Living in Puerto Rico...

Hi, Puerto Rico has a lot to offer. I have been coming to Pr for 15 years. I settled on the South Coast for a variety of reasons. I lived in Peru once and I was wanting to sort of replicate some of the features that I appreciated there. Ponce has the air of an old colonial city not unlike Baranco outside of Lima, Peru so I have an old colonial home in the city. The mountains are very close to town as is the Caribbean so I acquired a mountain top farm about 15 minutes from the house. I can see the Caribbean Sea as well as the towns below. The farm is organic using a concept of agricultural forestry and permaculture. The terrain reminds me of some parts of the lower Andes just steeper and smaller. We are the dry side of the Island but enough water with a little help to grow a wide variety of fruits, herbs and vegetables. I have been doing this part time and will be doing full time later this year. I know of only three expats living here so we do not have the draw of Rincon or San Juan.  The mountains near us are sparsely populated and I can leave the home in town, drive through town to the farm and beyond and see no mainland influence. This is the Town of Macando in Gabriel Garcia Marquesas novel. "A Hundred Years of Solitude". We have a world class Art Museum and lots of other museums.
  I presently live outside of Asheville, Nc during the summer and one rule of thumb that I discovered that applies here and there is that any distance over 20 minutes from a town or city starts to get too isolated. We have beaches but not to the caliber of drawing tourists. We go to a nature preserve that has a mile long beach with no one except a few fishermen or occasional family. The water is clear but the sand is brown from the rivers. It is a 12 minute drive from town too. I guess the reason that I am sharing this is because of your interest in organic farming but organic farming can be done just about anywhere. Being an artist I chose this area as I need the proximity of art, farming, swimming and hiking but not with the congestion of a city that is too big.

Ponce's art museum is indeed world-class, thanks to Luis Ferrer, former governor and statehood proponent.

Mrkpytn where do you live near Ashville?

Hi, I live 20 minutes North just off I-26 in a community called Forks of Ivy. It is near Mars Hill. The building was an Esso gas station combo general store, meat market, auto repair garage, along with tire sales. It also has an historic tobacco barn on the property.

Could you tell me more about your organic farm in PR? Did you buy it from a local or through a realtor? I would imagine prices are going to be pretty good in the next six months or so.

Hello Victorglass, I live just outside of Mars Hill located 20 minutes North of Asheville. Do you know the area?

Hello Troll126, I bought my farm from a local. I have never employed a realtor and would avoid one if possible. From my experience the best way to find a farm is doing your own footwork. For example..if you speak some Spanish or at least understand some you can visit some of the small bars near the area where you are interested in buying. Each area has a local bar. Sometimes someone is curious about you and a conversation can develop. When you share a mutual interest in agriculture for example you can tell them that you are interested in acquiring a farm and they will tell you where the best land is and what is available or they know someone selling. If a realtor is selling it then there are probably reasons why no one locally is interested. A realtor may be useful in places like San Juan and other large cities but in the country a whole different set of rules take place. They are communities with everyone knowing each other and an outsider needs to ease themselves into it. I am not so sure that land values would drop in price as much as buildings would. There is not that much available but that is another story too. Decide what area you are looking for. Some areas can seem to be too wet. Some too dry. Some too steep. Some to dense and some to inaccessible. Some can be very isolated and traveling more than 20 minutes for shopping can get old fast especially with steep winding roads. There is a man in the Mayaguez area who seeks out organic farms for clients. He is not a realtor. If you google organic farms in Puerto Rico he will come up as  Govinda Farms or something like that. His name is Sadhu, originally from Austria. He prefers the west coast of PR. I personally like the South Coast. Hope this  helps a bit.

Mrkpytn wrote:

Hello Victorglass, I live just outside of Mars Hill located 20 minutes North of Asheville. Do you know the area?

I was working last year in Asheville for over 9 months, did a contract for Mission Hospitals. Loved traveling thru the mountains and staying next to the beautiful Biltmore gardens and resort. Funny....staying in that area with all the greens and flowers my allergies never act up the way they do in Texas....

