Doing a J1 alone

Faith

Hey guys,

There's so much crap going on at the moment with regards to my j1 this summer that I'm seriously considering just doing it alone. That way, I get to do whatever I like and there's nobody there who'll mess up my plans. But I'm scared at the idea. Has anyone here ever done one alone? I know rent will skyrocket if I'm by myself. Is there any way to get around that? If I do go it alone, I'll be in California, staying along the coast (anywhere from Santa Barbara to Monterey Bay, I'd say. I may consider Berkeley if I could get frat house accommodation). Is it hard to meet people?

Basically I'd love to hear from anyone who's done it, and how you got on. Cheers!

r3nu4l

Found this thread on the index page...

A guy in my year did his J1 by himself. He got a job in SeaWorld in San Diego and they basically subsidised some of his accommodation costs. I don't know exactly what was involved but so far as I remember SeaWorld owned an apartment block that some staff stayed in. I think these staff had to agree to be always on call or something.

He said he made a lot of friends in that block as they were all fellow staff and mostly students too. It is possible to do but if you end up working the kind of job that doesn't allow easy socialising I'd say it could get a bit lonely.

/That was 12 years ago so things may have changed since then,

GuanYin

Again, travelling alone is often the best way to do anything. People are friendly in the US in general and your accent will help! Plus you get to do things you want to do.

You can get in touch with other Irish J1-ers, there are message boards for such things - your best bet is do a 6-to a 2/3bed job. If your J! is anywhere near the norm, it's going to be a work to party experience so a "nice home" is the elast of your worries.

My offer of putting you in touch with my cousin or friend, both of whom are J1-ing, still stands.

Faith

r3nu4l wrote:

Found this thread on the index page...

Lollers, point taken!

Psi, thanks again for the offer. If I do decide to go for it, I might get back to you about the cousin in SF.

LegacyUser

No, you just can't do a J1 alone...it's no way near as much fun

Charlie

I think it depends on what you mean by alone.

If you're intending to do it alone as in live on your own, travel around on your own and not really settle down with a group of people then, I would say it wouldn't be the best.

However, if you're intending to go on your own but apartment share, try and get in with a group, and what not, then I'd say you'd be fine.

I went to Canada for the summer with my mates last summer and it was one of the best summers I ever had. However, whilst there, one of neighbours were another group of lads from Dublin that we ended up spending the summer with and living out of eachothers houses. If I had of headed over on my own, and met the same group fo lads, I would have no doubt in saying that I would have had a smadhing time. My point is, if you're sociable and willing to try and make friends then i don't think it will be too much of an issue.

I certainly wouldn't not do a J1 because you have to do it on your own, because at the end of the day you only get a few chances in your life to do these things.

Faith

Doing it alone is a last resort really. Right now, my options are: A) Go to a tiny retirement town in Florida with two of my friends, one of which is showing herself to be seriously difficult. For complicated reasons, I can't change my flights, so I'd have to fly to LA on my own (as per our original flights), then fly to Florida on my own, and at huge extra cost, to spend the summer somewhere I don't want to be. Then fly BACK to LA at huge cost again in order to do a bit of travelling and get our flights home.

Or Go it alone and stick with California, like I want. I would intend on finding a flat share alright, but preferably not with too many people. I'd defo be out to make tonnes of friends too!

Charlie

I think option B sounds the way to go.

Like I said, I went away last summer (and am doing another J1 this summe r) and I personally think if you feel that someone is being a pain before you go away, imagine what they can be like over there, when money is short, the place is a kip, and everyone is starting to get on eachothers nerves. I don't want to paint a dark picture or anything, but you sometimes see a more annoying side to people when you start living with them, and if you think that they can generally be difficult at home, then its likely they could be the same and possibily worse when you're away.

Basically if you think that if you went to Florida and it wasn't working out and you'd say to yourself 'I knew this would happen, sure look how difficult she was before we went' then I think you have your answer there as you'd be feeling like a fool to have not have seen it coming.

On a side point, I heard Florida is not the may west for a J1. I am firm believer that if you go away with a good group you can make anywhere work out well, but by the sounds of things, all is not rosy, and in those situations you really need to be in a good city to salvage things.

With the amount of Irish that go to California there will be plenty of people to make friends with, and i'd imagine a few others who have headed over on their own. On the flip side, the place in Florida you've described sounds like there would be very few Irish so if things weren't working out you could be snookered.

Faith

Thanks for the great answer, Charlie! Still thinking things over now. I've plenty of time to make a final decision really.

nollaig

Went on a J! a couple of years back on my own.

Great Great time, Did what I wanted, When I wanted.

Make sure though that you have everything organised before you head out there. Met a lot of people who couldnt get a job etc.

Naked Lepper

in 2004 i went to new jersey on a H2B visa (kinda like j1) alone
got a job in six flags and met up with so many people in the same boat from all around the world
had a great time and would do it again!

