J1 2015 San Francisco

Pete123456

Hey guys just wondering about heading to SF on a j1 next summer...

Anybody know what the jobs market for students is like at the moment? (Early days yet, I know...)
I presume the touristy areas are the best place to start looking for a job, but is there any chance of getting work in coffee shops or restaurants in the suburbs?
It's more expensive to get there with the travel agencies but hopefully that should pay off...

Is USIT the best option? Is it worth looking into go4less or someone else? The extras seem to add up and some things are outrageous like the 30 beans for a SIM card... Surely you can pick one up easy enough once you get there?

Any recommendations on cool things to do or see apart from the obvious? Assuming all goes well and we get there!

matt365

Hullo Pete.. Also heading over to SF with a friend next summer! From the research I've done it looks like there are jobs, but also loads of people looking for jobs, so getting in there early seems to be key.. I think the main areas where J1 students find work is in the tourism sector, so like Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf etc, but I'm pretty sure if you look hard enough you'll get a job in the more quieter suburbs.. Also worth considering living in the suburbs, SF City can be tricky to get accomodation, places like Berkeley generally have cheaper accomodation and are just a short BART ride across the bay!

My friend is going with USIT, went with em last year, said they were good, but he hasn't explored any other options, so maybe check them out to make sure you get the best deal

Pete123456

matt365 wrote: »

Hullo Pete.. Also heading over to SF with a friend next summer! From the research I've done it looks like there are jobs, but also loads of people looking for jobs, so getting in there early seems to be key.. I think the main areas where J1 students find work is in the tourism sector, so like Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf etc, but I'm pretty sure if you look hard enough you'll get a job in the more quieter suburbs.. Also worth considering living in the suburbs, SF City can be tricky to get accomodation, places like Berkeley generally have cheaper accomodation and are just a short BART ride across the bay!

My friend is going with USIT, went with em last year, said they were good, but he hasn't explored any other options, so maybe check them out to make sure you get the best deal

sound for that! id be looking at stayin in Menlo park which is actually about 30 miles from the city, but a the train in is fairly regular... other than that its looking like stayin in a house/apartment with a few others i guess.

So the work has to be seasonal, but can you still work in 'local' coffee shops/restaurants? or does it have to be in the tourism areas of the city?

USIT are starting their deal in the next few weeks which should be a bit cheaper (but a condition is you have to buy their insurance...) Definitely stayin away from some addons like €30 for a sim card which seems a bit outrageous. I was talkin to a lad who went with sayit this year, he said theyre grand, they get you there, but the paperwork is fairly long. As for the others i dunno.

totothejuggler

Gonna be finishing up college this year so its my last chance to head on a J1 trying to get together a group now. Hoping to have around 9 going. SF would be ideal but I just have a few questions.

Is it even possible to get accommodation in the city, not berkeley, for a reasonable price? say $300 a month?

What are the best jobs ie what would you make the most money doing? Barwork, construction touristy jobs? Were all gonna be graduate Engineers by the time we head over does anyone have any experience working in industry over there? Would it kind of ruin your summer working 9-5?

jaymcg91

totothejuggler wrote: »

Gonna be finishing up college this year so its my last chance to head on a J1 trying to get together a group now. Hoping to have around 9 going. SF would be ideal but I just have a few questions.

Is it even possible to get accommodation in the city, not berkeley, for a reasonable price? say $300 a month?

What are the best jobs ie what would you make the most money doing? Barwork, construction touristy jobs? Were all gonna be graduate Engineers by the time we head over does anyone have any experience working in industry over there? Would it kind of ruin your summer working 9-5?

$300 a month, are you mad?! Even $600 wouldn't get you anything really decent. People go to Berkeley because SF is notoriously expensive, even for residents. You can thank Silicon Valley for that.

totothejuggler

jaymcg91 wrote: »

$300 a month, are you mad?! Even $600 wouldn't get you anything really decent. People go to Berkeley because SF is notoriously expensive, even for residents. You can thank Silicon Valley for that.