Beautiful area!

What does he like a out the West  coast and why do you lrefer the southern coast?  I like the thought of rumbling around looking at the country and stopping in hole in the wall bars for a beer. I will look the guy up and see what information I can find. Interestingly enough I was surprised to read that vegitables were difficult to come by there and then read about one town where they primarily raise chickens. I read many prefer the South side of the island because the water is calmer. I basically would like some farmland and could build my own placemover time. Do you have any idea what land is going for there per acre in the mountains but still usable?

Land prices vary, check out this website. It may give you an idea...go to the real state section, under property, select "finca" (farm), you can check out properties by towns or regions. Use Google translator to help you with the words.

http://www.clasificadosonline.com/

After you have an idea, I will strongly suggest visiting the area and talk to the locals. You will find a better deal speaking with the locals since they have the inside scoop.

Great plan. I will do some more research to try and narrow my search. Once that is done i can look more closely at that particular area and perhaps make a visit.

The West coast has more rain than the South coast but we have lakes and rivers. Once I get my water catchment systems established we can ride out the drier months. There was a large percentage of the Taino Indians living in the ponce area and surely they must have known something. I like the rain but I find it easier to live in a drier climate. Our farm does very well with most things we plant. Latinos in general do not eat a lot of vegetables. We grow vegetables for our own consumption but may have other options when we have more than we can use or store. Fruit trees do better in a drier climate. When it is to wet the roots do not go deep and they fall over when they are ready to produce.

Mrkpytn wrote:

Latinos in general do not eat a lot of vegetables.

True, we tend to eat a very rich died of starches, sugar, salt and fat. Needless to say that gives us a nice pear shape and diabetes is very common.
But we die happier than most!!!

I am more of a meat eater myself being raised as a yank hunter. However vegies are fairly easy to grow for the most part and can help me ween myself down a bit from red meat.

The island is big in chicken, pigs and seafood. You can find beef but don't expect to find the same cuts of meat as in the mainland.

Chickens , pigs n seafood. Sounds like a country song. Lol

LOL

I wish DNR would introduce a deer population, on island... they've got deer in St. Thomas & St. Johns, so why not Puerto Rico?

That would be really cool, mac, to have deer in PR.  They really are a beautiful animal!

mac00677 wrote:

I wish DNR would introduce a deer population, on island... they've got deer in St. Thomas & St. Johns, so why not Puerto Rico?

I am not sure it is a good idea for the following reasons:
1) I am not sure I want to run into a Deer in those curvy, narrow roads up and down the hills and mountains of PR.
2) Also deers would have no natural predator, do we also want to introduce Mountain Lions and other big cats, or Bears to PR?
3) Farmers would not be very happy when dears ruin their poor crops.
4) We already have issues with Ticks due to cows, deer ticks to my knowledge are different and can be even more dangerous.

Yes it is possible that large Satos may help control the population but they also may become wild and become dangerous specially around children.

Just my 2 cents
Rey

OH NO! You have hit a nerve.  In New York I lived in a place over run with deer.  Hunting is not allowed and there is no natural enemy.  The deer defoliated gardens and landscapes.  That nasty deer tick caused me to have lyme disease.  My nephew totaled his car when a deer ran out in the road. 
If there were a choice of species to introduce to Puerto Rico, I would go for more parrots or robins or bluebirds or some harmless creature that eats iguana. Or sheep. Or wild turkeys. A wild turkey tried to chase my car once but there was no damage to either the car or the turkey.

Let's introduce an animal that eats people - after we are gone the island will flourish 

victorlglass wrote:

Let's introduce an animal that eats people - after we are gone the island will flourish 

More sharks is the answer
Combine them with the Government inability to handle its finances and you have two ways of lowering the population a) Being eaten, b) Starvation or leave the island.
See link below: https://youtu.be/3N4uJAjcLZ8

Haha, too funny, guys!  No, it probably isn't feasible but my comment was more on just appreciating the animal. 

