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Irenaeus,

Spent about 3 weeks in Arecibo 3 blocks from the malecon ...right around the corner from the W (Whisky) bar......What is the deal with the 50% abandoned buildings everywhere around "downtown"???

I guess Hurricanes Irma and the  proximate Maria (9/2017)....chased all the " USA territorials" to mainland USA.

In either case, I think PR is a fine alternative for long term habitation ....

Would love to contact you when I arrive, within 5 weeks as I perform " the final countdown".

Look forward to any advice you have to offer.

Best regards,

Pete

@Peteelias

W is very close to where we are. The house we bought used to be an AirBnB.

I think the abandoned buildings are mostly a combination of younger generations leaving the city and unemployment. People go where the jobs are.

What kind of advice are you looking for?

Hello,

And thank you for the reply. I planned on coming down for an,extended stay, up front to get a deeper understanding of the island.

Then relocate permanently if the situation warrants .

General advice would include , how did you find your present property, what is the used car market like, etc.

Mostly, if you purchased you must have had a sound reason. Do you like your new surroundings?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Pete

@Peteelias

We found the properties we looked at through a combination of Zillow, some real estate sites, online classificados. I think this one we just noticed while wandering around and noticing the great big "for sale" sign. Or I might be thinking of another place we bid on.

It's super easy to find an affordable AirBnB you can rent for a month.

My only real advice - besides to be sure to bring your social security card - is to decide what you want in an environment and look for places near that. Were it just me, I'd probably end up in Mayaguez which has a far more thriving indy music scene. But Arecibo is a great compromise between my interests and my sweetie's interests.

For the used car market, it's pretty close to like it is in the states. Caveat emptor.

Oh, one of my hobbies is triathlon. Arecibo has a great combination of places to swim in open water and decent roads for biking. So there's that.