Okay, so we have been in Puerto Rico for three weeks now, and there are a number of things I have learned. These may be helpful for people who are on their way here in the future. In no particular order:
1) It is true, drivers here are absolutely horrible. It isn't because they don't know the traffic laws, they just don't follow them because the police do not really enforce the laws. As a good comparison, if you can get onto Fort Buchanan, just watch how careful drivers are because the police on Fort Buchanan actually enforce the laws. So it isn't that they are bad drivers, they are just lawless drivers. For example, they make up their own left hand turn lane, never use their blinkers, will cut you off with the slightest margin possible, and they will run red lights.
2) This is trivial, but I have yet to pump gas at a gas station where 1) you can pay at the pump using your credit card, and 2), find a pump that has the little switch that locks the pump handle in place while the gas is pumped so you don't have to hold the handle the whole time. Weird, but it seems like they purposely took the locking mechanism off.
3) The police here generally have blue and green lights instead of red and blue. And, weirdly enough many of the police drive around with their lights flashing as a method of 'deterrence' rather than actually enforcing the laws. The downside to seeing the police, and other emergency vehicles driving around with their lights on all the time is that nobody takes them seriously like we would on the mainland USA, meaning people will not move to the side of the road for them...even ambulances.
4) I had a really horrible experience renting a condo online. It wasn't what was advertised, and it was an expensive mistake. If you can avoid using ANY of the online booking sites, then do so. If you can, try to rent from someone you know, or through a trusted recommendation. I am aware that could be very difficult for people moving here without knowing anyone.
5) I am actually surprised in a good way that many businesses do accept credit cards. I have only had to pay with cash a couple times.
6) If you want to buy a house, the 5 year property tax exemption only applies if you buy a new house (which we ended up doing). Even so, the property taxes (as has been mentioned many times on this site) are excitingly low, especially if you come from a place where you were paying $5,000+ per year in property taxes.
7) There are no Chipotle restaurants! But the rumor is they will be coming soon.
8) There are not Target shopping centers (my wife was upset about that), but there is a rental car agency that literally stole Target's name and symbol...which I heard was one of the legal battles the Target shopping center is fighting before they consider coming to Puerto Rico. Of course the massive increase in taxes that is coming on July 1st doesn't help matters much either.
9) If you hear the term PHP, it means public housing project. They are basically the projects, and they were strategically built in locations near nicer neighborhoods with the idea that the nicer neighborhoods would elevate the value and safety of the PHPs. How naive.
10) Customer service is pretty good in the touristy areas, but not so good elsewhere.
11) If you want to purchase organic foods and gluten free foods, it is difficult to find. You can find some things at Costco, but the best place we have found so far is a grocery store called Fresh Mart. There are several Fresh Marts around the San Juan area and one in Caguas. If anyone out there knows of a better place, please let me know.
12) I got my Puerto Rico driver's license yesterday,and I felt like I paid a bribe. You are required to have a doctor sign off that you are fit to drive. Silly me thought the doctor would at least give you a eye exam, check your blood pressure, etc., the only thing he did was ask my my height, weight, and if I wear glasses. Then I had to pay him $26. What a scam.
13) If you do a search for Ikea in Puerto Rico, you will see that there are three of them I think, two of which are in the San Juan metro area. My wife was excited, but when we went to both of them, they ARE NOT what you would think they would be. They are not massive warehouses that you can shop in and buy things. They are little showrooms that you can order things, that is all. There is not buying things, there is no food court, there is nothing of the sort.
These are just my observations so far, they could change as time goes on. Hope this helps someone out there.
Regards,
Tyler