Damn Silicon Valley... So realistically Berkeley is the only place your going to be able to live on a budget?

phatkev

yeah rent is absurdly high in San Francisco, I remember someone telling me that the average rent cost within a 10 mile radius of the city was about $3500 for 2 bedrooms:eek:

Pete123456

Yeah the rent in the city seems to be outrageous... You're right that it's Silicon Valley pushing up the price. I read somewhere, could be wrong but in the Silicon Valley area about 70% of adults have higher education! No wonder things are pricey

As for Berkeley, it's fairly well connected to the city with the subway and that even though it's ~3 miles away. The frat houses and other places are the university drive the prices down a small but but its still gonna cost a bit.

Anyone know if you're allowed to get a job in your local store rather than in the city?

Also, would it be feasible to buy a car to use for the 3.5 months? Renting is about $2800 which is out of the question. My reasoning is I have a room in the uncles house if I want it but he's 30 miles from sf city!!

Duff

Heading to San Fran myself this Summer with 4 others. Been on 2 J1s already (NY and Chicago) and accommodation was expensive in both. Heard about frat houses in Berkeley that are around $600 for the whole Summer. Is this true? Seems very cheap?

steven.h16

me and 2 other lads heading over to San Fran next summer, still trying to convince another few to go. never been on a J1 before but thought I'd put up some info on what we have done so far...

booked through USIT when they had the free programme fee available so it cost us under €1200 for flights and other fees, but not all of them are compulsory. they were very helpful and we got it all booked in a week. we are flying with United Airlines on May 26th from Dublin to San Francisco, but we have a connecting flight in Heathrow. Coming back we are using our free stopover to stay in New York for 5 nights (24/8/15 - 29/8/15) and flying back to Dublin late on the 29th of August. overall flights cost us €858.

as for jobs and accommodation we are going to start searching sometime after Christmas as we want to have it sorted before we leave. accommodation will be too expensive in the city so we are looking at berkeley. hoping to rent a home but we would also consider a frat house. jobs will either be tourism or hospitality sector in the city but we have decent experience so we would expect to land a job easily enough.

planning on doing a 2/3 week west coast road trip in august before we head to New York too. want to get in all the main areas (Highway 1, LA, Grand Canyon, Vegas, Yosemite) but may skip San Diego now that J1ers are no longer allowed cross the border to Tijuana in Mexico. also hope to get a few days off in a row during work so we can visit lake tahoe which is meant to be a great spot.

I'm in final year of college so I'll leave thinking more about J1 until after Chritmas exams. If anyone has any questions I'll do my best to answer as soon as possible..

Bojack93

Myself and 4 other lads from Dublin are heading over late May, flying into San Fran and are planning on renting in Berkeley.

All 20-21, in DIT/DCU/ITB

Give me a shout as we are looking to the big frat houses to rent.

jwn1

Im considering doing a J1 next summer and thinking of San Francisco. More than likely Berkeley with the rent costs and all of that being lower than SF city!

Im 23, trying to get some of my mates on board but its impossible! Dont really have an issue going over on my own but its just finding somewhere to live that might be a head wreck!

Does anyone have any information about going on your own or is anyone planning on going on their own?

Another thing about booking does anyone have any other recommendations other than USIT? Or are they the best to book through?

Duff

Heard Sigma Nu is the place to live in Berkeley. Anyone have any experiences there?

chewy64

Hey, I'm a 19y/o male interested in doing a J1 this summer, more than likely alone. I'm interested in technology and startups so I want to head over to the San Fransisco Bay Area. I don't think I'd have enough experience/qualifications to intern at a big tech company, so I'll probably end up working some other type of job (but that doesn't really bother me). I'm going to try to go to as many hackathons, tech conferences and other tech events as I can while I'm over there.

