New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourself here — 3rd quarter of 2016

Hello all!

My husband and I are moving to PR in a few months.  No kids, no pets - but we've fostered dogs through a local shelter and would like to do so again.  We visited for a few weeks last summer and loved the feel, the food, the beaches, and El Yunque!  We are planning a trip in September to look at condos in the Palmas del Mar area.  Anyone here who lives in Palmas?   What other areas would anyone suggest looking? We'd prefer to live somewhere on the beach that feels safe and has amenities (restaurants, grocery store, gym) in a walkable area.  When we visited last summer, we spent time in San Juan, Fajardo, Aguadilla, and Rincon. 

Thanks!!

Donna

Welcome Donna

I think frogrock lives there. She should post something shortly

Palmas has it all. You can even get a condo with its own boat marina. Frogrock (Carroll) lives there and loves to show Palmas off.
I visited with her several times, very nice place and English is not a problem.
By the way most people in Palmas have 1 or more Golf cars and it is used as the main form of transportation in Palmas.
While the sea is right there, if I recall correctly there are no swim beaches in Palmas (currents). But there are several ones close by.
Very safe place. Gated area inside a main gated area, so you will probably go thru 2 gates.

ReyP wrote:

Palmas has it all. You can even get a condo with its own boat marina. Frogrock (Carroll) lives there and loves to show Palmas off.
I visited with her several times, very nice place and English is not a problem.
By the way most people in Palmas have 1 or more Golf cars and it is used as the main form of transportation in Palmas.
While the sea is right there, if I recall correctly there are no swim beaches in Palmas (currents). But there are several ones close by.
Very safe place. Gated area inside a main gated area, so you will probably go thru 2 gates.

Thank you!! That's good information, getting around with a golf cart sounds nice to me. Interesting to hear about the currents too!

ReyP wrote:

Palmas has it all. You can even get a condo with its own boat marina. Frogrock (Carroll) lives there and loves to show Palmas off.
I visited with her several times, very nice place and English is not a problem.
By the way most people in Palmas have 1 or more Golf cars and it is used as the main form of transportation in Palmas.
While the sea is right there, if I recall correctly there are no swim beaches in Palmas (currents). But there are several ones close by.
Very safe place. Gated area inside a main gated area, so you will probably go thru 2 gates.

Wow that sounds right up our alley!  Exactly the type of living I was looking for.  I'll have to look into that further.  Thanks!

Lots of swimming pools, golf courses, restaurants, bars, bank, club house, entertainment some days (music). Very well maintained grounds with ponds, and a hotel also in the property. OH, and golf Cart parking at your property and many inside locations. There are even golf cart parades and a private school in Palmas.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palmas_ … ach_Resort

taryna wrote:

ReyP wrote:

Palmas has it all. You can even get a condo with its own boat marina. Frogrock (Carroll) lives there and loves to show Palmas off.
I visited with her several times, very nice place and English is not a problem.
By the way most people in Palmas have 1 or more Golf cars and it is used as the main form of transportation in Palmas.
While the sea is right there, if I recall correctly there are no swim beaches in Palmas (currents). But there are several ones close by.
Very safe place. Gated area inside a main gated area, so you will probably go thru 2 gates.

Wow that sounds right up our alley!  Exactly the type of living I was looking for.  I'll have to look into that further.  Thanks!

A lot depends on your house buying budget.

I live in Palmas del Mar. When are you coming?

frogrock wrote:

I live in Palmas del Mar. When are you coming?

Cool!  We'll be there mid September for 2 weeks!

Wow same time we will be down there

I will be off-island the first week of September.

frogrock wrote:

I will be off-island the first week of September.

Hopefully you are going somewhere fun

Are there any specific neighborhoods in Palmas that you'd recommend we check out or stay away from? We are hoping to be close to the beach

Do you know a real estate agent that you would recommend we speak with?

Thanks so much for your help!

Donna

i suggest that you visit me and I can give you a tour.  There are a great diversity of options.  The more you want to spend, the more options.  For example, my friend just put her house on the market for six million dollars.  But that is in the 'high rent district' and it is a single-family home.
I live in a three bedroom, three bath condo.  Trust me when I say I did not have a six million dollar budget.

Dont scare her, there are places there that are very affordable, 

Haha thank you!! I appreciate the offer!  I'll pm you

Hi everyone! I just moved to Dorado as part of an assignment for my husband's work.  I have a 3yr old son and a 1yr old daughter. I have very limited Spanish although I am committed to learning. I'd love to find some families with toddlers as I will be a stay at home mom during our time here!

Welcome to the island and the forum, we have several members in your area, shortly you will have play dates and activities to keep you busy, just give it a few days, not al member check on the site daily.
Bienvenida
Rey

Hello, Alex here.
We're a family of 4+3 dogs. We are thinking of moving to PR (possibly around Dorado) in the next couple of years but still a little unsure because of what we see in the news.
I'll keep reading other posts to figure out better

Welcome

We are going on exploratory trip next week if that weather system does not develop. Use search function and ask questions

Hi PizzaChip,
Welcome to the forum and hopefully to Puerto Rico soon. We are here to help and provide information and experiences to help you make the decision and transition easier.
Rey

What do you see in the news, Chip!? I've been here 11yrs, and I don't watch the news much, but I can honestly say; I'm not scared.

mac00677 wrote:

What do you see in the news, Chip!? I've been here 11yrs, and I don't watch the news much, but I can honestly say; I'm not scared.

