San Francisco

Read SAYIT's advice on and contact information for accommodation and J1 summer job hunting in San Francisco, California, USA.

It is a very popular city in California and it is a well-known tourism destination which is most famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and the cable cars. San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, which is home to more than 7.1 million people. The city is located at the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Pacific Ocean to the west, San Francisco Bay to the east, and the Golden Gate to the north.

Accommodation

San Francisco can be very expensive. Many students who come to stay for the summer will stay 15km across the bay to the north-east of San Francisco in Berkeley as it tends to be easier to find accommodation with the nearby University and also slightly warmer than San Francisco which can get a lot of fog even in the summer.

You can apply for Student Summer Sublet listings in Berkeley College. Email: homeinfo@berkeley.edu  

Check out off-campus accommodation listings on www.ucsf.edu

Some useful accommodation search engines include:

• www.sublet.com
• www.therentalsource.com/
• www.vantaggiosuites.com
• www.rentalguide.com
• www.metrorent.com
• www.apartmentList.com 
• www.roomates.com 

Also check out the local paper:                                                                       

• www.sfgate.com/chronicle/

Job Hunting

Pier 39 is the most 'touristy' place in San Francisco. The restaurants, pizza places, coffee shops, stores and bars on Pier 39 on the San Francisco Bay would be the most likely to need additional help during the summer tourist season.  Check out www.pier39.com for opportunities.

Try also the main tourist spots such as the Aquarium of the Bay, Blue and Gold Fleet, Pier 39 Marina and The Underwater World. Westfield and Union Square shopping malls may also be looking for summer staff!

For those living in Berkeley, here are a few transport options to San Fran. In general, it's about 45 minutes to 1 hour to commute. www.sftravel.com/visitors-guide 

Here are some useful websites to help you find a job:    

https://www.sanfranjobs.com/