J1 in Miami

spudmonkey17

Hey everyone,
I recently applied to the J1 programme with USIT to go to Miami for the summer as the first part of my year out. Its my first time going on a J1 so any info anyone can provide on Miami (areas to stay in, things to do, places to go out etc.) will be much appreciated! :cool:

More importantly, any contacts that anyone might have would be a massive help!
I'd love to work in an Irish bar or something along those lines...

Cheers!

mullig23

hi spud

were heading to miami for the summer too and it looks class so if we find out any thing helpfully well let you know! and have you paid for your usit reregistration or any flights yet? I went with usit last year and like most people I thought usit was a bit of a rip off and I'm checking out go4less this year.

Sean

spudmonkey17

Hey Sean,

Cheers for the reply. Yeah I'm going with USIT this year. Its not too bad working out at about €1000 for flights and insurance and everything. I'm probably paying over the odds but I don't mind really as they were helpful enough and I'm getting a different visa with them for later on in the year too.
Just in the process of looking for jobs and accomodation at the moment though. Are you going on your own or with a group? And where did you go on your J1 last year?
If I find anything helpful I'll let you know also!

CaoimheNic

Hi guys,
I'm headin to miami with two friends this summer. We're hoping to get a place in South Beach, we've heard that's where the fun and parties are. Keeping an eye on craigslist for accommodation. We're going with go4less as have heard it gives good value and it's costing us about 1000 for everything as we're going to miami for about 2 months then on to chicago, new york and boston.
We havent had any luck with contacts for jobs yet but we're hoping to get lucky.
Do u (either of u) know anyone who's done a j1 in miami before???
I haven't heard of many doing it which is part of the allure. anyway please keep this updated??

mullig23

Hey,

Ya i went to New York last year for 3 months was the ****, such an experience. This year...... Miami!! I goin with one other but were tryin to get more to join the group!! :-). Caoimhe, our price is workin out about the same but thats only to miami for 3-4months, is the New York Chicago and Boston trip included? that sounds mental! I dont know anybody who went miami for j1 b4 and thats what has influencing us!! (and the beach) lol, We were checkin out accomodation on South Beach , its pretty expensive tho! we tryin to hit a 2 bedroom at about 800-1000 monthly. Jobs......... to be honest i havent tried. I doubt it will be really hard. Miami is a holiday spot and i guess it will always be busy (irish will probably help aswell) haha, when ye all goin?? Gotta meet up!

CaoimheNic

Hi again.
Yeah our price includes our whole trip (NY, Chicago, Boston) We do have some mad flights and a few too many stop offs in Wash. DC but we dont care!
Yeah that's the kind of price we want to spend on a place to stay. It's actually low season in miami in summer, so rent prices should come down- hopefully anyway!
We're arriving on 27th May, so presumably will be staying in some sort of hostel for a few days until 1st june. Don't really know how that'll work yet, hope to have accom sorted before we head over.
So many people have told me miami is just the best craic and have gone back again and again to south beach.
How many are there in your groups?

mullig23

Thats seriously cheap, when did ye book it?and thats not to many mad stop overs!!! there is just two of us anyway. so has anybody got any more luck with accomodation?? we are havin a bit of trouble at the moment and want to get it sorted before we get there for sure!! Did ye also think about the hurricane season, just read that recently lol!!!

CaoimheNic

Well I mean we're going to washington dc three times, each for about 3 hours, just so we can get places cheap!
No luck with accommodation yet either, its a tough one to know how much to pay etc.
Yeah its hurricane season, but generally I've heard it rains real heavy for like an hour in the afternoon, my friend was there last year on holiday and they had to stay in their hotel for two days but sure its al part of the experience!!
I wish there was an easy way of securing a job over before we go as I'll need money for the NY Boston and Chicago part of our trip!
Keep me posted anyway, I'll let you know if I get any leads on accomm etc...
Cx

earcandi

Hey! Myself and 3/4 friends are planning on going to New York and then Miami for about 2 weeks this summer. None of us can afford to do a whole J1 so just going to go for a bit of a holiday and for the beaches. I was going to start a thread on this but thought I'd use this one since you're all going there too. Was just wondering where's the best place to stay (hostels or cheap hotel or apartment, whatever) or had anybody been there before an what it was like. I'm thinking South Beach too.. it looks amazing, should be great!

InKonspikuou2

earcandi wrote: »

Hey! Myself and 3/4 friends are planning on going to New York and then Miami for about 2 weeks this summer. None of us can afford to do a whole J1 so just going to go for a bit of a holiday and for the beaches. I was going to start a thread on this but thought I'd use this one since you're all going there too. Was just wondering where's the best place to stay (hostels or cheap hotel or apartment, whatever) or had anybody been there before an what it was like. I'm thinking South Beach too.. it looks amazing, should be great!

South beach hostel is good. Only about 5 mins or less walk to the beach. And i heard it's been completely renovated since i was last there. Bring a lot of money if planning on going out in South Beach. You can pay in excess of 40 dollars entrance fees into the good clubs and then almost 10 dollars a drink. I found a lot of the cheaper bars to be pretty empty.

