Hi Guys!!!!!!
Sorry that i have not put any posts up about the areas of SF as promised. I have been crazy busy. I am here in SF a month now and have been settling into the new apartment and new job. Also my laptop is FOOOOKED so i cant use it. I will get something up before you all arrive over here by the end of May.
If you are looking for housing here is a a few tips.
Parkmerced - this is beside SF state. 2 bed apartmetn fits about 8 people, 10 at a push. dont tell them you have that many though. only let 4 max on a lease. this is bout $2400. for smaller living spaces try westlake village apartments. these are in daly city. this is where i live. it is right beside the BART and is cheap. there is a direct bus (28) to the wharf. i get this every day.
Leave for work at 745 in for 850. this is on the SFMTA so you can use the monthly muni pass for this. this is pretty cheap and has plenty in the line of shopping close by and transport and is right by parkmerced. seperated by a golf course.
Areas to focus on housing:
the place you will find the easiest to find housing is sunset/parkside and inner sunset. also checkl out the richmond.
Beware of downtown/civic centre/vanness. this is essentially the tenderloin. the tenderloin is not that desirable. its borders are market to the south, van ness to the west. mason to the east andbush/california to the north. anything in here dont go for. unless you feel comfortable.
check out haight ashbury, lower haight, pacific heights and lower pacific heights. Mission is cool spot also. The gay district is the castro/upper market. its a lovely are. very safe and has some nice houses.
dont go near bayview/hunterspoint, bernal heights.
balboa park and glenn park are kinda dodge but there are decent areas to it. i wouldnt be too comfy living there myself.
If you can get north beach or russian hill then take it. these are amazing areas. real close to downtown and usually cost a fortune.
DO NOT DEAL WITH TRINITY MANAGEMENT. they are a bunch of gangsters and will dick you about. dont even waste your time.
anyway, gotta run, im off to orlando for business trip. BEAUTY
See you here soon!!!!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
UPDATE TO TRANSPORT!!!!!
Hi Guys!!!!
This is an update to go with the last transport post. There is a very very handy and usefull to help get around the city. I forgot to mention this in my last post. I dont know how i forgot because it was like my bible last summer.
http://www.511.org/
If you want to know how to get from one place to another all you need is this site. You just have to put in the starting address and the destination address and then you will be given a route planner which will tell you which bus or muni number you need to get on. Where to get off and if you need to transfere to another bus or muni. It will also give you the price of the journey and how long it will take. There may be a few different routes you can take that will have different prices and times.
You can also use google maps for this. you just need to go to the "get directions" part and change it to by "public transport".
This is the most usefull website you will use in SF. It can also be accessed by phone and by text. check the website for more details.
See you in SF soon!!!!
This is an update to go with the last transport post. There is a very very handy and usefull to help get around the city. I forgot to mention this in my last post. I dont know how i forgot because it was like my bible last summer.
http://www.511.org/
If you want to know how to get from one place to another all you need is this site. You just have to put in the starting address and the destination address and then you will be given a route planner which will tell you which bus or muni number you need to get on. Where to get off and if you need to transfere to another bus or muni. It will also give you the price of the journey and how long it will take. There may be a few different routes you can take that will have different prices and times.
You can also use google maps for this. you just need to go to the "get directions" part and change it to by "public transport".
This is the most usefull website you will use in SF. It can also be accessed by phone and by text. check the website for more details.
See you in SF soon!!!!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Transport and getting around!!!
Hi guys!!!!
So, the last time out i finished up by saying i would talk about the transport system of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Well, i guess thats what i will do in this one. The way i will structure this post will be as follows:
So, the last time out i finished up by saying i would talk about the transport system of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Well, i guess thats what i will do in this one. The way i will structure this post will be as follows:
- Highlight the different modes of transport
- Give information on fares
- Getting further than the city limits
- Any other stuff that comes to mind while typing this.
I suppose i will just dive in head first and get straight to it. So, there are a few different ways to get around the city and Bay Area. Within the city limits you will use the Muni. Muni is the nickname given to the main transport system. It comes from SFMTA which stands for San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency. Muni comes from the municipal part. To get outside the city limits and around the parts of the Bay Area you have 2 options. The first is the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) or the Caltrain.
Here are a few links to the system maps of each of the above mentioned.
With the muni there are 2 options. One being light rail, like the luas in Dublin and the other being bus.
BART: BART system map
Caltrain: Caltrain system map
Muni
The muni will help you get around the city limits. The city limits are basically anything north of Daly city. Its network consists of 71 bus lines, 7 light rail lines, 3 cable car lines and a heritage street car known as the F-Line. The F-Line runs along Market St. from the Castro to the Fishermans Wharf. The light rail lines are all given letters for their names. These lines are as follows:
- N-Judah: This runs from Ocean Beach along Judah street in the north of the Sunset, through the haight and then downtown and beyond to the Caltrain depot at 4th & King. If you want to go to see the SF Giants play baseball at AT&T park you will get this.
- L-Taraval: This runs from the SF Zoo on the south side of the Sunset along Taraval street and continues downtown ending at Embarcadero station.
- M-Ocean View: This line runs from Balboa Park BART Station along 19th Ave, past SFSU and continues downtown ending at Embarcadero station.
- K-Ingleside: This also runs from Balboa Park BART Station into West Portal and continue downtown to Embarcadero station. At Embarcadero station it becomes The T-Third Street line.
