Berkeley, San Francisco

So I am going to be staying in Berkeley for June and July on the j1 visa. I was wondering if anyone has any experience travelling in San Francisco, what the night life is like, cost of living and the weather. I am staying in a student co-op in Berkeley called Rochdale. It was done via http://www.usca.org. What is it like travelling from Berkeley to San Fran on a night out and back? What are the people like? I have heard mixed reports about Berkeley, some saying it is conservative. It is hard to get much information about it on the net, like what size it is and the population...

I am very nervous and excited at the same time as it is my first time travelling abroad on my own. So, anyone's experience is greatly appreciated as I am very interested in hearing about how people got on.

meditraitor

Berkely is very chilled out, not really a party scene (a bit conservative). The BART (Bay area rapid transfer) runs a good service in and out of San Fransisco. The dollar/euro exchange lately makes it very cheap to eat drink and head out San Fran now. Its a cool town but it has more bums than any town I have ever been in(was there a couple of weeks ago).
Enjoy

meditraitor

meditraitor wrote: »

Berkely is very chilled out, not really a party scene (a bit conservative). The BART (Bay area rapid transfer) runs a good service in and out of San Fransisco. The dollar/euro exchange lately makes it very cheap to eat drink and head out San Fran now. Its a cool town but it has more bums than any town I have ever been in(was there a couple of weeks ago).
Enjoy

Thanks for that! Also, money-wise, I will (ideally) have about €3000 saved up for the j1, and accomodation and flights is already paid for. Will €3000 be enough for two months? That's €1500 per month. I'm not a heavy drinker so I won't be spending too much on alcohol. However, I am absolutely terrible with money, I can't budget, and when I will have that much money in my possession there's no telling how it will go. Money burns a hole in my pocket. Also, I have a laser/maestro card, does that work in the USA? Is there a big charge for using the ATM?

Thanks for all the help guys!

meditraitor

If you dont go mental that should be enough but as you said money burns a whole in your pocket... €3000 is about $4600 (only spend $550 a week and your fine ;-))))).
The laser/meastro works almost everywere but the charges can vary depending on the machine you withdraw from so do a bit(some are a straight $3.50/4 per transaction and some are a % of up to a limit((not sure exactly the amount)) so decide the best way yourself) of research.
Hope you have a great time dude

tipp86

David Lynch wrote: »

Thanks for that! Also, money-wise, I will (ideally) have about €3000 saved up for the j1, and accomodation and flights is already paid for. Will €3000 be enough for two months? That's €1500 per month. I'm not a heavy drinker so I won't be spending too much on alcohol. However, I am absolutely terrible with money, I can't budget, and when I will have that much money in my possession there's no telling how it will go. Money burns a hole in my pocket. Also, I have a laser/maestro card, does that work in the USA? Is there a big charge for using the ATM?

Thanks for all the help guys!

K im doing something similar except im travelling cali and heading to vegas.With regards to money situation If you have €3000 and a house why not just bring it with you if you think the house is safe.

I will be using my maestro card as il be dealing with larger sum of money due to vegas.I think the key to using it is not to be withdrawing $50 at a time withdraw slightly larger sums like $300-500 as there is a max charge they can take i think and the less you take out the more they are screwing you.

If your going on j1 i assume you will be working so €3000 should be fine.If your not working its possible to make it strech if your not a heavy drinker.

I will be posting a thread asking for info on san fran (going out, tourist spots etc...) in the next 2 weeks so keep an eye for it.

Il actually link you up to a good forum where they might answer some of your questions better.

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=92

Fremen

I stayed in Berkeley for a summer, it was great fun. It's a bit of a pain to go out to SF for a night out, because you will often find yourself waiting for the first BART in the morning home.

There are some frat houses near enough to the university, if you can make friends with people there you'll be sure of a few decent parties. Don't go through the people's park at night (or any park for that matter), my friend had a gun pulled on him there. Not good.

There are a few bars on Telegraph ave which are decent enough. Americans aren't really used to the antics that Irish people get up to, so we were able to cause mayhem with a fair bit of immunity. The bouncers were pretty tolerant. Example: we made up a game called "danger darts". It's just like normal darts, but you have to do something dangerous before throwing (i.e. jumping over chairs, doing tumbles, etc...)

The weather is wonderful. Just like the sunniest days in summer in Dublin, every day.

It's very reasonably priced to eat out around telegraph. There's a great place called "Smart alec's". They do enormous salads which actually taste great, quite cheaply. Oh, and there's a fast food place just off telegraph called "IB's". I recommend the cheesesteak there. Wow.

