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!

ironclaw

Mardy Bum wrote: »

You can go during the summer after final year.

I think you need to prove your coming back however. I could be completely wrong but that was my reading of it. I had to get a form signed by UCD stating I was in a course and coming back to complete it. I think there was a section for final year students but I didn't really pay much attention to it. I do remember however you had to prove you were coming back. I think it revolved around proof of job offers / post-graduate courses.

Mardy Bum

ironclaw wrote: »

I think you need to prove your coming back however. I could be completely wrong but that was my reading of it. I had to get a form signed by UCD stating I was in a course and coming back to complete it. I think there was a section for final year students but I didn't really pay much attention to it. I do remember however you had to prove you were coming back. I think it revolved around proof of job offers / post-graduate courses.

I don't know the ins and outs of it but I know people who went and didn't have job offers. I'm not sure how they proved they would be back.

themont85

ironclaw wrote: »

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.

Unemployment is high but their recession is not as bad as our one.

oB1

Dropped my resume via email to a good few places (Orlando, FL) .. water parks, theme parks etc. - Have head several calls.. offering me a job.. just my experience.

R

magz23

Anyone heading to Montauk or East Hamptons? Myself and another girl are heading over in mid-may and we're looking for people to share with. Any info would be great

magz23

kelleynangle wrote: »

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!

Only seeing this now. Myself and another girl have secured jobs in Montauk/ East Hamptons in Long Island. We are looking for someone to share accommodation with us. Let us know if you are interested maggz_85@hotmail.com.

SF2013

Anyone going San Francisco on J1 this summer?

Adamwarren1991

ironclaw wrote: »

I think you need to prove your coming back however. I could be completely wrong but that was my reading of it. I had to get a form signed by UCD stating I was in a course and coming back to complete it. I think there was a section for final year students but I didn't really pay much attention to it. I do remember however you had to prove you were coming back. I think it revolved around proof of job offers / post-graduate courses.

I thought the same, that's the way they put it on Go4less at least. I came to the embassy with proof of a job offer which they never looked at. Friends of mine had nothing and were never asked. We'd just finished a 4 year course.

Also just a word on San Diego, I was there last summer and could not recommend it more!

The weather was great, early June was a bit overcast and 20 degrees then it was 25-30 until I left in early September. Also there are a lot of Irish over there, which I found great but might not be another person's cup of tea. We managed to get a place in an apartment complex, where about 10 apartments out of about 200 where rented by Irish for the Summer, but yes I agree with comments above saying that can be difficult.

As regards work, it can be very difficult to get a job pre arranged. Be prepared to lie about how long you're staying - give employers some spiel about how your visa is going to be extended, otherwise they're not interested. Also I didn't know one lad who got a job at Sea World, but knew about 30 girls, bear that in mind! I would say if you get over before the crowds (anytime before 1st July) and job hunting is far easier.

Tijuana is insane, but the way its run for the Irish in San Diego means you're not exposed to any danger - unless you go looking for it. You're basically herded into a nightclub and the doors are locked once everyone is in. You're stuck there for the night and can't wander off even if you try. On Sundays they go to Rosarito though, an all day BYOB beach session which is far better craic than Tijuana on Wednesday nights.

It doesn't really matter too much where you go though, as long as you have decent company I'm sure you'll have a great time.

desbertyo

Is there anyway possible to get a J1 visa without the use of a J1 company like USIT... I really want to go to the U.S. again and if anyone could help me it would be great. As i was in the U.S. last year and it cost to much with a J1 company and was trying to see if i could do it myself and safe money with out the use of a J1 company.....THANKS

ironclaw

desbertyo wrote: »

Is there anyway possible to get a J1 visa without the use of a J1 company like USIT... I really want to go to the U.S. again and if anyone could help me it would be great. As i was in the U.S. last year and it cost to much with a J1 company and was trying to see if i could do it myself and safe money with out the use of a J1 company.....THANKS

No. You can't. Embassy only accept applications from registered companies. You used be able to apparently but not now. Also, its nearly always cheaper to use those companies. If you book your own flights, they charge you more to make up for the loss (It's in the terms and conditions, the price is inclusive of your taking the flights with them too) So really, unless you have someone who works in the airline industry, you won't save a penny by doing it on your own. At least, that was my experience i.e. I booked the J1 visa with them and attempted to book my own flights. It ended up the exact same cost.

oB1

As ironclaw said, no you cannot go by yourself. Everyone who goes on the J1 is sponsored by the CIEE and in order to be sponsored by them you must go through the registered companies (USIT, GO4LESS etc)

I went with USIT last year, got a pretty good deal: Booking Fee, Flights, Insurance, and CIEE fee came in at around 800e to Orlando, FL -- its all about when/how you book it and where you decide to fly in to. don't jump in to it straight away.. usually the companies, nearer to summer start lobbying the deals as they try and get as many people in as possible.

Good luck! -- wish i was going again this year!

R

desbertyo

Thanks for your help