J1 Visa

R.Rated

Im planning on going to the US on a J1 next year and was wondering which is the best place to go i was planning on going to San Diago

FoxyChild

I went to Cape Cod for 4 months in 2001 on the J1 visa. Had an excellent time there. A lot of the Irish go there too.

idontknowmyname

It depends on if you want to go to a place a lot of other Irish students go or somewhere more unique? I went to Oregon (I was probably the only J1'er in the entire state), went on my own cause none of my mates were bothered. Best summer ever, made a load of American friends whom I'm still in constant contact with. So I liked going to a place that the Irish don't go.

San Diego has been the best place to go in recent years if you want a load of other Irish people, San Fran also.

optiplexgx270

Was in Chicago in '01 plenty of irish and very pro Irish city was great fun

numorouno

went to boston in 01. excellent city although you have to be prepared as regards accomadation espically and jobs to a certain extent. i got an interview and job with gentle giant moving here before i left (they come to the universitys and ITs just before or after christmas) and it was the best summer i ever had with regard to gettin fit, earning money and having a great time. cape cod is good but accomadation is hard to get and expensive. i feel its better to work and live in boston and head to the cape for a weekends holiday to mates or something. also boston is extremely pro irish and there are loads there. also its very easy to get around. parks are lovely and pubs are good craic although they are very strict on ID so youd want to be 21 or stick to the irish bars

boy_wonder

Hi,

I was in Boston in 2000 on a J1 and Chicago in 2003 on a J2.
Initially i thought Boston was the place to be etc etc etc and at the time it was, until i went to Chicago!! The summer in Chicago knocks the socks off Boston. There is way more to do during the day and at night. The beaches are 5min walk from the city (very high rise). Its also much cheaper than Boston and we found it alright getting jobs.
The only bad thing about Chicago is that it is a bit isolated i.e. no other cities close to it worth visiting. We drove down to Memphis(7hrs) to visit Elvis - excellent but after that nowhere really worth going.
On the other hand, Boston is close to a good few places worth visiting. We went to New York(4hrs on bus and cheap enough), Newport Rhode Island is a cool beach town(1hr), Cape Cod and Atlantic city not a million miles either.

No matter where you go anyway you'll have a ball!! Just make sure you have your ID sorted!!( Found Bostom stricter with regard to ID)

Derek B

idontknowmyname wrote:

It depends on if you want to go to a place a lot of other Irish students go or somewhere more unique? I went to Oregon (I was probably the only J1'er in the entire state), went on my own cause none of my mates were bothered. Best summer ever, made a load of American friends whom I'm still in constant contact with. So I liked going to a place that the Irish don't go.

San Diego has been the best place to go in recent years if you want a load of other Irish people, San Fran also.

I'd agree with that. I've been on 3 J1's including cape cod and san diego, and while I enjoyed them all, if I was gonna do it again I'd definitely go somewhere unusual - somewhere like maybe Portland, Austin, Savannah, Atlanta. YOu do have a laugh in the usual places that are full of Irish, but if you got a few friends and went somewhere that bit different I think you'd find it better

Vegeta

went to san diego last summer, and it is indeed a fantastic city. Then we drove form east coast to west coast and the nicest city i was in was definitely Austin texas. It was the friendliest place and had an amazing nightlife, as well as that the university there is absolutely epic, its enormous. Loved that palce

San diego was also a mad laugh, lived on the corner of grand and olney, near campland on pacific beach. Campland is a handy place to get a job if ya can

ionapaul

Did the J1 twice, first time we went to San Diego, second time we got a job with accomodation sorted out in advance in Santa Cruz (also California) at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Check this out: http://www.beachboardwalk.com/02_housing.html
Much more enjoyable summer than in San Diego, though San Diego would be the place to live if you don't need a job and have enough money to live well for the entire summer! Which I imagine you don't have. The only Irish in San Diego were those we travelled with, about 8 of us, living right on the beach beside the Boardwalk with 80 other European students. Parties EVERY night, man it rocked. I wish I were young again