I'd like to get together with some sort of group for accommodation in order to get cheaper rents (and to meet other people!). Accommodation in Oakland/Berkeley seems like a viable option. Stanford University Accommodation could also be an option. Get in contact with me if you're planning to go to SF area and we could try to start organising some sort of group for accommodation.

chewy64

Hey Pete. I'm planning on going to San Francisco bay area on a J1 this summer too. I'm interested in technology and start-ups so I'm gonna try attend tech events and conferences while I'm there.

Have you made any progress looking for accommodation and/or a job?

georgieann

Hi my self and two friends will be heading to San Francisco in may. We are going on a 12 month graduate visa and are looking good for anyone else in he sane situation heading to San fran. We are planning to live in Berkeley as it is the most cheapest housing option. But thinking it would be better if there was a group larger going.


let me know if anyone us interested or heading to the same area. Myself and my two friends are 23.


Thanks

BarryJayTheDJ

In reply to jwn1, two girls I lived with for college last year went to San Fran this summer and they were fairly adamant that Berkely was the best place for J1 people, just in terms of having the BART and rents in the city being ridiculously high. In relation to USIT, I went with them and so did these two and I couldn't really complain, they're no worse than any of the other agencies, they all charge a lot no matter what :P

In relation to going on your own, I went to New York on my own this summer (2014) and while it was a different experience to most I still loved it, just forces you to be more outgoing and take the initiative with jobs, accommodation, making friends etc. - I'm also likely going to SF on my own, meant to go with a guy from college but he's kind of hesitant about it, I don't mind too much either way just raring to see the West Coast. Send me a PM if you need more info sure

InTheTrees

totothejuggler wrote: »

So realistically Berkeley is the only place your going to be able to live on a budget?

No. Not at all. People latch on to Berkeley because there's a big university there and student accommodation is available to rent in the summer, but there's the whole Bay Area too.

Berkeley isnt in San Fransisco. Its across the bay from SF.

Oakland is right next door to Berkeley and is cheaper and closer. And there's other communities too.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/apa

Sara.Cherokee

Hey guys!

I lived in San Francisco until I was twelve, and was there summer 2014 working. AMAZING experience, totally diverse culture, amazing food, music and really fun people.
(Tip number 1 though: Never refer to it as 'Cisco', or San Fran-if you have to nickname it, SF is the way to go-San Franciscans are picky about this :P)

First off: Create a resume, the American version of a CV, totally different format. If you're there early enough the Irish Immigration Centre is amazing for ye out there, they'll have lists of job openings that are regularly, can sometimes help with accommodation (though I recommend sorting that in advance), and give advice on how to format a CV that'll get American employers attention. Irish people are overwhelmingly modest, on your CV you have to sell yourself as best as you can.

(go to sfiipc(dot)org)-the websites under construction at the moment, but they're all lovely Irish natives so feel free to send them a message-they even organize barbecues and gatherings for J1ers.

Tourist spots are the way to go for jobs, and they're pretty fun, majorly busy, if you can get enough hours. Working in restaurants is harder to find, but the posher the restaurant the better the tips(usually 10-20% of the bill)-so really try to go for jobs there if possible. Shopping centres, or malls as they call them are pretty decent too.

Americans are extremely direct, if you apply for a job opening (and I strongly recommend getting there as early as possible) call the place, or stop by to ask if anyone had a chance to review your resume a day or two afterwards. They like people who seem genuinely interested and showing you're willing to work to get the job is a sign that you'll work once you get it. Sometimes they ask you a few questions when they take your resume, so be prepared in case.

I paid 65 a month for unlimited calls and texts using my unlocked phone, across America and to Ireland-which is great for calling home with T-Mobile, but check out other providers too. Sounds pricey, (about 54 euro at the moment) but it's worth it overall.

Accommodation-Berkeley is best. Great, young vibe. All the formerly cheaper areas of SF have been taken over by hipsters and techies. You can stay in Oakland.. but to be honest, it's not as student friendly, whereas Berkeley is mainly students (from America and abroad) and the crime rate is higher in Berkeley-its not as nice either :P Google the hell out of it, they'll start posting stuff in March from what I've heard.

