When Charity Kreher's husband was offered a job in Puerto Rico, the couple mulled over the opportunity before coming to the same conclusion: "Why not?"

Kreher had never stepped foot on the island before she left Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her husband and two young children to start their new life in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November 2024. But she was excited to take the leap.

"It was like, if we don't do it, would we be kicking ourselves for not getting out of our comfort zone?" Kreher, 34, told Business Insider.

So far, life on the island has been wonderful. The Krehers have become more active as a family thanks to Puerto Rico's temperate climate and scores of scenic beaches and trails, and they've quickly built a support system in their kind and welcoming community. Maybe their kids will even end up being bilingual.

"Some things are different, but you're not left wanting, like maybe some folks would imagine," Kreher said.

With its white sand beaches, lively culture, and relatively fast flight time from the East Coast, Americans often see Puerto Rico as an easy tropical getaway that doesn't require digging up a passport. Travelers are increasingly flocking to the island: Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, in the capital municipality of San Juan, received 6.6 million passenger arrivals in 2024 — an 8% increase from the previous year, according to Discover Puerto Rico, which called the stat "record growth."

But Puerto Rico isn't satisfied with quick trips anymore. They want you to stay longer — like, forever — and are introducing favorable tax incentives and new infrastructure to make your everyday life feel like a vacation.

Room for a rebrand

Compared to the mainland states, Puerto Rico is fairly small. Its entire area — all 3,515 square miles — could fit inside Connecticut. Its estimated population, about 3.1 million people according to the 2023 US Census, is roughly comparable to the population of Iowa.

In 2022 and 2023 combined, 50,577 Americans moved to Puerto Rico. While that's not a particularly impressive statistic — the island only captured more American movers than one state, Wyoming, in 2023 — Puerto Rico has plans to better accommodate more long-term residents in the future.

An influx of Americans will require updated infrastructure to make them happy. Though cities on the northern part of the island, like Condado, Old San Juan, and Dorado, have a healthy number of Americans living in them and are generally better equipped with things like generators and cisterns, other parts of Puerto Rico are still lacking. In 2019, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gave Puerto Rico a "D-" grade in infrastructure, citing issues like poor roadway conditions and inadequate energy infrastructure.

For Kreher, who lives with her family in a three-bedroom apartment in Condado, it's not a major problem. She chose their building not just for its location directly on the ocean, but because it has a backup generator, a non-negotiable for her setup as a remote worker who requires a reliable connection.

Still, the Krehers haven't been entirely immune to Puerto Rico's infrastructure issues.

"The last time we were at church, the power went out halfway through the sermon, and they didn't have a generator," Kreher said. But when these things happen, everyone takes it in stride: "You wouldn't believe how frequently the stoplights go out and how we all just know how to handle it," she added.

In 2019, Puerto Rico passed the Puerto Rico Energy Public Policy Act, which set a goal to reach 100% of the island's electricity needs with renewable energy by 2050. In December 2022, Congress approved $1 billion to upgrade the resilience of Puerto Rico's electric grid.

It's enough of an issue that Puerto Rico is trying to change the narrative and expand comfortable living to other parts of the island. Moncayo, a resort-style luxury development, is scheduled to open in 2027 on Puerto Rico's eastern shoreline.

Carter Redd, the developer and president of Moncayo, told Business Insider that the development was designed intentionally with a primary residential community — not vacationers — in mind. The amenities you'd expect to see at a tropical residence like golf, pickleball, and a wellness facility are all still there, but Moncayo is also enticing full-time residents with a farm, a PPK-12 international school, and a medical center.

"There are more and more people who are looking to Puerto Rico not as a weekend getaway or as a second or third home, but as a primary home community and destination," Redd said.

Moncayo isn't the only luxury development coming to the island. Four Seasons Resort and Residences Puerto Rico is set to open in late 2025 just thirty minutes from Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, and the Mandarin Oriental Esencia, a residential project on 2,000 acres of the island's southwestern coast, is scheduled to open in 2028.

Taxes that aren't taxing

For some, the cost of living is an important factor in leaving the US. Though Puerto Rico isn't necessarily any cheaper than the mainland, there are some incentives that can sweeten the deal for foreigners.

Michael McCready, a 56-year-old lawyer, moved from Chicago to San Juan in January. He pays more for rent in San Juan than he did in Chicago, but his take-home pay is a lot larger thanks to Act 60, a tax incentive put in place in 2020 to lure Americans and foreigners to Puerto Rico in hopes of boosting the economy.

Act 60 gives residents a 4% income tax rate, a 75% discount on property tax, and a 100% exemption from capital gains accrued while in Puerto Rico.