- T-Third Street: This is a continuation of the K line and continues along the same line as the N-Judah. It doesn't end at the Caltrain depot though. It brings you on down to Bayshore. If you are going to see the 49er's at Candlestick Park you would take this train.
As mentioned earlier there are over 70 bus line. Far to many to name individually. If you click on the link above called "Muni system map (bus)" you will get all the route details.
BART
BART is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy rail public transit system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on 104 miles of track with 43 stations in four counties. There is a system map above that will show you all the routes of BART. You will more than likely only use BART to get between Berkeley and the city. To get to Berkeley from the city you can either take the red Richmond line that will take you directly into Downtown Berkeley with no need for a transfer or the yellow Pittsburg line. If you take the Pittsburg line you will need to transfer at MacArthur station. If you do get the Pittsburg line there should be a train on the other side of the platform waiting to take you to Berkeley. They have this worked out so there is no waiting around. If you are travelling the opposite direction from Berkeley to the city then you can either get the red Daly City/Milbrae line directly into the city with no transfer or the orange Fremont train and transfer at MacArthur Station. The journey in either direction should take you no more than 40 minutes.
Caltrain
The Caltrain is what you will use to reach the south bay. In the South bay you have San Jose, Stanford university and Gilroy amongst other places. During the week there is a train leaving every half an hour. At Milbrae there is a connection to the BART lines. Some reasons why you might need to use the Caltrain would be to go see the San Jose Earthquakes, who play in the MLS, in Santa Clara College, go to Great America Theme Park also in Santa Clara, go visit Stanford University at Palo Alto, do some shopping at the outlet mall in Gilroy or make a connection to get a bus out to Santa Cruz to lounge on the beach.
I will now give you some info on pricing. If you are living in the city i advise you to purchase a monthly MUNI pass. This will cost you about $70. it is a worthwhile purchase even for 2 or 3 weeks if you have a job. you will still save money and can use it on the BART lines too. but only between Balboa Park and Embarcadero Station. A single journey on a MUNI will cost $2. This fare lasts up until the time shown on the ticket and can be transfered to any other light rail or bus. Maybe even the BART, but i'm not sure. If you travel to and from work 5 days a week that will amount to$20 a week. and over the course of a month will run up to $80. Then there are all the other times you will use the MUNI when not working. you can easily run up a bill of $150 a month on transport. This is why you should get the monthly pass. I think the price of a single fare has gone up. The BART can be very expensive if you use it regularly to get to work. it can cost you up to $50 a week, even more. The Caltrain will probably cost about $15 dollars to get the full length of the line.
That is all that i can think of at the moment. sorry if this post sucks. I have not been feeling great the last few days. was holed up in bed with a bad dose and my head is a bit fuzzy. I hope that i have given you enough info here to get you around the Bay Area. I am sure i have left so much out of this. If i think of anymore i will defo put up another post about it. If you have any queries about this issue then feel free to contact me at sanfranj1@gmail.com
Next up i will give a post about the districts and neighborhoods of San Francisco. This will be a big one as there is a lot to talk about in it. Talk to you later guys....
I will now give you some info on pricing. If you are living in the city i advise you to purchase a monthly MUNI pass. This will cost you about $70. it is a worthwhile purchase even for 2 or 3 weeks if you have a job. you will still save money and can use it on the BART lines too. but only between Balboa Park and Embarcadero Station. A single journey on a MUNI will cost $2. This fare lasts up until the time shown on the ticket and can be transfered to any other light rail or bus. Maybe even the BART, but i'm not sure. If you travel to and from work 5 days a week that will amount to$20 a week. and over the course of a month will run up to $80. Then there are all the other times you will use the MUNI when not working. you can easily run up a bill of $150 a month on transport. This is why you should get the monthly pass. I think the price of a single fare has gone up. The BART can be very expensive if you use it regularly to get to work. it can cost you up to $50 a week, even more. The Caltrain will probably cost about $15 dollars to get the full length of the line.
That is all that i can think of at the moment. sorry if this post sucks. I have not been feeling great the last few days. was holed up in bed with a bad dose and my head is a bit fuzzy. I hope that i have given you enough info here to get you around the Bay Area. I am sure i have left so much out of this. If i think of anymore i will defo put up another post about it. If you have any queries about this issue then feel free to contact me at sanfranj1@gmail.com
Next up i will give a post about the districts and neighborhoods of San Francisco. This will be a big one as there is a lot to talk about in it. Talk to you later guys....
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Jobs and Employment!!!
Hi guys!!!!
By now you should know all about the application process, what to expect upon arrival and what you must do on your first few days and also how to go about finding housing. If you are still unclear about anything from previous posts feel free to email me at sanfranj1@gmail.com. In this post i will give you as much info and help as i can regarding the job hunt.
When seeking work there is one thing you need to do. It is highly important. You MUST keep your head up and dont loose focus. Dont loose motivation and dont fear rejection. Most of you will not be so lucky to just walk straight into a job. you have to hunt one down. You may not get a job in the first place you look. The best thing to do is to apply to as many jobs as you can. Keep looking until you get one. When you have got a job sorted you can then start to party. Dont think you cant party while looking for a job. Business' dont stay open all day long :-).
I will now give you some suggestions on typical jobs for J1ers.
