Honest opinions about living in Puerto Rico?

Question

I have a life and carrer that allow me to travel. I just got back from living and working in Acapulco Mexico. After this adventure I learned the good and bad things about Mexico and Acapulco. Well Im now looking for another tropical place to play and work and amm leaning towards Puerto Rico and thought Id learn from my Mexico adventure and put the question out and learn if Peurto Rico is the right "fit" for this 41 year old single man thats a beach bum and explorer at heart.

I service, repair and install 2 way radios for Motorola and have found a couple radio shops there and will do a week excursion there and talk to these shops for employment. As I learned from doing this in Acapulco , I found a job but when I got there and time went by I REALLY got the inside scoop on the place and its culture and whatnot. Looking for the good, bad and ugly of Puerto Rico to help me in my decision

Answer 1

Only the wealthy are "beach bums" in PR. I am a Puertorican and very proud of my island.

P.R. suffers from high inflation because most of their goods are imported. You will not be able to be a "beach bum" unless you are comfortably wealthy. You will for sure get a job there if you know someone there, that's called nepotism, or if you are an attorney or a doctor. PR is a common-wealth of the US, hence, pretend you are in the US tropical side.

People are great, food is even better, and the physical environment is paradise. So...do not expect a thousand pesos for one American dollar, you will get one dollar.

Answer 2

Well Puerto Rico is cool the only bad thing is that the gas is espensive..and if you dont enter to a "caserio" you are going to be safe.. also dont go to the canton mall in bayamon is not a cute place to shop..really puerto rico is like miami...not bigg diference

Answer 3

Real view of Puerto Rico

check

www.endi.com

www.primerahora.com

Answer 4

Without money in your pocket "big money that is", u will go from beach bum to a straight up street bum.  You don't know anyone in the island to begin with.  Second, if you happen to find a job plan for it to pay the minimum wage which would be enough if you plan to live in a paper box.  Jobs are scarce, in the island only those who lack a beating pulse don't go to college, I mean college is technically free compared to the upper 48.  Do your self  a favor and return to the states, get a life, get a real job, and settle. Now is the time to catch up on your retirement portfolio so that when retirement comes, you'll be able to go and be a "beach bum".

Answer 5

Sorry if i dont speak english well... im not a master in english ok  jaja.

Coast of living: It depends on the place where u want to live on.

Weather: It depends the time is having Puerto Rico. If u r in North of P.R. in winter is cold and in summer is very hot. If u r in South of P.R. is cold in winter and veeeery HOT! in summer, South is more hot than any zone in P.R. Relatively East and West are fresh, and Central of P.R. is the most fresh place to live.

Crime: crime in P.R. is bad to worse. Theres sometimes that u can't hang out because of crime. But that problem is everywhere that u go. P.R. is a beautiful place to live, when visit it, u can't go back jeje. If u chose a good place to live, theres no problem.

Best location for exploring and learning: El Bosque seco de Guanica, El Viejo San Juan, El Morro, La Catedral, La San Pedro Church, Mayaguez Zoo, Aguada Church, El Parque de Bombas in Ponce, etc.

Transportation: I advice u that u better buy a small car because gasoline in P.R. is very expensive.

Best Beaches: Playa Santa, Rincon, La Guancha, Boqueron in Cabo Rojo, Luquillo, Crach Boat (Tiburones) in Aguadilla, Sun Bay in Vieques, Pajaros and Sardinera in Mona, Gilligan in Guanica, Palominos in Fajardo, Culebrita and Flamenco in Culebra, Cerro Gordo, Los Tubos, Isla Verde, Mata la Gata, Combate.

Best Cities: Ponce, San Juan, Adjuntas, Mayaguez, Luquillo, Fajardo, Guanica, etc.

Food: Mofongo with Chicken, Rice and Beans, tostones and turkey or whatever u want jeje. Alcapurria, Pastelon, Pasteles, Pinchos, Donplines, Flan, Rice with milk, Sweet Rice, Coquito, Viandas with Bacalao, Bacalaito, Camarones, Platanos, Bistec, etc. I love my food jaja.

The people here is very friendly, affectionate, helpful, etc. Except for 2 or 3 that are not so friendly people... but thats everywhere jeje.

Well... i hope u come to Puerto Rico soon. Welcome to my island, bye.

Answer 6

Puerto Rico is very peculiar place to live... but very charming none the less.

As far as weather goes, every day is mostly sunny w/ just a little bit of rain in the morning and a little bit in the afternoon. Normal temperature is about 85 degrees, being cooler in the northern region (San Juan) & hotter in the southern region (Ponce). The forecast is unrealible so you just learn to deal with the weather changes.

The cost of life is similar to Florida. Hotels and restaurants are NOT cheap. But you could rent a decent 3 bedroom house for about $750 a month if you're looking for something in the San Juan (metropolitan area); if you want something outside the "metro" area it would be consirebly less expensive.

The people are VERY friendly and always willing to help. They enjoy partying and would even celebrate a dog's BDay if that means there will be beer, food & music!

If you've never been and wanna do some touring the Rain Forest is a must. Flamenco beach in Culebra is one of the most unbelievable sights in the world (take the public ferry $4.50 p/p r/t, but only on a weekday because it gets packed on the weekends). The are 3 bioluminescent bays in the Island and you  can go kayaking at night to see the water glowing in the dark. Old San Juan is the old city with very impressive colonial arquitecture, old Spanish forts and the best restaurans in the Island.

San Juan  is the capital and the towns near it (Bayamon, Caguas, Guaynabo, Catano & Carolina) are the busiest area traffic is a nightmare during rush hour!!! Unfortunatlely, the public transportation system lacks organization so you really need a car to get around.

It's a pretty safe place to live, but like everywhere in the world, it all depends on when and  where you are, so if you just rely on good judgement you'll be fine.

All in all I would definetely recommend it.

Hope this helps. Have fun.