Hispanics in Mentor/Lake County

[O-H-I-O]

Id be willing to bet that there are far less hispanic people living in metro DC than in DC itself, but whatever.

Cleveland is one of the most diverse cities in the country. While I may not know how rough its is living in the melting pot of the DC suburbs . I do know what its like living in an extremely hispanic dominated area as a caucasian male.

Its narrow minded people who have no compasion for other peoples way of life.

[O-H-I-O]

Merry X-mas to you also.

[WeSoHood]

Originally Posted by O-H-I-O

Id be willing to bet that there are far less hispanic people living in metro DC than in DC itself, but whatever.

Cleveland is one of the most diverse cities in the country. While I may not know how rough its is living in the melting pot of the DC suburbs . I do know what its like living in an extremely hispanic dominated area as a caucasian male.

Its narrow minded people who have no compasion for other peoples way of life.

Wrong. I lived in DC for a while and the metro area had a LARGE hispanic population. Mainly Northern Virginia. Cities like Arlington (18% hispanic), Alexandria(15%), Fairfax (13%) etc all had large hispanic populations. My school in Arlington was 40% hispanic. And those % are probably wrong for the region. Arlington is supposedly around 20-25% hispanic. There are many more cities with the same amount or more hispanics than that.

Other than whites, Hispanics make up the largest % of the population in NOVA.

DC metro area is by far one of the most diverse places I've lived/been besides NYC. There are areas in the suburbs that are completely hispanic, large stretches too. So no, DC doesn't have more hispanics than the metro area - by a long stretch.

But that doesn't mean Cleveland isn't diverse, it certainly is.

[OhioNative]

The turn that this old thread has taken is interesting, to say the least. The point of my original post was not necessarily negative towards any group of people (despite the person who tried to tell Hispanics that they should be offended by the use of the term "illegals"), but reflected my interest in the fact that the demographic trends have passed NE Ohio by. Where I live in Atlanta, just about all of the working class areas have been transformed into largely Hispanic areas, and yes, statistically, a large number of the recent arrivals (up to 70% in some areas) are here illegally. Basically any area with homes under $160,000 has a large Hispanic population in the Atlanta suburbs. The interest arose due to the fact that many areas of NE Ohio have very inexpensive homes (e.g. Mentor on the Lake where you can still get a house for $100,000), but that the area has largely been insulated from all the demographic changes that have been taking place in other areas. I guess it must be the NE Ohio economy. It can't be the weather, because Chicago has a large number of Hispanics. I just find it interesting, as you think that with all that entry level housing, there would be a larger amount of immigration in the area.

[O-H-I-O]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

Wrong. I lived in DC for a while and the metro area had a LARGE hispanic population. Mainly Northern Virginia. Cities like Arlington (18% hispanic), Alexandria(15%), Fairfax (13%) etc all had large hispanic populations. My school in Arlington was 40% hispanic. And those % are probably wrong for the region. Arlington is supposedly around 20-25% hispanic. There are many more cities with the same amount or more hispanics than that.

Other than whites, Hispanics make up the largest % of the population in NOVA

I stand corrected!

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

But that doesn't mean Cleveland isn't diverse, it certainly is.

Cleveland is diverse, but the suburbs are not. Like DC, the Atlanta suburbs, (where I live), like Gwinnett, DeKalb, and Cobb counties, are very diverse with large Hispanic populations. The transformation over the last 10 years here in Gwinnett County GA (suburban county NE of Atlanta, now with 750,000 people) would be the equvialent of an area stretching from say, Wickliffe to Painesville becoming majority Hispanic.

[LewLew]

Originally Posted by OhioNative

The turn that this old thread has taken is interesting, to say the least. The point of my original post was not necessarily negative towards any group of people (despite the person who tried to tell Hispanics that they should be offended by the use of the term "illegals"), but reflected my interest in the fact that the demographic trends have passed NE Ohio by. Where I live in Atlanta, just about all of the working class areas have been transformed into largely Hispanic areas, and yes, statistically, a large number of the recent arrivals (up to 70% in some areas) are here illegally. Basically any area with homes under $160,000 has a large Hispanic population in the Atlanta suburbs. The interest arose due to the fact that many areas of NE Ohio have very inexpensive homes (e.g. Mentor on the Lake where you can still get a house for $100,000), but that the area has largely been insulated from all the demographic changes that have been taking place in other areas. I guess it must be the NE Ohio economy. It can't be the weather, because Chicago has a large number of Hispanics. I just find it interesting, as you think that with all that entry level housing, there would be a larger amount of immigration in the area.

