Finally visited Dallas (San Antonio, El Paso, Arlington: condo, neighborhood, to buy)

[lydunn]

Well I have been on here trying to get advice on where to move to if I decided to move to Dallas and my decision was not to move there. I went from North Dallas to Arlington and it seem like I could hardly find a person who could speak english. One time I went through a 7-11 and was just about tackled with stares from guys sitting there I assume waiting for work. Did I feel safe not at all....and to think I was thinking of looking at San Diego I am afraid that it maybe the same thing. Any suggestions if I should give Dallas another try?

[FarNorthDallas]

You are going to find a high percentage of Spanish speakers in all of the border states. That's just the way it is. Where are you living now? I guess that would be a culture shock to come here if you weren't aware that the Latino population is rising ever day. I know when I travel other places it's weird for me *not* to see Latinos everywhere and weird not to hear Spanish every day.

[nosredna5]

Just because people don't speak your language does not mean they are unsafe in any way; your message implies that this is the case. Some of the safest places I have lived were among Spanish speakers.

[Guingirl]

Originally Posted by lydunn

Well I have been on here trying to get advice on where to move to if I decided to move to Dallas and my decision was not to move there. I went from North Dallas to Arlington and it seem like I could hardly find a person who could speak english. One time I went through a 7-11 and was just about tackled with stares from guys sitting there I assume waiting for work. Did I feel safe not at all....and to think I was thinking of looking at San Diego I am afraid that it maybe the same thing. Any suggestions if I should give Dallas another try?

Did you try Farmer's Branch?

[USA_Mom]

Um as far as Spanish-speaking people, San Diego isn't going to be different really except for weather and cost of living (well and the OCEAN ). I've lived in SoCal and for college 1 year down in San Diego (technically El Cajon), if Latinos make you uncomfortable here in Dallas--I wouldn't go there either to be honest. My exhusband was a Latino so obviously my son is half, he does make me uncomfortable at times because he's 15 and wants to date otherwise not so much

[txman]

I would suggest Fargo, North Dakota..Not many Hispanics there.

[5stones]

it's not just boarder states....

Here in Northern VA we have a HUGE immigrant population.(from EVERYWHERE, I like the diversity) We do however have many illegals as well and that is getting to be very problematic. There is a joke here thats says..."you know your from NOVA when you SHOCKED to see a McDonalds employee who speaks English."
Remember though...just because someone doesn't speak english fluently doesn't mean they are stupid and uneducated.

so it's an endemic problem...not just Texas. CO has it's share as well...


the Pittsburgh region doesn't have much a diverse population. Most of West WV is also pretty non diverse. Other states you might like...the dakotas, montana, wyoming, Minn, WI, NH, etc...

remember TEXAS was ONCE part of mexico! Texas has a rich hispanic history.

[aceplace]

If you go to North Dallas and are unable to find an English speaker, why is that? In my North Dallas neighborhood (I have a condo there) everyone speaks English, even the Russian lady downstairs.

The 7-11 stores have a heavy influx of Hispanic construction workers standing in line to buy food for lunch, but what led you to believe they were looking for work inside a convenience store? And why did you feel threatened by them? The many times I have stood in line with them, I have seen nothing like what you mentioned.

Dallas and other cities, in and out of the Sunbelt, have a heavy influx of Mexican nationals coming to America to seek their fortunes. Their contribution to the local economy here helps give Dallas one of the highest levels of consumption in the world... even for the Mexican nationals who experience a sharp rise in their fortunes when they arrive.

Yes, many people on this forum will characterize your response as unenlightened, petty, even ethnically predjudicial. I hope this is not actually true of you, because such an attitude makes your life more difficult than is necessary.

[aceplace]

Originally Posted by 5stones

remember TEXAS was ONCE part of mexico! Texas has a rich hispanic history.

I agree with your post and your attitude, but I'd like to make one small correction of fact. Prior to independence, Texas did not have a lot of Hispanic presence. The Mexican government allowed Anglo settlers from southern states such as Tennessee to settle because it was unable to persuade ethnic Mexicans to migrate to Texas. The land was basically populated by Red Indians (native Americans if you prefer), Anglo southerners, and a smattering of Europeans.

The small ethnic Mexican population was located primarily in border and near border areas such as El Paso and San Antonio, also called Bexar. Texas retained the Hispanic town names of established settlements in its southern areas, but the vast majority of the eventual state derived its Anglo place names from the local ethnicity of the American settlers.

[Willys]

I would wonder what you were doing in a 7-11. Don't you recall Senator, Prez candidate and plagiarizer Joseph Biden, Dem., stating that you needed to speak Indian to go into a 7-11. And I take it that was in Delaware.

If you were in North Dallas you could have gone into the Galleria mall where everyone speaks money. If you were in Arlington you could have gone by the University of Texas at Arlington, a member of one of the largest, most excellent and wealthy university systems in the country.

And in between, you could have found dozens of Tex-Mex restaurants where anyone would have been able to help you, in english.