1. Tourism sector - San Francisco has the highest influx of tourists during the summer than any other city in the US. Therefore there are an abundance of jobs in this industry. Get down to the Fishermans Wharf and check out all the tour operators. These will always be hiring peolpe during the summer. Hint: Go into a hotel and check the rack that has flyers and leaflets on activities in San Francisco. These will have info on all the tour operators in SF.
2. Catering sector - This kinda goes together with the tourism sector as tourists need to eat. SF has a ridiculous amount of restraunts. You may have luck finding a job in one of these restraunts. This may be difficult as it is notoriously hard to get wok in a restraunt unless you have experience. Bars, Your Irish, check out the amount of Irish bars in the city. And alot of them have no irish people working in them. This may be a big help when looking for work.
3. Hospitality - There are so many hotels/motels/hostels in SF it is not funny. This might be an ideal job for some. It is a good proposition as there are alot of different areas you can work in a hotel. Bar/administration/valet/room services/custodial etc... check the big ones websites i.e. marriott, hyatt etc.. these will usually post jobs online.
4. Retail - Again SF has a huge retail trade. The westfield shopping centre is like an enormous version of the dundrum shopping centre. It is located at Powell St. station on market street. There is also Stonestown Mall on 19th ave beside SFSU (San Francisco State University). Haight street is also a high end retail area. If retail is what you are after then check out these three places. Dont limit yourself to these places alone as there are oads more shopping areas.
5. Removals - This one would be for people who like a bit of hard labour. This is basically working for a company who move furniture and all sorts. There is a huge industry in this sector as there is alot of moving taking place in the city. I dont know much about how to find work in this sector. I met a few guys last summer who worked doing this and said it was a great job and good pay. You can check craigslist for this. I hear that there are alot of these types of jobs posted here.
6. Construction - I cant really give you much info on this, just that i know a few guys who did this last summer and got PAID!!!! I believe these guys got their jobs through the GAA. There is a huge GAA community in SF and if you play then you will make contacts who will help you out. We tend to take care of our own.
7. Theme-parks - You should check out Great America in Santa Clara. This is a huge themeparks that has a water park also in it. Again it is a seasonal business so they will offer loads of part time jobs during the summer. Waterworld in Concord is also another themepark that can offer jobs. This would be easier to get to as it is on the BART line.
Here are a few websites you can use to find jobs:
http://www.snagajob.com/
http://www.j1jobs.com/
http://www.monster.com/
http://www.themeparkjobs.com/
http://www.waterworldcalifornia.com/
http://www.cagreatamerica.com/
These are the main areas that you should concentrate your search for work. I know people who worked in all these areas last year. Use craigslist to look for jobs. You can find one off jobs here that can get you a few hundred bucks to keep you going. My advice is to really really search the Wharf for work. there are so many business down there that need extra employees to help with the increased demand during the summer. Its your best bet. TRY EVERYWHERE. I would also like to tell you that you are now the minority and should be prepared to do the jobs you wouldnt do at home. At the end of the day its a paycheck, it will keep you going, its a job you only plan on having to get you drunk so who cares. But dont sell yourself to short.
So, to sum up. TRY TRY TRY TRY. Dont give up. Dont loose heart. Dont loose focus and keep going. Something will go your way eventually.
Hopefuly there is enough information here to help you find a job. Again, if you need more help email me at sanranj1@gmail.com. I know of a few places that you would have a good chance of getting work.
Next up i will be a post about the transport network and how to get around the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area in general.
Talk to you guys very soon!!!!
By now you should know all about the application process, what to expect upon arrival and what you must do on your first few days and also how to go about finding housing. If you are still unclear about anything from previous posts feel free to email me at sanfranj1@gmail.com. In this post i will give you as much info and help as i can regarding the job hunt.
When seeking work there is one thing you need to do. It is highly important. You MUST keep your head up and dont loose focus. Dont loose motivation and dont fear rejection. Most of you will not be so lucky to just walk straight into a job. you have to hunt one down. You may not get a job in the first place you look. The best thing to do is to apply to as many jobs as you can. Keep looking until you get one. When you have got a job sorted you can then start to party. Dont think you cant party while looking for a job. Business' dont stay open all day long :-).
I will now give you some suggestions on typical jobs for J1ers.
1. Tourism sector - San Francisco has the highest influx of tourists during the summer than any other city in the US. Therefore there are an abundance of jobs in this industry. Get down to the Fishermans Wharf and check out all the tour operators. These will always be hiring peolpe during the summer. Hint: Go into a hotel and check the rack that has flyers and leaflets on activities in San Francisco. These will have info on all the tour operators in SF.
2. Catering sector - This kinda goes together with the tourism sector as tourists need to eat. SF has a ridiculous amount of restraunts. You may have luck finding a job in one of these restraunts. This may be difficult as it is notoriously hard to get wok in a restraunt unless you have experience. Bars, Your Irish, check out the amount of Irish bars in the city. And alot of them have no irish people working in them. This may be a big help when looking for work.
3. Hospitality - There are so many hotels/motels/hostels in SF it is not funny. This might be an ideal job for some. It is a good proposition as there are alot of different areas you can work in a hotel. Bar/administration/valet/room services/custodial etc... check the big ones websites i.e. marriott, hyatt etc.. these will usually post jobs online.
