J1 2010, where should i go? Advice? Job necessary.

lukiej

hi guys!
im planning on heading to the U.S this summer on a J1, just wondering if anyone can tell me when they start taking applications? Iv registered my email address with usit and go4less but im curious to know when i can apply as i want to beat the rush and get the best price?
Also can anyone recommend which company is best to deal with/cheapest etc? usit or go4less? or any others?
As i am a J1 virgin, if any of you guys reading this have been before, could you give me some advice on California? where to go and where not to go? Im interested in the Huntington Beach and Newport Beach areas? Generally Orange County.
Would really appreciate any info and help.
Thanks,Luke

lil_lisa

First off, they all open at the same time. Usually around early December. They offer a free J-1 visa but that usually lasts til March. I travelled with Sayit one year and Usit the next. I found them both good, if you do work for them in the college (promotional stuff, nothing difficult) they give you a discount, something handy to look into! California is a tough place for jobs, up around Huntington Beach should be ok for accommodation but a little expensive. Do you have any connections before going over?

lukiej

ok thanks, i dont have any contacts as such. my cousin was in isla vista last year in santa barbara and he loved it. something seems very appealing about Orange County though..is it true that if you have a job lined up before you go you dont need a j1 visa, you can just get a normal travel visa? or is that a loada nonsense? im 19, where would be the best place to go in california for my age and to meet with my age? thanks again for your help

kzky321

Hey! I too was in Isla Vista last year and I'd recommend it for you in particular, since there's no shortage of parties and no need for ID and the like, although the cops there are cnuts and there's a good chance you could get a ticket for carrying open containers, I did! Otherwise, I can't complain, it was by far the best three months of my life. IV is excellent, full to the brim with Irish which did irritate me a lot, but the Americans I met were sound out and tended to hang out with them more than the Irish.

Sorry for the ramble, you prob know IV inside out from your cousin. We stopped in HB on the way to Vegas to collect friends so spent around 6 hours there and from what I saw, it was fab. HB was my first preference this time last year but friends who visited there previous years said it was rough and dirty and the like but I did not see that at all, think they musta just seen a bad area/had a bad experience so we decided SB. The gang we knew there all had good jobs - not too many jobs up in SB but there were if you really wanted one. Can't really say much else really, but HB seems like a good choice.

I've a contact for work in IV if you wanna PM me

lukiej

Kzky321, thanks for your help. i will take it all into consideration. it seems very hard to know where to go as there is mixed comments about everywhere really..do you think it is easier to get jobs in HB? do you know anything about Laguna Beach?
cheers,
Luke

kzky321

I wouldn't be sure, I'm just going on the fact that a group who were in HB all had jobs whereas my friends with me in IV found it hard to get any. Know nothing of Laguna I'm afraid, I found Wikipedia, Google Maps and Craigslist great before I went to get some kind of a feel for the places

Valmont

This forum really needs a J1 FAQ sticky.

kzky321

Valmont wrote: »

This forum really needs a J1 FAQ sticky.

True!

lukiej

kzky321 wrote: »

True!

whats a j1 FAQ sticky?

Jim236

lukiej wrote: »

is it true that if you have a job lined up before you go you dont need a j1 visa, you can just get a normal travel visa?

No, but if you have a job lined up before you go you only need to bring $475 with you, whereas if you don't have a job beforehand they won't let you in with anything less than $950 on ye.

Valmont

Jim236 wrote: »

No, but if you have a job lined up before you go you only need to bring $475 with you, whereas if you don't have a job beforehand they won't let you in with anything less than $950 on ye.

I had the $500 dollars with me the first time and nobody asked me for proof of funds. Earlier this year I just had a credit card on me and, again, they didn't ask for anything. I wouldn't fret too much about this detail.

lil_lisa

I'd worry more about how you can survive out there. Maybe its better now with the recession, I spent two summers in SD with no job! ATN Promo are good for summer staff. Look up any stadiums around where you're going, they usually have loads of summer promotional work available but it can run out fast so you'd want to start looking now. When its baseball season you'll have a steady job!

Ciara1988

Cape Cod all the way!!! Absolutely beautiful and plenty of jobs available... and New York is only a bus journey away!

Dublineese

Has anyone been on or know anyone that s been on a J1 to Florida, specifically Orlando. I hear very few j1ers go there but jobs are quite easy to find with all the theme parks, restaurants, hotels etc. I have a contact there but she's not sure she could help me on the job front.

Thanks