Hurricane Earl......Ahhhhhhh!

Early this morning, Hurricane Earl tore through the northeastern Caribbean.  This still-growing Category 3 storm ripped roofs off of buildings, toppled trees, damaged utility poles, and has left many homes without power.  According to the Associated Press, "The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Earl, which formed on Sunday, was already a major hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph, and it is likely to keep gaining force." 

By late (Monday) morning, Hurricane Earl was about 140 miles east of San Juan, PR and headed west-northwest at 15 mph.  Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from its center.  Heavy downpours pose threats of flash floods and mudslides. 

I spoke to my great aunt Nelli  last nite around 11pm, who lives a block from my g'mas house in Luquillo, she said the winds had already begun to kick up and it was pouring out.  Just waiting to hear back from her today to make sure she's ok and to assess any damage done to her house or grandma's place....   

Hurricanes....one of the few things we put on the "cons" list when deciding to move to Puerto Rico!

Money! Money! Money!

Sarah and I need to save up as much cash as possible before we head out to Puerto Rico.  Our biggest concerns, and our friends and family as well, are that we won't find work, go broke, and have to return state-side empty handed and defeated.  We need a decent purse, about $3,000, to get started and established.  So the first thing we've done is hunt through our couch cushions, car seats and pockets of our jeans for loose change.  So far we've collected about $400.  Sadly, that'll only cover our sun tan lotion budget for the year.

The beach front in Luquillo is lined with these little food shacks (called kioskos) that sell empenadas, tacos, mofongo (which I have no idea what it tastes like, but I hear it's full of pork parts or something) for about $1-$2.  We can probably feed ourselves on about $15 a day for the both of us.  Which is way better than our average $80/nite dinners out.

Sarah and I plan on selling all our stuff, or as much of it as possible.  We'll post blogs every once in a while of things we're trying to hoc. I'm going to try and sell my artwork cause i'm not taking any with me.  Below is one of my favorite paintings I'm selling.

This painting is as close to a perfect replica as they come.  It is Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night"  It's large 24"x36"and dominates a wall.  This was a commissioned painting, but upon completion (1-1/2 years) I was so proud I wanted $300 for it.  Which was asking to much, my head was a little swollen.  So now I'm asking $200.

Where are we going?

The first question everyone asks us after we tell them our plan is, "Why?"  That's been hard to explain (especially to Matt's mother). But the fun part to talk about comes from the second most commonly asked question, "Wait, where are you going?" and the answer to that is Luquillo, Puerto Rico! So far we've found the book Let's Go Puerto Rico to be an incredible source of information on Puerto Rico and Luquillo. We suggest if you want to visit us, or just go to Puerto Rico, this book is incredibly helpful and informative.  And yes, Puerto Rico is part of the US, it's a commonwealth.  But, if you're from the states and live there your called an Expat (Ex-Patriot). In our email we sent out introducing this Blog we said we were leaving the USA....it's still sort of true!


Quick facts about Luquillo:
- Population: 19,817 +2 more in November
- The beach is one the most beautiful in PR
- Cockfighting is legal. Still on the fence about that one.
- Average income $13,631
- Average Home Value $82,000
- Matt and Sarah are starting a Bed and Breakfast there or a cockfighting gym

Typography - Words in Motion

I (Matt) am a visual person and had to make something to satiate my artsy side for this trip.

Check out this Youtube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-me0tLnzp14 

Here's the Story

The Idea

Matt and I were sharing a few beers late one night.  We were discussing possible vacation spots when I told him that my 96 year old grandma, who currently lives with my family stateside, has a house in the small town of Luquillo, Puerto Rico.  From there, our intoxicated imaginations ran wild.   We bantered back and forth about our pretend life in Puerto Rico; fixing up grandma’s house,  endless days spent on the beach, backpacking through the rainforest, and more.  There was even talk of us having a few chickens and adopting a dog.  The more we joked about our “simple island life,” the more we realized that this wasn’t just drunken ranting, it was an opportunity.  A wonderful opportunity that we would not let pass us by.  This was our chance for adventure. 

The Plan

We have decided to quit our jobs, sell our assets and move to Puerto Rico, where we plan to fix up Sarah’s grandmother’s abandoned house (we have no idea what condition it is in) and start a new life in a small town named Luquillo.  We have three months to tie up our loose ends, make as much money as possible and even sell a liquor store before we go.  Visit our Blog regularly and follow us along our Chance Trippin’.  We titled this Blog Chance Trippin’ because this adventure came by “chance” and we will either trip on our faces or have the trip of a lifetime.