Do I need a car in Dorado?

Yes, you need a car in Dorado. You need a car everywhere in PR except for Old San Juan and Condado.

I don't intend to sound mean but if you know that little about where you are going you might want to check into things a little deeper before you make the leap. While Dorado is a great area, it is a bit on the pricey side to live there. $34,000 isn't much especially with the rising utility and food costs. Do you mind me asking what kind of job were you offered? And yes, a car is a must. Even if you live right across the street from your job, you will still need to go shopping, to the doctor to the various utility companies and to the DMV. A woman walking around alone even in relatively safe Dorado is never a good idea. Especially if you are Gringa. Do you speak any Spanish? Do you have enough resources put aside in case after a month your new employer decides you aren't working out and you find yourself unemployed?

thank you for the advice. i am visiting dorado in a couple of weeks to get a better feel. I am not too concerned with the money part bc I am coming with quite a bit saved but in terms of finances, would you say Dorado is comparable to any mainland cities in terms of cost of living? The job is for a real estate company but I hope to get myself off the ground in the legal field as I am an attorney. I know that could take a while so I want to work somewhere to stay busy and supplement my savings. Would you say the community is family oriented or more for singles? Thanks again for all the help!

Your last question first- I guess that would depend on where in Dorado you would live. It's a good size pueblo and pretty diverse. When I lived in PR I would have loved to live in Dorado had I been able to afford it. There is one gentleman on this forum who is a lawyer and is very knowledgeable. Maybe he will chime in at some point. He is a very smart man with extensive experience in PR and I value his wisdom. I'd suggest you do the same. I don't know if you've ever been to PR before. If you haven't, expect the unexpected, understand a lot of things aren't done the same way they are in the states, understand that not everything will make sense, expect long lines and wait times wherever you go and expect to be bombarded with noise wherever you go. Not sure I'd personally pick being a lawyer in PR as my occupation. Like I said, they do things differently there. To be really successful I would think that you would have to possess a deep understanding of the culture. I could go on but I'll stop here and let some of the smarter and less biased contributors feed you some more advice. Best of luck.

I feel I need to say something positive here in response to Gregg's comments - but I don't know Dorado, so that wouldn't be addressing the question specifically. I do agree that (unfortunately) it is not practical to live in PR without a car - even in OSJ & Condado (although in those neighborhoods, and in our neighborhood of Miramar, it is possible to get by without using the car as much as in many other places).

Do you mind if I ask why you want to move to Puerto Rico? This might help me & other forum participants give better feedback on your questions. I love Latin America & Puerto Rico in particular, but there are plenty of good reasons why it is not for everyone.

Thanks for trying to be positive I want to move to PR because I have been several times and love it. I am looking for a bit of an adventure and to try something new. I've lived in many cities in the US, currently I am in Queens. I like the laid back atmosphere of PR but you still get city life. I am currently working in a job that pays great many would say its a "dream job," but I am not happy in it. Rather than stay settled in this job, I am hoping to take some chances in PR and see where my talents take me.

Wonderer wrote:

Thanks for trying to be positive I want to move to PR because I have been several times and love it. I am looking for a bit of an adventure and to try something new. I've lived in many cities in the US, currently I am in Queens. I like the laid back atmosphere of PR but you still get city life. I am currently working in a job that pays great many would say its a "dream job," but I am not happy in it. Rather than stay settled in this job, I am hoping to take some chances in PR and see where my talents take me.

If you understand that living in Puerto Rico, although technically U.S. territory, is much more like moving to a foreign country in Latin America (with the positives & the negatives that this entails) than to another state in the union, then you are starting off on the right foot. It's also true that living there is very different from visiting. If you are looking for a change of pace & an adventure, though, you should be OK. Do you speak Spanish?

I don't know Dorado well, as I said, but I've heard that in some areas it is a bit of a 'bubble' - that is, gated, lots of expats, plenty of English speakers, etc. (Not all of Dorado is like this, as Gregg mentioned.) This may or may not be what you are looking for. There are some safety issues in PR, so that is something to be conscious of.

Where did you live in PR? I agree with much of what you said...however the cost of living is actually way lower in Dorado in comparison to anywhere in the San Juan area...including housing, utilities, and food. I lived in San Juan 8 years and Dorado 3...It definately is possible to live comfortably in Dorado even on $34,000 which actually is an average income on PR. I also just bought a large home that I never would have afforded if the same home was in San Juan.