4. Retail - Again SF has a huge retail trade. The westfield shopping centre is like an enormous version of the dundrum shopping centre. It is located at Powell St. station on market street. There is also Stonestown Mall on 19th ave beside SFSU (San Francisco State University). Haight street is also a high end retail area. If retail is what you are after then check out these three places. Dont limit yourself to these places alone as there are oads more shopping areas.
5. Removals - This one would be for people who like a bit of hard labour. This is basically working for a company who move furniture and all sorts. There is a huge industry in this sector as there is alot of moving taking place in the city. I dont know much about how to find work in this sector. I met a few guys last summer who worked doing this and said it was a great job and good pay. You can check craigslist for this. I hear that there are alot of these types of jobs posted here.
6. Construction - I cant really give you much info on this, just that i know a few guys who did this last summer and got PAID!!!! I believe these guys got their jobs through the GAA. There is a huge GAA community in SF and if you play then you will make contacts who will help you out. We tend to take care of our own.
7. Theme-parks - You should check out Great America in Santa Clara. This is a huge themeparks that has a water park also in it. Again it is a seasonal business so they will offer loads of part time jobs during the summer. Waterworld in Concord is also another themepark that can offer jobs. This would be easier to get to as it is on the BART line.
Here are a few websites you can use to find jobs:
http://www.snagajob.com/
http://www.j1jobs.com/
http://www.monster.com/
http://www.themeparkjobs.com/
http://www.waterworldcalifornia.com/
http://www.cagreatamerica.com/
These are the main areas that you should concentrate your search for work. I know people who worked in all these areas last year. Use craigslist to look for jobs. You can find one off jobs here that can get you a few hundred bucks to keep you going. My advice is to really really search the Wharf for work. there are so many business down there that need extra employees to help with the increased demand during the summer. Its your best bet. TRY EVERYWHERE. I would also like to tell you that you are now the minority and should be prepared to do the jobs you wouldnt do at home. At the end of the day its a paycheck, it will keep you going, its a job you only plan on having to get you drunk so who cares. But dont sell yourself to short.
So, to sum up. TRY TRY TRY TRY. Dont give up. Dont loose heart. Dont loose focus and keep going. Something will go your way eventually.
Hopefuly there is enough information here to help you find a job. Again, if you need more help email me at sanranj1@gmail.com. I know of a few places that you would have a good chance of getting work.
Next up i will be a post about the transport network and how to get around the city of San Francisco and the Bay Area in general.
Talk to you guys very soon!!!!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Housing and Accommodation!!!
Hi Guys!!!!
Sorry for the long break between my last post and now. I was organising my own visa to return to San Francisco in April. I finally got all the paperwork finished and sent in. It was a messy ordeal but i got it sorted eventually thanks to the helpfull staff at USIT. THANKS GILLIAN, your a star. So i am just waiting on my job to be approved and get my visa finalised. Roll on April 8th WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
In my last post, at the end, i said i would talk a bit about housing and accommodation in my next post. Well i guess i better do this now. Upon finishing reading this post you should have enough info to get yourself housed and ready to enjoy your summer. Once you have found diggs there will be a load taken off and you can relax.
I guess i will start off by freaking you out a little and giving you the horror story first. Its not that much of a horror story really. I guess by now you know that housing is pricey in San Francisco. I have a theory as to the reason. My theory is that San Francisco is sitting on top of the San Andreas fault line and is prone to earthquakes. Im sure you have all heard of the 2 big ones. One in 1906 and the other in 1989. These are the two most horrific ones that caused the most amount of destruction. What you may not know is that San Francisco experiences earthquakes quite freaquently. Dont worry though, you cant even notice them they are so small. Well i believe that this is the reason for the high prices of housing. The insurance must be very high as there is the constant threat of earthquakes. This in turn will lead to higher rents.
If you have made the decision to go to San Francisco then you are willing to pay these prices. The way around these high prices is to wedge a load of you into one apartment. The more you get the lower your rent. Dont over do it though becasue it will get cramped and at times may get unbearable.
Last summer i had my accommodation sorted before i left. This was such a relief as we could move in straight away. It may be more difficult for you to organise it before you go as you will not be in the city. I was lucky as i had friends already living there who helped me out alot. Basically sorted it out for me. As i will be there in April i will gladly help anyone i can, if you need it that is.
So, down to the important info of this post. To start off you will need to know where to look for your housing. The best place is on craigslist (www.craigslist.org). This is where practically every person in the city goes to get a new apartment. craigslist is a beast. you can get everything you need on it. EVERYTHING. It is handy for jobs too. For the housing aspect i will give you a run down on how to use it.
1. log onto www.craigslist.org
2. click on SF Bay Area
3. click apts/housing
4. depending on where you want to live you have 2 options. To live in the city itself click the San Francisco tab. If you want to live in Berkeley click the East Bay tab.
5. choose the neighbourhood you wish to live. For Berkeley choose Berkeley and not Berkeley north/hills. For the city then just choose what ever district you want. I will do a later post on the different neighbourhoods of San Francisco.
6. put in the range you wish to spend on rent, the number of bedrooms you desire and then check the "has image" box so it filters out ones without pictures of the apartment. you dont have to do this if you want a wider search. I just like to see the apartment before hand so i dont waste my time.
So that is how you find yuor housing on craigslist. Now i will give you some tips that will be very usefull when getting in contact with the apartments. It will usually be carried out through e-mail first, some have phone numbers displayed and you can easily call them. If you are looking to have it sorted before you leave then it will be best to use e-mail. I will now give you some tips to make this easier, as you will more than likely be sending loads of mails to loads of different apartments.
