US citizens working/living in Puerto Rico?

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ZERO BAR

Sara me girl, if you want to live in Puerto Rico, I highly recommend it. There are so many things to do down here that even if you apply yourself to doing everything there is you would probably have to dedicate the rest of your life to it.

You speak Spanish already, if you are a teacher though, I would recomend that you teach English instead, they are always looking for good English teachers down here. They do not pay teachers here as much as in the states, but you can save a lot of money because you don`t have to spend on heating and winter clothes. Other expences, like groceries, clothes, gas are less then what you would pay in most of the states.

If you buy a house down here, you do not have to pay any property taxes, as long as the property you buy is less than $250,000. thousands. Once you pay off your house, it is yours free and clear of property taxes. I have not heard of a better deal than this anywhere else.

Another thing is that all Puerto Ricans are American citizens and you will really be surprised to find that the island is very well advanced in just about every spectrum of services, business and acomodations. I would say that it is more modern and advanced than many of the states. if you have children, they will just love it here. The island is like a heaven for children and adults as well.

Puerto Ricans are very friendly and they like to help others very much, specially "Gringos" that speak Spanish; they will adopt you as one of their own.

As you have stated, there is no such thing as a perfect place, there will be things here that you will like and things that you will not like; but overall you have more freedom here to do just about anything you want to do than in any of the other states.

By the way, my family and I will be moving to North Carolina, I will be leaving tomorrow and my husband will leave
May 5th. We are going there to be with one of our sons who was injured while serving in Iraq. North Carolina is a lot warmer than New Jersey, thats where we`re from. We are familiar with NC because my husband was stationed in Camp Lejeune and our daughter was born there. While it is not as nice as living on the island, it will do for now.

One thing that I almost forgot is the local food, it`s just plain delicious, even the food at Chinese restaurants taste better than most in the states. You will have to exercise to avoid gaining weight. Another thing is the weather, you may find it hot and it will take you some time to get used to it; but the Trade Winds makes it more confortable. There may be some power outages, but they don`t occur often or last long It`s only during the hurricane season when there may be longer power outages, depending on how destructive a hurricane may be. So far we have not had a major hurricane since 1998.

Good luck to you on your endeavor to come and live down here, I highly recommend it.

P.S. There are thousands of mainland Americans living here already, many live in the Metropolitan area which consists of San Juan, Bayamon, Guaynabo and Carolina, but many others live in different towns throughout the island or in the municipal island of Culebra, which I consider a paradise on Earth.

Javy

Well, not every American know what we are and not every American accept the fact that we are part of the USA, not every American like us just for the mere reason that we are Latins. If you decide to move down here you should what you just said, come first, have a look around and then decide. here are many cities and towns where I know you'll live pleasant. if you do so and I can help you, let me know, I'll be more than glad helping you.

Anakin

Like someone said before. A big percent of the population in US doesn't know that we are a US territory, more than a 60%. They see us as a regular latin country. And another thing, US people doesn't know spanish, that's another factor, why they don't move to PR. We have two official languages, spanish and english, but spanish is the dominant one by far.

shawnLacey

I really do not understand your question, but you have done an excellent job of answering it yourself. Always try to live where you can use your Spanish. This does not always mean Puerto Rico or Mexico. Ironic, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans are moving to North Carolina in droves.

As long as you treat folk like you want to be treated then you will have no problem whatsoever regardless of where you go.

Doralys B

I in fact know a lot of americans that have moved there, but they are mainly people with money. Particularly in the north west area (Aguadilla, Rincon, Arecibo, Isabela) There are a lot of North Americans living on a hill around the beach.

Â¿Quien mas que yo?

Hehe that's funny, I live in North Carolina too, when I moved from PR I went to NY and now I am here. The reason why I moved to this rudeness, coldness state lol was bc I could not find a job in PR. Thats a problem there, to find a good job. I encourage you to visit, ppl are very nice, the food is great, summer 24/7, you will have a blast. If you really want to move there, I suggest you find a job first. Sometimes I say that I would love to go back, for good, but I dont know anymore!

Laurent S

Dear Sara :

I made the move from California. I would definitely suggest that you come over here first, spend a week or 2 driving around (watch other cars, Puertoricans can be the worst drivers of the universe), make an "active" visit (spot companies you could work for depending on your work experience, go visit them with your resume... in spanish).
If you're nice, skilled, and perfectly bilingual, your profile might interest some of them. Maybe your best bet is to target San Juan, where you may find more job opportunities (but once again, I don't know what you do).
Now, don't expect big fat paychecks in PR. For the same job, I make two times and a half less here than in L.A.. But the cost of life is also much much lower. Living in the sun has a price. As far as I'm concerned, I think it's worth it (but that's me). On the other hand, the island is beautiful, people are nice (you just need to be patient with...everything and everyone), the weather is just great (somehow humid from May to Sept/Oct. though).
Being a US Citizen, you won't have any immigration or work problem legally (Puertoricans are US citizens).

The reason why you don't find a whole bunch of US natives living here are:
1) The language barrier: most people here speak spanish and only spanish; only educated people or upper social classes speak english fluently
2) Culturally, PR is a LATIN island, with a catholic heritage... which has a lot to do with a different way of thinking, living, scale of values, etc etc. Most Americans can't take that.

Now, practically, you won't find the same degree of convenience here than in the US. Go try to find some organic veggies at a decent price for example... I miss my Wholefoods so much... But you can't have it all. Sometimes, I have the feeling I live in Africa... But there is something in the air over here that might enchant you, so far from the coldness and the stress you often find on the continent.

Save some money and come visit. Life is not easy here but where is it nowadays in this world??

Good luck to you,
Lauren

Marino

If you are even REMOTELY THINKING of moving to P.R. then you need to spend about $1000 and GO THERE FOR A WEEK to look around.. it will answer all your questions.

You speak Spanish.. you are already ahead of the game... most of the Loser Amerikans who want to move there DON'T speak Spanish and they are too dumb to realize how important that skill is.

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