Australian in need of serious advice! (San Diego, Palm Springs: fit in, home, university)
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Let me break some things down for you (Lucky for you, I'm an originaly Orange County, LA girl that decided to go to school down in SD so I know exactly what it's like to be a certain age in Southern California.)
Alright. Being 18 in San Diego is AWFUL. The only thing they have is thursday nights, they take the downtown clubs and they make em 18+ and honestly, they're awful. I did TJ several times before I turned 21 (try like...3 years ago LOL) and I never had any issues coming back and forth but I was also smart about it and went with a lot of Spanish speakers. If you DO decide to hit up TJ, do not go to Mystery (lots of ghetto people go there and people get stabbed. no joke.) or Safari. Yes. Those are the ones they advertise the most as being the college ones, which is true because a lot of college kids go to those because they do not know any better. The ones that veteran TJ clubbers like are Tangaloo and Balak. As for the passport stuff, US citizens can still use their driver's licenses. They plan on changing that but not yet (I once got back across the border with my UCSD id. LOL no joke) This is only for going so far as TJ. If you go beyond that, you'll need a passport. But to walk across the border, you can still use your driver's license. Though that doesn't matter because you guys will have passports regardless.
Also, I recently had some coworkers go to Cabo and they had a great time and ended coming back alive.
But yes, everyone is right, it's dangerous right now. Drug wars and what not, though no evidence has come out about them doing anything to tourists. The targets seem to be very specific entitites that are a part of this whole thing.
Bottom line though, is San Diego is extremely 21+ friendly and not so much when you're 18. The only reason I got to go to as many parties as I did was because of the college factor. Otherwise SD sucks for 18.
Now. As for Fake IDs, wrong about them being hard to obtain. BUT here's the kicker, PB is supposedly the worse about it and you can get away with it in Downtown SD. If you guys use Fakes, stick to Downtown. My advice is you get fakes for your own country. Why? Because you boys will hvae accents and having a Cali license and an australian accent might put up a red flag to a bouncer. If it's foreign, they wont even know if it's real or not. And you always wanna go early, like 10 or so for the downtown clubs because you're guys and that's when it's less crowded and they're willing to let more people in.
I'm about to offend some people but truth hurts:
Now, as for the hot chicks part, sorry San Diego, I gotta admit, there are a LOT of ugly girls in San Diego. Most of the beautiful people come from Orange County and LA where looks are far more important. Many might come on and deny this, but it's true. Although I will say that San Diego State has a lot of very gorgeous girls (most are easy according to my guy friends.) And USD isn't bad either. Of course there are exceptions but still. On the whole, San Diego is not pretty.
The scene for 18 year olds in LA is ok. You'd pretty much have to just hit up a lot of college parties though they're not as hardcore about fake ids up there. Same with Orange County, I used this awful fake id for quite some time in both counties and never had them blink an eye. And believe me, I didn't look a thing like this girl. This was only 3 years ago, so my advice is a bit more up to date with the current times :P
I agree about getting a car, though I do disagree about there being no mass transit. MTS? Helloo. Trolley! Our transit system is nowhere near as good as New York's or anything but we do have one and it is quite possible. I spent my freshman year of college without a car and managed to do everything I wanted to.
Oh and to point blank answer your question: Yes you could make a night trip. I've made several night trips where we literally drive to the last exit (San Ysidro, I believe) park our cars in the lots there, and then walked across the border. Then on the other side of the border, you hop in a cab and you tell them where you want to go and make sure they dont charge you more than a dollar per person otherwise they're totally ripping you off. Then you go there. You party, you drink unlimited booze because they use open bar style (though you still need to tip) don't drink the water, don't get ice if you can help it and enjoy yourself, then you take a cab back to the border, you stumble across, answer the questions "Where were you born? Etc" and then find your way back to your car and drive home.
Why don't you guys choose a Central, South American or Caribbean destination for your gap year? It is bound to be cheaper than California, you can legally drink and you might even be getting some foreign language skills. Some Spanish skills might even come in handy later at University or be the determining factor to get a good job right out of it. If you are worried about the hot chicks part, if you pick a popular destination I am sure you will find plenty of hot international travellers.
Why don't you guys choose a Central, South American or Caribbean destination for your gap year?
Australians have a fondness for the US and Southern California in particular. Many people we met in Oz had been to LA and were rabid for US culture (this was at a time when the US was particularly despised in say, western Europe).
