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I am moving to San Juan this fall. I have a few pointed, specific questions for natives that will really help me in my moving process:
1) I must decide whether to choose a house in Ocean Park to rent or an apartment in one of the high rises in Condado. Let's assume that price is not the issue.
My main concern is noise: My PR friends love their music. Ahem. They LOVE their music. I don't even own a radio, and really dislike a lot of noise at night. Is Ocean Park quieter,or is it more related to who your neighbors are, and is this generally a concern in Ocean Park?
2) I have two cats that will travel with me. I've noticed that most apartments come furnished. Are pets a problem generally with landlords? I can imagine that my cats will do a little damage to furniture at a place like Condado al Mar, so I'd need to make some adjustments. What's with the furnished apartments, is this a common concern, etc. etc.?
3) What's with all the water cisterns and generators? Is this apolocalyptic preparedness for a hurricane, or does the water and light go out that often?
4) Are break ins common for houses in Ocean Park? I'd presumably be on the first floor, but even with bars on the windows thieves can enter a property. I know all about the safe areas and Ocean Park's reputation, but I've lived in major metro areas most of my life, and it is ALWAYS a concern of mine, regardless.
5) what are some good places to find apartment listings? Is it better to just walk around the neighborhoods to find an available apartment?
Thank you for any input on this thread. I'm a planner and organizer by nature, any responses will greatly alleviate my stress during the move, so that you again.
1.) Ocean Park is much more laid back, less hectic. Nicer beach too. I'm assuming you live on the mainland? Don't assume anything about the people here just because you know Puerto Ricans who live in the States, it's completely "apples and oranges". My neighborhood in Louisiana was louder than the one I live in now. That being said, many of the houses here don't have windows like the ones in the States..many are just a screen and thin metal that opens and closes with a crank (to let in cool breezes) so noise can travel. The concern with noise where I live is chickens rather than music or voices, but a good loud box fan drowns it all out. So noise will travel, yes...Ocean Park is a quieter neighborhood, if you have a house in Condado expect it to be louder, but then again if you live several floors up in a high-rise you probably won't hear as much.
2.) Most people you would rent from seem more laid-back here about most things, like I don't have a back yard but I've been told having a dog wouldn't be an issue. Large buildings might have more protocol though.
3.) My power has never gone out, nor has my water, in the 5 months I've been here. I think the infrastructure has improved very much recently and these things are hold-overs. And hurricane preparedness is a good thing, I wish we had all that stuff growing up in Louisiana (the other land of hurricanes). There's a reason why all PRican houses are made of concrete, I salute the insight and preparedness.
4.) You're safer there than anywhere else in San Juan, but stuff happens. I wouldn't worry about it too much though. I don't think its a common thing. There and Condado seem heavily policed, and parts of Ocean Park are gated. I had my car broken into in the middle of nowhere on the coast in the southwest. You never know.
I don't know about San Juan but where I live the water and lights go out about every other month, sometimes for hours, sometimes for days. It seems to run in spurts where it will go out a lot for several weeks. There do not seem to be any noise ordinances here so depending on where you lived before you may have an adjustment to the noise level. Although there is some loud music and noise from trucks that go by with advertising messages, most of the noise where I live is from chickens, dogs and unbelievably loud birds.
I've stayed at both these areas and they are both very nice, HOWEVER, Ocean Park has problems with noise, high traffic and litter due to beach goers.
The beaches in Puerto Rico are public and although Ocean Park is gated and has limited access, the beach is not private, so there are access roads for the public to enter the beach. This area is also too close to one of the largest public housing developments on the island, called Lloren Torres, many undesirable people live there, too close for comfort. If you know how to read spanish you can see what is happening there in the link below.
Condado would be my overall choice, it is busy during the day and you can walk everywhere, if you are on a lower floor in an apartment facing the street you will hear noise, but apartments that face the beach/back/side streets are best as they are quiet, if money is no object, an apartment facing the water/beach in Condado is your best bet.
1. I'd go for the apartment in Condado, but that is because I prefer dense urban environments with public space. Ocean Park is the exact contrary to this. Most of Ocean Park has been gated abusively and there is absolutely no public space (except for the beach). Some of Ocean Park isn't even bordered by sandy beach, but by eroding coastline. LOLz
2. Pets are NOT a problem with landlords in general, but that will depend on your landlord obviously.
3. Water cisterns and generators are there for when you need them. I'm guessing major franchises when doing viability studies, took up a recommendation to include generators at all their properties explaining their general prevalence in Puerto Rican society. Their common employment however, is of benefit in times of harsh weather, and can be seen as an advantage. All parts of the world experience harsh weather, be it snowstorms in the North, tornadoes in the Great Plains, typhoons in Asia, etc.
4. I guess break-ins might be common on a one-story home, but not so much on the sixth-story apartment. Break-ins in PR happen when you least expect it. I've never been a victim of one though and none of my close relatives have dealt with one in the past which I can recall. Still, it would seem likely to happen in Ocean Park because of the general vulnerability of owning a house in the middle of a big city.
5. I always prefer physically visiting properties when shopping for a property. There might be some benefits to online searching, like finding that one Ocean Park house inside the gated community, which you can't physically see as an outsider. Some locals might recommend you check out clasificadosonline.com or other sites, though I can't vouch for any.
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