1. Draw up a template email and save it. This can then be weasily copied and pasted to your email and saves a hell of alot of time.
2. Create a folder on your desktop and call it "housing". Inside this folder create some sub-folders and call them the names of the different districts of San Francisco. This is so you can save the ads that you have replied to so you know where abouts in the city they are.
3. Each ad will generally have a "reply to" address at the ver top. It will generally look like this hous-xjrpg-1653149791@craigslist.org. This is the address you send your mail to. some will have no reply to address on the top but you will find it somewhere else in the ad.
4. When you have sent the e-mail you should open up a word document and copy and paste the ad to it. Copy from the very top, where it shows the price and number of rooms in big bold text, right down to the very end where it gives the "posting ID". Now save this into whatever sub-folder it belongs in. The reason for saving it is because any replies you get will not com back from the email address you sent it to. You will get a reply from your original mail and you can locate the ad from the address you originally sent it to. This may be confusing to read but believe me it will be a million more times confusing and frustrating when you get a reply about an apartment and you dont know which one it was. This is a tip i was given from my friends living in San Francisco.
Now that i have given you tips on how to locate apartments i will give you a brief rundown on what type of prices to expect. Well, for a 2 bed apartment you can pay anywhere from $2000 up to $3500, depending on where it is located. some areas are far more expensive than others. A studio apartment could cost you anywhere from $800 to $2000. Some apartments are bigger than others and nicer than others. The apartment i lived in last summer was 2 bed and 2 bath. It was huge and there were only 4 of us in it. It cost us $2400 a month. We could have easily had8 8 people live in it. one bedroom comfortably holding 4 people ad the other 3 and then you could have had a few stragglers in the sitting room. I know of a group in the same apartments as us that had 10 people in the same size place as us. The were only paying $240 each a month. Very affordable.
So, this is a good bit of info for you and some tips. If you have any questions feel free to ask me sanfranj1@gmail.com . also contact me if there is stuff i missed that you think should be posted. And one last reason to contact me, I will be there in a few weeks and would gladly help anyone who may need any help getting settled or needing help finding apartments or just looking for any info in general about the city.
I reckon my next post will be about jobs and employment. stay tuned. Hopefully i dont leave it so long for the next post.
Sorry for the long break between my last post and now. I was organising my own visa to return to San Francisco in April. I finally got all the paperwork finished and sent in. It was a messy ordeal but i got it sorted eventually thanks to the helpfull staff at USIT. THANKS GILLIAN, your a star. So i am just waiting on my job to be approved and get my visa finalised. Roll on April 8th WOOOOHOOOO!!!!!!
In my last post, at the end, i said i would talk a bit about housing and accommodation in my next post. Well i guess i better do this now. Upon finishing reading this post you should have enough info to get yourself housed and ready to enjoy your summer. Once you have found diggs there will be a load taken off and you can relax.
I guess i will start off by freaking you out a little and giving you the horror story first. Its not that much of a horror story really. I guess by now you know that housing is pricey in San Francisco. I have a theory as to the reason. My theory is that San Francisco is sitting on top of the San Andreas fault line and is prone to earthquakes. Im sure you have all heard of the 2 big ones. One in 1906 and the other in 1989. These are the two most horrific ones that caused the most amount of destruction. What you may not know is that San Francisco experiences earthquakes quite freaquently. Dont worry though, you cant even notice them they are so small. Well i believe that this is the reason for the high prices of housing. The insurance must be very high as there is the constant threat of earthquakes. This in turn will lead to higher rents.
If you have made the decision to go to San Francisco then you are willing to pay these prices. The way around these high prices is to wedge a load of you into one apartment. The more you get the lower your rent. Dont over do it though becasue it will get cramped and at times may get unbearable.
Last summer i had my accommodation sorted before i left. This was such a relief as we could move in straight away. It may be more difficult for you to organise it before you go as you will not be in the city. I was lucky as i had friends already living there who helped me out alot. Basically sorted it out for me. As i will be there in April i will gladly help anyone i can, if you need it that is.
So, down to the important info of this post. To start off you will need to know where to look for your housing. The best place is on craigslist (www.craigslist.org). This is where practically every person in the city goes to get a new apartment. craigslist is a beast. you can get everything you need on it. EVERYTHING. It is handy for jobs too. For the housing aspect i will give you a run down on how to use it.
1. log onto www.craigslist.org
2. click on SF Bay Area
3. click apts/housing
4. depending on where you want to live you have 2 options. To live in the city itself click the San Francisco tab. If you want to live in Berkeley click the East Bay tab.
5. choose the neighbourhood you wish to live. For Berkeley choose Berkeley and not Berkeley north/hills. For the city then just choose what ever district you want. I will do a later post on the different neighbourhoods of San Francisco.
6. put in the range you wish to spend on rent, the number of bedrooms you desire and then check the "has image" box so it filters out ones without pictures of the apartment. you dont have to do this if you want a wider search. I just like to see the apartment before hand so i dont waste my time.
So that is how you find yuor housing on craigslist. Now i will give you some tips that will be very usefull when getting in contact with the apartments. It will usually be carried out through e-mail first, some have phone numbers displayed and you can easily call them. If you are looking to have it sorted before you leave then it will be best to use e-mail. I will now give you some tips to make this easier, as you will more than likely be sending loads of mails to loads of different apartments.
