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Hello,  We have several Holistic and homeopathic practitioners on the island plus a natural foods chain called FRESH MART which sells lots of natural, organic etc.  my questions is how is your Spanish?  if not good or non existent, your client load will be limited since, while most SPEAK English, they prefer NOT to.  There is a sizable English speaking popluation and, depending on where you live, there are more. Rincon, for example, is kind of a surfer, hippie, town; many speak English and they are very into natural, homeopathic etc. Hope that helps a bit.

Yes..very helpful. I recall from my Mexico adventures that Spanish can be learned fairly quickly when you are immersed in it!

Short answer: No.

dcowan76 wrote:

does the local population and the economy support this kind of work?

Slightly longer answer:The economy sucks and many people are without a job. Many people leave the island to go to the USA  to find a job.
Since most health plans won't cover what you're offering you'd have to find people who have enough money to spend.
Bottom line, what Nomad Lawyer said..

Your prospects would be less than dim. Sorry about the bad news.

Hi Folks,

I know the expertise you have is very marketable in the states. Here, breaking in to ANY business is hard and harder if you are a gringo. There are so few jobs and job opportunities here that you really have to see it to believe it. Pockets of people who could afford to pay for your services (as opposed to health insurance covered services) exist but they are few and far between. Aside from that, the bureaucratic hoops you would have to jump through would make a saint curse. This is a beautiful island with good people but it is not for foreigners who are planning to come here and will need to work. My advise, create a cash flow from the states that will support you here, at least 40K a year, then come down for six months and look around, experience the economy and the different parts of the island. Learn what it is like to survive here. The tourist experience that most wide eyed adventurers enjoy is deceptive. After six months, make a decision. It sounds like a long, expensive process but you are paying for an education you can only get by being here.

dolt201 wrote:

Here, breaking in to ANY business is hard and harder if you are a gringo.

Ain't that the truth!
This is of course a universal problem. Wherever you go and want to start a business you're gonna have a harder time being a stranger. Locals need a dang good reason to give you their business otherwise the will prefer a local partner.

So, when you want to start a business try to find a niche where you mainly serve non-locals and you may have a chance. Still there's the bureaucracy and local hurdles to conquer and that's not easy on this island.

One more negative note regarding the business environment: In my experience, people in PR are much more likely to not live up to their side of a contract (i.e., pay you) than in the States, so if you don't collect payment up-front, there is a good chance that you'll never see a dime.

Sad but unfortunately true. I sure am glad we have you on this forum NomadLawer.

NomadLawyer wrote:

One more negative note regarding the business environment: In my experience, people in PR are much more likely to not live up to their side of a contract (i.e., pay you) than in the States, so if you don't collect payment up-front, there is a good chance that you'll never see a dime.

This is one important reason why I prefer non-local customers.