn't do it for the money.

Indeed, Gary. You've proven that reasons other than economic ones can take precedence. And most importantly, you've had clear vision from the start of the pros and cons and have made the transition work for you.

I like your website by the way. The Netherlands is a special place. I ran into EU Commission President Barroso at the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam about 8 years ago. The only two people in the entire place who seemed to recognize him were me and another American. (Although I hold other citizenships, I grew up in the States.) He was very engaging (as you would expect a successful politician to be) and had lived in my home state of Maryland for some time. The places I enjoyed the most in your country of birth where in the countryside though, such as Enkhuizen. A lovely place.

Yes, whatever the reason for a move, make sure you know what you're getting into and do your home work..
I got more or less what I expected and I'm still happy I moved here. It looks like I'm here to stay.

Thanks for looking at and liking my Holland website. It's been a while since I did something to it, it's on my (too long) to-do list.
Enkhuizen is beautiful, I agree. I also like the countryside in the east.

I have visited PR a couple of times just for vacation, and  I spent two weeks there last winter.  I would like to spend winters there and return to Florida for the Summer.  I do not like being cold.   I think the best thing would be to rent a place in whatever area you think you would like for at least six months, then see if you like PR.
The language is certainly a problem for me, I wish I knew Spanish.
Good luck.