Thanks, I'll add some of these notes later. I was also pinged about UWaterloo's unofficial guide earlier today and it's listed in links, overall good stuff about living and practicalities.

I know that J1 process is relatively simple compared to other visa types but it still takes a lot of time. I originally wrote this guide as I couldn't find a good resource and I was the first student from my school to get the J1 for a startup internship.