U.S. retirees looking to make their retirement savings last and still lead a beachbound life can do so in a U.S. territory on the Caribbean – Puerto Rico.
Whether you're drawn to big city life in San Juan, Puerto Rico's capital and largest city, the smaller retirement community vibe of Palmas del Mar, a gated community down the eastern coast, or the sunset-strewn Rincon, a beach town on the island's western tip, you can find your place.
Between 2021 and 2022 alone, 27,000 Americans moved to the island, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, as remote work made it easier for people to pop their laptops open at a local coffee bar or their own sundecks and grab a slice of life in the Caribbean. Now many state-siders are content to remain on the island in retirement.
One of the island’s best-kept retirement destinations is Rincon, located on the western tip, about two-and-a-half hours from San Juan. People who move to Rincon tend to stay a long time in what is known as the “town of beautiful sunsets.”
“We chose Rincon because of the surfing and laid-back way of life,” says Robin Samora, a marketing and public relations specialist who moved from suburban Massachusetts to the beach town with her partner Steve, a retired CEO and entrepreneur. “It’s also a quick 30-minute ride to nearby Aguadilla airport and a quick hop to San Juan. I had visited Rincon 35 years ago when there was nothing here.”
In 2017, Steve Samora purchased and started rehabbing a house 15 minutes from the beach that’s “hidden in the jungle,” as he puts it. “We’ve updated it significantly, and now we’re part of a vibrant ‘gringo' community that sticks together in tough times like when hurricanes hit, tying down furniture and getting gallons of water."
The Samoras joins a burgeoning tribe of stateside Americans, many of them retirees, moving to Puerto Rico, drawn by its rich Spanish and West Indian culture, stunning sunsets, and slower pace.
“It’s like the States in some ways, with many amenities and restaurants,” Robin Samora says. “But people should be aware that the island can be light years behind with things like power outages and a slower lifestyle. You adapt by having multiple internet sources and leveraging mobile phone hot spots.”
While Samora loves her life in Puerto Rico, she likes to return to Massachusetts to visit friends and family. Getting on a plane and hitting other Caribbean coastal hot spots is easy, too, with Puerto Rico as a base.
“Steve lives in Rincon full-time, and we also use my Massachusetts condo in the U.S.,” she adds. “I’m happy going back and forth and traveling. In October, we just went to Guatemala and will visit Anegada in the British Virgin Islands in January.”
If you’re closing in on retirement or are already there, start your Puerto Rican journey with a visit to three destination hot spots: San Juan, Palmas del Mar, and Rincon.
1. San Juan
Big city San Juan
One of the big benefits of retiring in Puerto Rico is that, as a U.S. citizen, a passport isn’t required, and you’re only a four-hour plane ride from New York City.
Chances are that plane will take you directly to San Juan, a major economic and cultural city in the Caribbean that many Americans now call home.
Financially, retiring in San Juan gives you the benefits of big city living with gorgeous ocean vistas. It also comes with a substantially lower cost of living that anyone living on a fixed income can appreciate.
Data from Numbeo shows the cost of living is 10% lower in Puerto Rico than in the U.S, while rental properties are 53% lower compared to the rest of the U.S. One-bedroom apartment rentals regularly lease for less than $1,000 per month, while a three-bedroom apartment downtown will cost around $1,500 and up to $3,100 in the city’s upscale neighborhoods. If you’re looking to buy a place in San Juan, expect to pay about $232 per square foot, Numbeo reports.
Like any big city, San Juan also offers access to quality hospitals and health care clinics, all of which accept Medicare and offer lower co-pays than you’ll find in the states.
Culturally, San Juan is a blend of the old and the new. The city is 500 years old and looks the part but in a good way.
Taking a 10-minute walk down from the historic El Morro fortress, perched on a cliff overlooking the bay of San Juan, down through hilly Old San Juan, with its classic sun-splashed brick sidewalks and Spanish architecture, feels like walking through a time machine. The white sandy beaches of Isle Verde and Condado are only a few minutes away, and there is no shortage of high-end restaurants and clubs. Hikers will also appreciate the tropical El Yunque rain forest, just a short drive to nearby Rio Grande.
