Is my plan a good plan?
I know that a large number of people come here to present their ideas of how they plan on moving to PR, and all I can say is that I am endlessly thankful to the people who take the time to help guide people like myself. People need to understand the ups and the downs of the choices they plan to make and that is the very reason I have come here. So without further hesitation, here is my plan.
I currently live in Iowa. Iowa is a wonderful place to live and raise a family. It has a middle America feel to it with people who are generally quite warm and inviting. However, I dislike the scenery, the climate, the short growing season (which puts a damper on supplementing your diet with home-grown veggies), and the general lack of depth I feel culturally. I have a great job, a wonderful wife, and a cute little son who is going on 2. I recently sent my wife for a private getaway to Casa Picaflores in PR. She absolutely loved it! In planning the trip I got to research so much about the island, the culture, and it really sparked a line of thought that I have been focused on ever since. It brought me back in touch with memories I have of Florida, memories of fishing and seeing the days catches on the docks at the marina in Destin. It reignited a yearning to be in a place like PR. I love nature and have seen the many natural attractions the island has to offer. My wife raved about every little aspect. From amazing weather, to friendly locals, to even the songs of the coqui. I even had to buy her a CD of coqui songs when she got home, that's how much she loved them. SO... I devised a plan.
My current job allows me a healthy investment plan that I have been doing passively for two years. With a company match and huge returns, I am able to make good money with it. My idea is to invest more aggresively for the next five years, which should allow me a cash out, when I quit, of about $97,000 after taxes in 5 to 6 years. With that I would like to put a large downpayment ($60,000) on a small farm (12 acres or so) and upgrade it to include a solar array, a water collection cistern for watering plants and animals, a chicken coop for meat and eggs, and a large garden to supplement food needs. I would like to plant a mixed crop of citrus and passion fruit to sell to larger juice producers and local markets.
But that leaves many things unanswered, such as the following: My son and future child (we plan on having two) will be English speakers, so where could they go to school? I have a very specialized skill set dealing with industrial security and counterterrorism (however I don't have a college degree), but who could use such skills in PR? Even if I could secure a job before I move, would any bank be willing to work with me since I will have just quit a job and would be starting a new one? I love the idea of living near El Yunque forest, but where in that region is a good place to live? I plan on doing intense studying of Spanish so I have a solid grasp on the language, but I will still be learning the full language even in 6 years, so will that impact my way of life?
Any input, ideas, critiques, etc. that any of you have would be greatly appreciated. My final goal is to buy a boat, get a USCG liscense and start a charter company, but that won't be for 5 years or so from the time I settle on the island. Like I stated before, any input is welcomed. Thank you in advance!
Your plan is very ambitious. I like your enthusiasm and it makes me happy to know that your wife enjoyed her vacation. I hope that people here can answer most of your questions.
You can get a rough idea of real estate values in the Yunque area (Rio Grande) in the following website:
clasificadosonline.com/RealEstate.asp (Warning! Crappy website!)
You can get a list of bilingual schools from the following link. Some schools are worse than others.
cge.gobierno.pr/acreditaciones/Academicas%20Bilingues.pdf (Warning! Crappy PDF)
Website of the local department of agriculture. (It's in Spanish only. Let me know if you need translations.)
agricultura.gobierno.pr/
Limited Spanish will be OK if you're a tourist. But to do business, the better your Spanish is the better your chances will be. (Unless you're the one with the money. The man with the money gets to set the language of the transactions.)
A bit of trivia. Iowa is about 15 times bigger than Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico has about 600K more people than Iowa. As a result, legs in the island are prone to cramping. :-P Median income here is about 2.5 times lower than Iowa, and yet, life is not 2.5 times cheaper. Not even close.
I strongly urge you to spend some time here, perhaps an extended vacation where you get to move around and see below the surface. That's the only way to really know if you would really like to start a new life here.
And Google Ray and Gwen NJ to Rio Grande tropical flower farm. I'm sure that they'll have more useful info than I could ever give you.
Thank you so much for the links and information! On the topic of spending time in PR, we plan to take a long trip next year, and likely every year after that until a move is made. As for the island being cramped, we aren't what you would call "city people." Our time will likely be spent in the more remote areas and on our property. We plan on taking trips to as many different islands as possible and after the purchase of a boat, this goal will be more possible.
When you referenced the cost of living versus the average pay, it solidified my resolve even further in regards to upgrading the existing property to be as self sufficient as possible. I plan on spending around $13k on the solar array so that it is large enough to supplement most if not all of our power needs. It is my understanding from studying historical climate and solar data, that such an array will be quite efficient and reliable in providing a large amount of power. It will, however, take some readjusting on our part to get used to hurricane season. I grew up in Louisiana, so they are no mystery to me. But given the years that have passed since then, I will likely need some guidance in what to do.
It is my hope that with a large investment in self-sustaining systems, that I will worry less as to my salary. When you make similar living and salary choices where I live, one must take into account the large amount of money associated with heating a home during the winter, food storage, added wear on vehicles, and so on. Hopefully with my plan and helpful tips from this forum I can live just as happily on less money. It's also helpful to note that we aren't into the bar scene, we don't party, we don't have expensive hobbies or tastes (other than sushi and good seafood), and we aren't materialistic. I'm likely the most "uncool" 26-year-old you'll meet in the states these days. Lol! We love our small family, the outdoors, grilling, watching wildlife, good movies, good food, and as much peace and tranquility as we can find.
I'm just putting these things out in the open in the hopes that I can be better placed on a path towards the goals my wife and I seek. Thank you again, adolofojp, for your assistance, and I look forward to the comments to come!
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