Austin/North Carolina/ California as summer J1 destinations

Mark27493

Hey everyone,

Myself and 3 friends are planning a J1 for the summer and would like to go to a place where we can really integrate and party with young americans / have a real American experience rather than just going to the usual spots and hanging out with Irish!

Anyone had any experience with these or other places as J1 destinations? Looking for info on social life/jobs/accomodation /general fun

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated

Trippie

I live in Dallas and I find Austin hot as balls in the summer. It's a big university city. Full of creative people with some incredible restaurants and bars. I am not sure what it's like for finding work though.

north carolina has beaches as good if not better than florida's west coast except not half as expensive to live there. South Carlina has myrtle beach and charleston which is a place i really like. May be easier to find work there too.

Not too sure about california. Only visited twice to Malibu and San Fran. Nice places but unless you're clearing decent cash they would be too expensive.

Mark27493

Cheers for the reply!

I'm leaning towards North Carolina or Austin (despite what I've heard about the weather). Any tips on recommended cities to stay? We're looking for somewhere with friendly people and good nightlife to have a bit of fun with the locals!

ProudDUB

Mark27493 wrote: »

Hey everyone,

Myself and 3 friends are planning a J1 for the summer and would like to go to a place where we can really integrate and party with young americans / have a real American experience rather than just going to the usual spots and hanging out with Irish!

Anyone had any experience with these or other places as J1 destinations? Looking for info on social life/jobs/accomodation /general fun

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated

Use the search function to have a look back through some old threads. Every spring, this this place gets slammed with J1'ers looking for advice on where to go, so you should be able to find some good info on all 3 destinations. For example, I entered in "Austin J1" to the search box and got all these results.

http://www.boards.ie/search/submit/?query=austin+j1

Trippie

Mark27493 wrote: »

Cheers for the reply!

I'm leaning towards North Carolina or Austin (despite what I've heard about the weather). Any tips on recommended cities to stay? We're looking for somewhere with friendly people and good nightlife to have a bit of fun with the locals!

I have only really visited both places. I have been to Austin probably 10 times for rugby. I know people that live there though and love it. It's very laid back, reasonably priced and the food is good as I said earlier. Have you thought of Nashville at all? It has similar vibe as Austin except nowhere near the same amount of scruffy college kids. Nashville is probably one of my favourite cities in the US now that I think about it. Great nightlife, food and the women there are insanely hot.

Mark27493

Trippie wrote: »

I have only really visited both places. I have been to Austin probably 10 times for rugby. I know people that live there though and love it. It's very laid back, reasonably priced and the food is good as I said earlier. Have you thought of Nashville at all? It has similar vibe as Austin except nowhere near the same amount of scruffy college kids. Nashville is probably one of my favourite cities in the US now that I think about it. Great nightlife, food and the women there are insanely hot.

Thanks again for the sound advice. After a bit more research, we have all but decided on Charleston. Hopefully the women there live up to those in Nashville!

InTheTrees

[QUOTE=Mark27493;93250179
I'm leaning towards North Carolina or Austin (despite what I've heard about the weather). [/QUOTE]

Pick North Carolina.

Dave1442397

Check South Carolina too. Myrtle Beach has amusement parks and a boardwalk, plus all sorts of beach hotels and resorts. There were hundreds of US college students working there for the summer, and the nightlife seemed pretty good.

Paul_Hacket

Mark27493 wrote: »

Thanks again for the sound advice. After a bit more research, we have all but decided on Charleston. Hopefully the women there live up to those in Nashville!

Sounds like your mind is made up. Charleston is a great city to visit, not sure what it will be like for finding jobs. It's a city where it definitely helps to have a car, especially if you want to get to the beach. Something you really ought to seriously consider though is that the heat and humidity there in July/August will be insane. You might want to give this real consideration as a lot of people find that kind of weather completely life sapping.

I admire the idea of getting away from the usual Irish scene, I came over by myself on a J1 and lived/worked with Americans in NYC, was a great summer. If you're still looking for some spots I'd recommend considering either of the Portlands (both Maine and Oregon). Interesting friendly locals, great nightlife, great climates and lovely cities. Portland Maine is the unsung gem of the north east.

iusedtoknow

Paul_Hacket wrote: »

Sounds like your mind is made up. Charleston is a great city to visit, not sure what it will be like for finding jobs. It's a city where it definitely helps to have a car, especially if you want to get to the beach. Something you really ought to seriously consider though is that the heat and humidity there in July/August will be insane. You might want to give this real consideration as a lot of people find that kind of weather completely life sapping.

My company have a plant in Charleston - I went there in July. It was insane - I was lucky that I had a nice hotel with AC and dehumidifiers everywhere and could hop into a car to get where I needed to.

I've lived in in Spain and the heat/humidity there was NOTHING in comparison to NC.


Beautiful city, friendly people but hell in the summer

Mark27493

Thanks for the tips everyone. I don't have my mind set in stone but I really like what I hear about Charleston and the people there. Hopefully they take kindly to the Irish there. As for the weather, that is slightly off putting but not a game changer.Will look into Portland too. If anyone has any other suggestion, helpful tips about Charleston or anything else they'd like to put out there I will gladly take it on board

dave2pvd

Charleston is a great city.

Good for you picking somewhere interesting. Most J1ers can't seem to think past the usual tourist traps of Myrtle Beach, Jersey Shore or Orlando.

You'll get used to the humidity. Sort of.

Mark27493

dave2pvd wrote: »

Charleston is a great city.

Good for you picking somewhere interesting. Most J1ers can't seem to think past the usual tourist traps of Myrtle Beach, Jersey Shore or Orlando.

You'll get used to the humidity. Sort of.

Good to hear about the humidity. Sort of. A quick question.. where do you recommend staying.? Is folly beach too far out or should we try to get a place downtown? We will need to be within reach of busy restaurants for waiting jobs and a few nice bars with a young enough crowd. Staying at the beach would be nice and seems cheaper for rent but we will have no car...

McSween

The humidity is tough. I worked in Florida last year and succombed to it. You dont need to be in the direct sun to get unpleasant dyhydration (vomiting, diarrhoea) so keep water intake high.

Having said all that dont be put off. Air conditioning is everywhere and you can escape the heat. If you couldnt youd be in trouble.

dave2pvd

Mark27493 wrote: »

Good to hear about the humidity. Sort of. A quick question.. where do you recommend staying.? Is folly beach too far out or should we try to get a place downtown? We will need to be within reach of busy restaurants for waiting jobs and a few nice bars with a young enough crowd. Staying at the beach would be nice and seems cheaper for rent but we will have no car...

Without a car, you need to be in a restaurant/bar district. I'd recommend trying to stay as close to the center of Charleston as you can. Go on Craigslist and buy a bike when you arrive.

There are 3 colleges/Unis in Charleston (not incl Citadel). You ought to be able to find a short term lease. I'd start researching now.

InTheTrees

+1 on Craigslist and Google street view.

Check neighbourhoods in advance. I expect most places have A/C there dont they?