Why is the Caribbean so crappy? (salary, quality of life, living in)

[STT Resident]

Originally Posted by Mathguy

This sums up the #1 problem in the carribean....which is also the #1 problem in other parts of the world.

Puerto Rico Population History, 1765-2000

Please explain your point as I'm confused by your post as much as I'm confused about the previous poster's comment. I'm also confused that you don't know how to spell "Caribbean" although obviously you think that all islands in the Caribbean fall into a general pot where one size fits all. Thanks in advance for sharing the explanation.

[opalminor]

because humans moved there.

[jujulu]

We stopped in Puerto Rico for the day two years ago on a cruise ship. We went to Old San Juan and the beach. We NEVER felt unsafe. I think most of the people on here are just making stuff up because they don't like Spanish-speaking people.

[Annie of Oldsmar]

Glad you enjoyed Old San Juan!
The beaches are amazing in Puerto Rico!

[gemstone1]

"We stopped in Puerto Rico for the day two years ago on a cruise ship. We went to Old San Juan and the beach. We NEVER felt unsafe"....

Nice of you to offer your insight, but don't you think a visit of more than a few hours in Old San Juan is necessary to form an objective opinion/conclusion about conditions on the island ? Try living there for a while, then come back and share your experiences.

Regards
Gemstone1

[Natural510]

This thread is complete garbage. How much infrastructure do you really expect when everything has to be either shipped or flown in, usually to great expense? And prices are so high because anything which affects the US affects the Caribbean two-fold (like recession and inflation), and again, because everything has to be shipped from abroad.

[cape_fisherman]

The OP needs to understand that the Caribbean is pretty much third world. Many American's, such as myself, have little to no real-life experience with this type of living. Going from first world to third world for the first time, especially trying to live there, is quite difficult.

I am married to a Trini and can see from the inside out.

[SuperMario]

Those are slums in Herrera, Santo Domingo. The carribean has the most amazing places on earth, and it's home to some of the ugliest aswell.

Does Puerto Rico have any slums like the above?

[AntonioR]

A nice coat of paint would do wonders with that place. White for the walls, red for the roofs. Add cobblestone for the alleyways and some bougainvilleas for some varied color and voila, Mediterranean Europe in the Caribbean. lol


http://restaurants.uptake.com/blog/f...an-village.jpg

Originally Posted by SuperMario

What is that satellite dish doing there on top of the photo? And that round water tank? I bet most of those homes have a tv, fridge, stove and even cellphones. What type of poverty is this? lol

[PR Engineer]

SuperMario,

Unfortunately we do have places like that. I've been trying to come up with a picture but can't come across one. We have barriadas like that in Caño Martin Peña, Bitumul, Cataño and several places where illegal immigrants have invaded government property and built with whatever they find in the trash.

This whole thread is very sad and depressing. I'm a young professional engineer currently living in PR. I was born, raised and educated here in the island. Moved to the states (DC Metro) after graduating from college because back in 2001 there was no work for an engineer here and I was offered a nice entry level position in DC. I loved living in the states mainly because you get used to the clean "pothole-free" streets, the organization and well planned neighborhoods, the "free" community facilities and the general feeling that everything WORKS. I DO know it isn't like that everywhere in the states (I visited Camden Yards in Baltimore often) and I have never felt more unsecured in my entire life that how I felt when the Washington DC Sniper was attacking random people. That was far more scared that living in present PR with all the crime and homicides. The sniper thing was really an eye-opener for me.

I came back to PR because of family reasons 6 years ago and decided that I would stay here and try to make a living and raise a family here even knowing that my salary is half of what I made in the states and I work twice as much. Well, 6 years have pass and unfortunately I'm debating wether to move back to the states or not.

It is frustrating because I truly love PR. The weather is great, the beaches are beautiful and the holidays season brings a smile to my face and warmth in my heart. Nowhere in the world the Christmas are celebrated like we do here. The music, the christmas carols, the food, the family gatherings is all magical.

But the reality is that I can't live the rest of the year under the harsh circumstances, putting my kid's future in jeopardy and conforming to a lesser life just because the weather is great and the beaches are beautiful. I know I can do much better in the states (I've been there), and my children will have better education and quality of life.

It's a continuous debate in my head wether to move now and start a new more pleasant and worry-free life in the states or stick around another year or two and wait to see if things start to get better somehow here in the island. It takes a great society and great leaders to bring us out of this misery and I know puertorricans CAN DO IT. I just don't know if that will happen in the next few years or the next 30 years.

I wish I knew because I LOVE this little island, our culture and its people but I love my kids more than anything and its more about them and less about me at this stage in life.