Big city living. Gorgeous beaches. Lower costs than in the states. And a rainforest only minutes away. What’s not to like about San Juan?
2. Palmas del Mar
Resort community Palmas del Mar
Full disclosure – my wife and I live in Palmas del Mar most of the year, and, in our view, it’s one of the most beautiful resort communities in the entire Caribbean.
Located in Humacao Municiapo, about 35 miles down the island’s eastern coast from San Juan, Palmas de Mar gives retirees an easy-peasy gated community lifestyle. With 32 separate living complexes, Palmas’ beach villas offer stunning views of not only the Caribbean but also the exotic islands of Vieques, Culebra, and on a good day, Charlotte Amalie. The median home value is around $390,000, while a good two-bedroom rental averages $1,900.
Like a large, upscale Florida community, Palmas del Mar offers retirees abundant amenities.
The community offers a 36-hole golf course co-designed by legendary PGA tour champion Gary Player and celebrated course designer Rees Jones. Break out your camera for the third and fourth holes of Player’s Palm course, both of which are within 30 feet of the sapphire blue Caribbean.
Palmas also has over a dozen pickleball courts (and is currently adding about a dozen more) and 12 championship tennis courts. Hit the sundeck at the members-only Palmas Beach Club, located right on the Caribbean. When you need a break, grab a mojito at the poolside beach bar or the larger restaurant up front (make sure to try the paella, a local favorite). Palmas also offers a scenic harbor for hundreds of community boat owners who can take a spin to the nearby islands at 7 am and easily be back in port by dinner.
Locals call Palmas del Mar “the campus,” and for good reason. It offers all the amenities of a small college town, only with breathtaking beach views, a historic central plaza with shops, eateries, bars, and a health care clinic.
Crime in the community is practically non-existent, and the nearby pre-K to 12 Palmas Academy draws scores of families looking for a great education for their kids. Oh, and the academy is located near a 60-acre jungle rainforest that’s ideal for hiking.
We’ve heard locals talk about Palmas as one of the best suburbs of San Juan, and that’s fair. Yet not too many suburban communities are adjacent to the Caribbean and offer ocean and mountain views to die for. As my wife and I discovered, landing on this campus will leave you feeling young again at a price most U.S. retirees can afford.
3. Rincon
Surf and sand Rincon
Rincon used to be known as a surfer’s paradise, which remains true today to some extent.
With 18-foot waves, regular professional surfing events, abundant sunny skies, almost no insects, and some of the cleanest air on the planet, there’s a reason the beach town is known for its picturesque postcard surf and sand.
The town has eight miles of pristine beaches, punctuated by the historic 26,000-candlepower Punta Higuera lighthouse, standing 100 feet in the air at a coastline juncture where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean.
Close by is Steps Beach, which offers visitors crystal clear aqua-blue water for snorkeling (be prepared to shake hands with a local tortoise) and some of the most amazing coral reefs in the world.
When you’re done, hit the local food trucks parked near the town’s beaches and make sure to try the crispy chicharrónes, Puerto Rico’s version of country-fried chicken. Wash it down with an icy cold pina colada, a local beach bar favorite, and watch the sunset over the Caribbean, one of the best light shows on earth.
For like-minded retirees, affordability is another major perk, given Rincon’s relatively low cost of living compared to beach communities in California and Florida. Median home prices go for about $550,000. Beachside two-bedroom villa rentals can be had for between $1,800 and $2,200. Tack on about $400 for basic monthly home costs for electricity, heating, cooling, water, and trash removal (for a 915-square-foot apartment).
Compare that to the $3 million-and-up costs of a beach home in Newport Beach, Cal., for example, and it becomes clear as the Caribbean skies that Rincon is one of the best deals for beach-bound retirees in the U.S., even factoring in the higher post-Covid home prices in Puerto Rico.