However I do agree... SoCal might just be too similar to Oz to be worth a whole year. Sydney feels a lot like a smaller version of LA or San Diego with better trains and funny accents. What about making SoCal just one stop on a bigger, more diverse trip of the USA?
I want to comment one more time about crossing the border. Yes, for Americans, crossing the border and then getting back is fairly simple. However, if you are Australian or any other foreign national, and your passport stamp allows only for travelling to the US, crossing into Mexico, and then trying to get back into the US will be A MAJOR MAJOR ISSUE. Get a Visa from Mexico for travel into that country while you are still in Australia. And ask the people at the American Embassy exactly what stamps are needed to travel between San Diego and Tijuana. This is not some simple matter as flashing your ID and walking across, which is what Americans can do at least for a couple of more months.
At a company I worked for, we had a business visitor from another country, and some of the guys decided to take him down to Tijuana for an evening. His visa hadn't allowed for a side trip, and getting back into the US, (back in the early 90s when it was LOT easier) required a lot of explanations, and begging, and pleading with immigration. They were very lucky, and lucky that they looked like respectable businessmen. A believable storyline won't work anymore. To the OP, get the facts, and the visa stamps, for a trip to Tijuana before you get here.
So good to know that stuff about TJ bieng a bit dicey at the moment, i didnt realise at all. Geez guys thats heaps to consider thanks.. hmmm.. what do you guys know about Montreal? i know Canada is gay, but montreal sounds kinda cool coz its close to NY and they speak french aswell as pretty good english.. just an idea?
God the 21+ drinking age is a massive bummer! If it wasnt for that your counrty would be PERFECT for this kind of gap year trip, you have the sun and beaches and chicks and everything else. Good idea Corgi on getting fakey's in Aus before we come, ill look in to that.
What about getting jobs in the US for us guys... Are casual waiter shifts availible to be picked up now days, with the whole global financial situation..
So good to know that stuff about TJ bieng a bit dicey at the moment, i didnt realise at all. Geez guys thats heaps to consider thanks.. hmmm.. what do you guys know about Montreal? i know Canada is gay, but montreal sounds kinda cool coz its close to NY and they speak french aswell as pretty good english.. just an idea?
God the 21+ drinking age is a massive bummer! If it wasnt for that your counrty would be PERFECT for this kind of gap year trip, you have the sun and beaches and chicks and everything else. Good idea Corgi on getting fakey's in Aus before we come, ill look in to that.
What about getting jobs in the US for us guys... Are casual waiter shifts availible to be picked up now days, with the whole global financial situation..
Montreal I believe is a great place, very European feel, and yes, you can pick up some French. As far as being near New York, it is if over 300 miles away is near enough for you. The only down side might be the harsh winters. You can split your gap year and spend the warmer months in Montreal and then if your budget allows go somewhere south.
Regarding casual waitressing work and the financial crisis. I would say it would be tough to find something right now, but many times it is who you know as well as being at the right place at the right time. Another thing to consider is that I don't think there is such a thing in the US as a working holiday visa like you guys have in Australia, please correct me if I am wrong. If you come here with a tourist visa then you may not work legally, period.
Maybe you would have an inside track getting a job at Outback Steakhouse?
It's an Australian themed steakhouse/restaurant. Otherwise, it's kind of hard to say. Maybe Seaworld would want to add a little bit of international flavor to their staff. I think your best bets would be looking for jobs where the Australian accent and attitude would be a plus.
lol yeah, well im good with Crocs.... not true at all, never tackled one im my life. We arnt all Steve Irwin over here.. Poor old steve.. he loved Crocs, but everyone knows he had a real soft spot in his heart for sting rays....Too soon?
Yeah Soy im pretty sure you can get workiong visas but you have to have been enrolled or differed in a university, which i am so all good. My budget? Man thats another thing, im currently working my ass off in a construction job getting paid ****house. The best i can hope for would be $15000 AUS which is like 10 000 US. Am i being a bit optimistic here, i know it all depends on how well we budget ect i know all that, but assuming we rent a dodgy place (4 of us) and eat baked beans, is the US generally an expensive country>?
Except for NYC, the US isn't really an expensive country. It's far cheaper than Europe. By curbing your housing costs, your money will go a long ways in San Diego. Outside of rent and your car insurance (I'm not sure if you can handle that from Australia or not), your other expenses would probably be somewhere in the $500-$700/month range. It will depend how much of your money you fritter away on nightclubbing/partying.
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