1. Draw up a template email and save it. This can then be weasily copied and pasted to your email and saves a hell of alot of time.
2. Create a folder on your desktop and call it "housing". Inside this folder create some sub-folders and call them the names of the different districts of San Francisco. This is so you can save the ads that you have replied to so you know where abouts in the city they are.
3. Each ad will generally have a "reply to" address at the ver top. It will generally look like this hous-xjrpg-1653149791@craigslist.org. This is the address you send your mail to. some will have no reply to address on the top but you will find it somewhere else in the ad.
4. When you have sent the e-mail you should open up a word document and copy and paste the ad to it. Copy from the very top, where it shows the price and number of rooms in big bold text, right down to the very end where it gives the "posting ID". Now save this into whatever sub-folder it belongs in. The reason for saving it is because any replies you get will not com back from the email address you sent it to. You will get a reply from your original mail and you can locate the ad from the address you originally sent it to. This may be confusing to read but believe me it will be a million more times confusing and frustrating when you get a reply about an apartment and you dont know which one it was. This is a tip i was given from my friends living in San Francisco.
Now that i have given you tips on how to locate apartments i will give you a brief rundown on what type of prices to expect. Well, for a 2 bed apartment you can pay anywhere from $2000 up to $3500, depending on where it is located. some areas are far more expensive than others. A studio apartment could cost you anywhere from $800 to $2000. Some apartments are bigger than others and nicer than others. The apartment i lived in last summer was 2 bed and 2 bath. It was huge and there were only 4 of us in it. It cost us $2400 a month. We could have easily had8 8 people live in it. one bedroom comfortably holding 4 people ad the other 3 and then you could have had a few stragglers in the sitting room. I know of a group in the same apartments as us that had 10 people in the same size place as us. The were only paying $240 each a month. Very affordable.
So, this is a good bit of info for you and some tips. If you have any questions feel free to ask me sanfranj1@gmail.com . also contact me if there is stuff i missed that you think should be posted. And one last reason to contact me, I will be there in a few weeks and would gladly help anyone who may need any help getting settled or needing help finding apartments or just looking for any info in general about the city.
I reckon my next post will be about jobs and employment. stay tuned. Hopefully i dont leave it so long for the next post.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Touching down in San Francisco!!!
Hi guys!!!
So, this is the second post I have made on this blog. In this I will tell you what to expect on your arrival. I will also give you some tips on what you should do before you leave.
Picture yourself standing in the arrivals lounge of SFO (San Francisco International) airport. You are after travelling half way around the world and are no doubt pretty tired. Don’t be relaxing just yet. You still have a little more to do. Some of you may have had a stop over in another city before arriving in SF, so you can picture your self in whatever airport you flew into. Well at this stage you will have to go through customs and immigration. I am not to sure if you do this on your point of entry to the US or at your final destination as I flew direct from Heathrow in London. I reckon you will do it at your final destination as you will actually be leaving the airport. Anyway, you will have to go through customs. You will stand in a queue for a while and then face the daunting figures in their little boxes who will check your visa and passports, take your picture, your finger prints and ask you some questions. Just stay calm, this is all normal procedure. Once through these you will have to go into a little side room and wait while they check all your documents. Again this is normal. My little bit of advice for this point is to be sure of yourself and not a dumb ass. If you get asked a question like “What are your plans for while you are here?” have an answer ready. Also have an address ready too…even a hotel address or hostel of where you are going to spend your first few nights if you don’t have accommodation sorted. I saw some real clowns there last summer that were grilled because they couldn’t answer simple questions and were giving stupid answers. “WE’RE HERE TO PARTY…WOOO HOOO”, like that is going to please the authorities. When finished with this part it is time to collect your bags and get out of the airport.
You have finally got through customs and all the travelling. Are you hungry? If so go up to the food hall in the departures lounge and go to “the burger joint”. This place is a beauty. It’s highly rated in the zagat guide too; I will probably talk more about this in later posts on restaurants. The “fries” are beast and, pardon the pun, the burgers are whopper.
You are fed and ready to go. You have options here on how to get to the city. You can get a taxi or BART. If you do go for a taxi make sure it is legit. We got one that turned out to be some random dude with an suv. We were lucky that he was cool enough. A taxi will probably run you about $50 to downtown or wherever you may go. Where as the BART will probably only cost you about $5. This will also bring you to downtown.
If you don’t have accommodation sorted before you go you will probably have to stay in a hostel until you do. There are an abundance of these all over the city. Just stay out of the Tenderloin and Hunters Point (I will discuss this in a later post on areas of SF). I advise you to book these in advance of your arrival as the last thing you want to be doing after that journey is dragging luggage up and down the hills looking for a place to stay. If you have some flash cash and are willing to part with a bit I recommend you spend your first night in luxury in the Hyatt on Fishermans wharf. The beds are so comfortable. Beauty down-feather beds. To get to the wharf you will take the BART to Powell street station then exit the station and get an old-school street car called the f-line to the wharf. Powell street station is right in the heart of downtown.
