New members of the Puerto Rico forum, introduce yourself here — 1st quarter of 2017

ReyP the water is VERY warm. Actually warmER than the pool where we were staying. In fact, it got cooler last night and the heat from the wave surges was actually warmer than the air (at least felt that way). And yes I am a kid in a candy store! Your advice is sound and we hope to at least get a broad idea of where we'd like to purchase this trip, and then focus on figuring out everything else from there.

Caribbean is under a cold spell, mountains in PR may drop to 50, have a sweater in the trunk and an umbrella but you know that already since it rains almost daily.
Cuba is in a fuzz about the cold. 

ReyP wrote:

Caribbean is under a cold spell, mountains in PR may drop to 50, have a sweater in the trunk and an umbrella but you know that already since it rains almost daily.
Cuba is in a fuzz about the cold. 

Only 79 in Humacao today!! Time to get out the blankets!

Yes it's fresh and I love it! It is very windy in Mayagüez and raining time to time. I am i only sorry for our guests from the States, the have the worst weather now! It was so wonderfull the last weeks, and now that! 

En route to Ceiba then Farjado. We'all probably stay in the Farjado area tonight. More later on the trip south... nice but we not exactly what we are looking for.

You may want to check with frogrock to see if she has time for a tour of Palmas Del Mar in Humacao.

We just got back to Hatillo,  the weather has been rough.  Surf is really big here, (but one guy is out there in it ) and due to the heavy rain, lots of debris washed up on the beach.  The wind is about 15-18knots, pretty stiff.   

We are wishing for improvement in the weather as we have some guests from CT with us.   Well, the sun just came out, perhaps things will get better.

Fly a kite Sitka
Welcome back to the island
The cold front is slowly moving out in a day or so should be good

My friend that lives in the high country reported temps in the 46-49 degree range at night.  Is that unusual?   Seems pretty cold for PR?

It is a cold front affecting all the Caribbean islands  so not unheard but not common. People are wearing winter hats, gloves and coats. Mostly affected are high altitude.

Sitka,
  Welcome back to Hatillo and Bienvenido a su invitados ( Welcome to your guests).
I have experienced 62-64 night temps last several years.  Friends up in the mountain's like town of Aibonito, Cayey,  Orocovis experience 55-58 usually at night and days high 70s, no AC needed.  Cold front bring lots of winds that add to the cooler temps especially by you by the beach.. Who says " it's not cold in Puerto Rico" haha. Getting better soon been watching the news cause I'll be there shortly and expecting guests few weeks later, let there by Sun!! Jose

We didn't have to use the AC this past few weeks and we are not that high in the mainland. It was in the low 70s at night time plus it rain almost every evening in Sabana Grande.
Unfortunately we are back in California with lows in the 40s and raining at times.
Can't wait to go back!!!! 

Hey Ckang,
How is Fajardo?

We arrived Farjado late and couldn't find a place to stay, so we came to Condado for a few days to check on things here. Linked up with one of the members here and had a great time with a great download on the area. We stayed the past few days in a studio overlooking the ocean (Ashford Imperial). Updated building and apartment with all studios. A bit small for our needs but those views were killer, and I assume it would be easy to rent out places in the area since this place is pretty much booked for the next month on airbnb. More things to consider...

I shot frogrock a note because we would like to head back that way today, actually in a few minutes. We may base out of Condado for the next few days, that's if we don't cancel our Colombia plans next week and just stay in PR! I will say though that the area of Farjado (the town) that we were in didn't seem like the best place to find something to purchase. I'm assuming we weren't in the areas that everyone has been referencing. We were in town, it was dark, and we couldn't really see anything though.

On the drive from west to here, we stopped in La Parguerra. There were some really nice houses on the hill and also a neat town area near the water. But the impression I got is that it is more for a weekend getaway or vacation away from San Juan. Not saying that it wasn't nice but the level of activity was much less than the other towns we've visited. We blew past Ponce while racing against daylight, but may head back down later.

La Parguera is mainly a weekend get away area. You should had visited Playita Rosada, one of the most beautiful beaches in the area and at night the fluorescent bay is another nice place to go. If you don't like a lot of noise and traffic on the weekend this is not the place for you. Very quiet and calm during the week thou.  Most shopping places are very far from this area. Multi million dollar homes ovee looking the bay.

We looked long and hard at La Parguera.  Lovely little town, and the government is spending to develop it as a tourist destination.  As adlin said, shopping is relatively far away, but we were drawn to a few properties with gorgeous views of the Parguera Keys.

http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/01/14/24/49_big.jpg

And if you like boating it is a perfect place. Lots of small coves to protect from the wind and plenty of places to store it. I was quoted $75/mo for a cover storage, they will launch it, pick it up and service it. They will even take it to the gas station so you can fill it.

Hi, I'm Ambar.  I live on the west coast.  And I am new to this online community!

Hi Amber, nice to meet you! I live in Mayagüez.

Hi there Marion-Olga!  It is nice to meet you too!  I saw that you are German!  My husband and I lived in Hamburg for 4 years while he completed a doctorate from the Universität.