If anyone has any questions about anything at all regarding the city, America or anything. Feel free to ask me here.

Sara.Cherokee

JVEC wrote: »

Im going to san fran if any girls are looking to houseshare? Im going alone in may and would like to share with other j1ers! Wb if u would be interested:)

I'm (almost definitely) going out at the end of may, solo as far as I know (I have a friend coming to visit me in July for a few weeks though) so if you're looking for a buddy to house/job hunt with, I'm up for that!

JVEC

Ye defo! it would be so handy PM me!

J1Summer2015

Hi all,

Also hitting SF on my own; 26 y/o male student who's hoping to have a job and accommodation sorted before I get there... PM me if any of you would like to try organise something!

ConorM15

Hi, Is it totally inconceivable to get decent priced place to stay in San Francisco itself? Rather than commuting from Berkeley? The way I feel if your going to go on a J1 to San Francisco, then why would you want to be stuck outside it?

Sara.Cherokee

It's pretty slim to be honest, all down to luck and timing to get an okay priced place in the city. You'd save a lot of money living in Berkeley, and its a great experience there, totally chill little city, that being said, living in SF is a pretty great experience. But living in SF is hella pricey, even for locals, and it's only getting higher.

InTheTrees

Berkeley isnt San Fransisco.

It would be like going to spend the summer in Dublin and staying in Greystones.

Sara.Cherokee

Of course not, think most people here know by now I think
But it's a hell of a lot better than Oakland, and pretty decent Bart access.

cianbooth

Hi myself and a few mates are also looking at going to sf in May and staying in Berkeley. Does anyone know where to get info on the frat houses or know which ones are the best to stay in? Seems very difficult to find any info online about them

GILLIANMCAULEY

Sara.Cherokee wrote: »

I'm (almost definitely) going out at the end of may, solo as far as I know (I have a friend coming to visit me in July for a few weeks though) so if you're looking for a buddy to house/job hunt with, I'm up for that!

Hey there yeh Myself and 2 other friends are also going to San Fran and looking to stay In Berkely! was thinkin gif we had a bigger group the rent would be cheaper. let me know if you'd be interested x

GILLIANMCAULEY

Sara.Cherokee wrote: »

I'm (almost definitely) going out at the end of may, solo as far as I know (I have a friend coming to visit me in July for a few weeks though) so if you're looking for a buddy to house/job hunt with, I'm up for that!

Hey there yeh Myself and 2 other friends are also going to San Fran and looking to stay In Berkely! was thinkin if we had a bigger group the rent would be cheaper. let me know if you'd be interested x

GILLIANMCAULEY

Bojack93 wrote: »

Myself and 4 other lads from Dublin are heading over late May, flying into San Fran and are planning on renting in Berkeley.

All 20-21, in DIT/DCU/ITB

Give me a shout as we are looking to the big frat houses to rent.

Hey Myself and 2 other lads are goin to San Fran and were looking into booking the frat houses too. Would you be interested? Were all 20-21 in DIT/UCD. Were heading over end of May until August

Sara.Cherokee

GILLIANMCAULEY wrote: »

Hey there yeh Myself and 2 other friends are also going to San Fran and looking to stay In Berkely! was thinkin if we had a bigger group the rent would be cheaper. let me know if you'd be interested x

Hey, I'd definitely be interested. I know theres another girl on here whos interested, and I was talking to to girls on facebook about it as well. Bigger group means bigger house, so probably cheaper, frat houses can have a lot of rooms. How'd you suggest we should go about organizing it?

matt365

Any of y'all actually stayed in any of the frats, or know people that have stayed in them? They seem like the best option price wise for sure, but I ain't hyped about living in a frat house where I can't use the kitchen cos it's full of trash. (Kitchens are seriously important, it's where the foods at!)

GILLIANMCAULEY

Sara.Cherokee wrote: »

Hey, I'd definitely be interested. I know theres another girl on here whos interested, and I was talking to to girls on facebook about it as well. Bigger group means bigger house, so probably cheaper, frat houses can have a lot of rooms. How'd you suggest we should go about organizing it?