I've got a great idea that is in the realm of scientific possibility. Created a genetically modified deer that (1) eats iguana,  (2) doesn't eat flowers and shrubs, and (3) fetches your slippers after you've arrived home after a long and tiring day 

Great idea, Victor, very creative!

What is it with Iguanas?
I am not aware of any issues with them, maybe someone can elaborate about the reason why Iguanas are bad?

You can eat them and I been told they taste like chicken.
Just an overgrown "Lagartijo".

victorlglass wrote:

I've got a great idea that is in the realm of scientific possibility. Created a genetically modified deer that (1) eats iguana,  (2) doesn't eat flowers and shrubs, and (3) fetches your slippers after you've arrived home after a long and tiring day 

You are a Genius! Gotta get me one.

I find the Iguanas very entertaining.  Where we live there are several large ones that bask in the early morning sun.  As a kid, I had several for pets and they were really fun and easy to care for.  Although, one must be careful - they carry salmonella and my brother was hospitalized after failing to wash his hands after handling ours.

With the mangos ripening and falling from the trees, the iguanas are having a field day.  Some of them are quite tame and will allow some close photo opportunities.

One thing that amazes me is how well they swim.  I'm familiar with the marine iguanas, but even the regular ones can move along nicely in the water.

victorlglass wrote:

I've got a great idea that is in the realm of scientific possibility. Created a genetically modified deer that (1) eats iguana,  (2) doesn't eat flowers and shrubs, and (3) fetches your slippers after you've arrived home after a long and tiring day 

Sounds an awful lot like a fast and large dog
As long as the Iguanas don't eat my dogs I am fine with them.

Well, we have the chupacabras......

adlin20 wrote:

Well, we have the chupacabras......

Can we make goat stew out of the Chupacabras?

One man's chupacabra is another man's cabrito.  (I am invited to a cabrito dinner at El Trapiche in Pozuelo tonight).

Oh, please no!  One of the reasons I moved here from the mainland was because there are no mammals to hunt on the entire island, and to get away from guns. I have lived in the PR western mountains for a year and have not heard a single gunshot!  What a blessed peaceful relief ! Please Lord let it stay that way!

poor boy wrote:

I must respectfully disagree! One of the reasons I moved here from the mainland was because there are no mammals to hunt on the entire island, and to get away from guns. I have lived in the PR western mountains for a year and have not heard a single hunter gunshot!  What a blessed peaceful relief ! Please Lord let it stay that way!

We normally only shoot at robbers and somebody trying to steal our mate.

As to guns, police has them, bad guys has them, a lot of people also have them at home for protection, we just don't use them much.

coming from an area in N.Y. State that had tons of deer, we dreaded hunting season as the city people would come, get good and drunk the night before opening day, then shoot at anything that moved. horses, cows, dogs, people. I agree Poor Boy, I live on the west side, and love the peace.

rincon is for you. highly recommended    we have lived a year in pr  started with joyuda then to rincon.  we home school  so we travel the island quit a bit.  we are now moving to rincon.  large english population. very nice people. very spiritual and earth friendly  they recycle and also have a wonderful art walk on thursdays and farmes market 1 or 2 days a week. many yoga studios etc   then nexttown over aquda has healing center. you are also about 25-30 mins from sams club  and some malls  however riincon is all small mom and pop places     very nice place to live. i do suggest that you want to plan on renting in may thru aud=g. because beginning in sept  the snow birds come in   prices go up. so lock in before oct. between oct- april  prices are expensive and you have less places to chose from. we are lucky we just locked in to a 3 bedroom in the rincon mountains  ( 8 mins form the center, beaches and grocery store) i comes with water and a cistern for $500 a month. we make a mistake looking in jan. for property in rincon ( we didnt know about the snow birds)  so everything aviailable for rent was tiny places or $1000 a month plus pay all utilies and everything else was $1600 and up, so thats how we ended up in arecibo.      please feel free to contact us if you have more questions.