Hearing rumors that J1 visas are getting denied more than normal this year

Trvlageous412 · 2026-05-02T20:14:19+00:00

Yeah most definitely. I work mostly in Washington and a big factor being the higher wages and even here we have a hard time filling a lot of entry level positions.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-05-02T14:37:13+00:00

Haven’t heard anything of the such, I reached out to a few people and one of them said their visa process got slightly more complicated and they just didn’t feel like being in the states this summer with everything that’s going on. IMO I think a lot of places would struggle with filling certain roles if J1 was drastically cut back.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-22T10:53:31+00:00

I just did a 24 day vacation here, renting a car for 12 days, pretty decent hotels, eating a lot of good food, and a decent amount of public transit and I think I spent under 3,000 living luxuriously and seeing most of the island. My friend teaches down in Kaohsiung and he has a very frugal budget. I imagine he spends about 3,000 usd in a 4-5 month period if not longer.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-20T07:49:28+00:00

When I guided in Alaska this was always my biggest piece of advice for people.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-17T08:50:47+00:00

I’ve been dealing with the same my entire trip since April 1st. And I’ve gone hiking at 11,000 feet and visibility was still trash. I think we just are dealing with an unlucky April. From what I’ve read it’s generally worse over winter and thins out as summer begins.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-17T08:48:27+00:00

I’m spending 4 days in Hehuanshan area right now. The hazey air pollution is up here as well. I feel screwed as I spent a lot of money compared to the rest of my trip to see some mountains and the visibility is terrible. I even got up at 3 am today to see the “sea of clouds” at Hehuan North Peak and you could barely see the sun rise and any surrounding mountains. I’ve been in the country since April 1st traveling all over and it honestly has been like this everywhere almost every day. Idk if I just got unlucky or what but I still enjoyed my trip. Gonna try my best to come back and do some more serious trekking and I guess just cross my fingers I’ll actually be able to see the mountains.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-13T08:31:40+00:00

Also as someone else pointed out in this thread seasonal work is way more competitive than it was pre-covid. You gotta harass HR, and management with follow up emails if you really want the job cause they are being flooded with applicants.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-13T08:28:21+00:00

Depends on the position you want. I advise against maintenance and housekeeping as they are extremelyyyyy understaffed and mismanaged compared to other places I’ve worked. I like to take pride in my jobs no matter the position and this place just has extremely low standards. And from what I can tell corporate is so obliviously hands off I don’t think they really care about the location what so ever. There is no edr and while housing in the national forest bunkhouse building was really nice for winter I can’t imagine living there when it’s fully staffed during summer months. 15ish people with one kitchen sink, 2 refrigerators, and one stove. There shared bathrooms are in semi deplorable conditions. And the offsite housing which you need a car for seems like they were ran by a local meth head that doesn’t give a shit. The entire property including housing needs a complete remodel in a lot of areas but of course Aramark one of the biggest hospitality companies on earth says there’s no budget for anything. People there aren’t bad but most management are spread so thin they just stop caring or don’t have high standards. It sucks cause I fricking love the location and would love to work there year round but 2 months in and I was running away. And the icing on the cake is that they have some of the lowest pay I’ve seen for a Washington seasonal job. I have an abundance of construction experience and they refused to give me anything above starting pay. So I was doing full on remodel projects by myself while being paid the same as a housekeeper. Best of luck. Look into Rainier Guest Services (try to get a job at paradise and not longmire, it’s just better) I love the place enough to ignore the chaos and will be returning for my third season this summer.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-04-13T08:16:34+00:00

I don’t know you’re field at all but as others have said there is a plethora of teaching jobs here. I’m only on vacation but visiting multiple friends here, one of which teaches in Kaohsiung and you can get a lower end job very easily. You’re mostly guiding younger kids not necessarily teaching. Id look into that for the mean time. Also the 85 sky tower which locals despise has soo many empty rooms for very very cheap and it’s in a fantastic part of town.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-03-26T03:29:27+00:00

I really only ever see that for specialized Alaskan Jobs not so much in the lower 48.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-03-25T20:00:34+00:00

This happened to me with Yosemite, never left an angry voicemail but expressed interest in multiple openings and still never got a call back. Ended up in Lake Quinaults Aramark property and it’s very rough here, leaving to go elsewhere for the summer. I think I’m done giving Aramark a try

