Moving from Philadelphia to Puerto Rico?

Question

My ex and I are still best friends and he has always wanted to move to puerto rico and he has always wanted me to come with hiM. the thing is he speaks spanish and is puerto rican. Im white and hardly speak any spanish. Neither of us have not to many ties here at home expect some family and we are both young so part of me says go and do it and other part of me says what happens if i cant work or something of that sort So if i went what would be cost of living, how do u get around the island and is it diffcult to get a job, i have seven years experience in hotels and resturants. Can any one give me some ideas of what i should do and information about living on the island.

Answer 1

well i wish you all the best its a beautiful place to live in but tough sometimes.. im just here for a month living with a relative and i can tell you houses here are veryyyy cheap and the food also.. a 2 liter soda is half the price then it is where i live (ct) well what else can i tell you, i hope all goes well with you.. bueno suerte (good luck)

oh btw matrushka2525 is very right LOL

Answer 2

like she said it depends from what part of the island his from but the best places to work for hotel are the San Juan metropolitan area , west coast( rincon, aguadilla, isabela) and culebra infact in culebra a lot of people only speak english because there from the virgin island or the mainland

but dont worry about the language spanish is very easy you will pick it up

Answer 3

I'm sure you will not find it hard to find a job in hospitality, especially having seven years experience in that particular field. The pay may not be any where near the pay in the mainland USA, unless your work is considered a specialty field.

In my opinion, if you are not dealing with the public directly,

a person may find it harder to find a job not able to speak or understand English than vice versus in the field of hospitality.

Trying to make a living in Puerto Rico is difficult. However, 7 years of experience is enough to make a move and give it a try.

Follow your intuition and/or gut feelings.

Answer 4

Check out "Welcome to Puerto Rico", also check the classifieds. BUT, more important than that, when you say "my ex", do you mean your boyfriend? How old are you, around 25? And does he have a place for you and him to live, just the two of you?; I doubt it, and that will create problems. If you decide to go, make sure YOU have money for a one way ticket back to the U.S. BEFORE you go to P.R., and sorry to say this, but do NOT tell him you have the money because it will be spent like water and you will find returning to the U.S. a difficult proposition. You ask "what happens if I can't work or something like that". How do you answer that question in Philadelphia, that

answer is the same in P.R.  Well, obviously, you must work, you cannot live off thin air. Plan how long (1-2 months) you will accept being jobless in P.R., if it doesn't work out, you can always return to the U.S.

Now, on a positive note, having seven years of experience in hotels and restaurants is a plus. Clearly, all the worthwhile places to work are in San Juan, El Condado and Isla Verde. You will have to learn at least some rudimentary Spanish if dealing with the public. If you work as a maid in a hotel, your Spanish will be minimum, your friend can help you with some phrases. But even in a restaurant you'll need some Spanish, how else will you communicate with the cook.

Cost of living is high because most things are imported into the island. You get around the island like in the U.S, by car, bus, taxis. The freeways are very nice and the views are fantastic!

If you go you will not want to come back here once you are settled there. Making a move is stressful, there are many issues to consider, such as employment and housing, regardless of if you move 50 miles or across an ocean.

Good luck, best wishes, y, hasta la vista.

Answer 5

Depends what part he's from.

Answer 6

The touristic area of San Juan would be a great place for you to start a new job, there's a lot of hotels in the area like Old San Juan, Condado, Isla Verde, etc, most people there speak English, but I don't know if those hotels require you to speak a perfect Spanish. In most of the island people don't speak English, but the younger people tend to understand it, and some speak more English than Spanish or speak a for of Spanglish. To be honest with you, the island is going through some rough times in the economy, especially in the touristic economy, because of the airliner cut-offs, thanks to the rising oil prices. Housing can be expensive depending on the area, San Juan is expensive because everybody wants to live in it, surrounding areas to the hotels are Carolina, Trujillo Alto, Catano. Traffic is h**l in the mornings and in the afternoons. Basically we have the same problems that crowded cities have. If you want to live in any area of PR you'll need a car, roads are bumpy, and people do drive like crazies. But on the other side, there's great things to do on the island such as Shopping, clubbing, going to the beach, camping, there's a lot of cultural activities that happen every year, we get concerts from famous bands from all over, we have ice skating arenas, the colosseum, sports, and beautiful natural wonders and an almost perfect climate, I say almost because of the hurricane season.  Living here can be a hassle, but compared to any state in the US, you'll never want to go back if you like beauty and crazyness. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, puertorricans are the most disorganized people on earth, we're loud, crazy, we love to drink and party, and play dominoes on the beach with some beers while the hurricane strikes.

Answer 7

first of all i would have to agree with what everyone said that posted above me. i would invest time in it and not make such a rush decision. i would have work lined up before you move to PR instead of trying to find work while there. i dont know how PR is but some countries in the Carribean do not allow foreingers to work there because it takes jobs away from the locals. i think it would be good for you to live down there cause it gives you a broader perspective of life. now as far as picking up on Spanish it is pretty easy. i was a foreign exchange student in Venezuela. I spent a year there and i would say that in about a month i picked up on it and by the end of my year i was speaking fluently.