Carlos Fontan, the former director at the Office of Incentives for Businesses in Puerto Rico, said Act 60 is not dissimilar to the ways different states play with tax provisions to attract residents.

"We want people in Puerto Rico who can invest in different sectors of the island, create jobs, and create opportunities," Fontan said. "It's a win-win situation for our socioeconomic framework on the island."

Fontan and Humberto Mercader, former deputy secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce, believe Act 60 will help change misconceptions about Puerto Rico as a vacation-only destination. According to the Foundation for Puerto Rico's Economy, tourism only accounted for 2% of Puerto Rico's GDP in 2022, while manufacturing accounted for 43%.

"Puerto Rico has a very strong industrial base and an entrepreneurial ecosystem that is sometimes overlooked because of the tourism," Mercader told Business Insider. "But when you think about attracting long-term residents, you're talking about bringing people who will bring their businesses here."

For movers like McCready, Puerto Rico's lifestyle advantages are what sold him. The tax incentives were the cherry on top.

"I joke to my wife and say I would live at the North Pole for these taxes," he said. "But it just happens to be an absolutely amazing place to live. Even without the tax benefits, I would still be happy here."

• Imoved to Italy for work, but about two years later, I learned my contract wouldn't be renewed.
• Without citizenship or savings, I had to leave the life I was starting to build behind.
• Now, I'm back in the US, working to get back to the place where I finally felt like myself.

I never really thought I'd live in Italy.

Sure, my dad was from there, but we weren't one of those families who had dual citizenship or spent summers on the Amalfi Coast. I didn't even speak Italian — but one opportunity changed everything.

Just over a month after my dad passed away, I'd been let go from my job and was cold-emailing brands I admired, when I landed a marketing role with an Italian beauty company.

The role offered the chance to relocate to Italy, and I thought, why not? What once felt like a distant dream suddenly became real, as if my dad was guiding me toward this new chapter in my life.

I slowly built a life in Italy, but just when I thought I had it all figured out, I lost it

I moved in July 2022 and spent my first few weeks in Pescara, Italy, (where the company's offices were based) getting to know my team and easing into the slower pace of life.

On hot afternoons, we'd sometimes log off early and head to the beach. It was a kind of freedom and balance I'd never experienced at work before. I didn't feel pressured to always be online, there weren't any expectations to work weekends, and my creativity felt fed by my real life.

At the end of the month, I relocated to Rome. With little to no in-office requirements, the city seemed like a great fit for me because of its public transportation system, international connections, and lively pace. Plus, if I needed to get to Pescara, I was only a two-hour bus ride away.

Living in Rome felt easy and natural, like I'd lived there in another life. I woke up early to grab treats from my local bar (what the Italians call cafés), made friends with my neighbors, and learned where the non-touristy spots were. I also got used to the nuances of daily life in the city, from public transportation strikes to a lack of strong air conditioning.

I visited my dad's family in Lombardy and Calabria, too. It was incredibly grounding to connect with relatives who spoke little English but welcomed me anyway. I felt closer to him than ever before, but it was hard not to be upset with the fact that he'd never taught me the language.

Although I'd made an effort to practice speaking with my family, took dozens of classes, and subscribed to Babbel, there were still plenty of moments when I struggled to keep up with the pace of conversations at work or sound competent at the post office.

It was intimidating, but over time, I pushed through the discomfort, asked questions when I was unsure, and slowly started to pick up more of the language. Day by day, I built a quiet resilience and confidence I hadn't expected.

Then, just when I thought I'd found my groove — I'd gotten my residency permit, was seemingly thriving at work, and wassettling into a new friend group — I learned my contract was not being renewed due to budget cuts, and I wasn't the only one affected.

Without a job, dual citizenship (my dad completely naturalized as a US citizen, preventing me from gaining automatic Italian citizenship), or a financial safety net, I couldn't stay.

So, I had to pack up the life I'd built and return to the US in January 2025.

For now, I'm back in the States and grieving the version of myself I'd found abroad

Now, I'm inNew York City, working full-time, and freelancing as I try to hold onto the version of myself I'd become in Italy — the person who understood that life doesn't always need to be rushed or optimized.

But it's not easy. Returning here has felt like starting over and trying to find my footing in a place where everyone seems to be running at a relentless pace.

So, I'm trying my best to make it back to Italy on my own terms. I'm working hard to secure my status as a dual citizen, but I'm not sure how long it will take.

Through it all, though, I'm proud of myself for reconnecting with my heritage and chasing this dream.