San Diego

OriginalKeith

Hey,

Im going to San Diego in June on a J1 Visa and staying until September. Does anybody know whether its hard to get a job? Is the nightlife good? Are they strict on I.D. because I'm only 18?

Cheers

Neamhshuntasach

I lived there for over 4 years when i went to college and still go back now and then. I found getting a job easily enough but obviously my circumstances were different as i was looking for a job before the J1 rush.

In comparison to Ireland the nightlife is not that great. There isn't that big of a drink culture over there. Everything is mostly a few beers and a game of pool or shuffle board for the Americans. The Irish tend to go to parties more and hang around the beach areas such as Pacific beach and Mission beach. Or just head down to Tijuana.

And yes you will have a really difficult time getting served alcohol over there. I found California to be really strict. And they apparently brought in a new law last year that means they will only accept ID that has eye color, height and weight on it. But not everywhere seemed to enforce it. I was over there just before Christmas and had a hard time getting served drink in the supermarkets with my passport. And i'm 24. The bars accepted it no problem but a lot of them wanted secondary ID and scrutinized it and put it under a black light. Laws are strict for serving minors so they take every precaution. I knew bouncers personally who would ask for my ID every time i went to the bar just so they could be seen looking at it. Everyone who looks under 35 will be carded.

But don't let he above dissuade you. I'm just telling it how it is. Plenty of under 21 year olds go over and have great craic. You'll always find parties and get someone to buy drink. Your best chance to get into a bar is probably down at Ocean beach.

OriginalKeith

thats not the reply i was hoping for
but thanks anyway for lettin me knoe
im sure ill have someway of getting drink anyway
will i enjoy my time there though? it seems like a really good spot:D

Neamhshuntasach

well i loved it. the weather is great and you meet a lot of cool people. I had better craic drinking on the beach and at parties than in the bars. plus there's no closing time then. in bars its bang on 2 and your out the door regardless of whether you're finished your drink or not. nothing worse than having to move off when you can go for hours more.

also you have mexico about 40 mins away and vegas about 4 hours away. you'll at least get to drink wednesdays as all the Irish head down to TJ that night. the trolley goes right down to the border.

i'm sure you'll enjoy your time there but knowing you can't buy drink when you want to puts a bit of a dampner on it. there's going to be lots of irish in the same boat as you and you'll end up getting drink somewhere.

OriginalKeith

ok thanks for the advice! i could go for 3 months without alcohol anyway *cough cough*
yeh right ill take me chances going to TJ every wed night
thanks 4d reply though anyway, cant wait now!

df1985

Neamhshuntasach wrote: »

Your best chance to get into a bar is probably down at Ocean beach.

not a hope in ocean beach now either.visited friends there last summer at the end of my j1 that lived in ocean beach and they couldnt get in anywhere.they had one liquor store that served them.im 21 so i was grand.me and one of he lads who was 20 went downtown one of the nights and got into 2 irish bars.hennessys was one, think the other was blarney stone or somethin.in fairness my mate does look old and had an old passport of his brothers.
you can drink on the beach durin the day no problem though.

Neamhshuntasach

df1985 wrote: »

not a hope in ocean beach now either.visited friends there last summer at the end of my j1 that lived in ocean beach and they couldnt get in anywhere.they had one liquor store that served them.im 21 so i was grand.me and one of he lads who was 20 went downtown one of the nights and got into 2 irish bars.hennessys was one, think the other was blarney stone or somethin.in fairness my mate does look old and had an old passport of his brothers.
you can drink on the beach durin the day no problem though.

I always found OB the easiest place for minors to get served. I used to go down there with my American friends who were under 21 and we nearly always found somewhere due to the amount of dive bars around there and point loma.

I went to the same college as one of the bouncers on Hennessy's and i always got my ID looked at under the blacklight. Even though i got to know the guy. It's one of the more upscale Irish places so your mate was lucky enough to get away with it. Downtown is usually the most difficult due to the police presence. I worked in Dick's last resort and as a bouncer in Moose Mcgillycuddys and i used to hate turning Irish people away who were over 18 but under 21. But if the barman or someone else checked inside i'd be screwed.

I was last over in November/December and my mates said that there is now a ban on alcohol on the sand on PB and Ja Jolla. It came into effec late last year. Smoking was also banned. Mission beach is still grand till 8pm i think. I know there was some cut off time.

df1985

a BAN on pb and la jolla!?? thats bad.ob was fine till 8 aswell but you could still get away with it after 8 once you werent really obvious around the bonfire pits.there was a lot of trouble on pb last year on labour day just before we left san diego, i remember seein it on the news so that could be sometin to do with the ban.smoking is a bit extreme though! Thats what i loved about OB, so relaxed compared to PB.

i think the moral of the story is to have mates over 21 and rely on houseparties.thats what the majority do and you always have irish wednesdays down in tj to go out properly.even with the strict id situation everyone under 21 still had the summer of their lives.

dr.bollocko

San Diego is like a cross between Shannon and hell if you get caught out in suburbia and dont have a nice beachfront place. The city is the most boring city I have ever been to ever. Just sucky. The beach side stuff is where its at, but for me, if San Diego was burned off the map tomorrow I would not be sad.
Off to San Francisco with ya!

Neamhshuntasach

df1985 wrote: »

i think the moral of the story is to have mates over 21 and rely on houseparties.thats what the majority do and you always have irish wednesdays down in tj to go out properly.even with the strict id situation everyone under 21 still had the summer of their lives.

True. Yeah it sucks that you can't walk into a supermarket or bar and get served like at home. But once you have 21 year olds in your group you'll be grand. The best craic is the parties. The bars and "nightclubs" just lack something. Just don't go into supermarkets with the over 21 year old or stand outside. If you are with someone who is over 21 you will get asked for ID too. Unless you looked like their kid. The most ridiculous law ever. My mate who's 25 couldn't get served because i was with him and didn't bring ID. They don't seem to use common sense over there. Also don't take it off him outside the store in case there's a cop car parked up outside. They will come over to you. It happened to me loads of times.

df1985

something similar happened me in boston.me and my mate were in an off license getting drink.i was the only one with i.d.so we go up to the till,im the only one carrying the alcohol so no problem, at the last minute my mate gets a bottle of coke and puts it with my drink.i say take for them together, the girl then says my mate would have to show i.d then too!! so he had to put the coke back and i had to go get it off the shelf myself.then she sees him hand me money for the coke.she then says she has to check his id because hes givin me money! in the end i just had to pay for everything and carry everything out of the store! he wasnt allowed carry anything i had paid for even the bloody bottle of coke.crazy laws!

Neamhshuntasach

That happened me in Boston last year too except only 1 person was buying something. This off license up beside fenway park. There was 5 of us in there and it was a wine store that sold some beer. 4 of us decided not to get anything and find another place so we walked outside. The 1 fella inside bought some 6 pack thing and then had to call us all back inside to show ID in order to buy them because we were with them. Ridiculous.