This isn’t the normal episode about how to grow your online shop and put more money in your pocket.
Wait, what? Instead, I’m going to shimmy the curtain a little bit on my personal life and share with you what it's been like for my family to live 3,100+ miles (+ dog who acts like a cat) away on an island called Puerto Rico over the past year.
I’ll share some of the things we’ve loved, hated, struggled with, and some things that have blown us away about this little island that we now call home-sweat-home (not a misspelling…it’s hot here).
Read on for Our Truth of Living in Puerto Rico
Before we pulled the trigger and committed to moving to Puerto Rico, we asked our two girls and two boys what they thought about it. We expected a wide range of feedback, but it was actually the opposite of what we thought. Our teenage girls, who we thought would be against it, were actually on board with the idea right away. Our boys, however… that took some time. But as we reflected on the morning of recording this episode with them, it became really clear that we made the right decision for our family. You’ll see what I mean as you get through this blog.
Things Are More Expensive In Puerto Rico
Of course, before moving we did some research on how things would be here. And during that, you’d always read about how much more expensive things are here in Puerto Rico versus in the mainland United States. So we knew it was coming, but it wasn’t until we got here and started buying that we realized how big of a difference it really is.
When Jared and I got the first electric bill, our jaws hit the floor. If there was an emoji that could show that, I’d insert that sucker here.
Despite only cooling the rooms in the house we used, the bill was still over $800 for a single month. Yikes! Now, thankfully this trend didn’t continue, and we actually found out the solar panels on the house weren’t working correctly. Once we got those fixed the price came down to a reasonable $100. Phew!
Groceries were another thing with a much higher price tag. Back in Utah, we might pay somewhere between $2.50-3.50 for a gallon of milk. Here in Puerto Rico, that same gallon of milk will cost you $7.00-7.50. Yeah, that’s like 3 times the cost. Unfortunately, we realized it’s not uncommon for things to be double or triple the price of what we would pay for them back in Utah. If you think about it though, it kind of makes sense. It’s a whole lot more difficult to get a gallon of milk to a little island in the middle of the ocean than it is to drive it down the highway.
Rent is another thing that’ll leave you with some sticker shock in Puerto Rico. We didn’t want to buy a house until we had experienced it and decided it was right for us and the kids. If you want to rent a relatively nice house, you can expect to pay between $4,000-10,000 per month. Again, yikes!
Things I LOVE about Puerto Rico
I have to start with the people. My new best friend is our 75-year-old neighbor who talks to me just about every time I go for a walk. I only understand a fraction of what he says, but I’m good with that.
Another thing that I’ve really been loving about the island that I didn’t expect is the pace of life. Things are just a little bit slower here (this also has some downsides that we’ll get into later).
I feel like when we were living in Utah, we were constantly running around from event to event to event, and it seemed like we never got a break. You know what I mean?! While living here, things have considerably slowed down, and we have more time to relax, hang out as a family, and just be.
Now, if you come to Puerto Rico to live or visit, it doesn’t matter; you just have to experience the sweet bread. I could literally live off this stuff the rest of my life – it’s that dang good. I actually call it cupcake bread because that’s what I think when I eat it.
The vacationing aspect of Puerto Rico is also something you can’t not love! On the west side of the island, you can rent a place on the beach for $100-200 a night, and if you looked at a similar place in Hawaii, you’d spend around $3,500! So you get all the beautiful views plus water that is actually warm for a fraction of the cost. Have I convinced ya to come on out?
Beaches, Bread, Best Friends?
Things That Are Different in Puerto Rico
Like I mentioned above, when we moved to Puerto Rico, we thought we would just rent for a short period of time, see if we liked it, then make a commitment if we wanted to stay. Once we got settled in, we realized that we really like our free time on the weekend not having to work on the house. We can just go out and explore this awesome culture. Now, we have no plans to buy a house any time soon.
Whoa, this next one is a big one. Driving is a tad bit scarier here. The driving laws seem to just be more of a suggestion. The first time I saw someone take the off-ramp from the highway, stop, and turn around to get back on the highway, I thought it was surely a fluke. Nope. I’ve seen this several times at this point, and it has me constantly white-knuckle driving all the time.
Some of The Annoying Things
Because of all the hurricanes that come through this part of the world, our houses have to be built like bunkers. I mean, these things are solid concrete. The walls are all thick concrete, and the floors are either concrete or tile. All these hard surfaces mean there is a ton of echo in the house. It’s not a huge deal until you decide to start a podcast. Then the echo becomes your enemy. I’ve had to move my office three times, record under a blanket, and order multiple microphones – all because of this echo.
Okay, now let’s talk…water. The beach water is like floating in lukewarm bathtub water. No gasping through the shock of cold water! While that’s great for a swim in the ocean, it’s not great when the same temperature water is coming through the tap. This means we were going through ice like crazy and constantly running out until we went out and bought an ice maker to stop all the battles over the last cube of ice.
One thing that has been, well, not comfortable, is that the shower won’t get hot. For me, this is a big deal because I need to enjoy my showers since that’s where all the million-dollar ideas happen! You know what I mean – you stand there under that nice hot water and just ponder – then that lightbulb goes off. I can’t get those lightbulbs with lukewarm water. So, that led to yet another little addition to the house – a small instant water heater. That thing is ahhhhmazing!
The Things I Miss From Utah
The electricity. Such a basic thing that you are spoiled on when you live in the States and you don’t even think about it. It’s just a given that you have it. In Puerto Rico, it’s common that you’ll lose power. When you run an online business, electricity is kind of like the lifeblood of your business. It’s been something that has caused quite a bit of stress, but I’m getting used to the consistently inconsistent power supply.
Some other things that I really miss about life back in Utah are…
- Dishwashers: yeah, we don’t have one for some reason.
- Chick-Fil-A: need I say more?!
- Nail Salons that are quick: 30 minutes vs. 7 hours. Insert sad face here.
- Dry air: it’s soooo humid here in Puerto Rico.
My Big Takeaways From 1 Year Here In Puerto Rico
The biggest things I’ve learned from living in this island paradise, Puerto Rico, for the past year are…
You can be happy or miserable ANYWHERE.
It doesn’t matter if you are living in a small town in Utah or an island like Puerto Rico; there is good and bad everywhere. I could make this same exact list comparing the pluses and minuses of living in Utah. It’s about picking out and focusing on the positives of where you are that matters.
Living in a place like Puerto Rico has also really opened the eyes of my kids and made them even more grateful than they already were. Being able to see another side of things has been really great for them. When we drive past a house that doesn’t have a roof and they ask “What do they do in the rain?” we take that opportunity to talk about it. Then when we come home, and they acknowledge that we have a roof over our heads, it has them asking even more questions. They want to know how they can help those other families who aren’t fortunate enough to have a roof. So, not only are they seeing more of things outside of their bubble, but they are also wanting to serve more.
If you are ok with it, I’d like to challenge you with something.
Ok?
I want to challenge you to find the good in things no matter where you are at or what you are experiencing.
You think you can do that?
One last thing. With all the craziness in the world right now, you need to really be focused on keeping your head screwed on straight. I know that can seem easier said than done on some days, but I wanted to share something that can definitely help. If you haven't listened to the previous episode on “tapping” then you should check that out right after this episode!
xo
AJP