Yeh defintely i was thinking of that aswell. Is it possible to rent a whole frat house though? I found a few on facebook and messaged them and they said that they wouldnt be opening up there applications until the end of March/Start of April.

jwn1

Hey I'd definitely be interested in sharing with a group of people too! Heading over at the end of May by myself!

Bojack93

Myself and 3 other lads will be flying out to San Francisco on the 29th, planning on renting in Berkeley, anybody who is interested in renting or anything defo drop me a pm or message, the more the merrier to bring costs down on a rental place.

ConorM15

Anyone know how much money you would need to be taking over with you to San Fran ?

Pete123456

Well you gotta have a minumum 800 bucks if you have a job organised or 1200 if you don't as far as I know! That's just what theyve worked out you would need to live but I reckon you'd be better off with 1500 or as much as you can manage to save/get!

Pete123456

On that note, the dollar rate is really poor at the moment... (1.1456 from AIB today) And going on the trend over the last few weeks it's getting worse... Hopefully it'll recover somewhat before we go! It's expensive to use your debit/credit card at an atm/pos over in the states

ConorM15

Yeh using debit credit card ATM can cost every time you use it...have you booked J1 yet? Which would you recommend, Usit or Sayit?

Pete123456

Booked though USIT but I don't think it really makes a difference, the company will still get their profit from you... Go4less will let you book your own flights as far as I know. It costs a fair bit to use an ATM in terms of fees plus the conversion rate will be less than if you bought currency here.

Sara.Cherokee

GILLIANMCAULEY wrote: »

Yeh defintely i was thinking of that aswell. Is it possible to rent a whole frat house though? I found a few on facebook and messaged them and they said that they wouldnt be opening up there applications until the end of March/Start of April.

Nah, not really. Most of them are half full or more with other Americans. They prefer taking girls too. But the frats can fit up to forty people. I've heard to try and stick to a group of ten or so though. But theres other houses to rent in Berkeley and even in the city. Yeah so it could be March by the time we know Have you booked flights yet?

Sara.Cherokee

Pete123456 wrote: »

On that note, the dollar rate is really poor at the moment... (1.1456 from AIB today) And going on the trend over the last few weeks it's getting worse... Hopefully it'll recover somewhat before we go! It's expensive to use your debit/credit card at an atm/pos over in the states

ConorM15 wrote: »

Yeh using debit credit card ATM can cost every time you use it...have you booked J1 yet? Which would you recommend, Usit or Sayit?

Have you guys heard of the Post card? Its a currency like debit card. You have to put a minimum of a couple hundred euros in or something, but its a much lower exchange rate and you can get a second one if you need someone to put money in for ya back home.

Still, whichever bank ATM you use will charge you between 2.50 to 10 dollars, as well as a 2.50 charge from an post, so take out money in bulk or else set up an american bank account if you can.

Pete123456

Sara.Cherokee wrote: »

Have you guys heard of the Post card? Its a currency like debit card. You have to put a minimum of a couple hundred euros in or something, but its a much lower exchange rate and you can get a second one if you need someone to put money in for ya back home.

Still, whichever bank ATM you use will charge you between 2.50 to 10 dollars, as well as a 2.50 charge from an post, so take out money in bulk or else set up an american bank account if you can.

The rate on the post fx card is actually lower and worse than a bank... Usually by about 2 cent so they would be around 1.12ish. They make it out to be great and no commission but students get commission free from the banks anyways.

Tip: if you have a friend or family working in a bank they usually get a slightly better rate on the dollar!!

