Irish J1ers in Seattle

sleepyescapade

Are there anymore of us out there?

many

I want to go to Seattle next year for my J1, any tips you could give me? I came onto boards to ask and the first J1 thread I saw about J1 was yours, so I was like, Delighted!!

Did you find work before you went there?

john paulo

deffo up for going to Seattle, looks a cool spot with a great music scene, of course! if any more people are up for sharing a house give us a bell and we'll try to organise some thing in April/may!!

Killer Wench

I'm not a J1er but I am an American from Seattle, so if you have questions, let me know.

john paulo

nice one killer, happy new year to ya! just read about the minimum wage increase, which is great. just wondering about the best areas to live in, is rent expensive and is the background security check a problem for j1's in Seattle. Also, what's the music scene like for festivals, gigs and so on, cheers!!!

Killer Wench

john paulo wrote: »

nice one killer, happy new year to ya! just read about the minimum wage increase, which is great. just wondering about the best areas to live in, is rent expensive and is the background security check a problem for j1's in Seattle. Also, what's the music scene like for festivals, gigs and so on, cheers!!!

The great thing about Seattle is that there is no state income tax but there is a high sales tax. About 10 cents for every dollar. I am not sure about J1ers because I believe that you may not (or may) have to pay for Social Security and Medicare taxes but then you would still be liable for federal income tax.

The minimum wage increase is a great thing and I am glad that Washington has taken this step forward!

For lower level jobs, you usually are asked participate in drug screening and then they may ask for your previous addresses from the last 5 years and do a basic criminal background search.

Rent can be expensive depending on the area you live in. You can find decent places to live in the city of Seattle but you can also find really inexpensive but great places to live out in the suburbs. There will be plenty of ways to travel downtown if you work in Seattle; there is an extensive bus service, a metro train service, and a new light rail. Even if you lived in the city, you could be taking a 45 minute bus ride to get from one part of Seattle to another, so you should also take into consideration how you will get around once you are here. Seattle is a pretty bike friendly place so you may want to consider that option.

If you want to live in Seattle, check out places in West Seattle, North Seattle (Northgate/Lake City), and the U District. You could probably find nice rooms to rent for about $400 in those areas. Personally, I would live in a suburb outside the city. The further north or south you go, the cheaper the rent gets. You could find a studio for 500-600 dollars out in Kent or Burien. Maybe not top of the line but decent and clean.

http://www.rent.com/rentals/washington/seattle-tacoma-and-vicinity/burien/burien-properties/480247/?sp=1&searchrank=8&fl=

http://www.rent.com/rentals/washington/seattle-tacoma-and-vicinity/kent/the-avante-apartment-homes/436074/?sp=1&searchrank=1&fl=

Great music scene in Seattle (come home of Grunge, Dave Matthews and Jimi Hendrix). Mark these on your calendar:

http://bumbershoot.org/
http://sasquatchfestival.com/
http://capitolhillblockparty.com/

Once you get here, search out and find this paper; it will have all of the upcoming events! It's a fun, alternative newspaper. They even co-sponsor an amateur porn festival in the summer.

http://www.thestranger.com/


Try www.craigslist.org for a general idea of places to rent and the cost. You can also find jobs listed on the site. HOWEVER, please be aware that since anyone can post, there are many people who scam unsuspecting people, especially those looking for places to rent or jobs.

What type of work have you done in the past?

Killer Wench

Oh, and when do J1ers travel? Is it anytime once they are approved or is it a set June to June type situation? I'm going to be leasing a house in the next few months and will be sub-leasing rooms, so depending on timing, I may post them here.

Time is also relevant for when you are doing a job search. Summer months see an increase in customer service jobs to deal with the increase in tourism.

Twee.

Killer Wench wrote: »

Oh, and when do J1ers travel? Is it anytime once they are approved or is it a set June to June type situation? I'm going to be leasing a house in the next few months and will be sub-leasing rooms, so depending on timing, I may post them here.

Time is also relevant for when you are doing a job search. Summer months see an increase in customer service jobs to deal with the increase in tourism.

