Expat blog gatherings in Puerto Rico

Julien...I am in. Always love to meet new people, especially in the same situation.  The Jazz Festivals in La Ventana Park in Condado are a great meet up spot.

Julian, Remember, you are technically NOT EX PATS if you are from the mainland USA living in Puerto Rico... this is USA after all!!  meeting at the Jazz festival sounds like a cool idea, there is also the MERCADO URBANO in the same park i think it's the last Sunday of the month ( could be the third Sunday) i work with many transferring executives and, unlike other countries, Puerto Rico does not have many opportunities for FOREIGN assignees to socialize. unlike other countries where it is common to have EX PAT societies it just doesn't exist here in that form.
it is a sensative subject as well: just like in ROME you have the ROMANITA' ( everything revolves around ROME) here in PR it is quite the same: PR first and foremost... I have been a member of the CIRCOLO ITALO AMERICANO  here for many year;, all the second generation children just consider themselves Puerto Ricans... with Italian parents... it's just different

Meetup.com offers a couple social groups for expats to join.  The site has an awesome concept & provides an opportunity for an expat to finally have a social life here on the island.  I've already attended a couple of meetings & met some cool people, more so then this site.  So if you want to meet like minded people, join some of the groups from Meetup.com.

By the way, Stella Maris RC  Church in Condado provides a safe environment to meet people of faith.

We're moving WHERE? wrote:

Julian, Remember, you are technically NOT EX PATS if you are from the mainland USA living in Puerto Rico... this is USA after all!!  meeting at the Jazz festival sounds like a cool idea, there is also the MERCADO URBANO in the same park i think it's the last Sunday of the month ( could be the third Sunday) i work with many transferring executives and, unlike other countries, Puerto Rico does not have many opportunities for FOREIGN assignees to socialize. unlike other countries where it is common to have EX PAT societies it just doesn't exist here in that form.

Believe it or not, there are other foreigners than "gringos" on the island.
There are some social/business clubs as well. The British society, a pretty active German club, the Dutch Club has recently been revived....

Yes, And there is also an Italian club(of which i am a member)  and a Swiss group that meets from time to time.  But USA'er are NOT ex pats here ;-))they may not always like us, but it's still part of the USA!
But since I work with a lot of assignees from who are really EX PATS from other countries, they do remake that there are not many or well organized groups here in pr...

We're moving WHERE? wrote:

But USA'er are NOT ex pats here.

I know.... BUT many people here will still see you as gringos.

Does anyone know of any American clubs in the Isabela, Quebradillas or Aguidilla where we can meet other American families living in PR?

You know its a good idea to start,and have regular meetings say once a month.Other forums and countries,Like in the Philippines have a big expat forum,and meetings.
And your right, USAer's are just gringo's, and not expat's in the true form.But you are still in a foreign country, The P.R. is a territory of the USA,just like Guam,and a few other place's.
But all should be welcomed.Ummm, i guess when i renounce my USA citizenship, i would be a expat without a country then.Mark

Hector Pagan: I see that your pic was taken at the Rincon Light House - quite a beautiful park. As you probably are aware Rincon does not have an "American Club" per se.

I just moved here from Michigan almost 2 months ago.  My hubby speaks Spanish but me and the kids don't so 'techincal' or not we do feel foreign and are treated as such.  We love it here and we're a member of Newcomers Club /PR--they have them in lots of different Counties. The only problem is we are outside of San Juan and the fancy gated communities that we really can't be too much involved.  I do like their facebook page for helpful info like hurricane awareness, where to find a doctor, a particular event ect.

I'd be all for a get together. Personally I don't care if I am technically an XPat or not, I would like to make new friends, feel a sense of community and if possible meet some folks who play acoustic music.
Skip

Anyone live in the northwest?

Hi Victor,
We moved here from Alaska and live in Mayaguez. We have been here for five months. Give us a call or stop by.
[email protected]

We'll be back Dec 5 and will due after that.

dolt201 wrote:

I'd be all for a get together. Personally I don't care if I am technically an XPat or not, I would like to make new friends, feel a sense of community and if possible meet some folks who play acoustic music.
Skip

What do you play?

Every year around the holidays I pull out the old guitar and make a nostalgia pass through my book of English carols.

I am not an ex-pat and I am not a gringo.  I am an Anglo Puerto Rican (since moving here and getting a driver licence and voting card).
These terms are used only by those who wish to drive a wedge between local Puerto Ricans and other US Americans from other states.
I remember an old PR doctor telling me that the acceptable term for an Anglo from the US mainland in the past was "continental".
If you come from the states and call yourself "American", "expat", or "gringo" that is self-deprecating and insulting to locals.
Of course it is only language, but words are powerful.

I am a New York Rican, I was born here but I am very proud to call myself a Puerto Rican.  I will always be one, as my parents and grand parents before them.  If you have the love of Puerto Rico, you are a Puerto Rican in your heart. and that is what matters.

I never heard a local Puerto Rican (and I know a bunch of them) use the word "Anglo" to describe somebody from the mainland. Like it or not, "gringo" is the word that's being used for that.

Sorry-I do not agree.  Gringo is a derogatory term usually applied by Mexicans to Yankees (which are disliked).  Yes, one hears the term occasionally here in PR but never by educated cultivated people.  It would sort of be like English-speaking people calling Puerto Rican "Spics" or some other such nasty term.
The term "Anglo" is much like "Hispanic" and refers to the native tongue of the individual.
Using the word "American" to differentiate a mainlander from a Puerto Rican may be common but is also inappropriately applied for two reasons.  One, we are of common citizenship; and two, for the rest of the Americas except the US there is an objection to using "American" to specifically mean someone from the US.   Other "Americans" refer to US people as North Americans (which of course includes Canadians), but there is also a specific Spanish word (which I cannot spell) for someone from USA.

This is no matter of who is right and who is wrong. You have your experiences, I have different experiences.
Maybe it's because I live in a barrio and the people I know are different from the people you know.

Anyway,¡Feliz Navidad a Todos!

Estadounidenses is the formal word in Spanish for (US) "Americans". I have heard "gringo" a great deal in my 17 years of experience in Latin America. From my point of view, it was rarely meant in a derogatory fashion, but it can and is used as a slur on occasion. I've heard "Anglo" too, but more in Central and South America. I've mostly only heard Anglo used in PR during "academic" discussions, which, of course, doesn't mean it's not used in other contexts there as well.

I'm in let us know .

In our circle of friends, a mixture of retirees from the states and local Puerto Rican's, we are called Gringo Rican's.  It is not considered a derogatory term.  😎