Retire to Puerto Rico?

I probably should not be offering any advice but I guess when a question is asked a possible answer is looked for. I was curious about your condition with "sarcoidosos" and read from a Mayo Clinic statement that there is not much that can be done and that it sometimes disappears and that the cause may have been something that was breathed in. If that is the case and I am not saying that it is but if it is then maybe a geographical cure with fresh air and a healthy diet of fresh foods could help the situation. Sitting on a door step of a hospital waiting for a cure is not my idea of living well. We don't want to be foolish but living in fear is not a very good option. Do what brings you joy who knows what is around the corner. Puerto Rico from my experiences is a very healthy place to live.

Fresh air? I don't agree...I've lived in PR over 10 years full time. There is a lot of air pollution in Puerto Rico!! Sarcoidosis is a respiratory disease that I can't imagine would be helped by the Sahara Dusts, High Pollen and resulting allergies that affect most of the population every year. Oh and also the Volcanic Ashes that come from Montserrat. These things are in the news every year. There is other air pollution from cars that people fake passing the emissions inspection etc. etc. Plus there is a lot of stress from a complicated medical system that doesn't always work the way it should and is not easy to maneuver. However...it's good advice to not stop living...like I suggest stay for a few months and rent a Vacation Rental...but I would not permanently relocate here. I am from a cold climate and there I have NO allergies...In PR I have constant allergies and other breathing problems and have even needed therapy. Check out this link: it says Puerto Rico has a high incidence of Respiratory Illness! http://cetr.rcm.upr.edu/dust_related/dust_storms_pr.htm

Excellent points, Dora787

I am not sure why anyone would want to live in Puerto Rico when I hear how a lot of folks view the island. Who would want to live in Manhattan, NYC when buildings collapse?

Wow! Sorry to hear that. I have lupus and am under VA care. They've taught me to be very proactive with my care due to their lack of knowledge.
I am collecting new diagnoses on a regular basis. I've decided to live as much as I can as we don't know when those flares will come or where they will take us, for that matter. If I have to return, so be it.
You do what you know is best for you, and don't be pressured to do what someone else thinks is best for you.
I moved to the PNW from the SW to escape the heat and now am having problems w the rainy weather causing joint pain.
I am planning on spending a year there to see how it goes before taking the plunge.

Mrkpytn I was thinking that same thing after I first started reading this forum. I then thought that something must be right there, as so many people are going and some seem to be happy being there. I've been in different regions of the country and realized that every place has issues one would rather not deal with. I guess we have to determine what is more important to us.
Me personally, I have run out of places to go on the mainland and really need a change. Lived up and down both coasts and have no desire to go anywhere in the middle.
As far as my health is concerned, the VA has not spoiled me with top quality care so I'm willing to see what happens.
P.S. I believe in God and that He has my life in His hands and if He wants to take me from PR, so be it.

Yes, that's right, first visit -- several times.

Even in the 70s, when I lived and worked in San Juan, you could be driving along toward the airport and then just stop. Traffic has not improved, nor has the quality of driving habits.  Otherwise, forget public transportation, bad then, bad now.

Get all the crime stats you can, and if you're on Medicare, there's another problem: doc flight and poor quality of care.  So check that out too.

DM

Dag; I've been on island for almost ten years, and my medical care has been exclusively through the Dept Veterans Affairs, Caribbean Healthcare system. I have zero complaints, they've treated me well. I do not know what you would call "quality care", but they've been quite comprehensive in my care.

The noise comments sound harsh but are unfortunately true. I am on a "quiet" gated street, and someone moved in a few weeks ago with a dog that barks for 6 hours every day. I work from home. Many people have asked the building manager to deal with it and nothing has happened. This is typical.

My bigger concern for you would be the amount of healthcare you need. Going to the doctor and pharmacy is an all day affair (i've been at the dr since 8am today and am currently waiting for a prescription to be filled at 12:30pm). If I had a chronic health condition, or needed to go to the doctor regularly, I would not stay here.  Spending my days sitting in waiting rooms is not the way I'd want to retire.