Summer college J1 students can travel from the beginning of June (well, at least they can work from then, they could leave before that) and must finish work in September, and can have an extra month with no work to travel.

There's also the 1 year J1 Visa, they can leave whenever they wish I think.

john paulo

thanks again for that k, ill be over around 23rd of may if that's any good for your sub lease? ill definitely take it if it is! I usually work as a barman and have been in contact with one of the pubs but he said was a bit early yet. that capitol hill block party looks like a good one, will have to buy my tickets for that one!!

sleepyescapade

I'm on a J1 here and only pay Federal Income tax

Killer Wench

That's good then.

I know when I worked in Ireland, I had to pay all of those taxes including that one fee that pays back the bailout? Which reminds me, they wanted me to submit my US earnings so they can determine whether or not I should get a refund of the taxes I paid.

sleepyescapade

Should filing my taxes by myself be easy if I'm only paying one type of tax or am I better off getting them taken care of properly?

Killer Wench

You can do them yourself but I strongly recommend paying the $30 or so dollars to upgrade for this software:

http://turbotax.intuit.com/

It is really easy to follow and since most (if not all of you) are unfamiliar with our tax system, it will help you identify what your W-2 or other documents are while you are preparing your taxes. You can ask tax professionals questions and use their forum to ask other people questions. I think it is worth it.

lil_lisa

Unfortunately TurboTax doesn't support any non-resident tax forms (e.g 1040NR). If your tax returns are straight forward you should be able to do them yourself.

Killer Wench

That's unfortunate.

sleepyescapade

lil_lisa wrote: »

Unfortunately TurboTax doesn't support any non-resident tax forms (e.g 1040NR). If your tax returns are straight forward you should be able to do them yourself.

Thanks for that. Should be straight forward enough for 2011 anyway, I have only been working since October 31.

IsMiseSarah

Me and a friend (both 19 year old girls) were both thinking about doing out j1 in Seattle but had almost given up on it because we didn't think anyone else had interest in it to try and find accommodation with or jobs etc. So this is a huge relief.

Would be great if we could all help each other out with it. Would really love to go there for the great music scene. And I've heard from a few people that the city is beautiful.

If you want my email to get in touch about it just ask. I should really be booking the j1 by now so want to hurry things up a bit.

john paulo

If your still to book flights, it looks like flying to San Fran and getting the train up is the cheapest and best way to see a bit of the country.

Killer Wench

You may want to look into Southwest airlines as they are a pretty cheap and reliable airline. I can't remember if you can use Priceline.com's "Name Your Price Feature" in Ireland or if it was just for flights originating in the US. Once you are in the States, you may want to consider looking into as a cheap way to fly. I just bought a roundtrip ticket from Chicago to Seattle for $250.

john paulo

just did that now, $160 for return but i probably could have went lower!

Killer Wench

Wait... what? Where and when, explain!

I could have gotten away with less than 200 but I waited til the week before and I couldn't get it that low for the days that I wanted.

PatrickL

Hey, I'm another person looking into going to Seattle this summer. Good to see a few others interested in the city too.

Thanks for sharing all this info so far, can be hard enough to find anything on the city/state as a destination.

HavingCrack

Portland might be worth having a look at as well. Similar vibe to Seattle-music/beer etc. and the greenest city in America. Really good beer also .

john paulo

i did it for san fran to seattle killer w

IsMiseSarah

Am pretty interested in Portland too but I think it would be even harder to find jobs there than Seattle.

I've looked into Portland a little and they have a brilliant transport system and some of the destinations are free which is pretty cool. Also no sales tax in Oregon.

Just wondering how far along people are in the process? I'm getting worried that I haven't applied yet because I can't settle on a place til I know I'll be ok finding a job/cheap accommodation.

sleepyescapade

Seattle's buses are free downtown and around $2.50 outside this area. You can also get an Orca card which can be used on the buses, subways and ferries. www.orcacard.com

john paulo

anybody still interested in hitting seattle for the summer? btw, killerwench do you still have that apartment available to rent?