US West Coast - J1 2012

ironclaw

Hi Folks,

Pretty much narrowed down my J1 to:

San Diego
San Francisco
Huntington Beach

In that order. Anyone have any pro's or con's for each? The reason I picked San Diego was its a little out of the way, but close enough to the others that a short drive / plane trip would have me somewhere else fairly quick.

Any suggestions?

timmywex

Hey,

Did san diego for the summer last year, had an absolutely unbelievable time! Very much think ill be back there again this summer! The weather is perfect, beaches amazing, very laid back, wasnt hard for us all to find jobs, with places like sea world & the zoo particularly handy!

Went on roadtrips then up the coast, had freinds staying in san fran, weather isnt anything on what it was down in san diego but they appeared to be havign a great time living in frat houses out in bekerely!

PM me if theres anything in particular you want to know!

littlenightowl

Hey!

Thinking of those 3 places myself

Anyone been in any of those or somewhere else in the states (colorado..NYC etc.) that can look at them with any or all or this in mind? it would be a HUGE help

looking for somewhere with consistent but forgiving surf so I can improve my surfing (just about intermediate at the mo, on a 7.2) and try longboarding
i think San Frans' beaches are for more advanced surfers?how about huntington or san diego?

Also would like to be able to get around on a skateboard so not tooo hilly but beggars cant be choosers and the surfs more important

a bitta sun too, friendly people, bitta nightlife altern. music, like the sound of beach/house parties. gigs r always good!

Goin with two other Irish girls and wouldnt mind being with other Irish but I'd like to get to know locals too, getting a bit of an impression that san diego is choked with irish..?

Lastly somewhere relatively light on the pocket, maybe jobs in lifeguarding or waitressing?do most people travel around on J1s if they cant decide?lol

andy2854

i would recommend santa monica or west wood in Los angeles i spent 2 summers there and found it amazing

ironclaw

Cheers for the replies folks.

With regards San Diego, where are the best areas to stay? A lot of what we have coming up is either too expensive or too far outside (Would need a car) type of thing.

Also, whats the average for rent per month? Would be looking at a house type of scenario.

Cheers again!

andy2854

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76452270 this is some of the places i would stay on the west coast,i really liked when we stayed in a frat house right at the Ucla college campus plenty to do plenty of jobs and busses and near the beach and most of all cheap summer accommodation

mwalsh1407

3 of us heading to San Diego on May 30th! Looking for housemates and advice etc. If anyone is interested let me know on mrwalsh1407@gmail.com! All of us are 21+ too

RLowe

Hey myself and two of my friends are heading out to San Francisco this summer, not to sure should try to stay in the city or out around one of the universities such as Berkely. Anyone who has been there before I would really appreciate your opinions on this?

Also anyone who would be up for house sharing let me know

Thanks.

gaffer04

Well folks.:)
Myself and about 6 others are heading San Fran for the summer.Any idea where to stay or anything? I hear Berkeley is the place to be for parties and that, which is where we want to be. Anyone have an idea where to apply for frat houses as they seem hard to find? I hear piedmont ave, durant aveneue,channing way and buncraft way were decent places to live?



"From success to failure is one step; from failure to success is a long road"

Da Shins Kelly

Also going to San Fran, but I'll be on my own. Spending a couple of weeks in Irvine with family, and then on to San Fran on the 15th of June or thereabouts. Where are people staying? I'm not sure about what to do about accommodation or where the best place is to live where I can meet other J1ers.

TedTedford

Me and 3 friends are heading to San Diego on 5th June, we don't know what area to stay in, we were thinking of Mission Beach or Ocean beach any suggestions? Also anyone have any info about Santa Barbara? Any good for J1ers?

Killer Wench

That's not West Coast. That's just California.

HavingCrack

Killer Wench wrote: »

That's not West Coast. That's just California.

A lot of Irish people don't even seem to realise Oregon and Washington exist.

Da Shins Kelly

HavingCrack wrote: »

A lot of Irish people don't even seem to realise Oregon and Washington exist.

Or maybe most people just want to go to California.

nungesser

littlenightowl wrote: »

Hey!

Thinking of those 3 places myself

Anyone been in any of those or somewhere else in the states (colorado..NYC etc.) that can look at them with any or all or this in mind? it would be a HUGE help

looking for somewhere with consistent but forgiving surf so I can improve my surfing (just about intermediate at the mo, on a 7.2) and try longboarding
i think San Frans' beaches are for more advanced surfers?how about huntington or san diego?

Also would like to be able to get around on a skateboard so not tooo hilly but beggars cant be choosers and the surfs more important

a bitta sun too, friendly people, bitta nightlife altern. music, like the sound of beach/house parties. gigs r always good!

Goin with two other Irish girls and wouldnt mind being with other Irish but I'd like to get to know locals too, getting a bit of an impression that san diego is choked with irish..?

Lastly somewhere relatively light on the pocket, maybe jobs in lifeguarding or waitressing?do most people travel around on J1s if they cant decide?lol

San Francisco is very advanced surfing it's got really rough water, San Diego is great for any level of surfing the north county beachs are perfect for this up around Del Mar

nungesser

you pretty much need a car to get around San Diego, everything is really spread out, Ocean Beach is a funky surf town with a lot of bars ect...

crazyjav101

I agree. I went to Oregon in January for college placement and it was amazing. Sport-wise it is a mecca

Rachel.b

Myself and a friend (both female 21) are hitting LA at the end of May and are looking to share a place with others to cut cost of rent. We don't mind where; Huntington beach, Santa Monica, Westwood etc.

Join this group if your interested
https://www.facebook.com/groups/330123870380465/

CommerceKid

Hey everyone!

Looking for advice on where to go for a J1 this summer!
Me and my friends have my hearts set on the west coast, so we are thinking either Huntington Beach, Santa Barbara, San Diego, San Fran etc etc

We were on a J1 2 years back to Ocean City MD on the east coast and loved it.

Also we went with USIT last time and were wondering are there cheaper travel agents etc

Would love to hear your thoughts?