Expat in Puerto Rico: Getting a P.O. Box

Expat in Puerto Rico series is part of the Despacito! TPOL Moves to Puerto Rico Trip Report.

There are many things I had to do to transition my business from the hustle and bustle of NY to the laid back island life of PR. Although Bachuwa Law, your favorite consumer protection advocate, is a paperless company, many of the companies I fight insist on sending paper settlement checks and correspondences. Much like applying for new card while abroad (see Nomadic Churning: Where Do You Send Your Card?), this archaic practice presented a challenge since I have yet to complete the PR version of my Ulaanbaatar House Hunters International Experience. With no permanent address, I went to the most dreaded place in the world, the post office.

Initially, I was told that I would need a local drivers license to open a P.O. Box. After pointing out that nowhere in the terms was this a requirement, I was given the go-ahead to open a box. All I needed was $41, my AZ driver’s license, and my passport. For the next six months, my mail will be forwarded from my previous home(s) at no additional cost to me. I also learned that “No Additional Postage Required if Mailed within the United States” applies to Puerto Rico. For the angry people out there who will rage, “Puerto Rico is part of the US!,” I am well aware of that fact. I just assumed there would be additional postage because of its isolation.

And there you have it. If you are moving here and need your mail forwarded, setting up a P.O. box is muy fácil. My next expat topic will be eating healthy in PR. Is it affordable? Is it worth it? While you ponder those questions, read my post on dieting in Mongolia, C n B: An Expat’s Guide to Eating Healthy.

Hasta Luego,

TEPOL

Do Hawaiians and Alaskans pay more for postage? I don’t think we will ever know.