J1 California

SherryChem

Hello, there is a group of us heading over to California this summer on a J1 we are looking at areas such as costa mesa , newport beach and irvine. If anyone has any past experience in these places could they give me any tips for jobs or good accomodation over there?
Thanksss :D:D

Black Swan

Newport Beach rentals near or on the beach are very high priced during summer. A bit inland on Newport Blvd that runs from Newport Beach into Costa Mesa has several motels that are reasonably priced for short stays during summer. You will need to shop prices as they very greatly.

The Travelodge near John Wayne Airport at 1400 Bristol Street in Costa Mesa has been known to give good discounts if you bargain with them about staying more than a week. They have a pool, hot tub, free wifi, and not far from the beaches of Huntington, Newport Beach, and Balboa.

Newport Beach is a safe city, has one of the largest yacht harbours in America, and has clean beaches. Balboa is part of Newport Beach, and is a lovely location for beach living, but tends to be very expensive for tourists during summer. If you are a hard shopper, apartments can be found on Balboa peninsula for minimum year leases at reasonable prices.

One of the best surfing locations in California is found at the mouth of Newport Harbour, called The Wedge, but is for moderate to expert surfers (no beginners!). Beginners can enjoy most of the coastline found in this area, with easy waves to learn upon.

Parts of Costa Mesa are safe, while other parts have crime and gang problems, mostly at night. Nearby Santa Ana has what we call war zones, where night visits are discouraged.

City of Irvine is not a place for tourists and is generally high priced, and intended for long stays or permanent residence. Apartment pricing near university (University of California-Irvine) is much higher than those far from UCI. They have over 25,000 students that compete for apartments, and during summer about 10,000 students stay for summer sessions. Irvine has been ranked as one of the safest cities in America, has no gangs, and their police force is very professional and quite proactive 24/7.

Shopping for sales is grand at South Coast Plaza and Irvine Spectrum, but unless you are rich, avoid Fashion Island in Newport Beach.

Jobs? Summer is not a good time, especially when you will be competing with high school students and university students during the Great Recession. Unemployment in California is currently double-digit, when during normal times it ranges about 5%. The so-called recovery is very slugglish and may take years.

SherryChem

We are intending on staying for three months so we are looking for an apartment for three months at a reasonable enough price, but if it is very hard to secure summer jobs then maybe these places are not the best places to go to for the summer. Thanks so much for your help.:)

lil_lisa

You have a much higher chance of securing a job by getting over as early as possible and finding one here. Employers don't like to hire people who are in other countries and usually don't have social security numbers.

If you find accommodation, make sure you don't fill out leases which you cannot finish. It can have serious consequences. As Black Swan has mentioned, look for student accommodation available during the summer.

SherryChem

Yes we are planning on coming over for the 1st June, so hopefully we will all secure jobs.

I am trying to find websites which have the students subleasing their accommodation for the summer but they are not too easy to come by.I have found a few but it is hard to get in touch with them and for any other apartments we look at through renting agencies you just get an automated email as a reply.

Thank you for your help.:)

jobrien19

I'm heading to San Francisco the last week of may for anyone who'd be interested in sharing accomodation around Berkeley hopefully as that's the best area to be in rent wise and location . (20 year old lad from cork