How to get a working holiday job in New York: guide for travellers

Ever wondered what it would actually be like to pack up your life and move to New York for a year? That's exactly what Tom and Miro did, leaving their settled lives in Auckland for a 12-month working holiday in the USA.

We’d both just finished our masters degrees and were contemplating the prospect of a fairly predictable year ahead of us in Auckland, when the thought of moving overseas crossed our minds. Even though I'd never visited, I'd always wanted to live in New York; I suppose I'd been charmed by what I’d heard about it in the books and movies, which I have to say, actually holds up in real life. Miro didn’t mind where we moved, as long as it was exciting, so she agreed to give New York a go.

What visa do you need to work in New York?

We already knew that moving to the USA was an option for us because a number of non-American friends had done it already, thanks to the J-1 12-month visa. This work and travel visa allows recent university graduates to live and work in the USA for up to 12 months so that they can engage in cultural exchange.

If you're not eligible for the 12-month visa, check out Work USA 4-months, open to students looking for summer jobs in the States.

For us, this has meant experiencing the obvious cultural differences between New Zealand and the USA - thanksgiving, baseball game, learning how to tip, walking on the right-hand side of the footpath (or sidewalk), calling university “college”. And of course, Miro and I brought, however accidentally, a small amount of New Zealand culture to New York too.

Applying for the J-1 working holiday visa

As with any move overseas, there was a fair amount of pre-departure admin. Fortunately, our J-1 visa sponsor, JENZA (a subsidiary of IENA), made this easy. They gave us checklists and timelines for what needed to be done.

Tom's top tip: Apply for your DS-2019 forms (which are essentially the physical document of our visas) early in case processing times or US consulate interview wait times are long. You have to bring your DS-2019 forms to the interview so getting it sorted as early as possible will take the stress off.

How to find a job in New York City

Our biggest worry was what we were going to do for work in one of the world’s most expensive cities. Our modest savings (in a weaker currency) were only going to go so far!

As soon as we had decided to move to New York, I began asking friends and former teachers to see if they knew anyone over there, or better yet, if they knew anyone over there working in my field: architecture. I was able to make connections before I arrived and, although neither connection explicitly led to a job, both were very helpful in answering my questions about what to expect of the industry, and where to look for work.

I was also doing a lot of research on New York-based architecture firms, compiling a list of ones I’d like to work at. I must have sent my portfolio to about 30 different offices before one got back to me. Within two months of searching, I managed to secure a job at one of my favourite firms before I even arrived in New York.

Miro, having studied in Environmental Management, had a slower job search, and so took on a part-time position at a bougie wine store while continuing to search. Sure enough, after two months of looking through online job newsletters (such as Words of Mouth), and looking up the names of various NGOs that she’d like to work for, she found a job at a political research organization that she greatly admired.

How to find accommodation in New York City

In addition to finding jobs, we also had to find accommodation. Not knowing many people in NYC, we decided it would be nice to live with flatmates (or roommates), in order to meet some friends.

We began our apartment hunt on Facebook, trawling through the countless NYC rental groups, wary of the unsubtle scammers. Quickly we got chatting with a potential roommate, a student around our age, who was looking to sublet a room in her apartment. After a video call to verify each others’ legitimacy and vibe (a rather awkward but unavoidable speed dating-like situation), we signed a sublease agreement with her, securing ourselves a home for the next two months.

Before long our sublease was drawing to an end, and we began looking for our next apartment, still hoping to live with people. Through the online property newsletter, Listings Project, and now with the ease of actually being in the city and able to view apartments, we found our next home: a gorgeous brownstone in the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant!

It was only in December, 6 months after first arriving in New York, that Miro and I thought we’d move into a place of our own. Contrary to the subleases that we’d had previously, this would involve signing onto an actual lease. Unlike in New Zealand, American tenancy relies heavily on credit as a way to prove yourself a reliable tenant. One of the ways good credit is established is by consistently using and paying off a credit card, in order to prove you are good with money. We had credit cards but our score was only 'fair' after 6 months in the country.

Tom's top tip: If you expect to sign a lease during your time in the US, get a credit card soon after arrival, and begin using it immediately (and responsibly). It will help with your credit score should you want to get your own place.

How much does it cost to live in New York?

The Big Apple is an expensive place to live. Rent will depend on which of New York's neighbourhoods you live in, but it could be upwards of $2,000 a month. Groceries are pricey too and many New Yorkers find it cheaper to eat out. As with any city, stay there long enough and find the right people, and you'll find cheaper ways to do things, but make sure you arrive with plenty of savings to get by for the first few weeks.

Thinking of moving to New York on a working holiday?

Uncertainty, anxiety, risk and failure are all inevitabilities of making a big move overseas, if not the very reasons for doing so. If you allow it, life has a wonderful way of sweeping you up and carrying you somewhere far wilder and far more exciting than you could have imagined.

As I was working up the nerve to make the move to New York, all those months ago, I kept telling myself, 'New Zealand will always be there; your opportunity to get this visa won’t be'.

Our Work USA packages will set you up with everything you need to live and work in America. We’ll sponsor you to work in the USA, guide you through the working holiday visa application, and we'll be on hand with unlimited job placement services for the duration of your visa – helping you find your feet, land a job and get nose deep in pastrami and pretzels.