J1

niall_ucd

Hey guys.
Doing the j1 this year and looks like Im heading alone. Anyone in the same boat or looking for someone to share accomadation?

Paddy258

Hey, will probably be heading over as well on my own.

Any idea on what city you plan on going to?

johnsmittenhous

Paddy258 wrote: »

Hey, will probably be heading over as well on my own.

Any idea on what city you plan on going to?

Hey I'm heading over Aswell!! I'm interested in sharing!! Orlando or San Diego are the cities I'm interested in!

ironclaw

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

Hey I'm heading over Aswell!! I'm interested in sharing!! Orlando or San Diego are the cities I'm interested in!

San Diego. Hands down. You won't regret it.

johnsmittenhous

ironclaw wrote: »

San Diego. Hands down. You won't regret it.

Class!! Tiahuana down the road!!! My friend told me about the federalies!!! Apparetly they plant smoke and kick off a drug bust!!!

ironclaw

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

Class!! Tiahuana down the road!!! My friend told me about the federalies!!! Apparetly they plant smoke and kick off a drug bust!!!

Genuinely can't recommend you enough not to go there. Mexico is frankly a dive and incredibly dangerous. If you do go, go with absolutely nothing on you and be prepared for bribes / police.

ardmacha

Genuinely can't recommend you enough not to go there. Mexico is frankly a dive and incredibly dangerous.

Tijuana, like many places on the US-Mexico border, is frankly a dive and dangerous. Mexico generally varies from place to place in this respect and shouldn't be entirely written off.

ironclaw

ardmacha wrote: »

Tijuana, like many places on the US-Mexico border, is frankly a dive and dangerous. Mexico generally varies from place to place in this respect and shouldn't be entirely written off.

Sorry that came off as a white wash. Apparently a little further down the coast its fantastic and a country I would like to see. The borders are, no matter what anyone says, are controlled by the cartel's and hence they are in the state they are.

07_12_90

im thinking of doing a j1... would be by myself too..when is the deadline to apply or is there a deadline?

johnsmittenhous

07_12_90 wrote: »

im thinking of doing a j1... would be by myself too..when is the deadline to apply or is there a deadline?

There is no deadline but smart people are doing it now in December and November to give getting a job a certainty!! Where ya thinkinn of heading!! I'm looking at las Vegas!! Loads mod hotels and casinos!! Easy to work there!! I'm from Bundoran like already a gambler!! Hahah

ironclaw

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

There is no deadline but smart people are doing it now in December and November to give getting a job a certainty!! Where ya thinkinn of heading!! I'm looking at las Vegas!! Loads mod hotels and casinos!! Easy to work there!! I'm from Bundoran like already a gambler!! Hahah

No such thing. Jobs are very scarce in America. It has a far worse recession than here and unemployment is high. Of the 5 of us that travelled, only 3 of us found work. And the other 2 wasn't from a lack of trying. Between them I'd say they made 100 CV drops. Most people on a J1 don't work and are bank rolled from home, that was my experience anyway. Be sure to have plenty of cash for waiting around for work. Another thing is most people won't hire you from a distance. They'll just ask you to turn up when you arrive and then you might get it. A far better idea is to get out there as soon as you can so you can at least get a foot in the door first.

Las Vegas is a cool place but quite a closed community on the work front apparently. It is a mob town, so its who you know rather than what you know. I don't know anyone who worked in Vegas personally. The heat is another thing, in August it was unbearable so forget outdoor work.

Paddy258

I think J1's aren't being made available for San Diego as it takes a very too long to process all the documentation over there. That's the case with USIT anyway. But there's plenty of other great places in California anyway. It's either San Fran for me or NYC. I'd be delighted with either!

johnsmittenhous

class,
i heard the Irish aren't welcome in San Diego anymore, due to the nature of the party's. typical really, some one did something horrible now everyone has to pay the price..

ironclaw

Paddy258 wrote: »

I think J1's aren't being made available for San Diego as it takes a very too long to process all the documentation over there. That's the case with USIT anyway. But there's plenty of other great places in California anyway. It's either San Fran for me or NYC. I'd be delighted with either!

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

class,
i heard the Irish aren't welcome in San Diego anymore, due to the nature of the party's. typical really, some one did something horrible now everyone has to pay the price..

These two are probably related. The Irish trash San Diego every year. We really have a bad name out there. Between the 5 of us we bought phones will 200 minutes on each. We all ran out of airtime by the end a week ringing places for accommodation. It was either a straight no due to the accent or a deliberately massive deposit ($10k) Thats the reason most people end up in shared accommodation. Its the only want to make it work.

If anyone has any questions on San Diego, just ask.

johnsmittenhous

jes thats sound real bad, such a savage spot to go to , and find your not gonna get anywhere, sure hawaii sounds like a better deal, loads of hotels and tourist everywhere,, sure its not san diego.. where you off to this year ironclaw..

ironclaw

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

jes thats sound real bad, such a savage spot to go to , and find your not gonna get anywhere, sure hawaii sounds like a better deal, loads of hotels and tourist everywhere,, sure its not san diego.. where you off to this year ironclaw..

