New York for J1

elle

Just back from US, had 3 days in New York, totally fell in love with the place and thinking of going back to do a J1 next summer. Wondering if anyone has done this? Is it tough to find work? Have plenty bar exp and would prob prefer bar work while there, also not keen on living in brookly/ bronx, would prefer either east village, chelsea .. stayed on 55th, 8th ave when i was there, any ideas on renting here??

Charlie

Here on a J1 at the moment, absolute smasher.

Long story short, you'll be able to make a ton of money in NYC, but its probably unrealistic to expect to be able to rent in Manhattan. The rent is ridiculous.

Look into staying in Woodside in Queens. Its an Irish area that has everything you need, and is only 15 mins on the 7 train to Times Square.

elle

is it easy to get work?? am thinking prob bar work or something? Is subway dodgey at night, like if ye were to live in queens?

emeraldstar

Just back from a J1 there. I lived in Manhattan. Because I was working in Times Square with the late opening hours, I didnt leave work til 2/3/4am sometimes and I never had any problems getting the subway home. Before I started I was wondering about that; lone female, middle of the night, etc, but not a single problem, it was fine. There are ALWAYS people around on the subway.

New York is magic.You will love it.Defo check out Southampton and Easthampton while you are there.Nightlife is amazing.
Pink Elephant is a good nightclub but you have to bull**** so much toget into the VIP section!

charlie mchugh

charlie mchugh wrote:

Here on a J1 at the moment, absolute smasher.

Long story short, you'll be able to make a ton of money in NYC, but its probably unrealistic to expect to be able to rent in Manhattan. The rent is ridiculous.

Look into staying in Woodside in Queens. Its an Irish area that has everything you need, and is only 15 mins on the 7 train to Times Square.

What were you working at?I am/was a porter/doorman.

Charlie

Yeah same deal, only I never did porter, so only doorman.

What a job!

p to the e

i stayed there two years ago for three months it seems that everyone goes to Woodside but this isn't a bad thing. it's where i stayed. you don't exactly have to find a place or anything like that before you leave but it might help. if you want bar work get there as early as possible as it's the first thing that fills up. but don't worry about it. there's plenty of work for anyone willing to work. people are friendly even if it seems fake sometimes but it's just as dangerous as any city in the world. we never (a group of twenty) had one bit of trouble. just go with it and enjoy a city i am definitely going to live in again one day! p.s it gets seriously hot in the summer

charlie mchugh

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Here on a J1 at the moment, absolute smasher.

Long story short, you'll be able to make a ton of money in NYC, but its probably unrealistic to expect to be able to rent in Manhattan. The rent is ridiculous.

Look into staying in Woodside in Queens. Its an Irish area that has everything you need, and is only 15 mins on the 7 train to Times Square.

I think I remember seeing you in NY.You had a Yankees t-shirt that had "Locksy" written on it.

Charlie

Yeah Dazzler, that would be me.

Whereabouts did you see me? How did you know that my boards profile was the same guy you saw in New York?

broadwaybaby

Is there any point in going on the J1 if you are under 21? Would there be much to do in NYC at night ? This year would be the last year I could get a j1 but I'll be 19 - 20 in August?

charlie mchugh

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Yeah Dazzler, that would be me.

Whereabouts did you see me? How did you know that my boards profile was the same guy you saw in New York?

Just from reading the threads on this forum.Plus I think I met ya on the subway at like 5 am one mring on way back to woodside.Your friend was nudging two girls who were asleep on one another.
Plus seen you a few times in that crappy laundrette on woodside ave.!:p

broadwaybaby

broadwaybaby wrote: »

Is there any point in going on the J1 if you are under 21? Would there be much to do in NYC at night ? This year would be the last year I could get a j1 but I'll be 19 - 20 in August?

I had a photocopoed passport and never got rejected,even if they are giving you a hard time.Just play the Irish card!:D

There's too much to do in New York at night!

