Entrepreneur Nicole Corah Billock has been pleasantly surprised by the expat community in her new home, Puerto Rico. The mother of two and her husband, Neil Billock, moved to the island late last year in an attempt to escape the hustle and bustle of American city life. The family didn’t expect for their to be such a large number of foreigners living in the country, but have been thrilled by the community they have run into on the Caribbean island and have started to give back in the form of philanthropy in their new home of Puerto Rico.
“Neil and I moved down here late last year after visiting numerous times over the past few years,” Nicole says, “As former tourists we had always noticed the amount of Americans in the region but never fully understood how many of them were actually full time residents. Since moving in we’ve been surprised about how large the expat community down here really is - we’ve made numerous friends already and the kids are thoroughly enjoying their new class mates.”
The couple moved to Dorado, Puerto Rico - a small town on the North Coast of the island that has a reputation for its beautiful beaches and golf courses. The area is a popular destination amongst foreigners looking to take advantage of the island’s beautiful beach front property. The couple have started charitable initiatives starting this year in Dorado.
“We’ve already started up our new business down here, many of our other American friends here are also business owners, the growing presence of online businesses means living in a place like Puerto Rico is now doable,” Nicole said.
Puerto Rico has grown popular with foreign business owners in recent times. The island is an unincorporated U.S. territory which allows access to the U.S. market. One of the island’s many advantages is that residents are not required to pay U.S. income tax. In addition, the low cost of living makes it an attractive place to own beachfront property without the associated costs of locations such as Los Angeles and Miami. While the majority of the island are Spanish speaking, English is also prevalent given the nations political ties and proximity to the United States.
“We’ve loved every minute of moving to Puerto Rico,” says Nicole, “Its also not far from the USA and a day trip back to San Diego, California. So its never too hard to head back to the states for a visit.”
