Looking for the perspective of anyone that has lived anywhere in the USA and moved to Puerto Rico. What’s it like, what’s different, what’s nicer, what was unexpected, and would you recommend the move?
The thought crossed my mind as well as “what if I did something crazy and sold everything and moved as far away as I could without the logistical challenges of changing countries” and who knows, maybe I’ll seriously consider doing that once my grandparents pass away. There’s bound to be someone looking to hire an IT person in Puerto Rico for a year or two. On the other hand I’m sure there’s a lot more heat and sun to deal with which I’m not a huge fan of…so Alaska maybe?
I’d also recommend being close, if not fully, fluent in Spanish.
I hope you get a decent answer. When we last visited 10 years ago a similar idea passed our minds.
I did some poking around at the time out of curiosity. From what I recall, a decent amount of manufacturing moved there in the 70s to claim made in America, take advantage of cheaper labor, and take advantage of some tax incentives. The incentives were phased out and manufacturing started leaving. Wikipedia .
I am not sure what their economy is like these days, but as with all moves a chunk of it is going to come down to the work you can/want to do and the jobs available, but with remote work living somewhere like Puerto Rico does seem appealing.
I suspect you’re going to have the usual island pain points (hurricanes, expensive imports, limited economy, a large swath of the economy tied to tourism) and benefits (consistent weather year round, natural beauty which PR has a ton of, beaches, interesting culture).
Again, I really hope someone with first hand experience chimes in - even if the moved in the other direction from the island to the mainland.
Thanks! That’s what I’m hoping for. My situation is that my income will be fine, just gotta figure out where to go. I like warm weather, Caribbean Latino Culture, beaches, mountains, communities, and having an airport to catch flights. I’m thinking a ruralish area in PR might be it. The Internet also says it has a pretty low cost of living.
might like costa rica
Puerto Rico is part of the United States.
Someone born in PR can move anywhere else in the USA without a passport. Any US citizen can travel there as easily as going to another State.
It’s just that PR, like Washington DC, is not considered a state, so they can’t vote in Federal elections.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_voting_rights_in_Puerto_Rico
So people who live in Washington DC can vote for President. D.C. has 3 electoral college votes. Puerto Rico does not have any electoral votes. (They do hold primaries that also don’t seem to really count).
DC does lack full voting representation in Congress just like US territories (e.x. Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam). I do think their delegate can vote on some things in congress, I don’t remember the details of what, but it’s definitely not a full congressional vote.
Americans that have moved to Florida…
Which is a valid question. I’m an American who moved to Colorado. Wasn’t born there, made it my home.
People in DC can vote in federal elections, they just don’t get any house/senators. Which is a load of shit, by the way.
You knew what the question was asking.
And yet racism needs addressing.
Give it a fucking rest already, that ain’t what we’re talking about.
There was no implication that PR is a foreign country. Americans moving there would likely have a different experience than Canadians, Europeans, Mexicans, etc. because it’s part of the US.
Just because “mainland USA” wasn’t used doesn’t mean it’s racist. Would it have been perceived the same way if Hawaii was substituted?
Probably not, because everyone knows that Hawaii is a state but a lot of people don’t know that Puerto Rico is a territory and the populace has citizenship.