They talk all the time about the declining economy and I'm not sure how that reflects on day-to-day life there.

You need to see for yourself.  The stores are always crowded with shoppers, the roads are packed during rush hour.  Everyone has a smart phone, including all of the children. You do not see starving homeless people everywhere. The debt crisis is just a big paper shuffle.

The private sector is not doing that great, so there is high unemployment BUT... It is the goverment that is broke, there are two economies in PR, the one above board that you pay taxes on and the under the table economy where people do not pay taxes for their income, and many times it is also based on bartering.
If the supermarkets and malls are full, then people have disposable income
But not all is that great, in PR we like to dress nice and drive a nice car, never mind we may not have enough left over to put gas in the car. It is also a thing of pride and attracting females.
The music is a big part of the culture and it helps us forget the bad times and abuses.

ReyP wrote:

But not all is that great, in PR we like to dress nice and drive a nice car, never mind we may not have enough left over to put gas in the car. It is also a thing of pride and attracting females.
The music is a big part of the culture and it helps us forget the bad times and abuses.

Rey
how does your wife  feel about you dressing nice, driving a fancy car with a 1000 speakers to attract females?

hturner12 wrote:

ReyP wrote:

But not all is that great, in PR we like to dress nice and drive a nice car, never mind we may not have enough left over to put gas in the car. It is also a thing of pride and attracting females.
The music is a big part of the culture and it helps us forget the bad times and abuses.

Rey
how does your wife  feel about you dressing nice, driving a fancy car with a 1000 speakers to attract females?

I don't so she is not worried.

Lexie said I could look, but not stare and never ever touch

I don't need to attract females Quite happy with the one I got

hturner12 wrote:

Lexie said I could look, but not stare and never ever touch

I don't need to attract females Quite happy with the one I got

Clarification: When I said we, I was referring to Puerto Ricans, not me specifically, just speaking in generalities. Maybe I should have been more clear. Being a native and when speaking about us native Puerto Ricans and our customs, I tend to use "we".

Planning a move to PR in early 2017....I've looked at Palmas and love it, but it's a little priceer than I was hoping for. I definitely want to be on that side of the island but am wondering if there are any other expat area's in the vicinity. My Spanish isn't great yet and I have. 6 year old so want to be cautious.

Welcome SSABRINA6,
Expats are everywhere, On the east coast there is a big group in Palmas, Fajardo, Luquillo, and Vieques and Culebra islands. North side you have Condado, Isla Verde, San Juan, Dorado. Plus surrounding areas of Rincon in the west.

Your opportunity to meet them will depend on your activities and hobbies, church, watering hole, restaurants..

Supermarkets and malls are great places, look for the few speaking English and or wearing colorful shorts. Natives tend to use long pants and more subdue shorts colors.

Give your kids the best gift of their life, "Spanish" and their whole life will be much richer, complete, and greater opportunities that come with being fluent in Spanish. They will be able to communicate and do business in the US, Caribbean, Central America, South America and Spain.

Palmas is a great place if you can handle the cost.

Thanks for the reply Rey, I love the time I spend in PR and Palmas but you are so right about the cost  of Palmas. The school is awesome though, so ideally I would like to find a nice neighborhood in the Yabacoa or Humacao areas to commute to Palmas academy without paying the high cost of Palmas  real estate, At least until I get the business off of the ground!

Yabucoa, Naguabo, Ceiba should be cheaper, just rent until your feet are well in the ground then purchase after you have a better feeling of where you want to live.

Make sure you call Palmas Academy to make sure it is ok to commute to the school.. I ASSUME that it is not just for palmas recident, but please check.
I will be in Ceiba when I go. I purchased land there.

I love Ceiba too just  a little further than I want to P/A. I hadn't thought about Naguabo, Ill explore that too. Thanks for the suggestions!

Great seafood in Naguabo, beach there also. Find something not too far from PR53 and commute will be fairly short. There is always Humacao proper.

Hello all,

My wife of 20 years and I are considering a move from Utah (I'm originally from San Diego CA) to Puerto Rico to join my new business partner who already lives in Palmas.  We'll be visiting the island for the first time in a couple weeks and plan to tour Humacao, Palmas, and a bit of San Juan.  We'll be working with Ricardo Casillas to view properties for rent or purchase.

My initial concern is regarding my two teenage children's education.  We've set up an appt to tour Palmas Academy - does anyone here have any insight on that school, along with their financial aid programs?  We're not accustomed to paying for private education - and now we'd have two students in private with one entering her first year in college...all at the same time! 

It appears that costs at Palmas Academy will come to about $8-10K per student per year.  That could prove significant for our family who wants to procure a comfortable, safe condo/townhome while also launching my new tech company. 

How do property taxes compare to the mainland?  Does that help offset education costs for those of you with children in private schools?  Thanks in advance.

Welcome CDixon!  Property taxes are next to nothing.   All depends on things like, do you have a metal roof (seriously). But they are super low.   I know a family whose kids are at Palmas (elementary/middle school) and they are happy there. I know another family who lives in Palmas and drives there daughter to St. John's in Condado every day... really up to what you are looking for in a school!  You might want to look at some schools in San Juan as well to compare, or you might just love Palmas The other English speaking schools are St. John's, Robinson. Commonwealth, and Baldwin.

Thanks Suzanne!  Good to hear.

Welcome to the forum CDixon, Palmas is a great place but expensive. It may however be the correct location for you.

Thank you, Rey. I've already benefitted significantly from your prior posts.