You’ve booked onto your USIT J1, started scouting our Job Hub for J1 jobs, and you're all-in for a summer of epic proportions. What’s next? Where you’ll live.

Some of our J1 employers provide discounted staff housing, either on-site or close to your job – a total win for J1-ers. But for those that don’t, it begs the question, ‘where will I stay on my J1 in America?’

Let’s be real. A global cost-of-living crisis combined with an accommodation shortage (at home and abroad) has made finding accommodation anywhere in the world that bit harder. But it’s far from impossible. Thousands of J1-ers find well-priced and secure accommodation in the USA each year. University summer holidays in the States are aligned with those in Ireland, which open up empty student dorms and apartments across the USA. Plus, there are whole organisations dedicated to helping J1-ers find a place to live.

We caught up with Rob and Aoife, USIT staff who both did a summer J1 in America. Here’s where they lived and how they found their J1 accommodation.

Where did you live and work on your J1?

Rob: I did my J1 in New York in summer 2022. It was the most amazing city I have ever spent time in. I was working in a hotel bar in the middle of Times Square and living in the Upper East Side in Manhattan. This area of Manhattan is really vibrant with a great bar scene. My favourite hangout was The Supply House near 77th Street. Plus, the back of Central Park was only a five minute walk away.

On my days off I would find somewhere nice in Central Park and just watch the world go by. Running alongside the park is Museum Mile. This is a long stretch of road that has the Guggenheim, The Met, and the Natural History Museum.

Transport was also great. There are two subway lines that run to the Upper East Side, the 6 and the Q - both of which can take you anywhere in Manhattan in less than 30 minutes. If you can find accommodation in and around this area, it would be a perfect base for your J1 summer. In New York, anything in Manhattan below 98th Street is pretty good, but also look in areas of Brooklyn like Williamsburg, which is a really cool area with a heap going on.

Aoife: I went on my J1 to Boston, Massachusetts in summer of 2022 and it was honestly the most amazing summer of my life. I met so many new friends that I’m still so close with today. I just had an amazing time exploring the city and travelling the US.

I worked as a waitress in a restaurant in downtown Boston with 18 other Irish people also on a J1, so it was great craic! The managers were so kind to us and the American and Colombian staff were so helpful in getting us settled in.

I had never been a waitress before, but after shadowing for a few days to learn the ropes, I got the hang of it in no time and actually really enjoyed it. I really bonded with the people I worked with over the three months, and we all became really close by the end of the summer. We used to go out after work together and go to some of the sports events and other touristy things together on our days off. I used to love going to work for the atmosphere and chatting to customers from all over the world (the tips were also a bonus). When I got off early, I used to sit with my (free) lunch on the Greenway and have a walk around Quincy market.

I lived in a college dormitory on a campus, 20 minutes away from downtown Boston. I went over with 11 of my friends so we had three 4-person dorm rooms in the building. It was such a fun living arrangement, we had huge TV’s and common rooms on each floor all with Netflix, Disney Plus etc. And even a pool table downstairs. The views from our room were right out over the Boston skyline and the campus we were on even had a food court and a gym that we could use at a discounted rate. We also made use of the sports facilities and played football on the American football pitches. The 24-hour security was also a huge bonus and put us at ease for the whole summer.

We were only a ten minute walk to the nearest train station. There were even electric bikes and a free bus to the train, which were perfect for the really hot days. We were also right beside the beach and a beautiful small marina which was lovely to walk around in the evening. It turned out that a few of the girls I worked with were also living in the same building, so we used to go to work and come home together which was a great - especially for the late shifts.

How did you find your J1 accommodation?

Rob: I organised my accommodation through a company called J1 Accom, who rent out student accommodation buildings for J1 students. They had three buildings in New York the year I was there, one in the Upper East Side and two in Brooklyn. Even with three buildings in the city, some people were not able to get a room. So, if you're interested in staying there, be ready for when they open up their availability by following them on Insta and registering on their website.

Aoife: We spent a while looking for accommodation and considering there was a bigger group of us, we found it hard to find a house that would fit us all. We weren’t too keen on splitting up but knew we might have to if we wanted somewhere to stay for the summer. Then we came across a few universities that were renting out their dorm rooms for the summer, which suited us perfectly! We eventually settled on Umass Boston for its proximity to downtown and also the 24-hour security at the door to our building. There were rooms of all different sizes, so it’s flexible depending on your group size. We emailed and registered our interest, and they got back to us saying there was availability.

When should you start applying for J1 accommodation?

Rob: I would recommend you start looking at options as early as September to give yourself the best option to find the place that works for you. Aside from J1 Accom, I have heard that reaching out to local universities in the city you are staying is a good place to look. As well as having empty accommodation during the summer months, they’re also usually in safe and secure buildings for students like yourselves. Other than that, Facebook group chats for Irish people staying in those locations are also a great place to start.

Aoife: The earlier the better! I would definitely start thinking of accommodation as soon as you have your J1 job locked in. Boston is one of the easier cities to get accommodation, but I would still start on the hunt as soon as possible. Once you’ve checked out the company and made sure it’s legit (reviews are great for this, and also Facebook groups), I would also recommend trying to have as much of your rent paid in advance as possible, so you can enjoy yourself while you are there. I had the first instalment of mine covered before I went, so I only had to worry about the other half towards the end of summer. The earlier you get on the accommodation hunt, the less stressful it will be and the more choices you have.

If these hot tips get you gagging for a summer in America, check out our J1 employers and start house hunting.