I was in San Diego last year. But I was lucky to do a huge amount of road miles and be paid for it.

One week I did: San Diego -> LA -> San Francisco -> Boise, Idaho -> Klamath Falls, Oregon -> Lucernce, California -> LA

And later:

San Diego -> Phoenix, AZ -> Grand Canyon -> Las Vegas -> Yosemite -> San Francisco.

If you put that together, its the equivalent to driving coast to coast across America, and back a third of the way.

Was pretty awesome and you should definitely road trip if you can rent a car. Hawaii would actually be an awesome place to go I'd say. The person I worked with in San Diego studied there. Couldn't recommend it enough.

I'm not J1-ing this year myself.

johnsmittenhous

niall_ucd wrote: »

Hey guys.
Doing the j1 this year and looks like Im heading alone. Anyone in the same boat or looking for someone to share accomadation?

Yeh I'm interested!!!

oB1

Just thought id add to the list

Looks like ill be heading alone also, would love to meet up with others! - Im thinking of somewhere warm (Orlando, FL)

I say Orlando because of the heat and the number of jobs there would be working in the theme parks and water parks etc.

Id be looking at the possibility of doing Route 66, i have my drivers licence, and doing that would be a dream!!!

anyone else??

Rob

ironclaw

RobertHopkins wrote: »

Just thought id add to the list

Looks like ill be heading alone also, would love to meet up with others! - Im thinking of somewhere warm (Orlando, FL)

I say Orlando because of the heat and the number of jobs there would be working in the theme parks and water parks etc.

Id be looking at the possibility of doing Route 66, i have my drivers licence, and doing that would be a dream!!!

anyone else??

Rob

Just to warn you, theme parks etc does not equal guaranteed work. They take on thousands of staff, pay very little and some have a staggered start. My friend applied in May for Sea World, San Diego. They told her she would start on July 15th or something.

As regards Route 66, by all means go for it. But two things to keep in mind:

1) America is huge. And I mean huge. You can drive in a straight line at 75mph for 4 hours and see nothing. No where to stop, nothing to do. To give you an idea of the distance, start at Malin Head, drive to Mizen Head, drive back to Malin. Then drive to Athlone. That was one stretch I did when I was there. Took about 9 hours. Its an extreme example but one to keep in mind. I toyed with the idea of going coast to coast. But realistically, you'd need about 2.5+ weeks and a lot of cash for petrol.

2) Petrol cost. Every 4 hours on the road is probably going to cost about $70 in fuel. American cars arn't economic and you'll be running aircon. So fuel efficiency is pants. It wasn't a major concern the first time for me as I wasn't footing the bill but when we went on our own roadtrip, it does add up. Also, given the distances involved, you may have to fill the car more often as you won't have the petrol to reach the next one. One sign that I remember was 'Last Petrol Station for 120 miles" So you should never let your tank go less than half if your doing big mileage.

However its a great experience and one I seriously recommend. Get 5 of you together and the costs go down significantly. But plan your route well ahead of time. Its very easy to under estimate the size and scale e.g. Yosemite Park is about the size of County Waterford, if not bigger.

oB1

ironclaw wrote: »

Just to warn you, theme parks etc does not equal guaranteed work. They take on thousands of staff, pay very little and some have a staggered start. My friend applied in May for Sea World, San Diego. They told her she would start on July 15th or something.

As regards Route 66, by all means go for it. But two things to keep in mind:

1) America is huge. And I mean huge. You can drive in a straight line at 75mph for 4 hours and see nothing. No where to stop, nothing to do. To give you an idea of the distance, start at Malin Head, drive to Mizen Head, drive back to Malin. Then drive to Athlone. That was one stretch I did when I was there. Took about 9 hours. Its an extreme example but one to keep in mind. I toyed with the idea of going coast to coast. But realistically, you'd need about 2.5+ weeks and a lot of cash for petrol.

2) Petrol cost. Every 4 hours on the road is probably going to cost about $70 in fuel. American cars arn't economic and you'll be running aircon. So fuel efficiency is pants. It wasn't a major concern the first time for me as I wasn't footing the bill but when we went on our own roadtrip, it does add up. Also, given the distances involved, you may have to fill the car more often as you won't have the petrol to reach the next one. One sign that I remember was 'Last Petrol Station for 120 miles" So you should never let your tank go less than half if your doing big mileage.

However its a great experience and one I seriously recommend. Get 5 of you together and the costs go down significantly. But plan your route well ahead of time. Its very easy to under estimate the size and scale e.g. Yosemite Park is about the size of County Waterford, if not bigger.

Yeah, of course, I get that - I would do some shopping around, see what the jobs are like, especially that I have some time to sort things between now and June.

Yeah, I have been to America numerous times, to different parts of the continent (NYC, Seattle, Florida, California, Idaho to name but a few) so id be well aware of the size etc.

