A slice of j1 advice – nantucket introduction

South of the Cape Cod coast, Nantucket is an island of grassy moors, salt bogs, warm water beaches and historic villages - with prices to match the stylish New Yorkers and Bostonians who summer there.

From Boston:

There is an excellent service provided by Plymouth and Brockton Street Railway Co. from South Station Bus Terminal located at 700 Atlantic Avenue to most towns in and around Cape Cod. A one-way fare to Hyannis is approx $15. For more information log on to www.p-b.com . From here there is a daily ferry service with Hy Line Cruises and Steamship Authority to both Nantucket &Martha’s Vineyard. The departures are from the ferry terminal on Ocean Street. There are 4 services daily during the summer to both islands. The Steamship Authority run a slow ferry to the islands, this is an experience and is nice to taket his on your first trip to Nantucket, it is cheaper, $14, but does take a little longer! Further information can be found at www.hylinecruises.com andwww.steamshipauthority.com/

From New York: You should take a Bonanza Bus to Hyannis, Massachusetts from the Port

Authority Bus Terminal, located at 8th Avenue and 42nd Street (off Times Square).

Purchase tickets at the Coach USA Ticket plaza, windows 13 &14 located on the main concourse south wing. We recommend you get to the terminal 45 minutes before your desired departure time. There are about 5 departures a day – for the full schedule check out http://www.gotobus.com/bonanza/. The one-way fare is approximately $56 and the journey will take approx. 6 hours, with most likely a half hour wait in Providence, Rhode Island. From Hyannis there is a daily ferry service with Hy Line Cruises to both islands. The departures are from Ocean Street. There are 4 services daily during the summer to both islands. The one way fare is approximately $14. Further information can be found at https://www.hylinecruises.com/

Nantucket Regional Transit Authority (508) 228 7025

However, buying a bike is by far the best option! At the beginning of the summer there will be lots of Yard sales, look out for the signs on the lamp posts, you can pick a bike up here for half nothing! Alternatively, bikes can be rented: Cooks Cycle 6 S. beach Street (a right off Broad Street) Price Range: $20 per day, $50 per week Phone: (508) 228 0800
Have breakfast at the Hen House, this is unforgettable and an experience everyone should have! The waves are fantastic in Nantucket if not a tad scary. No badeer is fantastic on Sundays with American and Irish packing the beach, chilling and playing volleyball.

The Muse on a Sunday is Irish night, everyone meets there! The annual song Battle of the Bands is hilarious!

Visit the Whaling Museum.

Fly on or off the island in the eight-seater plane, the views are amazing!

Nightlife in Nantucket hasn’t got the best reputation. The pubs are quite strict on ID, probably more so than Boston. Girls find it much easier than guys, which is fairly typical for America. Pubs to check out include: Shanahons, QueQuegs,(restaurant which turns into a bar), Schooners, Rose N crown, The Cambridge, The Muse and Kitty’s. Clubs on the island include The Muse, it’s generally quiet enough all week until Irish night (Sunday night). The renowned Chicken Box (aka the sweat box) is a must, don’t leave the Island without experiencing it! House parties are great but beware! So many people from last summer talk about a big party which got busted, everyone living there got arrested, spent the night locked up, got fined $200 dollars each, got their name in the Name & Shame section of the paper and consequently all lost their jobs. Cops cruise all night round the beach in quad bikes and beach parties are broken up very fast, but if you get on the right side of them they can turn a blind eye to the beach parties, they love the Irish!

You should expect to pay anything from $100- $200 per week for housing. There is a notice board in the centre of Nantucket called ’The Hub’ which is on the Main St and it has accommodation and job leads. Also, you are advised to ask the local people because everyone on the island knows of vacancies. The online newspaper, www.nantucket.net is also fantastic for accommodation and jobs.

Accommodation might seem very expensive but is relative to the general wage, it works out ok. You could place an ad in the Nantucket Enquirer to seek accommodation and jobs alike. Places like Sconset, Miacomet, Madacet and Wauwinet are outside the centre so probably not the best place to live if you are working in Nantucket. Anywhere along Milestone Road, Appleton and Essex Road are generally ok, with a lot of J1ers living here for the summer. While searching for accommodation, students usually stay in the only hostel on the island. However, a reservation is essential. The hostel is a little outside the center but the shuttle service runs close by.

Nantucket Hostelling

31 Western Avenue

(508) 228 0433 or (888) 901 2084

Hostel best reached by bike (3.5 miles from town)

Non members- $22, Members- $ 25

Jobs are fairly easy to get. A lot of guys end up landscaping (earning anything from $15- $25 an hour). It might sound tedious calling to businesses and ringing up all the places in the phonebook and classified ads but it’s really effective. The local supermarket Stop N'Shop is a banker for getting jobs as they take on loads of extra staff in the summer but the pay is only $10, which is very poor for Nantucket. If you are interested in golf Nantucket Golf Club has the perfect job, caddying for the entire summer, the pay is great and it’s a fantastic way to get a tan! All you need to have is a handicap.

for more information!!!

Waiting is by far the best way to earn money, you can do this in the evening as a second job. The biggest earners are down around the wharf, The Rope Walk, Eat Fire Spring, Queequeg’s and 21 Federal are notoriously big earners, especially with the Irish. A lot of Irish girls work for the Cleaning Fairies, accommodation is provided with this job. The work is physically demanding and the pay is not the best, if you are interested in cleaning you’d probably do better with a smaller cleaning company. Another place to try is Congdon’s Pharmacy, 47 Main St., Nantucket. Phone: (508) 228 0020. Some more options include:

Hertz Car Rental at the airport (added bonus of use of a car!)

Nantucket Bank

Babysitters Club

Tip between 15%-20% on your restaurant/bar bill or cab-fare. $1 per drink otherwise.

Check out “The Hub” on Main Street for accommodation, jobs and social events!

Minimum wage is $6.75 p/h, except in tipping positions where it's $2.83 - $3.09p/h

If under 21 don't look for bar/waiter/waitressing work. It's not legal to serve drink as a minor.

Take the FIRST job you get, the first 3 weeks are the most expensive of the whole summer, you can always leave when you get another one. Negotiate when you're taking an apartment, it can't hurt & may save you a fortune.

Buy an air mattress from Sport-Mart before you leave Boston.

Kit out your apartment with 2nd hand stuff, Nantucket is the land of the rich and famous, it’s amazing what they throw out!

Nantucket Bank