Third_Echelon

elle wrote: »

Just back from US, had 3 days in New York, totally fell in love with the place and thinking of going back to do a J1 next summer. Wondering if anyone has done this? Is it tough to find work? Have plenty bar exp and would prob prefer bar work while there, also not keen on living in brookly/ bronx, would prefer either east village, chelsea .. stayed on 55th, 8th ave when i was there, any ideas on renting here??

I did my J1 in New York in 2001. Great city. Like yourself, I was there previously for a visit (World Cup in 1994) and I just felt at home instantly. I knew that when I did my J1 it had to be New York...

I kinda had work arranged before-hand. I had a contact anyway in an apartment management company, so I worked for the summer as a doorman and porter. Great money at the time ($25 per hour. Its probably more now) and there was loads of overtime covering for holidays of the permanent employees (double time, ka-ching!)...

Bar-work, i.e. working behind the bar, might be hard to find. Bars don't usually take on bar-staff for short periods of time. I had a few years bar experience at the time as well and inquired to a few places and they work looking for some sort of certification (perhaps they were fobbing me off.. I dont know). You will get waiter/waitressing work, but the pay isn't great. You make your money from tips... ($5 (could be more now) per hour usually plus tips)

You will NOT be able to afford to live in Manhattan. End of story

I lived in Sunnyside, Queens, which was a really nice neighbourhood. Woodside was right next to it. No. 7 subway line was right at my door and I was in Times Square in 10/15 minutes.

You are best looking in the Queens area i reckon. Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City. We had a studio apartment with 5 of us (cosy to say the least ) each paying $700 per month ($3,500 in total). Manhattan was anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

In my experience, having lived there and been back since working there again... New York is one of the safer cities in the world. Any time of the day or night you can ride the subway and you will be fine. Obviously like any of the world's big cities, it has its fair share of crazies and criminals... Just be aware of your surroundings and you will be fine... There are always people on subways at any time of day or night, so you'll be grand..

Put it this way.... I'd feel safer walking in New York at 3am than I would in Dublin...

Great choice.. DO IT!

Third_Echelon

Deleted User wrote: »

I had a photocopoed passport and never got rejected,even if they are giving you a hard time.Just play the Irish card!:D

There's too much to do in New York at night!

Yeah this worked for me also. Just photocopied the passport and changed a few digits :cool:

I was 21 in the november of that year, so I was close enough. Most places dont ask for ID anyway...

emeraldstar

Third_Echelon wrote: »

You will NOT be able to afford to live in Manhattan. End of story

I lived in Sunnyside, Queens, which was a really nice neighbourhood. Woodside was right next to it. No. 7 subway line was right at my door and I was in Times Square in 10/15 minutes.

You are best looking in the Queens area i reckon. Woodside, Sunnyside, Astoria, Long Island City. We had a studio apartment with 5 of us (cosy to say the least ) each paying $700 per month ($3,500 in total). Manhattan was anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

I lived in Manhattan......I paid $750/month.......

Charlie

Alrite Dazzler, I do indeed remember that encounter. Those girls were having none of his antics And yeah, I spent many a day in that clammy laundromat. Do you miss Sean Ogs?;)?

$750 pm seems crazy money for a studio in Sunnyside. We rented a 4 bed apartment in Woodside for $2400 pm total, we had 7 living in it so it worked out at like $350 pm per person. It was a really big apartment, tons of space. So $750 for a studio in Sunnyside seems crazy. Seriously, rent in Queens is very cheap compared to Manhattan. You should be looking at paying no more than $400 pm per person in Queens. Like ot was said already, Woodside/Sunnyside are nice areas, and very close to Midtown Manhattan. In fact, you're probably closer to Midtown than many people who live in Manhattan.

Bar jobs would be tough to get in the city, but in an around Woodside and Sunnyside you probably stand a chance if you get in early. You will probably have to lie about how long you are intending to stay though.