Puerto Rico is loud! 
I laughed out loud when I read that posting, because even though our house is half way up a mountain, not anywhere near a town,  I still need to sleep with ear plugs in at least the first few nights on the island. There are two churches at the bottom of the mountain that get really cranked up at least a few times a week that result in the sermon and the singing resonating up the mountain until at least 10 p.m., there is a dog that I swear is crazy that barks all through the night and starts other dogs to bark, the coqui frogs have their own chorus, and then there are the vehicles with boom box high bass music blaring and screeching, and the roosters start crowing around 4:00 a.m.  And Christmastime: multiply all that "normal" noise by 10, for at least a three week duration.

The driving is unbelievable at times -- stop signs don't mean a thing at some intersections, it's a game of chicken, who's going to brake first for the other one.  But what surprises me is how few accidents I see on the road.  What's different there from where we live in the US though is that people don't flip you off, and most of the time they will let you merge if you don't take too long to think about it. 

I don't find the groceries more expensive than they are in Michigan.  We go to the roadside stands first, then the panaderia for the pan de agua, then Ralph's.  But we don't eat the same way in PR that we do in the north either - hot heavy food to stay warm is out of the question. My comfort food in PR is a Subway sub

We rented to an elderly lady from California last year that thought she had done extensive research about the island, never visited it before, and moved there with the assumption that things were the same as in California.  Silicon valley strength wi-fi (NOT) was her first disappointment, followed by a long list of many others: customer service or lack thereof either in person or on the telephone, delays, contractors promising one thing and then not showing up, etc.  She finally threw in the towel after 3 months when she found out she could not get the specialized medical treatment she required (a blood transfusion every 90 days in a port in her chest, that nobody on the island could do for her). 

My advice would be to give the island a try, but don't buy anything for at least a year.

Grand Rapids,

You're a smart guy, and you may, or may not, be surprised to hear that things just don't change on the island.  I can prove it because I first flew to PR from NYC during winter breaks, starting in 1968!!! And these are the things I noticed after I got a job and began the "job" of living there in 1970 -- do the math --- 45 years ago: get a noisy "neighbor" and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it.  I guess I lucked out on Calle Aguadilla in the Condado and later on a street called Pto Principe in Rio Piedras, only coquis, but the Pto Principe guest house had roof rats. Traffic to Munoz Marin Airport going toward Isla Verde, forget it.

I'm 71 and in good health, but I don't have a crystal ball, so, yes, if it developed that you needed chronic care of some kind, you couldn't get it.  Same on the out islands of HI.

Aside from the crime, you're forgetting another deal breaker.  Based on what I've read, the island slipped into a major Depression since the 2008 downturn in the U.S.  Economic Depression is infectious, trickling down through all aspects of society.  If you're a "have", the "have nots" want what you have, and on it goes.

So, for the would be retirees, as you say, rent first for a year in the area you're thinking about, do not sell the house back home, rent it, and then reassess.

DM

That would be our plan to rent and keep our home in the states for awhile.

Smart, but you might want to give Kailua-Kona a look.  Yes, it's expensive, but it's a US state (Big Island).
Were you to rent somewhere along the coast and check it out and decided to buy, the sale of the mainland
home would go along way to providing a very nice condo in Kona.  It's small, not over 39,000, international airport right there, all amenities, big new Kaiser Permanente clinic.

DM

Mac00677 Thank you, I'm glad to hear of the care at the VA being to your satisfaction. Due to my chronic illnesses I have had problems with doctors not having experience with them. They just string me along until I have had enough and demand someone else be assigned to my care. Thank God my issues are not as bad as some with the same diagnosis. Rarely have to see doc beyond my 6 mo. appointments.


FYI: If anyone is speaking to my posts, please use my name so that I can respond in return. Not sure if people are talking directly to me and do not wish to not respond to anyone. Thanks. Deb.