Where to go in the US for seasonal work

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The relatively small town of Key West (only 3,2 by 6,4 kilometers) on the island of the same name, which completes the unique Florida Keys archipelago, annually accommodates a surprisingly large number of expats who come here with one main goal - to make money. Of course, there are no official statistics, and no one knows exactly how many come to Key West to work seasonally. But everyone here will confirm that there is always a demand for “skillful hands” on the island.

Key West is the zero kilometer of the United States, the island of pirates of the Caribbean, the favorite place of Robert Frost and Ernest Hemingway, where the writer lived for exactly 9 years and left behind a house-museum and many cats on the island, the descendants of which still walk around the island and are even protected by law. The town was once famous for its factories, artists, writers, and at one time was even more developed than the legendary Miami. Now this is an absolutely tourist place, where Native Americans traditionally like to come, booking the same hotels year after year and visiting the old bars of the main street Duval street in Old town. Demand creates supply. That is why labor is always welcome here, and only the lazy remain without work.

You can hear the Russian language here literally at every corner. Almost all the bars, restaurants, hotels and shops of the tiny town are served by visitors from the former CIS republics. Work can be easily found, even if you still do not have a language. Such positions in the labor market of old Key West as a cook, a housekeeper (cleaning of hotel rooms) do not require knowledge of English, since they do not need to communicate with customers. And if the cleaning at the hotel is paid around $ 8 per hour, then cooks already get $ 11 per hour. And with the 5 daily schedule and working on 8 hours per day, it is quite possible to earn up to $ 2 thousands per month.
As a rule, those who come here to earn money get 2 or even 3 jobs. Employers are happy to adapt to the personal schedule of an employee and make all sorts of concessions so that the person comes to him. Some, after a year of working in Key West, return to their homeland and buy houses, apartments and cars. These are very real stories, if you “squeeze” into living conditions in America and purposefully save money.

Wanted waiters and bartenders

Waiters and bartenders lead the ranking of the best-paid jobs here. About $8-10 per hour, but the most important thing is the tip. Experienced people say that during the high season, which lasts from November to April, you can earn up to $600 per day from tips. However, these vacancies will require at least intermediate level spoken English. After all, people come to the bar not only to drink, but also to have a heart-to-heart talk.

Sergey arrived in Key West 9 months ago. Based on a tip from friends who once came here on a Work & Travel visa to work and learn the language. He got used to it quickly. First, I found the first job for 40 hours a week, and then the second. On the first one, he is a food runner - a person who helps the waiter bring the order to the table. The salary is relatively small - $5 per hour, but tips do their job, and, as a result, Sergey gets up to $120 per day. At his second job, he is an assistant cook - here the salary is already $11 an hour. Sergei has already improved his English, but has no plans to change anything yet. He has everything planned out - no days off and clear goals for the future. In a year, he plans to make a deposit on an apartment under construction in St. Petersburg, and in another year, pay it off in full. Sergei earns about $3000 a month. He is not picky, so he rents a bed for $450, spends a couple of hundred on food and other expenses, and the rest goes into the piggy bank.
With language skills in Key West, people are needed both in shops and in hotels - for receptionists and for managerial positions, where, as a rule, those who have lived on the island for some time and learned English already go. “It’s not so difficult to do this - the language fits very well here,” says Diana, manager of one of the hotels on Duval street. She has been here for 5 years. At first she worked as a waitress, learned the language, and now has grown to become a supervisor. She went to a special school where you can take English courses for just $57 for six months. There are also volunteer organizations in Key West, and as part of the promotion of the classical literary language, they will study with you completely free of charge and even individually.

Working immigration

Without good English, you can also go to work as an engineer, plumber, car washer or car or apartment repairman, if you have such skills. Contractors are the people who help with employment here; they say that there is a job for everyone. In addition, as we managed to find out, about 7 contractors who speak Russian have been officially working in Key West for a long time. For each person employed, they receive their percentage every day and feel quite good on the island. However, you can find work without them by reading advertisements in the local Citizen newspaper and personally visiting hotels, restaurants and shops.
Work immigration in Key West has been around for a long time. There are many Slavs here. There is even a Russian store and a Russian party on Tuesdays, where everyone communicates and discusses daily matters. The only difficulty is with housing. There is not much of it, but the demand is high, which forces landlords to keep the price and raise it for the season. One-bedroom apartments without furniture can be rented here for an average of $1700. It is not cheap. In Miami, for this price, housing will be higher class and larger.

Russians, Ukrainians, Uzbeks, Kazakhs and others prefer to rent housing together - sharing 3-room apartments among 5-8 people, depending on personal housing preferences. But if there is a goal to accumulate funds and temporarily “squeeze” in conditions, then, as a rule, people choose this option.
The small southern town of Key West does not require spending on warm clothes, and delights visitors with daily sunshine and white sand beaches. It is quite possible to get around here on a bicycle, which you can buy for $50, or on a scooter. But the most important thing that attracts many people here is the opportunity to work without documents. Historically, immigration checks in Key West are very rare, and when they happen, everyone is warned in advance.

By the way, an inspection last year forced almost all the shops and restaurants on the main street, Duval Street, to close one day, which, according to stories, created a complete collapse in the city - tourists had nowhere to eat and drink. So, such experiments are obviously rare here, and migration services simply turn a blind eye to this “pirate” island of white sands and delicious Cuban coffee.

See also:

9 companies that are hiring additional staff right now

How to move to the United States: the option of work or investment

Seven unusual vacancies for travel lovers

Where America Begins: A View From Zero Kilometer

From Poor to Rich: How Russians Live in Miami

South Florida: 10 nontrivial places to travel with the whole family

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