Faith

Those of you who've done them alone, what did you do about accommodation? Did you live on your own, share with strangers, or what?

hotspur

Echoing what one of the above posters said about Seaworld, if you felt like working in an amusment park type job (which can be fun and social) then many of them offer jobs to exchange students in the summer which includes them sorting you out for accomodation with other exchange students.

I did that once on J1 and it was great. Also if you are considering where to go in California I strongly recommend San Diego, best city in the world in my opinion.

Anyway if it was a choice between going to bloody Florida with someone you have an issue with and going eslewhere on my own I know which I'd choose. I did J1 on my own and thoroughly enjoyed it.

KStaford

Faith

Last year I J1'd to Alaska, It was the best thing I have ever done in my life. I went alone.

Beforehand I got a job via the internet (whitewater rafting office in Denali - Alaskan interior). I got the job through a great site - http://www.coolworks.com which is specifically for student and adventure jobs in the worlds coolest places.

I got accomodation from my employer (lived in a shack with about 35 others and we all worked the water rafting)
I did all my own paperwork and got my own sponsor - The wise foundation (http://wise.wisefoundation.com/)

I booked my own flights, organised my own embassey interview. The sponsor sent my necessary paperwork and I completed the rest myself.
I saved about $500 by doing it this way.

It was the best summer. See my alaska photos here
http://www.kieranstafford.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7602

and read my Alaska diary here
http://www.kieranstafford.com/scrapbook/alaska

I went alone, totally stepped out of my comfort zone and ended up with a whole load of great new friends that I keep in touch with. Not to mention the memories of a lifetime. God I miss the place.

PS: I am a mature student (40 years old)

My advice is do it, go for it, dont rely on meeting and associating with other Irish, go to meet new nationalities. dont be trapped into going to places where you will only meet Irish. Where I went, I was the only Irish person for the entire summer - it was glorious. Americans are very friendly and outgoing. They will love your accent and befriend you easily. As for the accomodation, expect kips, mine was a kip but a very happy kip that I would happily go back to. The accomodation is only there to sleep and feed you. We did our own cooking on a rota and paid for our food via a food plan out of our wages. It was very cheap and great great fun. There were nights when we ate so well (fresh halibut, sides of beef bar-b-cued, roasted turkeys etc)


Hope this helps

Best of luck

Kieran

Faith wrote:

Hey guys,

There's so much crap going on at the moment with regards to my j1 this summer that I'm seriously considering just doing it alone. That way, I get to do whatever I like and there's nobody there who'll mess up my plans. But I'm scared at the idea. Has anyone here ever done one alone? I know rent will skyrocket if I'm by myself. Is there any way to get around that? If I do go it alone, I'll be in California, staying along the coast (anywhere from Santa Barbara to Monterey Bay, I'd say. I may consider Berkeley if I could get frat house accommodation). Is it hard to meet people?

Basically I'd love to hear from anyone who's done it, and how you got on. Cheers!

BuffyBot

Moved to it's new natural home, Youth & Student travel

dave2pvd

Faith,

Take KStaford's advice. Go away and leave Ireland behind for a while. Meet new nationalities. Meet lots of Americans. So many J1ers never leave the comfort of their mates when they come over and just don't get to experience the place/people.

Florida can be the pits. esp where you are describing. Sounds like it could be Fort Myers or somewhere similar. Total boredom! Orlando would be different, but it's not America, it's just part of the service industry.

Follow your instincts re the friend. Something like that can really be a spoiler. What Charlie Mc said is true - whatever you see now will be amplified by close proximity. (I did what you're conemplating for 5 consecutive Summers - there was 1 bad room-mate).

You're outgoing, so you'll be able to meet people without too much difficulty. You have to work at it a bit, but once it starts, it snowballs. People here are very friendly. In fact, at times you can find yourself trying to un-friend yourself from people. Too many friends, not enough days in the week kind of thing.

Good luck!

Faith

Everyone, thank you so much for your wonderful advice. At the end of the day, I was having a lot of trouble finding affordable accommodation on my own, and some friends offered to let me stay with them. I accepted, so I will be living with a large group of people I know afterall.

I have travelled by myself before, many times. I spent 4 weeks in France alone a few years ago, and I upped and left the country alone to go to University. I really felt like I could do with some friends this summer. Perhaps next year I'll take your advice and go somewhere completely new and exciting!

When I told my previous travel companion that I wouldn't be going to Florida, she turned ugly. I got a fairly abusive email from her about it. That on top of all the other problems I've had with her this far only convinced me that I've done the right thing!

Charlie

Nice to hear you pulled the trigger on Cali. Like I said, it sounds like your 'mate' who's heading to Florida could be a real handful of a roomate.

Stabshauptmann

cheesedude wrote:

No, you just can't do a J1 alone...it's no way near as much fun

lol.

Depends on the person. I did mine alone, and know that I couldnt have had the same ammount of fun in a group. I made so many spur of the moment decisions, really got around.

Its really easy to meet people and a great laugh. I lived in a hostel for a while and then moved in with friends. Its possible, and IMO a better experience, if you're the outgoing type.