Street/Neighborhood in East Cobb with ONE TYPE of minority concentration. What is up with that? (Atlanta: cul-de-sac, houses)

[AcidSnake]

What you have just described in my personal opinion is the symptoms of this insane ideology that spawned from the minds of conservatives & their wealthy backers from back in the late seventies & early eighties that resources are to be hoarded & concentrated at the top with very little for the masses. This "freemarket/privatization or nothing" approach seems to have infected every fabric of our society, even in places where privatization doesn't really work to lower costs or mitigate the harmful effects of evironmental degradation or guarantee decent working & living conditions.

Unfortunately until most of the American who actually vote collectively pull their heads out of their rear ends & learn to have a nuanced conversation amongst each other & with their political representatives about what is neccesssary to have a fulfilling life...you & I can expect more of the same "woe is me I must fanatically educate my children or they will live in abject poverty for all eternity" phenomena.

Just my simple opinion, of course.

Originally Posted by syracusa

Are you kidding me? Is there anyone living in East Cobb or looking in East Cobb who didn't read that book?

Well, OK...there may be a few; but the hysteria coming out of that book was scary to me. Not because of all the "koo-koo" things this particular woman was doing; but because her story is just one small symptom of some very significant macro-societal changes that have been occurring over the mere past 10-15 years in the US, and probably other developed countries too. There is so much angst, tension and competition in the parenting world today (yes, I am referring mainly to the middle and the upper-middle classes) that it is not even funny. Many people will deny it, of course, but there is tons of evidence that this is not just in people's heads.

In the end though, you have to wonder why. It's really not just because of some crazy, narcissistic parents - though admittedly, there are lots of those out there nowadays. It's just that all parents instinctively feel this socio-economic "winner-takes-all" tsunami coming - with a future made of few winners and masses of losers - and they, of course, all hope their children will be the spared ones. After all, that now classic "rich-poor" gap continues to open its mouth wider and wider.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by AcidSnake

What you have just described in my personal opinion is the symptoms of this insane ideology that spawned from the minds of conservatives & their wealthy backers from back in the late seventies & early eighties that resources are to be hoarded & concentrated at the top with very little for the masses. This "freemarket/privatization or nothing" approach seems to have infected every fabric of our society, even in places where privatization doesn't really work to lower costs or mitigate the harmful effects of evironmental degradation or guarantee decent working & living conditions.

Unfortunately until most of the American who actually vote collectively pull their heads out of their rear ends & learn to have a nuanced conversation amongst each other & with their political representatives about what is neccesssary to have a fulfilling life...you & I can expect more of the same "woe is me I must fanatically educate my children or they will live in abject poverty for all eternity" phenomena.

Just my simple opinion, of course.

I agree with your simple opinion.

[DeadInSuburbia]

Lordy, let's bash Asians now for having close family ties and stressing education.

Hell if American parents would make their kids work harder, maybe we wouldn't be falling behind the rest of the world?

Live among them and learn a few things!!

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by DeadInSuburbia

Lordy, let's bash Asians now for having close family ties and stressing education.

Hell if American parents would make their kids work harder, maybe we wouldn't be falling behind the rest of the world?

Live among them and learn a few things!!

Either you or your suburbia must be really dead, or else you wouldn't be so disconnected from the essence of a not-so-difficult to process topic.

Nobody bashed ANYONE. (I do bash the insanity of the "Tiger Mom" types, but that is very far from bashing Asians. And even that insanity has some explainable roots, so I don't even think SHE is to blame. Besides, there are enough "Tiger Mom" types nowadays in pretty much all racial/ethnic groups).

Asians are people to be admired, appreciated and valued in so many different ways; but cultural differences and compatibilities DO exist and they can go a long way in helping someone fit in beautifully in a neighborhood or feel completely alienated.

Your urging others to "live among them" (whoever "them" may be that you admire) cannot work if "them" don't want you to live among them. Or if "them" are never around to interact with you because they are too busy always working frantically to reach measurable goals in life.

I think it is wonderful that some people can be so competitive and so goal-oriented, but such types would not help us with our goal of finding a friendly, open neighborhood where our children could stand a chance of playing outside with some neighbors once in a while.

Besides, I am not really the classic "American parent", at least not the kind you're snapping at. I am a naturalized citizen, born and raised somewhere at the intersection of Eastern and Western cultures, I have extremely strong family ties and I am fully aware of the values to be avoided in mainstream American culture. Don't need any reminders, thanks a lot.

So don't create trouble where there's none!
OK?