When you get to SF you will have something like 10 days to register with SEVIS and to go about getting your social security number (SSN). To register with SEVIS you just have to go to the website and punch in the number above the barcode on your DS-2019 form. After doing this I think you will need to print out the confirmation, this info will be in your handbook. You will then need to go to the social security office to get your SSN. There is an office at 939 Market Street. To get here you get a muni (this is the name of the transport system, will be explained in later posts) to Powell. At Powell, walk to 5th street. This is in the direction of the Castro. It is only half a block from the station. At 5th street take a left. A few hundred yards down on your right is the social security office. You will go in and take a ticket and wait your turn to be called. Make sure you have all your documentation with you. This social security office is a mad house. It is a great way to get to see the crazies of the city. They are all condensed into one building. This place may be a bit daunting. Just keep the head down and listen to all the mad stories you hear people telling each other. Some stuff is just hilarious. After you have taken care of this you should have your social security card within 2 weeks. If you don’t have a place to live by then you can just go back after a certain period and pick it up there. Make sure you ask about this if you need to take this option.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU REGISTER WITH SEVIS AND SOCIAL SECURITY. IF YOU DON’T YOU MAY GET DEPORTED. I SAW THIS HAPPEN LAST SUMMER.
Now that all this official stuff is taken care of, it is just about having fun. Go and enjoy the city.
WELCOME TO SAN FRANCISCO!!!!!!!
Here are just some tips on what you should try do before you leave. I left some of this out that could have been better in the first post.
When booking your flights and visa go with British Airways. It’s a direct flight from London to SF and has got quality in-flight entertainment. DO NOT FLY WITH U.S. AIRWAYS. They don’t have any video screens for you to watch. This is a major problem when flying that distance. Also you can get one free change to your flights with BA. This means you can change your dates at no extra cost should you need to leave earlier or later. This is only available before you leave though. It is nice to have the option though as I found out last year.
It is my advice to book a hostel or hotel before you arrive as you will be exhausted and won’t want to have to drag luggage around SF upon arrival.
Try and sort your housing before you arrive. This will save you so much hassle. I will discuss all this in a later post.
Keep all your documentation together in a plastic button folder. I.e. itinerary, insurance, DS-2019, passport, hotel/hostel/motel booking confirmations. Basically everything should be kept in this and with you in your carry on luggage. DO NOT PUT ANY OF YOUR VISA DOCUMENTATION IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE.
Try and sort work before you leave also. There will be posts on the j1online site advertising jobs. I will give some more about jobs in later posts.
BRING TEA BAGS
Do some research on the city and the whole bay area before you go. It will help you out a lot. Buy a travel guide on SF.
So that is all I have for you at the moment. I am sure I have left loads out but I think there should be enough info here to help. I might use my next post to talk about housing and accommodation. Stay tuned for a new post in the next few days. It may help you out a lot.
So, this is the second post I have made on this blog. In this I will tell you what to expect on your arrival. I will also give you some tips on what you should do before you leave.
Picture yourself standing in the arrivals lounge of SFO (San Francisco International) airport. You are after travelling half way around the world and are no doubt pretty tired. Don’t be relaxing just yet. You still have a little more to do. Some of you may have had a stop over in another city before arriving in SF, so you can picture your self in whatever airport you flew into. Well at this stage you will have to go through customs and immigration. I am not to sure if you do this on your point of entry to the US or at your final destination as I flew direct from Heathrow in London. I reckon you will do it at your final destination as you will actually be leaving the airport. Anyway, you will have to go through customs. You will stand in a queue for a while and then face the daunting figures in their little boxes who will check your visa and passports, take your picture, your finger prints and ask you some questions. Just stay calm, this is all normal procedure. Once through these you will have to go into a little side room and wait while they check all your documents. Again this is normal. My little bit of advice for this point is to be sure of yourself and not a dumb ass. If you get asked a question like “What are your plans for while you are here?” have an answer ready. Also have an address ready too…even a hotel address or hostel of where you are going to spend your first few nights if you don’t have accommodation sorted. I saw some real clowns there last summer that were grilled because they couldn’t answer simple questions and were giving stupid answers. “WE’RE HERE TO PARTY…WOOO HOOO”, like that is going to please the authorities. When finished with this part it is time to collect your bags and get out of the airport.
You have finally got through customs and all the travelling. Are you hungry? If so go up to the food hall in the departures lounge and go to “the burger joint”. This place is a beauty. It’s highly rated in the zagat guide too; I will probably talk more about this in later posts on restaurants. The “fries” are beast and, pardon the pun, the burgers are whopper.
You are fed and ready to go. You have options here on how to get to the city. You can get a taxi or BART. If you do go for a taxi make sure it is legit. We got one that turned out to be some random dude with an suv. We were lucky that he was cool enough. A taxi will probably run you about $50 to downtown or wherever you may go. Where as the BART will probably only cost you about $5. This will also bring you to downtown.
If you don’t have accommodation sorted before you go you will probably have to stay in a hostel until you do. There are an abundance of these all over the city. Just stay out of the Tenderloin and Hunters Point (I will discuss this in a later post on areas of SF). I advise you to book these in advance of your arrival as the last thing you want to be doing after that journey is dragging luggage up and down the hills looking for a place to stay. If you have some flash cash and are willing to part with a bit I recommend you spend your first night in luxury in the Hyatt on Fishermans wharf. The beds are so comfortable. Beauty down-feather beds. To get to the wharf you will take the BART to Powell street station then exit the station and get an old-school street car called the f-line to the wharf. Powell street station is right in the heart of downtown.