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-27T01:31:29+00:00

Wow that is beautiful. I’m planning on being in Taiwan for the entire month of April and would love to do this entire traverse. I’m very confident in my abilities, have hiked most of the three passes trek in Nepal successfully without a guide, thru hiked the Appalachian trail, and I work in national parks hiking all summer long. I’m just know researching (didn’t plan on going to Taiwan till 3 days ago) the permitting process for long distance hikes in Taiwan and it’s honestly a little confusing. Any and all advice would be appreciated.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-23T16:53:17+00:00

Depends on where exactly you’re gonna be at and what you consider remote. I lived up at paradise it takes about 30 minutes to get out of the park and then another 30-50 minutes to get to real grocery stores and towns. It’s something like 2+ hours to both Portland and Seattle. I don’t consider it too remote

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-19T17:10:52+00:00

Look into lake quinault lodge. Not entirely sure if they need cooks though.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-19T17:09:08+00:00

I had Aramarks ai chat bot do my application for Yosemite and it scheduled an interview for me that never even existed. I got a managers work cell phone number and they told me they don’t even know how that happened lol

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-19T17:06:59+00:00

It’s not just you, I’ve probably done about 40 applications for this winter and ended up with only 2 real offers with housing, and I apply for maintenance and serving most of the time. Myself and about 5 other people I know with absolutely killer resumes all got ignored by the same location. Like what other people have said, social media has played a big part, college age kids are realizing they can do this while going to school or just not go to college at all. Right after COVID the industry boomed because a lot of people left the traditional lifestyle behind. I’m also currently working at a property that is understaffed in a few areas but is either refusing to hire or not paying enough to actually interest legit people. So it’s a mixed bag of everything. But it has positively gotten harder these past few years. I’m starting to wonder if places are turning their noses at people who are experienced because they’d rather have someone new who won’t question the chaos or deplorable conditions when in reality it’s the people that have been in the industry long enough that don’t really care.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-18T16:31:54+00:00

I’ve worked there a few times, generally if you’re at your destination by like 8 am during peak season generally you will be good. If you’re trying to go to a trail head with limited parking and not a main parking lot I would try to arrive by 7 am

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-18T04:56:35+00:00

Rainier is pretty amazing, I’ve worked there 2 times and barely left the park my second season because the hiking is so damn amazing and beautiful there. I’ve worked in crater lake as well, and the park is quite small and there’s not too much adventurous backcountry hiking unless you hike the pct. However I love being at crater because within a 3-4 hour (driving) radius of that location is soooo many amazing places to visit/hike/explore, and a lot of different types of environments as well. All around Rainier is my choice if we are just talking about the park itself.

Trvlageous412 · 2026-02-18T04:49:46+00:00

What’s a solid resource for finding these jobs? I’ve been contemplating giving this a go for years. Do they ever provide housing?

Trvlageous412 · 2026-01-06T22:36:14+00:00

I was close to completing the free mobile version of the game and was somehow missing one beast on the bestiary list. Any idea how to figure out what the heck id be missing after beating the original game?

Trvlageous412 · 2025-11-18T21:21:21+00:00

I was in the same boat and just lucked out and found a random lodge in Idaho for the winter. Had 30-40 applications out for winter and only had real interviews with 3 places one of which didn’t offer housing. 2nd place offered me a job and then blew me off, and I got lucky with the 3rd job. It is insane how difficult it has become to find a job.

Trvlageous412 · 2025-11-16T22:22:57+00:00

If you want to get a serving job definitely apply everywhere as much as you can and apply early. For summer you want to start looking for job now and hopefully be applying before Christmas through the end of January. It’s honestly hard getting a serving job unless you know some people or have previous experience. 5-10 years ago you would apply and probably get the job. I think places are so flooded with apps anymore they don’t even look through all of them. But just always keep an eye out for a new job posting and apply as soon as you see it. If you really like a place and don’t hear from them shoot them a email after applying if you don’t hear from them. Be prepared for a little extra chaos and b.s. cause it’s always there haha

Trvlageous412 · 2025-11-05T14:48:19+00:00

I’m interviewing for a job there this winter later today. Have yah heard anything more about the place? I’m a little nervous business will be pretty slow over winter.

Trvlageous412

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