Bags sit in front of Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in Carolina, Puerto Rico. (Salome Ramirez/VOA)
ADJUNTAS, PUERTO RICO — Achieving economic stability is typically the main reason that many Puerto Ricans migrate to the U.S. mainland. At the same time, thousands return to Puerto Rico annually, describing their homecoming as "a dream come true."
After 22 years abroad, married doctors Sheila Perez Colon and Lionel Lazaro Collazo decided to practice medicine in Puerto Rico.
“We always wanted to return to the island, but we couldn't find the way,” Lazaro Collazo told VOA. According to the orthopedic surgeon, attending medical school and building a practice led the couple to live in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. "It hurt us a lot when our daughter asked us why she wasn't born in Puerto Rico, if the whole family was from the island."
Data from the 2020 Census showed Puerto Rico’s population at 3.2 million, with an estimated 11.8% decrease over the preceding decade. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland reached 5.8 million, making them the second largest Hispanic population in the continental U.S.
“We always had Puerto Rico in our hearts, sometimes even with a bit of guilt for not being able to be there,” Perez Colon said.
A pediatric endocrinologist, Perez Colon said the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing isolation led them to return home. The couple arrived in Puerto Rico with their 10-year-old daughter in June 2022.
“Knowing there’s a great need for specialties like ours in our home country, while you are providing that expertise elsewhere and not back home, brought us back,” she said.
They say their biggest concern was the salary disparity of medical professionals in Puerto Rico compared with the U.S.
“That’s a reality that no one can deny. But we are prepared. We knew what was in store for us. We knew we were going to have a lower salary, but we would be rewarded to be with family in a place that satisfies us,” Perez Colon said.
For Lazaro Collazo, it was also an opportunity to give back.
“This was my dream, where I wanted to be to be able to offer my services to my people again,” he said. “What better than two well-prepared specialists who are bringing needed services to the island.”
A total of 17,859 Puerto Ricans moved back to the island in 2021, according to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. Two years earlier, 24,531 returned, one of the highest numbers in the past decade.
According to the Pew Research Center, 2017 hurricanes Irma and María were determining factors in the exodus of Puerto Ricans, as they sought safety on the mainland. In the year after the hurricanes, Puerto Rico’s population dropped by 3.9%.
“The mid-2000s marked a turning point for the island's economy when it entered a recession from which it has not recovered,” the Pew study said. “Since then, many Puerto Ricans have left the island for the U.S. mainland, particularly Florida, often citing work and family-related reasons.” READ MORE...
After 22 years abroad, married doctors Sheila Perez Colon and Lionel Lazaro Collazo decided to practice medicine in Puerto Rico.
“We always wanted to return to the island, but we couldn't find the way,” Lazaro Collazo told VOA. According to the orthopedic surgeon, attending medical school and building a practice led the couple to live in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. "It hurt us a lot when our daughter asked us why she wasn't born in Puerto Rico, if the whole family was from the island."
Data from the 2020 Census showed Puerto Rico’s population at 3.2 million, with an estimated 11.8% decrease over the preceding decade. Meanwhile, Puerto Ricans residing on the mainland reached 5.8 million, making them the second largest Hispanic population in the continental U.S.
“We always had Puerto Rico in our hearts, sometimes even with a bit of guilt for not being able to be there,” Perez Colon said.
A pediatric endocrinologist, Perez Colon said the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing isolation led them to return home. The couple arrived in Puerto Rico with their 10-year-old daughter in June 2022.
“Knowing there’s a great need for specialties like ours in our home country, while you are providing that expertise elsewhere and not back home, brought us back,” she said.
They say their biggest concern was the salary disparity of medical professionals in Puerto Rico compared with the U.S.
“That’s a reality that no one can deny. But we are prepared. We knew what was in store for us. We knew we were going to have a lower salary, but we would be rewarded to be with family in a place that satisfies us,” Perez Colon said.
For Lazaro Collazo, it was also an opportunity to give back.
“This was my dream, where I wanted to be to be able to offer my services to my people again,” he said. “What better than two well-prepared specialists who are bringing needed services to the island.”
A total of 17,859 Puerto Ricans moved back to the island in 2021, according to the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. Two years earlier, 24,531 returned, one of the highest numbers in the past decade.
According to the Pew Research Center, 2017 hurricanes Irma and María were determining factors in the exodus of Puerto Ricans, as they sought safety on the mainland. In the year after the hurricanes, Puerto Rico’s population dropped by 3.9%.
“The mid-2000s marked a turning point for the island's economy when it entered a recession from which it has not recovered,” the Pew study said. “Since then, many Puerto Ricans have left the island for the U.S. mainland, particularly Florida, often citing work and family-related reasons.” READ MORE...