Lenno87

Hey all,

3 of us are heading to miami this summer, cant wait. I was just wondering if it is difficult to get jobs in miami? Where are the best/cheap places to stay?

goldylees

hey! i did a j1 in miami last summer....it was extremely expensive!! rent on south beach...in a gud location.. was $1800pm for a 1 bed appt, it was really nice tho! its really hard 2 find furnished appts 2 rent over there tho 4 short term leases, thats the thing!! minimun wage in miami is $3.63 per hour, and that was increased when i was there..it was worse! ha! transport system was a load of crap, so make sure ur job is very close 2 ur accomadation! main land miami (not south beach), is a very dangerous place, espesh north miami, so just be careful of that!! the night life is amazing, but as sum1 said before it can be expensive! oh....and it rained and there was thunderstorms everyday 4 the entire month of june, but the sun never stopped shining after that!!

everything that i said there is all very negative, but i had the time of my life over there...but it cost me waaaaaay 2 much money, even tho i worked 4 2.5 months. just wanted to give every1 a heads up, i wish sum1 had said it 2 me, because it took me a good month to figure everything out, and get settled! the best thing with miami is 2 go in a large group and all crowd in2 the accomadation 2gether and then it works out cheap! sorry 4 the negativity, its a gr8 place that u will never 4get!

southsiderosie

South Beach is an amazing place, and I lived there for a few years, but Miami (and South Florida in general) has a lot of serious problems.

Public transportation stinks. The city of Miami has pockets of crime and poverty that are some of the worst in the US (Miami Beach is very safe). It is STINKING HOT in the summertime. It's insanely overpriced (although once you are a local, you will figure out all of the cheap places). It's cheaper to live on the mainland, but it's easier to live on the beach if you work there, especially if you have to work at night; otherwise you will definitely need a car.

Aside from the above, the one problem I see with doing a J1 there is that summertime is actually the low season on the beach. High season is the wintertime: Nov - April. A lot of bars and hotels lay off a lot of their staff during the summer.

Another potential problem is the language issue: most employers prefer people who are bilingual. If you don't speak any Spanish at all this might be a problem. And if I remember correctly, the only Irish bars on the beach are Finnigan's...and Finnigan's II. The flip side to this is that the Irish have a reputation for being warm and friendly, something sorely lacking in the South Florida hospitality industry. I had a friend from the Midwest who moved to FL and did really well in the hotels industry simply because he was courteous, smiled at guests, and treated customers with respect...the bar is pretty low! So if you can try to find a job where customer service is important, and present yourself well, lack of Spanish fluency may not be a huge handicap. Boobs also help. Good luck.

unreggd

Spanish is easy! Just learn the most important things first

danny29

I am thinking of heading to Miami this summer but would prefer to team up with people to share accomodation and keep the rent down. Would like to live in south beach area or the coconut grove. Rent is too expensive for one person if theres anyone would like to share accomodation that would be great! gonna be good craic!

southsiderosie

Craig's List may be your best bet to find short-term rentals: http://miami.craigslist.org/

Whatever you do, try to live near where you work as public transportation in Miami is a slight step above nonexistent.

danny29

Thanks for the heads up!

Louthdrog

Sorry to bump up an old thread but im looking for anyones experiences that posted on this last year. Have the j1 to miami booked for this summer. Anybody else planning a miami j1 this summer?

Groinshot

Louthdrog wrote: »

Sorry to bump up an old thread but im looking for anyones experiences that posted on this last year. Have the j1 to miami booked for this summer. Anybody else planning a miami j1 this summer?

Considering it, LA or NY... I'll post back If I go for miami..

Lenno87

Hi all, I'm going to Miami this year for 3 weeks. I'm struggling to find accommodation in South Beach. Ideally we would like an apartment for two people, or a hotel for a reasonable price. Anyone know of any good hotels or good websites to book on?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Det. John Kimble

I am heading to Miami this summer but would prefer to team up with people to share accomodation and keep the rent down. Would like to live in south beach area or the coconut grove. Rent is too expensive ! if theres anyone would like to share accomodation that would be great! gonna be good craic!

poisonated

Det. John Kimble wrote: »

I am heading to Miami this summer but would prefer to team up with people to share accomodation and keep the rent down. Would like to live in south beach area or the coconut grove. Rent is too expensive ! if theres anyone would like to share accomodation that would be great! gonna be good craic!

Hey I'm fairly sure I'm going to do my j1 in Miami this summer. If I do, I'm going to stay in a hostel as they are cheap and would be good Craic. I suppose it helps if you can sleep anywhere. I did spanish for the leaving so that helps. Sorry I cant team up with you but you should consider staying at a hostel. They are well located and cheap. just under a hundred per week including tax and breakfast:)

john paulo

What hostel is that dude?

Kiwi71

Anyone looking to share accomadation in Miami this summer? im going over the 1st June!

Det. John Kimble

poisonated wrote: »

Hey I'm fairly sure I'm going to do my j1 in Miami this summer. If I do, I'm going to stay in a hostel as they are cheap and would be good Craic. I suppose it helps if you can sleep anywhere. I did spanish for the leaving so that helps. Sorry I cant team up with you but you should consider staying at a hostel. They are well located and cheap. just under a hundred per week including tax and breakfast:)

thanks for the advice ... are u definately going to miami now?
checked out a few apartments online and if we can get 5 or 6 people together it would work out at about $60 a week . not bad ! plus the banter would be unreal in an apartment cuz u can invite as much people as u want to come along for house parties n ****