My plan however is indeed to open a U.S. bank account as soon as possible but I gotta get there first!

andycarroll1

Heading over to sf at the end of May with 2 other lads from Galway. Would anyone be interested staying in a frat in Berkeley ? Pm if interested

Feighness

Hi guys

4/5 science and engineers from galway heading over all 20/21 booked through sayit and usit heading over on 23/24 May looking to live in berkley anyone got emails for frat houses ? Up for sharing a big frat with irish heads if possible!

ohhush

Hi! 21 year old here, really strongly considering a J1 but am a bit unsure because I can't seem to get any of my friends to bite on the idea. I'm outgoing enough and I've done a lot of solo travel before and loved it but the idea of doing the States totally alone makes me a little anxious for some reason! (I think it's the idea of the accom costs.) I'm still only looking at it, but Santa Monica or San Francisco/Berkeley would be the dream, if anybody is going in a small group and would like another person or could just give me a bit of advice, talk it around a little? I'll probably end up doing the camp thing if I don't find a solution quick but I've worked overseas with kids the last four summers and I'd love something a bit different!

Nhayes19

Hey guys, myself and three other friends were meant to be heading on a j1 this summer to SF, two of them dropped out unfortunately so now there's only two of us left, both girls 19 and 20. We'd be be interested in joining up with a few others, that way accommodation will be cheaper. A friend of mine who went to SF last year told me to stay clear of Berkeley and this has us kind of leaning toward trying to get accommodation in the city although i know that is gonna be quite tough so we wont be completely ruling Berkeley out. Does anyone have an idea of how many people can fit in these Frat houses, iv heard something crazy like 30 but I don't think id be able for that, id say 10-15 would be my limit , also what would we be looking at price wise ?

Were booking this week, either through USIT or this other company we came across in college last week called Travel Bug ( if anyone has heard anything about them or booked through them please let me know as they're a relatively new company).

Were looking at heading out Mid May, if anyone would be interested in joining up let me know

Duff

Nhayes19 wrote: »

Hey guys, myself and three other friends were meant to be heading on a j1 this summer to SF, two of them dropped out unfortunately so now there's only two of us left, both girls 19 and 20. We'd be be interested in joining up with a few others, that way accommodation will be cheaper. A friend of mine who went to SF last year told me to stay clear of Berkeley and this has us kind of leaning toward trying to get accommodation in the city although i know that is gonna be quite tough so we wont be completely ruling Berkeley out. Does anyone have an idea of how many people can fit in these Frat houses, iv heard something crazy like 30 but I don't think id be able for that, id say 10-15 would be my limit , also what would we be looking at price wise ?

Were booking this week, either through USIT or this other company we came across in college last week called Travel Bug ( if anyone has heard anything about them or booked through them please let me know as they're a relatively new company).

Were looking at heading out Mid May, if anyone would be interested in joining up let me know

Myself, 5 other lads and 2 girls are heading out the middle of May too and we're looking at getting an apartment in Berkeley as I've been told the frats only really take in girls. The more the merrier for apartments though as it'll bring the costs down.

Boland88

Hi lads myself and 4 other lads 19-26 heading to San fran for the summer hoping to rent out a house with other Irish! Thinking of spending the first few days in a hostel until we get sorted! Leaving ireland end of May! If anyone's up for it give us a shout LIT/DIT the more the merrier as they say

Gunning14

Feighness wrote: »

Hi guys

4/5 science and engineers from galway heading over all 20/21 booked through sayit and usit heading over on 23/24 May looking to live in berkley anyone got emails for frat houses ? Up for sharing a big frat with irish heads if possible!

Hey, myself and 6 other girls are heading to SF on the 9/10 of June - going late due to placement. 6 nurses and 1 social studies students - all a strong 4 (with filter and editing!) and mad for the beer and banter Each of us have great cooking and cleaning skills. Don't forget that there will be nurses to take care of ye when ye're sick. Please consider us when ye're organising people to live with

If this didn't win ye over would you mind sending me on any email addresses you get for accommodation?

shannonp14

Hey, I'm in a similar situation to a few people here, finding it difficult to get friends on board and now it's my last chance to do a j1 as I'm in my final year.
I'm highly considering San Francisco (although anywhere in California would be great), I haven't booked my flights yet but I'm planning to travel over the first week of June and back in early September.
If anyone would like house share please get in touch!!