The Condo
While planning our move from Dallas, TX, we looked online at both condos and single family homes in Isabela. The rent for a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house in Isabela is currently around $600-$900 per month. Condos rent for around $1000-$1600 per month. I managed to talk Jason into a condo with an ocean view, because if we're going to live on an island, we should live next to the ocean for at least the first year. He agreed.
Condos came with other benefits, too. No maintenance, fully furnished, appliances are included (not so in many homes here), and gated with security. Condo it is. We arrived in Puerto Rico and stayed at an AirBnB space until we could choose and lease a condo (this took 5 days).
We live in Isabela Del Mar, a condo complex that sits right on the ocean between Playa Princesa and Playa Sardinera (also known as Playa Villa Pesquera). For those of you who don't speak Spanish, we live on a rocky shore between two beaches.
Our new home is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath condo on the 5th floor that includes 2 parking spaces. We have about 1500 square feet of living space, and an amazing ocean view. Rent is $1400 per month on a one year lease, and the condo was fully furnished.
The view:
All 3 bedrooms have A/C window units. Our main living area (kitchen, living, dining, and family) does not have A/C. This is common in PR; electricity is really expensive and most people only run A/C at night. Due to all the concrete construction, central air pretty much doesn't exist here. Instead all the windows and doors stay open all day and the ocean breeze cools your home. The daytime temps are around 83 degrees everyday with lows around 74 degrees. If it was 83 degrees in Dallas and my central air was out, I would be dying. It took a day or so to adjust to the humidity and the lack of A/C, but now I don't miss it at all. In fact I actually used a blanket on the couch a few nights ago because I was chilly. It was 79 degrees out.
Most homes in our area do not have a dishwasher, and our condo is no exception. Back in Dallas I thought I couldn't live without a dishwasher, but I really don't mind washing dishes while staring out at the ocean.
Here are some photos of our condo:
It's a beautiful place to live. I should also mention it's always filthy. We leave those big double doors wide open all day every day, and with that comes a constant stream of sand and salt air blowing through. There aren't enough Swiffer dusters in the world to keep this place clean. So I had to convince my OCD to just accept the dirty floors and instead focus on the sound of waves crashing. Yeah I'm totally over it.