The Doorman/Porter gig though is sweet. Tons of money, great people, and generally an easy job. Plus you'll be working in a really nice part of Manhattan and will get a real sense of what its like to be a New yorker.

Valmont

charlie mchugh wrote: »

The Doorman/Porter gig though is sweet. Tons of money, great people, and generally an easy job. Plus you'll be working in a really nice part of Manhattan and will get a real sense of what its like to be a New yorker.

Stupid question: Is a doorman like a bouncer or or you talking about helping people with their bags and things in a hotel?

I'm really interested in going to New York for the summer but unfortunately I only turn 21 half way through July!

Apart from bars what places are best to look for jobs? Hotels maybe?

Advice much appreciated:D

Third_Echelon

Valmont wrote: »

Stupid question: Is a doorman like a bouncer or or you talking about helping people with their bags and things in a hotel?

I'm really interested in going to New York for the summer but unfortunately I only turn 21 half way through July!

Apart from bars what places are best to look for jobs? Hotels maybe?

Advice much appreciated:D

A doorman in this context is more the helping people with their shopping and opening doors

Most apartment blocks in Manhattan have quite a big staff that run the building. A part of this staff is a 'front of house' team that opens doors, greets the tenants, helps them with shopping/deliveries etc.

Don't worry about your age. I wasn't 21 until the november, so I was 20 for the whole summer. No problem with bars etc. Very few places in NY ask for ID.

Valmont

Third_Echelon wrote: »

A doorman in this context is more the helping people with their shopping and opening doors

Most apartment blocks in Manhattan have quite a big staff that run the building. A part of this staff is a 'front of house' team that opens doors, greets the tenants, helps them with shopping/deliveries etc.

Don't worry about your age. I wasn't 21 until the november, so I was 20 for the whole summer. No problem with bars etc. Very few places in NY ask for ID.

That's good to know. The doorman job sounds handy enough alright. I'll have to scope out a few of the j1 job sites. Cheers

Charlie

Funnily enough I didn't turn 21 until mid july either. In Queens, you'll be grand, never asked. Manhattan was a little different, but **cough, cough** just do what a 16yr old Irish teenager does when they need to get into clubs.

The doorman job was in an apartment building. Like I said, it was a great job, and the work was always easy, but this varied depending on the shift you did, e.g a Sunday evening shift will be busy because lots of people are coming back from their weekend away in the Hamptons, but this just means more tips. having said that, the most important aspect of the job is just getting to know people, and recognize faces so you stop the right people when entering the building. They (the board members of the building) are really anal about that, but you get the hang of it, and people understand why you might stop them and ask them where they are going.

p.s look up Rose Associates, schedule an interview with them. As long as you can pass a drugs test, you'll be sorted.

Valmont

charlie mchugh wrote: »

p.s look up Rose Associates, schedule an interview with them. As long as you can pass a drugs test, you'll be sorted.

a drugs test? seriously? Is that the norm for student visa jobs?

Valmont

Valmont wrote: »

a drugs test? seriously? Is that the norm for student visa jobs?

Afraid it is my friend.It is the norm for anybody entering a doorman/porter job.

Blut

A number of employers in other states do it too, Seaworld in California for instance.

Valmont

clean living for me until the summer then!

witnessmenow

+1 for doorman job, it paid really well, and i was only on 80%. I worked in a small building though (24 appartments) so at the weekends it was unbelievably boring!
Tom Hanks lived in the building that i worked in! (seriously)

All bigish companies require you to take a drugs test ( i never took one for the second company i applied for, never got the time). The doorman jobs are incredibly picky with backround checks and such, 2 companies I applied for 100% had to check you social security (american one)number before employing.

I worked for the company "Gumly Haft, 415 madison avenue", maybe you could look them up and try get sorted before you get out there.

I lived on Katonah avenue , woodlawn, the bronx. Dont let the bronx part scare you its a real irish comunity. I got the link to my job off someone i randomly met in the shop!