Your ATM card will work in their ATMs, but you probably won't be able to use it as a debit card. They will probably charge you either $1 or 1% of what you take out to use it. Many supermarkets have a scheme where, if you sign up for a loyalty card, food gets considerably cheaper. It's definitely worth doing. I can't say if 3,000 would be enough, it really depends on the person. However, I can live comfortably in London, paying rent, food and transport costs, for 1600 a month. You should be fine if you're sensible.

Oh, I nearly forgot. Go up to lake Anza (a.k.a lake Tony Danza), it's a really nice way to spend a day. There are some rocks which you can jump into the lake off. Of course, it's the US so the cops will give you a ticket if they catch you jumping, but it's still worth it. Oh, and don't eat the corn dogs.

Cool, thanks for the replies. I am working at the moment in Cork and was hoping that I would be able to go on the j1 and not work. Kinda defeats the purpose but I would rather not go through the hassle of getting a job and try and have a good summer without it. I think it's possible, I just hope I don't run out of money

Fremen

David Lynch wrote: »

Cool, thanks for the replies. I am working at the moment in Cork and was hoping that I would be able to go on the j1 and not work. Kinda defeats the purpose but I would rather not go through the hassle of getting a job and try and have a good summer without it. I think it's possible, I just hope I don't run out of money

A J1 visa is fairly expensive. You might be better off just getting a holiday visa in that case, it might save you a few hundred quid.

I have already paid for the j1 visa and accomodation, and I guess I will have €3000 to spend on living.

So, I have paid for my accomodation and am really excited. I am wondering if there is anyone else going to Berkeley or the city of San Francisco?

JoseJones

I'm going aswell, also living in berkeley....we tried to get a coop off the usca site, but there was too many of us. we eventually found a house on craigslist. out of interest, how much is that coop costing you?

The co-op is being paid in three installments. $771, $550, and $550. I have no idea what the place is like though, so I hope it is good. JoseJones, would you be interested in meeting up when you are in Berkeley? I know no one going so it would be cool to meet up.

EL_Loco

I went to the states a few years back on a J1 so things may be different now regarding opening accounts etc. but you should look into opening a bank account with a local bank, getting an atm card from them. Then just lodge your dollars straight in there.

from recollection I needed a utility bill from the address I was staying at and my passport. after that it was easy enough. I know there's been a tightening up on accounts due to terrorism so it may be stricter now.

also, get a phone over there too. The charges for using an irish account over there (and an irish phone on roaming charges) will run to quite a bit so it's worth the effort to "localise" yourself.

when I was finished I wired back the remaining money to my irish account which cost $30 to do.

you seem to have a fair bit of cash, but I assume you plan to get a job too? maybe not but personally I would. helps you meet people and get a flavour for the "real" america. Maybe use your initial funds to treat yourself or as emergency money? up to you really. you've roughly 75 dollars a day to spend from what you say. Do you know how much your accomadation is? not that I don't believe you when you say you're not good with money but all you've to do is add up all your costs, and see if you can pay for them. just write it all down, at least you'll get a rough idea of what you can and can't afford.

edit: I see you've paid for your accomadation and the 3,000 is on top. eh, that's loads. but I'd still get a job. otherwise it's just a long holiday, you're not really "living it" as such. nothing wrong with long holidays. but it'd be my recommendation to have something to get out of bed for.

Yeah, I'm debating if I should get a job or not. I'm working in Ireland for two months before I go so I'll have money, and I'd like to have two months free time. But, like you said, I want to have something to get out of bed for. Nothing worse than spending two months staying in bed until 3 in the day!

JoseJones

David Lynch wrote: »

The co-op is being paid in three installments. $771, $550, and $550. I have no idea what the place is like though, so I hope it is good. JoseJones, would you be interested in meeting up when you are in Berkeley? I know no one going so it would be cool to meet up.

yea, sure, no problem...when are you flying out? those coops are supposed to be cool, good way to meet people and good parties etc. fair play to you going over alone...there's about 12 of us going over, all living in a 5 bed house.

Flying out on June the 3rd until Agust the 4th.

David Lynch

David Lynch wrote: »

Flying out on June the 3rd until Agust the 4th.

So I have 5 more days in Ireland until I am heading off. I am literally sick with excitement. It's like the run up to opening presents from Santa on Christmas morning!

bassman22

I was actually in that co-op when I was there, both for parties, and when looking at places to stay. We got an apartment in the end so didn't need the co-op, but its a great place, plenty of parties, plenty of people, good location.... you'll have a blast!

Get used to the police calling though, they always shut the parties down (until they are continued elsewhere). It was mad, it got to the stage where you would recognise them when they called! get sorted ID-wise (if you are not 21) , they work no problem in Berkeley