I assure you Jobs are not scarce, as long as your willing to do "Student" jobs. And it's FAR from expensive if you do it right. We went out partying every night and EVERYONE had enough money. The J1 is full of house parties and beach parties. $8 for 12 Nati Ice...can't go wrong!
Im headin to san diego wit 3 others on the 1st of june....i did hear it was a bit expensive but sur every where is gonna be expensive if u dnt do it the student way! wat part of CA r u headin? hey J1 ne name of employers? wher did u live Pacific beach? sur if ne one nos neting! thanks x x
hey i spent last summer in san d an it was unreal!! the best summer ever...the best piece of advice i can give u is to plan ahead!! i kno thats prob wat everyone is tellin u but its bloody good advice!! i went over practically on my own an wit no clue as to wat i was doin an thankfully it worked out.. first off book into a hostel about a week to 10days befor u leave ireland cus the ones wit the best party crowd get booked up really quickly. banana bungalows in pacific beach an OBI in ocean beach ar by far the two best hostels in san diego an they are the places wer ull meet all of ut fellow j1er's... criagslist and the san diego reader ar the best places to find accom and jobs but u hav to think fast cuz ther are tons of j1er's in PB and OB lookin for the same things as u sea world employ half of ireland so go there for a job or thers a company that employ concert attendants an the likes they always employ loadsa irish as for accom. its really tough to get some wer to live but everyone i met got sorted in the end it just takes a lot of effort an time good luck ps i lived in OB an it kicks PB ass...its much more laid bac an less pretentious
Claire? Hall? Is that you? Is that you in the photo on the J1 experience page? ;)
Seriously though, she's spot on. If you can get a house organized before you get there, I promise you, your summer will be MUCH more enjoyable. Those first three weeks were starting to get a bit of a downer because of all the rejections. (It really drive OBI to alcoholism).
Ocean Beach is by far the best location. Don't bother with Pacific Beach, especially if your under 21.
thinking of goin to CA for the summer but still not sure where exactly to go... any ideas??? was thinkin santa cruz or santa barbara, but heard sanata barbara really quiet...any one have any info??
hello there yes it is me the one and only claire hall!! in answer to aideen san diego is by far the best place to go in california..u hav the beach an the city within a short distance of one another and Tj is just down the road as well.. santa barbara is meant to be a smaller less exciting san diego if ur goin to cali def go to san diego an stay in either pacific or ocean beach best places ever
ahh i was on it again just there an scrolled down i cant believe u put that photo up!!! for any one considerin california or san diego check out the j1 experience section...that photo sums up the summer some what...beach, sun, sand, sea, nati ice and loads drunken irish/americans...
First of all, be aware that it is incredibly difficult to find a place unless you get there early. You are literally competing with hundreds of other Irish trying to find somewhere. If you read through this post, you will see I went on my own last year. I met up with Clair and her sister and we got a HUGE group together. 27 people I believe and we all lived together in two kind of attached houses.
We stayed in Ocean Beach, but we were VERY lucky. The San Diego Reader comes out twice a week, and no matter how early you get up someone always seemed to have it earlier than you.
We got out house as I said by luck. We rented out bikes from our hostel and cycled around the whole of Ocean Beach (We didn't want to stay anywhere else) looking for "For Rent" signs and calling the number. That is probably your best bet. There is a guy that runs a mobile phone shop just off the main street in OB (Newport Avenue). AVOID HIM LIKE THE PLAGUE! HE IS A GANGSTER AND A CROOK!. Do not let him talk you into "renting" with him and certainly do not buy a phone from him.
If you're thinking of staying in Pacific Beach, be aware that it is VERY spread out and not very ... well, homely. OB is small and everyone knows each other, it's great. Most people who stayed in PB ended up staying in TINY apartments and the police are ALWAYS around PB so be ready for sessions to end pre 3am.
Jobs are a not a problem to find (Isn't that right claire) ;) just get over there early and you'll be sorted.
Be prepared to live like a dog for the summer. It will be the best summer of your life.
thanks for the help there...em anyone have any info on huntington beach?? i doubt we'll head to san diego because we've heard so many people that are goin there this year and it will b so hard to find accom and jobs.... still keepin options open tho...
Deciding not to go to San Diego is the worst decision you could possibly make ;)
I know for a FACT that we had the best J1 experience ever there. :)
Seriously though, there are a few members here that went to Huntington last year. I was there for a day and found it a little too..... crowded for my taste.
yes... to san fran area, or somewhere else... maybe. The biggest obstacle right now is finding summer job postings, because all the paper work for the J1 needs to be in sooner than later... What do you know about South LAke Tahoe?
j1summer, I took the green tortoise tour out there last summer when I was on my road trip down the 101. I spent 2 days out there. It was nice, but a LOT more touristy that I thought it was going to be. It's WWWWWAAAAAYYYYYYYY too expensive for a J1 student and quite difficult to get in and out.
San Fran is great, but are you sure you wouldn't like to be near a beach
can any one offer advice on beach areas to stay in cali?? all i keep hearin bout is san diego and huntington beach...iv been to san d and huntington beach doesnt really float my boat...any tips would be great...ill trade for san d info lol
Was in San Fran last year, 20 blocks from Ocean Beach and 2 blocks from Golden Gate Park. Woke up most mornings to see the Golden Gate Bridge poking over the top of Golden Gate Park. Can't wait to get back out there again, but I'd never go with USIT or do a J1 again. Jobs in San Fran were very hard to find, by walking about. Its handy staying with people living out there. 13 of us in a 4 bedroom house, but the craic was unreal and drunk every night. Got jobs working with some of the ones in the house $1000 + a week on building sites across SF an the bay area. Hard work, though. In the end up we barely had enough money to get back to the airport lol. Didn't get travelling but I don't regret it one bit. USIT are terrible..CIEE are just as bad. The girls workin in the USIT office didn't have a clue. The 3 of us that went had to drive the whole way from Derry to Dublin to pick up our tickets 12 hours before our flight to Heathrow an on to SF. They make you buy an ISIC card which is absolutely useless and just a waste of £7stg. The whole thing stressed us out so much before we went: Interview a week before we flew out and bang in the middle of exams, having to run down to Dublin to pick up tickets etc...Not very pleasant. The J1 experience was rewarding I admit. Met soo many people out there that Im friends with now, an people that I knew from back home that live out there. The only thing I didn't like was wasting £1000 stg + on a programme which I didn't use an earning 3x more than most people earnt a week workin illegally..Everyone should do it at least once, but go as early as you can to get jobs an accom because after the 2nd June, the Irish really come to town :) (We heard that one day after we got there 100 J1s came on 2 flights to SF)...
