Working in San Juan. Do I need to live in Dorado to feel safe?

There are many gated communities in the San Juan area. Dorado may be far to drive, it just depends in where in San Juan you are talking about.
Dorado can be very expensive, your money will go further in other places.
Your friends may be moving to Dorado due to higher income. You have to ask yourself: do you want to like grander now or save for your retirement later? If you like to save for your retirement max your options like 401k, IRA, etc and live a little simpler. The more you spend the better the economy gets but the harder time you will have if you later need to retire or loose your job.

Do you feel 100%safe where you live currently? I doubt it! You choose where to live depending on your life style. If you have kids and must have a house with all amenities for the kids, dorado is fine. If you are younger, with or without kids, like an urban life style,  great music, great dining, museums, getting to know lots of different people... There are many other places to live: Condado, Miramar, San Turce, Puerta de Tierra,  ocean park, guyanabo, cupey... Just to name a few.

Hi! I live in a guard gated community with two kids. Prices are usually higher for apartments, condos, and houses that are gated since most have 24/7 security. If it gives you peace of mind, go for it. I'd say stay within a reasonable distance of hospitals, shopping centers etc. since rush hour traffic can be brutal and in an emergency the last thing you want to deal with is traffic and crazy drivers. There's guard gated communities everywhere, but inventory will vary.

I lived in Old San Juan - never an issue with safety.  A bit loud at times, but I always felt safe.

Do you need to live in a house or an apartment? If an apartment, then you have a great many options in SJ. If it must be a house, I'd try gated communities in Guaynabo.

Yes Guaynabo is probably a better choice than Dorado for reasonable rentals in a nice place and close to SanJuan.
But it all depends where you will be working, there may be even closer good communities but we do not know where you will work. San Juan is a Huge area encompassing a lot of sectors.

ClanDFW wrote:

REACHING OUT TO THE EXPERTS

Feeling safe is a very subjective thing. Some people feel safe in a gated community with a guard, others feel just as safe in a cheap area where criminals are in charge and protect their neighborhood. Others only feel safe when they are having a loaded gun in their pocket.

I guess that in a gated community with a 24/7 guard the chance to get burglarized is smaller than in other areas. Like others said, there are plenty of gated communities all over San Juan. A lot depends on your income and how you show the world how much you make. If you drive around in a $150,000 BMW you won't feel safe in many areas and feel scared at every traffic light. The only way to park one of those cars is inside a gated, guarded community. I drive my meanwhile 23 y/o pickup truck all over the island and feel safe. I park it in front of my house in the barrio and many times I don't even lock it.. Nevertheless, after dark you won't find me on the road f.i. around the cock fighting arena close to the barrio where I live. Lots of (gun) fights there and "everybody" is carrying so I hear.
Yes, there is violence here on the island, people get shot. But that's happening anywhere else, too. Most homicides are drugs related with a second place for relational problems. Unless you're in the wrong place at the wrong time that won't bother you.

Bottom line, find a community where you will fit in, where the other residents are in the same income class as you are. Use common sense, there are places anywhere in this world where you don't want to go so you avoid those places. If you need to go to areas where you rather not go, don't show off (car, expensive clothes, watch etc. )
Make the right choices and you can feel safe in many places.

A friend of mine who works in SJ, often at night, got himself a PR CCW permit. 

I guess it depends on your location, hours of travel, comfort level. 

You could get two new friends, Smith & Wesson.

Sitka wrote:

I guess it depends on your location, hours of travel, comfort level.

Also on your job. I think here's the accurate information:
https://www.usacarry.com/puerto_rico_co … ation.html

You may want to check this page, too https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Puerto_Rico

I agree with Gary as usual

You do not want to live in Bayamon, there is a war between 3 different public housings (Caserios) for control of the drug traffic. According to some residents this is getting ready to escalate some more. Recently a child of 7 was injured in one of these fights between the groups. Avoid driving around the public housings if you can anywhere but specially in Bayamon.

Apart from that traffic is too busy in Bayamon in my opinion. Whenever I have to go there I'm getting into at least two jams...

Rey is right on the public housing. Stay away from those areas anywhere on the island!