Huntington Beach J1

234

Hi,
Me and my girlfriend are thinking of doing a J1 in Huntington Beach this summer. Jobs seem easy enough to come by, but accomodation seems to be the tricky thing. Does anybody have any tips/experiences they want to share? Where are the best places to get accomodation? Is it necessary to share with lots of other people? Did you find it easy to get a job?

Thanks!:D

lukiej

I did my J1 in Huntington 2 summers ago, went back to San Diego this summer on just a holiday visa.. much much preferred Huntington. Iv written lots on Huntington on this and j1forum.com so check them out.. if you have trouble finding them let me know and il mail you some info.. basically i fell in love with the place and would recommend it to anyone. Some say your first time doing J1 is always the best, maybe in some cases. I went to San Diego this summer, it was good, in fact, great, but compared to its not a patch on Huntington. Huntington has the most amazing beach, really nice and friendly people, great weather is a given i suppose. Accommodation is hard to come by, we were lucky two years ao we got sorted in a complex quick enough. I went back several times this summer to visit friends, both american and irish, and the irish were having a tough time both getting jobs and finding or holding on to accommodation. what happens is, the irish load in a huge amount of people into a 2 or 3 bedroomed house, we did it ourselves, this as you can imagine creates a huge amount of noise, and residents of complexes will complain and you will find yourself being evicted before you know it after a few warnings. If its just you and your girlfriend going and you dont intend on bunking in with a large crowd you will have no problem finding accommodation, but i predict that after this summer from what i saw they are going to be very strict on letting houses to the Irish for 3 months. Huntington is very spread out, so bikes are a must although there are loads of buses, their times are not very reliable. We cycled the length and breath of the place all summer, its a lot handier and although we were the guts of 5 miles to the beach it would take us about 20-25 minutes to cycle down, you would not feel the time going. On the job front, everyone i lived with 2 years ago got jobs, this year, knotts berry farm as with 2 years ago is a huge employer of Irish, its a 50min bus ride away, but nearly everyone that applied got jobs there. If your over 21, many bars and restaurants will hire you. What i really like about Huntington was that it was ideally located. The night life is not wonderful there so we used to get taxis to Newport Beach (10min) and Long Beach (15-20min) for the clubs and bars. you are only 35-40 minutes from L.A., 1hr 30min from San Diego. 4hours from Vegas. we rented cars a lot this summer and 2 summers ago, it is also a must, they are very cheap to rent over there. I could really talk about Huntington all day and I still talk about it regularly 2 years later. It is by a long shot the best place iv ever been. I plan on doing something different this summer, and heading back to Huntington or surrounding area on a 1 year graduate visa when I finish college 2 summers time. Feel free to ask me anything you want on it, I have a pretty good idea of the place and California in general and would be happy to help you out.
Luke

cooperguy

Like lukiej I have posted a few times on Huntington on this forum and absolutely loved my time there. I hope to have a quick visit back there next summer. Cant wait!

I was there in 2008 and most people who wanted jobs got them. There are plenty of shops etc looking for staff. Accommodation however is hard to find. Everybody wants a year long lease. We eventually found a great spot across the road from the beach. Its definitely worth putting the effort in to try and find a place near the main street and Pacific Coast highway. Best location by far! Craigs list is probably a good place to start.

thedream

Can you tell me about the job situation in Huntington...?:)

ShakeandBake11

im goin over aswell but there is 12 of us so accommodation will be grand for us. a few of the lads were going with went last year and couldnt recommend it any more, the only thing im worried about is getting a job, would also like some information on how easy it is to get a job and what kind of jobs they are?

sooooooooooound :cool:

Ella1991

lukiej wrote: »

I did my J1 in Huntington 2 summers ago, went back to San Diego this summer on just a holiday visa.. much much preferred Huntington. Iv written lots on Huntington on this and j1forum.com so check them out.. if you have trouble finding them let me know and il mail you some info.. basically i fell in love with the place and would recommend it to anyone. Some say your first time doing J1 is always the best, maybe in some cases. I went to San Diego this summer, it was good, in fact, great, but compared to its not a patch on Huntington. Huntington has the most amazing beach, really nice and friendly people, great weather is a given i suppose. Accommodation is hard to come by, we were lucky two years ao we got sorted in a complex quick enough. I went back several times this summer to visit friends, both american and irish, and the irish were having a tough time both getting jobs and finding or holding on to accommodation. what happens is, the irish load in a huge amount of people into a 2 or 3 bedroomed house, we did it ourselves, this as you can imagine creates a huge amount of noise, and residents of complexes will complain and you will find yourself being evicted before you know it after a few warnings. If its just you and your girlfriend going and you dont intend on bunking in with a large crowd you will have no problem finding accommodation, but i predict that after this summer from what i saw they are going to be very strict on letting houses to the Irish for 3 months. Huntington is very spread out, so bikes are a must although there are loads of buses, their times are not very reliable. We cycled the length and breath of the place all summer, its a lot handier and although we were the guts of 5 miles to the beach it would take us about 20-25 minutes to cycle down, you would not feel the time going. On the job front, everyone i lived with 2 years ago got jobs, this year, knotts berry farm as with 2 years ago is a huge employer of Irish, its a 50min bus ride away, but nearly everyone that applied got jobs there. If your over 21, many bars and restaurants will hire you. What i really like about Huntington was that it was ideally located. The night life is not wonderful there so we used to get taxis to Newport Beach (10min) and Long Beach (15-20min) for the clubs and bars. you are only 35-40 minutes from L.A., 1hr 30min from San Diego. 4hours from Vegas. we rented cars a lot this summer and 2 summers ago, it is also a must, they are very cheap to rent over there. I could really talk about Huntington all day and I still talk about it regularly 2 years later. It is by a long shot the best place iv ever been. I plan on doing something different this summer, and heading back to Huntington or surrounding area on a 1 year graduate visa when I finish college 2 summers time. Feel free to ask me anything you want on it, I have a pretty good idea of the place and California in general and would be happy to help you out.
Luke

Hi Luke I know this is 2 years later.. but a few of us are heading over to Huntingon this year.Just booked it yesterday. Where was it that you stayed can you remember. We had friends there last year, alot of them worked in Knotts Just trying to get as much info as we can before we head out..
Thankyou

lukiej

Ella1991 wrote: »

Hi Luke I know this is 2 years later.. but a few of us are heading over to Huntingon this year.Just booked it yesterday. Where was it that you stayed can you remember. We had friends there last year, alot of them worked in Knotts Just trying to get as much info as we can before we head out..
Thankyou

Hey,

I lived in Regency Palms Apartments, on Warner and Goldenwest, but apparently, it has since been black listed for the Irish, when i revisited in 2011, I met some friends who said they said they would not be taking any Irish at all! You really just got to try all the different apartment complexes, theres so many, and you will pay more to be closer to the beach. I couldnt recommend the place more though, I fell in love with it out of any other place in Cali, and by now iv been to most places on the coast!

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Matea07

Hey Luke,

I do have troubles with finding a job in HB Can you help me ? Im coming from Croatia, on a J1 visa. I need to find a JO till April 1, if I want to go in US this year.

cali77

Hey, I'm on a j1 in huntington beach at the moment but I only have a holiday visa. What are the chances of me finding work? If anyone knows any Irish places that would be lenient enough or anywhere I could get cash in hand jobs that'd be great.