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I work with a person from Puerto Rico. At lunch the other day he said Puerto Rico was getting worse, especially in terms of economic outlook, government corruption, and crime, and that many Puerto Ricans are looking to move (those who have the means). Puerto Rican Migration Continues at Record Pace - New America Media
This is not a slam on Puerto Rico, I've been there, and it is nice to visit. But it seems many of its own residents feel that it's not improving as a place to live.
Actually you can and it also includes things like education quality, access to and quality of healthcare, safety, economy, etc.. All those things Hawaii rates higher in. If one prefers PR for the culture, location, etc.. that's obviously something you can't quantify but Hawaii simply has a much higher standard of living compared to PR, which matters to many.
QOL is more than a statistic. you can put a number on things like average life span, maybe even education (i guess average test scores) but there are subjective factors in QOL like culture, where you fit in, what you favor. So the overall number given to QOL is meaningless.
I work with a person from Puerto Rico. At lunch the other day he said Puerto Rico was getting worse, especially in terms of economic outlook, government corruption, and crime, and that many Puerto Ricans are looking to move (those who have the means). Puerto Rican Migration Continues at Record Pace - New America Media
This is not a slam on Puerto Rico, I've been there, and it is nice to visit. But it seems many of its own residents feel that it's not improving as a place to live.
i lived in puerto rico and crime there isn't worse than some big us cities like miami, detroit, chicago, etc you're getting your opinions from someone who already moved. he's already biased. a lot of puerto ricans i know end up moving back, especially for retirement because while jobs are hard to come by, the culture, atmosphere, pace of life suits us a lot better than what it is in america. if safety and corruption was a real negative we wouldn't even bother moving back.
QOL is more than a statistic. you can put a number on things like average life span, maybe even education (i guess average test scores) but there are subjective factors in QOL like culture, where you fit in, what you favor. So the overall number given to QOL is meaningless.
It's not meaningless at all if you really care about the overall standard of living. Yes there are plenty of non-quantifiable and subjective QOL factors and some of those will trump standard of living measurements and that's fine; to each their own. But for some latin culture isn't as important as healthcare, education, economy, etc..
i lived in puerto rico and crime there isn't worse than some big us cities like miami, detroit, chicago, etc you're getting your opinions from someone who already moved. he's already biased. a lot of puerto ricans i know end up moving back, especially for retirement because while jobs are hard to come by, the culture, atmosphere, pace of life suits us a lot better than what it is in america. if safety and corruption was a real negative we wouldn't even bother moving back.
The out-migration stats suggest that my co-worker is telling the truth (and he goes back quite often to visit family).
You apparently are Puerto Rican, so I get that you may be defensive, but in a comparison about living in Hawaii vs. Puerto Rico (and I am neither Hawaiian nor Puerto Rican), I'll take the safety, jobs, and scenery of Hawaii. Both are nice to visit, though.
The out-migration stats suggest that my co-worker is telling the truth (and he goes back quite often to visit family).
they're moving for jobs, which is important and something the tiny island lacks in comparison to the giant us mainland. but once we retire and have that pension, we move back. the point is, it's not the safety or corruption that is causing migration but lack of jobs. well compared to the usa, everyone moves to where there's more opportunity.
I have been visiting P.R. once or twice a year for over 40 years. I also lived there for three years while in my early 20s. I have also been to Oahu three times and just recently (last November) stayed in Kona on the Big Island for 10 days. I LOVED Kona. Nicest weather of anywhere I have been to. Great "Healthy" vibe going on. I love Poke! The problem with Kona is that you need to be quite well off to live or retire there. Most of the jobs are service related and just don't pay enough to live the "Island" life everyone envisions. I drove around the big Island checking on home prices and other costs and it just isn't feasible to retire there on the low, fixed income (1500-2500 / month) that the MAJORITY of us will have when we retire. Honolulu was nice but also EXPENSIVE and too many tourists and military folks! Puerto Rico, on the other hand, can be expensive or not very expensive depending upon where on the Island you want to live. My preference is the West coast or mountain towns and particularly the Southwest town of Cabo Rojo. There you have great weather, great beaches and a much lower cost of living than the San Juan metro area and you have easy access to the city of Mayaguez where you can buy from Walmart, Sam's Club, Home Depot, etc. etc. There is nightlife in the town of Boqueron and El Combate and if you really want over the top nightlife you can spend a weekend in San Juan 2.5 hours away by car. The trick is to simplify. You can simplify your lifestyle (as all retirees should be considering) and live well or continue the same lifestyle you lived while you worked after you retire and run out of money. Bottom line for me. If I had more money than I knew what to do with I would buy an ocean view home in Kona and live happily ever after. Since I don't have an endless supply of cash and will be living a simpler life I pick the West coast of P.R. or the mountainous towns of Aibonito, Utuado, Adjuntas, Lares and Maricao over Hawaii. Another thing I have found is that the Hawaiian Islands are full of mainlander's with a majority coming from the West coast of the U.S. This has jacked up the prices of everything. If you visit Hawaii after living in the Southeast or mid west it can be quite a shock. Fortunately this hasn't happened all over P.R. with the exception of some areas where there is a high population of ExPats which has, unfortunately, driven up prices. Find your shangrila where the locals live and live like a local and you can do it.
Last edited by weareonourway; 08-06-2012 at 10:58 AM..
Having just spent 2 months on Oahu, Hawaii is like living in the carribean without bugs or being sticky!! its amazing. and there are no snakes. no winter always the same, sunny with rain showers that last 5 min and rainbows...and you can swim all year and all the beaches are open to the PUBLIC. and its like living in NYC, if you eat out all the time and shop at whole foods. hit the local markets, not where the tourists shop. fish for yourself. Plant fruit trees or rent a place with them in your yard. Imagine having limes, lemons, lychee, avocado . banana. apple banana, mango, papaya. jabong, breadfruit, coconut, mandarin oranges, tangerines, taro, tapioca, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, whatever...but trees that area always bearing fruit, one or another.. that you can share and trade and have.
this is what the state is truly trying to promote now. its amazing there. and, honestly the worst thing is traffic. take the bus!!!! ride a bike!! It is amazing. But do not go to live unless you have a skill to add to the community because the aloha spirit is about giving back too!! Vacation....if you can get up the
$$$$ and Hawaiian Air flies out of JFK now, and Believe it or not Alaskan flies out of Newark. they are both cheap...it is worth it .... just to go snorkeling and eat at big city diner! and to get Malasadas from Leonards...and go to Tomashiro's market to see the catch of the day!
the only thing I will say is that when you go to Hawaii that says you're either in Hawaii or you're not you can't really island hop much. You can island hopping the Hawaiian Islands. but you can't really island hop the Pacific Islands the Pacific Islands isn't really set up geographically for you to island hop.however, in Puerto Rico you can go to Miami you can go to Mexico you can go to South America you can go to the US.
when you're in PR you don't necessarily feel so isolated. because the flight to Miami is like a 1 hour tops away.
my family and I have a winter home in a gated community in Porto Rico so we aren't really concerned with crime because we live in a safe area and only leave to.go.to.the. beach.
you don't really get island fever when you're in the Caribbean
My opinion
I live in Puerto Rico and I can say it's one of the worst places to live. High crime rate, low paying jobs and that is if you can find a job. The government sucks, come to visit, but not to live !!!!
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PR, worst place to live.
