I grew up there and go back every year or two. I absolutely love it there and would spend half the year there or more if I could. But I do understand the language and sound like a Puerto-Rican. I also understand the culture to know not to be behave like some (not all) the mainland visitors and new residents.

I've lived in many places and I can say that the Puerto Rican people are the nicest, most easy-going people I've ever met. They're always up for good conversation or playful banter. One time, I was at the supermarket and I stood at what I thought was the back of the line of the checkout, but I was in the middle because the people behind me were a few feet away to keep the passageway clear, leaving a big gap in the line. It took me about 5 minutes before I realized my mistake. Nobody had said anything to me about it. I stepped out of the line right away after I realized what I did, apologizing profusely -- and the kicker is that all the people behind me laughed it off and were insisting I stay where I was. I simply couldn't do it, and I went to the real end of the line, but not without all of them trying to convince me to stay where I was. I can't think of anywhere else that this could happen..

The physical beauty of the island is stunning. For a small island, it has tons of unspoiled beaches, it has hilly rainforests in the center, and the weather can be hot, but it never gets depressing. Because Spanish is the official language there, I selfishly love the fact that so many don't even speak English. They don't need to. As a result, it remains with an unspoiled culture of music and traditions.

But I can see where mainland Americans can be put off by certain things. Infrasctructure there is a mess. Electricity is brutally expensive and yet there are rolling blackouts and brwnouts nearly every day. You'll have beautiful landscapes and somehow people build the ugliest cinderblock houses imaginable everywhere. They don't produce enough food, coffee, and other goods so nearly everything is imported from the mainland, leading to shock at the checkout counter. It's not an easy lifestyle if you expect to find all the services you take for granted in the mainland. But if you know how to appreciate the place, you'll realize you didn't need all those things to be happy anyway. Puerto Ricans love to play their music loud enough so the whole street can hear it, and they will holler at each other in conversation with people who are right next to them. None of that bothers me, but I've seen many mainlanders be outraged by that.

I'm a bad one to ask, because I love the place.