I think that immigrants are very diverse, and while Hispanics make up a large portion, they are not the only immigrant group to infiltrate areas where the housing is less expensive. Perhaps Mentor on the Lake, given it's proximity to immigrant work itself, is not an area where Hispanics necessarily are drawn to. Hispanics aren't drawn to all areas where the housing is inexpensive, some European immigrants and Asians are as well. Also, if there is not a large amount of housing available, not just cheap, they will not go there. From living in Florida and California for many many years, for immigrants to gravitate towards an area, there has to be enough housing for them to form a comfort zone. They want others like them around, and purchasing. No immigrant family is going to be the "first" to purchase in an area that is not evolving in that direction. Just some food for thought.

[OhioNative]

Originally Posted by LewLew

I think that immigrants are very diverse, and while Hispanics make up a large portion, they are not the only immigrant group to infiltrate areas where the housing is less expensive. Perhaps Mentor on the Lake, given it's proximity to immigrant work itself, is not an area where Hispanics necessarily are drawn to. Hispanics aren't drawn to all areas where the housing is inexpensive, some European immigrants and Asians are as well. Also, if there is not a large amount of housing available, not just cheap, they will not go there. From living in Florida and California for many many years, for immigrants to gravitate towards an area, there has to be enough housing for them to form a comfort zone. They want others like them around, and purchasing. No immigrant family is going to be the "first" to purchase in an area that is not evolving in that direction. Just some food for thought.

Yeah, trends in immigration are interesting. I think that the demographics of immigration in FL and CA are somewhat different than we experience in Atanta. We really don't get many European immigrants, and those that we do get tend to be affluent job transfers. We also have a large number of Korean and Indian immigrants in Gwinnett county, but they too tend to be very affluent, actually building larger houses than most other groups. The Hispanics coming to metro Atlanta do not really fit into the "comfort zone" hypothesis, as the areas here where they are now predominant were close to 100% Caucasian 10 years ago. The one thing that those areas had in common were inexpensive, older houses and a large number of rental properties. In the past couple of years, there has also been a large number of Hispanics moving to new construction subdivisions, but the building of those, and the growth in general has screeched to a halt here in GA since the economy has tanked, and in fact, a sizeable number of Hispanic immigrants in Gwinnett and Hall counties (both NE of Atlanta) are actually going to Texas, California, or back to Mexico. I have talked to two Hispanic co-workers in the past two weeks who are thinking of going back to Mexico, both due to the lack of work, and the fact that our local Sheriff is now a partner with the INS. They themselves are not illegal, but have relatives who are. Someone got deported a couple of months ago after an arrest for not having a fishing license! In addition, one thing that also may prevent immigration into NE Ohio is the fact that there is not much new construction of houses in the older areas, and not as much turnover in houses - people tend to live in their houses for a longer time.

[jcoffy]

Me, I'm an immigrant as all Americans. My first language is not English but when i moved in this country in 2000 I know my priority is to speak English, and i think there is no problem learning another language. First severals you are not in South America, this is United States of America. By the way i think the problem is the government who does not care for their citizen but cares for the bulletin votes. Frankly if the government wants to fix the problem right away it will take them no more than 3 years to clean everything. The facts I found people are very arrogant concerning that manners you can't come to my home and pass me orders come on it doesn't make sense. Brothers put your feet on earth:speaking different languages is formidable but you have to speak the Shakespeare. Why you not ready to learn the language that can make you survive. In this country if you not make an effort to speak the language of Shakespeare you are null. Good luck

[BelieveInCleve]

Cleveland and the suburbs are diverse and there is a large Hispanic population here. Im half Puerto Rican, was born on the westside of Cleveland and grew up in Lorain/Elyria myself, I should know. The Hispanic population in the area has been increasing a lot recently also. Cleveland as a city and a metro is the most diverse of all the large cities in Ohio. Cleveland itself is 8% Hispanic, the highest of all major cities in Ohio. And Lorain is 22%, the highest % Hispanic of any city/town in Ohio. The Cleveland area also has the largest Puerto Rican community of any place to the west excluding Chicago. We also have many suburbs that are diverse with large African-American, Hispanic, and Asian populations. All of that is saying a lot.

The DC metro is more diverse than Cleveland, thats true. I dont believe that its a fair comparison though because obviously DC is going to be more diverse, its one of the most diverse areas in the country. Its also the capital of the country and its still growing rapidly. I have not only visited DC, but lived there for a short time, and there is a large community of almost every race/culture/ethnicity there. I would say that the hispanic population is larger than Clevelands, I cant say by how much though. Cleveland is very diverse though.