Hi! I'm partial to the North Coast (including Dorado and beyond), but other areas to consider might be Humacao, Aguadilla/Cabo Rojo, Caguas area, maybe Ponce? I live in Barceloneta - and have another property nearby in ManatÃÂ - and I'm extremely happy here. I do 100% recommend gated communities because I find them to be safer.
There are Walmart, Home Depot, etc stores all over the Island. I have found that outside of San Juan, Manatà has decent medical facilities.
Public schools are awful in PR. If you have children you'll want a good, private, bilingual school. Again, your best bet there are probably San Juan, Dorado, and Humacao. I don't have kids, so others might have better information about this.
Hope this helps, happy to answer any other questions.