Moving from Puerto rico to Aruba?

[arubarican]

I have been in aruba almost 14 times i love it and i am thinking of moving to aruba. My best friend works for marriott international she has been the one asking me to move and i think i will do it. My main concern are how difficult is it every day to day life in Aruba i always stay in a hotel i always have my utilities running 24 hrs as per phone internet always available. I guess moving and buying a house and living day to day life as arubans lives should be more challenging. Allot more power blackouts and cellphone troubles internet down and so on. This is very common in the caribbean islands i will like a local perspective on the real issues so my transition will be smoother. I will be working from home i need reliable connections for internet and phone that is a must . Last time i went to aruba in the local paper printed announces by Setar the main phone company is always announcing problems with service please advise if either to go with setar or digicel? Also do i need to invest in a backup generator? can i get satellite tv from US i know this sound like stupid questions but i got the immigration stuff down as i got the contact for a great lawyer and i f everything goes well my investment will give me residency.

[Andrea J.]

i hope a resident replies and can address some of your concerns.

[Schnauzerjoy]

As for communication I can tell you my experience. When I am at my house in Aruba I am very dependent on phone and Internet for business.
I have a monitoring service on my internet and I have more than 99% up-time with my Internet via Cable from Setar.
I have mobile and fixed line with Setar as well and it is extremely rare that there are any problems with that.
Compared to Scandinavia, where we are very spoiled with technical infrastructure (best in the world), the stability in deliverance of these services are very good, way better than you would expect from an Island and way better that what I hear it is like in the Northern part of the Caribbean.
You can get US channels from either Sattelite or from Cable Tv (also from Setar) with most of the US main channels (except Fox).
Power black outs are not very common. They do appear though, but it is mainly in connection with a heavy rain fall, and then it depends a lot on what area you are in. In the very north of the Island where I am, it is pretty rare, but I have friends in ie. Palm Beach area where it is a bit more common.
At my house it is something like once every 2 month and maybe last for less than half an hour in most cases. So it is not so bad either.
But again, depends a bit on where you live.
(The new government is putting a lot of pressure on Elmar, to be even better in this area in the future).
So bottom line: If technical infrastructure is important to you, Aruba is probably the best Island in the world.
I hope this is helpful for you and all the best of luck in your effort to move to Paradise.
Carsten

[arubarican]

Originally Posted by Schnauzerjoy

As for communication I can tell you my experience. When I am at my house in Aruba I am very dependent on phone and Internet for business.
I have a monitoring service on my internet and I have more than 99% up-time with my Internet via Cable from Setar.
I have mobile and fixed line with Setar as well and it is extremely rare that there are any problems with that.
Compared to Scandinavia, where we are very spoiled with technical infrastructure (best in the world), the stability in deliverance of these services are very good, way better than you would expect from an Island and way better that what I hear it is like in the Northern part of the Caribbean.
You can get US channels from either Sattelite or from Cable Tv (also from Setar) with most of the US main channels (except Fox).
Power black outs are not very common. They do appear though, but it is mainly in connection with a heavy rain fall, and then it depends a lot on what area you are in. In the very north of the Island where I am, it is pretty rare, but I have friends in ie. Palm Beach area where it is a bit more common.
At my house it is something like once every 2 month and maybe last for less than half an hour in most cases. So it is not so bad either.
But again, depends a bit on where you live.
(The new government is putting a lot of pressure on Elmar, to be even better in this area in the future).
So bottom line: If technical infrastructure is important to you, Aruba is probably the best Island in the world.
I hope this is helpful for you and all the best of luck in your effort to move to Paradise.
Carsten

Thank You for your info so i feel better. I am glad to meet people of scandinavia i am a communications engineer i worked in Oslo for 2 months with a communications advising firm i did some work for telenor and is true in Europe you are the best but you should see the systems in some areas of the US Silicone valley has the most advanced telephone infrastructure in the world as per many of the major cities in the US i have worked all over the world.

[Andrea J.]

you folks are killing me with your brilliance. paul and i spent 2 hrs on thursday trying to set up a wireless printer. we failed. it was ugly. i was practically in tears and he was swearing. we are technology impaired.
i envy your skills and communications/engineering knowledge.

Originally Posted by arubarican

Thank You for your info so i feel better. I am glad to meet people of scandinavia i am a communications engineer i worked in Oslo for 2 months with a communications advising firm i did some work for telenor and is true in Europe you are the best but you should see the systems in some areas of the US Silicone valley has the most advanced telephone infrastructure in the world as per many of the major cities in the US i have worked all over the world.

[Tim nel]

Are you looking for a place to rent? I own a condo on the island that I am looking for a long term tenant. Let me know if you are interested.