Dorado is a great place to live in PR, but it is definitely more family oriented. If you wanted a singles scene, you would have to go to OSJ, Condado, Guaynabo or Hato Rey. There are a lot of expats living in the Dorado area, but most that I know of are families. If you do decide to move to Dorado, look up Dorado Damas on FB. It is a private group, but you can request to join. It is mostly expat women living in the Dorado area that could help you get connected. I think you could find an apartment in the Dorado area that would fit your budget - moving to PR alone, Dorado would be safer than perhaps Hato Rey or OSJ. But for nightlife and more singles and professionals, I would look in Ocean Park or Condado. Living in PR is definitely an adventure. And if you are willing to brave the humidity and run your AC very little, you can keep your electric bill down, which is a huge cost on the island. God bless in your adventures.

GreggK wrote:

I don't intend to sound mean but if you know that little about where you are going you might want to check into things a little deeper before you make the leap. While Dorado is a great area, it is a bit on the pricey side to live there. $34,000 isn't much especially with the rising utility and food costs. Do you mind me asking what kind of job were you offered? And yes, a car is a must. Even if you live right across the street from your job, you will still need to go shopping, to the doctor to the various utility companies and to the DMV. A woman walking around alone even in relatively safe Dorado is never a good idea. Especially if you are Gringa. Do you speak any Spanish? Do you have enough resources put aside in case after a month your new employer decides you aren't working out and you find yourself unemployed?

Where did you live in PR? I agree with most of what you said in all your comments...however the cost of living is actually way lower in Dorado in comparison to anywhere in the San Juan area...including housing, utilities, and food. I lived in San Juan 8 years and Dorado 3...It definitely is possible to live comfortably in Dorado even on $34,000 which actually is an average income on PR. I also just bought a large home that I never would have afforded if the same home was in San Juan.

To answer the question...yes you need a car to live in Dorado and yes Dorado is relatively safe...taking into consideration that nowhere in PR is 100% safe. In my opinion the vibe in Dorado is very chill but yet you are only 20 minutes from San Juan if you are looking for nightlife.

I thought we were talking soley about living in a certain area rather than comparing costs of living to other pueblos. It is definitely true you can live cheaper in Dorado than you can in San juan. But even that depends on the area in Dorado in which you choose to live. There again, $34,000 is definitely doable in Dorado. The thing a lot of people don't seem to understand before they actually move there is the very high cost of EVERYTHING. With the island in a fiscal crisis at this time I fear that things are more than likely to get way worse before they get better. $34,000 a year disappears much more quickly in Dorado than it does where I live. It's actually not too bad of an income if you are by yourself, but if you are trying to support a family on that things become more challenging and you will probably have to work on changing your typical spending habits. To answer your question, I lived in Moca. Dorado would have been my first choice but alas I live on a fixed income and was not able to rise to that level financially.

GreggK wrote:

I thought we were talking soley about living in a certain area rather than comparing costs of living to other pueblos. It is definitely true you can live cheaper in Dorado than you can in San juan. But even that depends on the area in Dorado in which you choose to live. There again, $34,000 is definitely doable in Dorado. The thing a lot of people don't seem to understand before they actually move there is the very high cost of EVERYTHING. With the island in a fiscal crisis at this time I fear that things are more than likely to get way worse before they get better. $34,000 a year disappears much more quickly in Dorado than it does where I live. It's actually not too bad of an income if you are by yourself, but if you are trying to support a family on that things become more challenging and you will probably have to work on changing your typical spending habits. To answer your question, I lived in Moca. Dorado would have been my first choice but alas I live on a fixed income and was not able to rise to that level financially.

Ok...I just figured you were comparing it to something and I wondered what. I agree with what you are saying...Thanks for letting people know and not sugarcoating things....you are right money goes very fast here! That is the problem...for the average person the cost of living is very high and the income is low no matter where you live on the island!  $34,000 is actually a fairly average income in PR and then people have to support a family!  The statistics say Puerto Rico is poorer than the poorest state.

Can you all elaborate on why the cost of living is high for EVERYTHING as u guys say? I have now spent several weeks there, grocery shopping, going to places like walgreens, getting cleaning supplies. I don't really see what you guys are saying. Things seam reasonable to me so please help me figure this out. I don't want to move with a false impression from my visits.

Wonderer wrote:

Can you all elaborate on why the cost of living is high for EVERYTHING as u guys say? I have now spent several weeks there, grocery shopping, going to places like walgreens, getting cleaning supplies. I don't really see what you guys are saying. Things seam reasonable to me so please help me figure this out. I don't want to move with a false impression from my visits.

I agree that it is a simplification to say that the cost of living is high here. I have said this before, I know, but I think that costs fall into three categories: (1) high in absolute terms (for instance, electricity is more expensive /kWH than almost any U.S. market, milk is about 30-50% more expensive here than in the States, many other imported foods are more expensive than in the U.S.); (2) high relative to what people earn (this applies to any consumer goods that are priced similarly to the States because the average income here is about 1/2 the poorest state); and (3) relatively low (this applies to things like private school, real estate, and things involving human capital, because labor costs are cheaper here than in the U.S.). Also, taxes here are low.