When you get to SF you will have something like 10 days to register with SEVIS and to go about getting your social security number (SSN). To register with SEVIS you just have to go to the website and punch in the number above the barcode on your DS-2019 form. After doing this I think you will need to print out the confirmation, this info will be in your handbook. You will then need to go to the social security office to get your SSN. There is an office at 939 Market Street. To get here you get a muni (this is the name of the transport system, will be explained in later posts) to Powell. At Powell, walk to 5th street. This is in the direction of the Castro. It is only half a block from the station. At 5th street take a left. A few hundred yards down on your right is the social security office. You will go in and take a ticket and wait your turn to be called. Make sure you have all your documentation with you. This social security office is a mad house. It is a great way to get to see the crazies of the city. They are all condensed into one building. This place may be a bit daunting. Just keep the head down and listen to all the mad stories you hear people telling each other. Some stuff is just hilarious. After you have taken care of this you should have your social security card within 2 weeks. If you don’t have a place to live by then you can just go back after a certain period and pick it up there. Make sure you ask about this if you need to take this option.
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT YOU REGISTER WITH SEVIS AND SOCIAL SECURITY. IF YOU DON’T YOU MAY GET DEPORTED. I SAW THIS HAPPEN LAST SUMMER.
Now that all this official stuff is taken care of, it is just about having fun. Go and enjoy the city.
WELCOME TO SAN FRANCISCO!!!!!!!
Here are just some tips on what you should try do before you leave. I left some of this out that could have been better in the first post.
When booking your flights and visa go with British Airways. It’s a direct flight from London to SF and has got quality in-flight entertainment. DO NOT FLY WITH U.S. AIRWAYS. They don’t have any video screens for you to watch. This is a major problem when flying that distance. Also you can get one free change to your flights with BA. This means you can change your dates at no extra cost should you need to leave earlier or later. This is only available before you leave though. It is nice to have the option though as I found out last year.
It is my advice to book a hostel or hotel before you arrive as you will be exhausted and won’t want to have to drag luggage around SF upon arrival.
Try and sort your housing before you arrive. This will save you so much hassle. I will discuss all this in a later post.
Keep all your documentation together in a plastic button folder. I.e. itinerary, insurance, DS-2019, passport, hotel/hostel/motel booking confirmations. Basically everything should be kept in this and with you in your carry on luggage. DO NOT PUT ANY OF YOUR VISA DOCUMENTATION IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE.
Try and sort work before you leave also. There will be posts on the j1online site advertising jobs. I will give some more about jobs in later posts.
BRING TEA BAGS
Do some research on the city and the whole bay area before you go. It will help you out a lot. Buy a travel guide on SF.
So that is all I have for you at the moment. I am sure I have left loads out but I think there should be enough info here to help. I might use my next post to talk about housing and accommodation. Stay tuned for a new post in the next few days. It may help you out a lot.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Welcome to San Francisco!!!!
Hi guys, (get used to saying this)
Welcome to san Francisco. So, here is where it all starts. you have decided where you want to spend your summer. No better place than the NORCAL city of San Francisco. Where do i start? What do i need to do? How do i get my visa? These are probably some questions you will be asking yourself right about now. Here i will answer some of these questions. I will highlight what you need to know about the process of getting your J1 visa sorted.
The Process:
Welcome to san Francisco. So, here is where it all starts. you have decided where you want to spend your summer. No better place than the NORCAL city of San Francisco. Where do i start? What do i need to do? How do i get my visa? These are probably some questions you will be asking yourself right about now. Here i will answer some of these questions. I will highlight what you need to know about the process of getting your J1 visa sorted.
The Process:
- Firstly, you need to decide where to go. I presume you have already decided and SF is your desire.
- Once the destination has been picked you are ready to do the paper pushing. There is also one more decision you need to make though. WHO TO BOOK WITH. there are a number of agents you can book with. USIT http://www.usit.ie/, SAYIT http://www.sayit.ie/ and GO4LESS http://www.go4less.ie/. There may be more. Your decision is up to you. Each agent has its pro's and its cons. I went with usit as they are a more established company.
- Now that you have decided on destination and agents you are ready. Your next step is to get the forms. These can be printed from your chosen agents website. You will need to fill these out and get them stamped by your college or university.
- Once they are completed and stamped you are ready to book. each agent may charge different fees. What you will generally pay for is 1)visa, 2)insurance, 3)flight, 4)postage and packaging and 5)administration charges. For me last year it totalled @ €1200.
- When you have everything booked you will have to attend an embassy interview. This will take place in the U.S Embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin. At this interview you will be requested to bring a bank draft for $131 or $132. MAKE SURE YOU FIND OUT THE EXACT FIGURE. MAKE SURE THE DRAFT IS IN DOLLAR. You will not get into the embassy if it is not in dollar.
- Once you have attended your interview and all the forms are filled out and fees paid off you are almost ready to go. There is one last loose end to take care of. You will be instructed to watch an online video on ciee's website and asked to answer a few questions. Its very simple, its just an orientation video. Gotta love IKTOR. :-)
Now that you have carried out all these steps your ready to fly. See its a simple process. dont be daunted by it. Come May you will be having the time of your life.
The next post will be up shortly. It will let you know what you should expect when touching down in San Francisco and what you need to do once you get there. It will also give you some ideas for before you travel.
SEE YOU IN SAN FRANCISCO SUMMER 2010
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