[SW30303]

[sigh] if you read the thread more carefully, DeadInSuburbia, syracusa mentioned in the first post wanting a diverse neighborhood. I think you need to chill out some and put some more thoughts into your posts, not much to ask anyway.

Syracusa is simply asking for feedback by others who live among Asians in the Atlanta area, and particularly the East Cobb area. I don't think it is bashing or bigoted by any means.

Anyway, what I post here, I would not be reserved to mention to most people in polite company while socializing. I don't think some participants think that way as they post.

[On Air]

Another thing to think about, is that a lot of the children might speak in their ethnic/native language of Chinese/Korean/Hindi or whatever it may be to their parents or other neighborhood kids of that nationality which might be a little bit awkward for your kids. I hear a lot of complaints from families I know with kids that only speak English about that sort of thing.

[syracusa]

Originally Posted by On Air

Another thing to think about, is that a lot of the children might speak in their ethnic/native language of Chinese/Korean/Hindi or whatever it may be to their parents or other neighborhood kids of that nationality which might be a little bit awkward for your kids. I hear a lot of complaints from families I know with kids that only speak English about that sort of thing.

That's a consideration too, without a doubt. My children are bilingual too but even when in the company of children of my co-national friends, they often end up speaking in English anyway. But they also speak in their mother's tongue.

Right now we are struggling to decide between this house in the Asian-dominated neighborhood in Walton and another one further away in the Lassiter district (close to Sandy Plains shopping area) which is also a swim/tennis community (whereas the one with a high Asian concentration is not). Many people say that in GA swim/tennis is crucial in the suburbs when you have kids, especially in the summer - as there is hardly anything else to do (unless you study at all times ... which might very well happen in neighborhood no 1 anyway ).

[kaday]

Originally Posted by syracusa

That's a consideration too, without a doubt. My children are bilingual too but even when in the company of children of my co-national friends, they often end up speaking in English anyway. But they also speak in their mother's tongue.

Right now we are struggling to decide between this house in the Asian-dominated neighborhood in Walton and another one further away in the Lassiter district (close to Sandy Plains shopping area) which is also a swim/tennis community (whereas the one with a high Asian concentration is not). Many people say that in GA swim/tennis is crucial in the suburbs when you have kids, especially in the summer - as there is hardly anything else to do (unless you study at all times ... which might very well happen in neighborhood no 1 anyway ).

Syracusa..there are swim tennis clubs you can join in other neighborhoods. If the one you like doesn't have one..be assured one nearby does and opens up their membership. I know of several in the area.

[Tresninas]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Have you read this book:

Amy Chua: 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior'

I would not move to a neighborhood like that. I mostly would worry because their values related to childhood playtime are so different than mine.

It may or may not have happened by accident. Many Asian families buy homes based strictly on test scores and thus are clustered in a handful of Metro Atlanta high school districts.

That book was awful and has angered a lot of people in South and East Asian communities for stereotyping Asian families. There are countless blogs and message boards and essays in print media written by Asian parents who characterize Chua's theories about parenting as abusive. Please don't use the book as any kind of measure about Asian parenting!

Asians take academics very seriously, but as someone who lives in a neighborhood that is almost entirely Asian, in the most Asian school district around (Northview), I have not met a single family like Chua's. Yes, there is Kumon tutoring. But individual Asian families vary widely in their parenting, just as individual white/black/hispanic families do. This is often a generational thing as well-- second generation Asians are a lot more lax about academics than first generation Asians. One of my dearest friends is Russian, and she's actually the strictest parent about academics I know.

I didn't even see my kids this weekend...they were outside or playing at one neighbor's house or another. In our particular nearly-all-Asian community, the kids are raised like siblings. They walk to school together. Play kickball in the cul de sac until it's dark. School work always comes first, but free play happens every single day after school.

What I would do, is come down for a visit. If you are really interested in this particular street, knock on the doors of these Asian families. Ask them about the neighborhood, what kids of activities they do as a family, what the schools are like. You should be able to get an idea about whether you'd fit in. If you can't visit, call the school. Talk to the administrators. You'll get a good idea of what kind of community it is.

Best of luck to you and your family.

[darkone]

I think that the OP should also consider the fact that if she has any sons, it is not a bad thing to be around East Asian (i.e. Chinese, Korean) children and families. The reason I say that is because let's face facts - when those same boys get older, into their early 20s, they may, like a large number of young white men, pursue and enter relationships with with young East Asian women, or vice versa. There seems to be a natural compatibility there in today's American society, so it could only help for them to grow up used to the Asian culture from a young age. You may not have considered this angle, but it is very valid. Because these ladies strive for academic and professional excellence they are better matches for similarly high achieving men.