Our first trip to Puerto Rico was brief but enlightening. Not only did we fall in love with the island, but we might just move there… might.
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Discovering San Juan Puerto Rico
I haven’t been everywhere, I haven’t seen everything, but it’s getting rarer every trip to find a place that instantly has me head over heels. Still more impressive is when that new place is in the United States.
San Juan, Puerto Rico might be old news to many readers, but for my wife and I on our very first visit, we knew not only that we loved it, but that we could live there.
It starts in Old San Juan where we were spilled out from the cruise port. We crossed the street to escape throngs of people, many seemed to be confused about where they were going or what they were doing and stopped at the first t-shirt hawker they found. We took side streets away from the crowds and quickly found ourselves passing by a beautiful courthouse.
Opposite the courthouse was a small coffee shop with a handful of menu items and a line out the door. Matthew will, no doubt, be pleased to know we found great coffee in San Juan at Café Botanico. An Iced Americano, a cortado, and a limonada with strawberry had three of us satisfied and enjoying a nice breeze through the open door from a communal table. My infant tore into a scone before we headed on our way.
We continued following Google Maps through a plaza, then by a cathedral, before passing by a hotel that smelled so good it had us floating inside like a cartoon. That was Hotel Palacio Providencial, for those curious, and while I don’t yet have a review for that property – expect one in the near future.
We continued up the streets with charming architecture and incredible history. I explained that the wall she was leaning against had been remodeled in 1786, just ten years after our country officially formed. She was *thrilled* that I found a way to make our afternoon in Puerto Rico a makeshift history lesson. The joke was on her, we were headed to a National Park.
But it wasn’t entirely lost on her. She was thinking of places she’d been that these streets, those windows, reminded her of. Paris, no that wasn’t right. Was it Rome? Kind of. My wife chimed in with a few of her own, I personally felt it was most reminiscent of Panama City, Panama.
Wherever it was, it felt both familiar and yet unique. That seems to me to be the most important criterion, a sense that there’s something new to discover down that street, in that café, but also the comfort of being at home.
We ended our long walk from the port to Castillo San Felipe Del Morro, a structure that stretched back to Columbus-era colonialism and it was hard for me to wrap my mind around just how much development (that remained standing today) had taken place in this part of the world more than 500 years ago. We’ve walked the Coloseum, Il Foro, we didn’t live far from Hadrian’s Wall in Manchester so it’s not our first encounter with history, I think it was simply our first encounter with it so close to home.
From the turrets and lookouts, the azure water of the Caribbean Sea rolled into long white waves a hundred feet below. It was hard to look around and think, “I’ve seen what there is to see here.”
Back onboard, we didn’t even have our drinks in hand before I had hearted a few properties on Airbnb for a longer trial stay. We were already making “move-in” decisions agreeing that we would have to sacrifice a pool and quick access to the beach if we wanted to live in Old San Juan and shifting our priorities around like Goldilocks.
It’s an easy place for us to consider spending some time, too. There’s no issue with work visas or length of stay as there could be elsewhere. Whether permanent or temporary residents of Puerto Rico, Spanish will have to improve for all of us. Prices on the ground were reasonable, not cheap, but less expensive than we had imagined. It’s close to the mainland with frequent flights if we need to get home quick to see a relative or handle an issue at home.
All of this happened within six hours of leaving a cruise ship expecting to visit a fort and turn right back around.
I haven’t seen all of the island, I haven’t seen more than maybe two miles, in fact. But we’ve lived abroad on three continents four times, and though it’s not foreign, it felt anything but domestic. We know what we are looking for and so rarely are we aligned as completely as we were with our visit.
I guess in love, life, and moving homes – when you know, you know. See you soon, San Juan.
I have seen San Juan twice and Ponce once. I am not impressed. This has nothing to do with a Latin flavor. I like the country of Chile.
I recently visited SCL, Valparaíso, and Viña del Mar. It’s definitely an interesting country, but there are some sketchy/insecure areas where one needs to be very vigilant and probably avoid hanging out at night- I am prepared for that sort of thing when visiting the likes of Brazil, but hadn’t been expecting to encounter it in Chile.
We have been here just over 15 years and very much like living here. Just remember living here is not living there.
It is different.
The sand that was imported from Spain is the reason San Felipe del Morro fort is still in place. The sand source was depleted centuries ago. Can’t miss the bioluminescent bay,pink sand in Culebra and black sand in Vieques. The food is flavored with locally grown herbs and is way cheaper than any other destination in the Caribbean. Puerto Rico’s culture is a blend of African,European and Taino nationalities. Therefore is not comparable to other Latin American countries.
If you’re buying factor in hurricane and earthquake insurance costs or risks you’re willing ti take without coverage – you get both hazards there
Visiting and living here are two very different things. It is not an easy place to live especially if you have no prior ties to the island.
100% Agree.
OP, You might want to try a long term stay, say 3 months before you decide you’re going to move to PR. EVERYTHING is more expensive than the mainland, Roads are typically in horrible condition (they do not repair potholes), There are areas in San Juan that you do not stop at red lights at night. I could go on, but suffice to say it is not an easy place to live.
Oh, so New Orleans? 😉
Living there, and “living there”, as some people have correctly noted here already, are two entirely different equations that you hopefully take the time to consider. Very exciting for you, and this is a lovely article. I was left feeling happy for you at the approximate conclusion of reading it and reviewing your photos twice. I’ve visited PR many times before and although it is indeed a charming part of the world, you might want to consider living there before you choose to live there. I believe someone suggested trying 3 months to see how it goes. There are areas of San Juan that are more or less reasonable to exercise in, but certainly, at times of day and night these areas can feel significantly different, and this isn’t just because the physical nature of the road changes from the different cars that utilize it.. it’s hard to explain, but it’s almost a metaphysical feeling. I know this sounds a bit strange, but in San Juan and a lot of other parts of PR you’ll find that the prices for things are a lot higher than if you were to purchase the same product in the region where it was manufactured. Some examples off the top of my head are Ketchup, or any Heinz product for that matter. Mayonaise, Mustard. Also they make a mustard mixed with mayonnaise (this might have been limited release – I’ll check after writing this to establish what happened). If you bought Heinz in Pittsburgh it would be cheaper than in PR. These are just the facts of economics and logistics. You need to be aware of some things like thus when moving your family to PR. Oh yeah there is a locally produced brand of tomato sauce I think (don’t quote me! lol) but sometimes I found that I was considered to be a cruise ship guest and was charged “extra” for it lol. The funny thing is that I WAS a cruise ship guest. There’s lots of other cool things about PR that don’t really get discussed. I don’t know what they are because they arent discussed, but you can ask people about it. I look forward to following your progress on the BIG MOVE 🙂
We often stop over in Puerto Rico when traveling to the USVIs and BVIs. We love it. We spent our winter 2023 trip on Vieques and may return to scope out a long term rental.
If you take the kids, stay at the El Convento, which has a small rooftop pool and a spectacular courtyard.
I’d add my support to the other comments. I spent several months in San Juan. It is a beautiful place to visit. But living there is another story. Perhaps if you were in a gated community it would be easier, but in most places you have to contend with rolling blackouts, poorly stocked (and expensive) stores, terrible services, petty (and sometimes violent) crime. Living in remote places sounds like fun until you face what is ordinarily a minor inconvenience in other places (like getting a leaking gutter fixed) and it takes weeks.