I also drove a car while over there, so am also aware of how expensive it is :eek:

regardless of the costs etc. its something I have ALWAYS wanted to do, unfortunately not many of my mates are that interested in heading to the States, maybe because I am that bit older or whatever... anyway.. would love to meet up with a few people with same ideas, and get them to come along.

I would be looking at flying over to say, Orlando, starting a Job, and at some stage over the 3 months, take a week or 2 off, and do at least part of Route 66 - I definitely wouldn't do it alone though.

johnsmittenhous

:eek:Orlando and theme parks sounds alot better than san diego where no irish are welcome,, i had a look at craigs list orlando and like having more people around to lower all the costs is a great idea, route sixtysix sounds cool, well get to see parts of america top gear havnt shown, when are you thinking of heading out? im markus by the way

oB1

johnsmittenhous wrote: »

:eek:Orlando and theme parks sounds alot better than san diego where no irish are welcome,, i had a look at craigs list orlando and like having more people around to lower all the costs is a great idea, route sixtysix sounds cool, well get to see parts of america top gear havnt shown, when are you thinking of heading out? im markus by the way

- Yeah man, Orlando is somewhere id be familiar with, absolutely amazing atmosphere (IMO) - id be looking for a job like in water parks or something, which they have an abundance of as i have a lifesaving cert. might come in handy

Im Rob, but you may have noticed that all ready from my username haha - I actually have the J1 applied for, and booked, to save myself the 279e promotional offer.. also, i actually had to book the flights as part of the booking process, but thankfully i can change the dates & locations if i like; I was thinking of heading out in late May early June?

What about yourself?

johnsmittenhous

RobertHopkins wrote: »

- Yeah man, Orlando is somewhere id be familiar with, absolutely amazing atmosphere (IMO) - id be looking for a job like in water parks or something, which they have an abundance of as i have a lifesaving cert. might come in handy

Im Rob, but you may have noticed that all ready from my username haha - I actually have the J1 applied for, and booked, to save myself the 279e promotional offer.. also, i actually had to book the flights as part of the booking process, but thankfully i can change the dates & locations if i like; I was thinking of heading out in late May early June?

What about yourself?

In Orlando I'll be looking to the theme parks and water parks for a job Aswell!! I'll be heading out may!! Where off college quit early Aswell end Of April where off!! Hey will we look at Orlando university for accommodation??

Sineadc1991

Hey does anyone have any information about Texas? Have booked my flights to austin there's three nursing students headin over If anyone wants join? Anybody know where is the best location in austin to live??

ironclaw

Sineadc1991 wrote: »

Hey does anyone have any information about Texas? Have booked my flights to austin there's three nursing students headin over If anyone wants join? Anybody know where is the best location in austin to live??

If its anything like Phoenix, AZ its going to be really, really hot. Nice choice of location though!

oB1

For anyone that's interested, click HERE to join a Facebook group setup for J1'ers

Rob

aido321

Just wondering.. Can externally repeat student apply and receive a j1 visa? Like I could easily prove my intentions to return and complete my course.. Just not sure if I count as a full time student or not. But I still have student card and can use all student facilities.

ironclaw

aido321 wrote: »

Just wondering.. Can externally repeat student apply and receive a j1 visa? Like I could easily prove my intentions to return and complete my course.. Just not sure if I count as a full time student or not. But I still have student card and can use all student facilities.

As far as I'm aware you need to be in a level 8 or higher course, with at least one year left when you return. So in a 4 year course, you couldn't go on the summer of 4 year unless you were returning to another course. It doesn't have to be your primary course either as the J1 has no age limit. I'd imagine if you could prove you were returning to repeat there should be no problems.

You will need your college to submit proof however of your course and the US are through in their visa investigations, any doubt and I'd contact the embassy. They are very helpful! Overstaying or lying on visa applications is a very serious offence. I think you can be bar'd for a minimum of 5 years even for minor stuff.

aido321

ironclaw wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you need to be in a level 8 or higher course, with at least one year left when you return. So in a 4 year course, you couldn't go on the summer of 4 year unless you were returning to another course. It doesn't have to be your primary course either as the J1 has no age limit. I'd imagine if you could prove you were returning to repeat there should be no problems.

You will need your college to submit proof however of your course and the US are through in their visa investigations, any doubt and I'd contact the embassy. They are very helpful! Overstaying or lying on visa applications is a very serious offence. I think you can be bar'd for a minimum of 5 years even for minor stuff.

I wouldn't be returning to repeat I've already repeated the exams now just won't know if I've passed or not until July. Ill be returning to do year 3 of a level 8 course.. I'm just an external repeat student because I couldn't afford to repeat internally.. Cheers tho

Mardy Bum

ironclaw wrote: »

As far as I'm aware you need to be in a level 8 or higher course, with at least one year left when you return. So in a 4 year course, you couldn't go on the summer of 4 year unless you were returning to another course. It doesn't have to be your primary course either as the J1 has no age limit. I'd imagine if you could prove you were returning to repeat there should be no problems.

You can go during the summer after final year.

kelleynangle

hey, im going to new york by myself and need somewhere to stay. i have two jobs lined up, one in ocean beach in long island and one in woodside, queens!