Hi Ámbar,
Welcome to the forum,
how long have you lived in PR now?
What draw you to join our forum?

Hi! Thank you so much!  Well, I've been here almost two years.   I'm a mommy and I work from home.   I'm just looking to connect, make friends in my area.

Ambar, Lots of people here like to make friends. Unfortunately in the last few months a lot of people in the western side of the island have gone dorman, now that the holidays are over maybe they will become active again so you can meet them.

Ambar,

welcome, where in PR are you located?  We are in Hatillo.

Ohhh, that's fantastic! You lived in the most beautiful German City! 😍
I am from Würzburg, it's a beautiful city too. I lived with my puertorican husband 8 years there before we decided to move here. He speaks perfect German. Did you learn some German?
We have a 15 year old daughter and a couple of  dogs, cats and a horse.
Where do you live?

Ambar,

Welcome to the forum, we divide out time between California and Sabana Grande.

Hola! My name is Arlene I'm a new member, trying to decide if moving to PR is the best decision for my family. I have lived in PR before, but moved to Orlando 8 years ago. Currently we are in a position where things seem to be aligning to make our move possible. However, with the current situation in the government  I'm a little scared.  My husband works from home and has a decent salary, I'm a stay at home mom, so I wouldn't have to worry about employment. We just have to figure out a couple of things before we are 100% sure that this is what we want to do. I already wrote a post for a question I have on taxes. Hopefully someone can help me out.

Hi Linayjuli,
Welcome to the forum.
Likely the answer to your question about moving to Puerto Rico is yes.
While your husband is working from PR for a US company, you will only pay Florida state taxes while you are a Recident of Florida, but since Florida does not have state tax, it will be a wash. If you were coming from a state with state tax then you would be saving money.
The goverment issues will cause property taxes to go up a little and soon you will pay under 300 a year for trash collection. You will pay more for electricity in PR (about twice more) and there is a killer sales tax (IVU) that is 11.5%.
You did not mention kids or need for school so all set.
You did not mentioned animals but not everyone mentions it at first. There are restrictions on some animals and some breeds of dogs.

Currently there is no Internet purchasing tax so you will do well ordering via Amazon. However they are talking about implementing the 11.5% IVU to internet purchases, will it pass? Your guest is as good as mine.
They need to strike a balance between raising the money the goverment get and impoverishing the people too much which will cause more people to move out of the island.
You should consider renting the first year to make sure you know where you want to live, then buy a place. Currently with so many people moving out, there are a lot of properties on the market at a good price, it is a buyer market and you can offer less than what they are asking for. Properties on average are in the market for 1-2 years but 6 months is not overly uncommon if priced just right and in an area desirable to Expats.

Thanks Rey! We do have 3 small children. 2 will be in school by next year and I have a 1 year old. I know that I'll have to pay for private school and we're budgeting about $1000 a month for that. We also want to sell our house here and we're expecting to get a good amount that we'll be able to use as down payment, leaving just a small amount to pay in mortgage.  So in that sense it levels out how much we'll be paying for school.  My problem is that I get attached to everything. My routine, the kids' school,  my house, having everything I want about 5 minutes from me. I know all of that will change. Things will not be as easy, but on the flip side I will have our families close by, my kids will learn our culture, our language,  I want a yard with chickens and fruit trees.

If you and your husband are of Puerto Rican descent you will be right at home but will have to get used again to the pace of life and why do it today when you can do it tomorrow attitude. Kids will get used fast.
Renting then selling your Florida property will work great, you may be able to buy or build something with the money from the sale and may not need a mortgage. This strategy will have the least disruption on your savings.

Relax it will be frustrating at first but you will get in the groove.

Hi, I'm Ann from northern Michigan.  My husband and I are interested in moving to PR sometime in the next few years.  We have vacationed in Guanica for the past 25 years or so.  We love the culture and the slow place of life and can't wait to get there on March 1.

Ann

Hi annabfalter,
Welcome to the forum.
Glad that you are considering moving to Puerto Rico.
How did you end up visiting Guanica? Not a common place for a mainlander to visit.

Ask away we will try to help you.
Rey

Welcome Ann, My mom lived in Atlanta Michigan near Gaylord. My sister is in Traverse city. I live in Ponce and know Guanica fairly well.

Hello WarnerW.  Do you have any information on land in La Parguera?  I am looking for around 5 acres with privacy within 30 minutes to beaches around Guanica/La Parguera.  Thanks.

Hello WarnerW.  Do you have any information on land in La Parguera?  I am looking for around 5 acres with privacy within 30 minutes to beaches around Guanica/La Parguera.  Thanks.

Guanica is my favorite area!  I'm hoping to find around 5 acres/cuerdas of land for an off grid home in that area, within 30 minutes of the ocean, high and dry with vistas!  If you know of any land for sale that may be good for me please advise.  Thanks.

Clasificados site and realtor sites are the way to go. Also take a trip and drive thru the mountain roads to look for properties.

Thanks Rey.  I've been checking clasificados but there isn't much listed in this area.