Weston Cliques (Doral, Sunset, Orchid: middle-class, house, neighborhoods)

[JAblemary]

Due to the vast cultural diversity in Weston are there issues within the schools and neighborhoods where there are very strong cultural cliques that my children will have to deal with?

I have often seen that families tend to invite children for parties that speak the same language and come from the same background. I would hate for my children to have to deal with these sorts of issues.

I'm all for cultural diversity as long as it's actually diverse and not a sort of silent segregation.

[AlexRodriguez]

"Due to the vast cultural diversity in Weston are there issues within the schools and neighborhoods where there are very strong cultural cliques that my children will have to deal with?"

Venezuelans and Colombians in Savanna. Move to a small diverse community and you won't find the typical cliques that exist in communities or schools with large Hispanic populations.

I met this guy in Publix who said that he volunteers as a crossing guard for an elementary school in Weston and he hated the way the rest of the crossing guards "cliqued" together and never talked to him after they were done with work.

[JAblemary]

We are coming from Los Angeles and we have had issues with Mexican nannies. Their nickname is the "Nanny Mafia", The nanny's ignore by wife and do not include our children in their activities because we do not speak their language.

I also have friends who lives in Glendale California which has a large Armenian population. His daughter is friends with Armenian children but the parents do not invite them to their house because they are not Armenian.

It sounds like Weston may have similar issues.

[JohnD_fla]

Originally Posted by JAblemary

Due to the vast cultural diversity in Weston ...

I wouldn't call what exists in that town a 'vast cultural diversity'. A great many of the people who live there are from two particular south American cultures. If you are not from either then you will likely have more issues socializing with them than your kids will with their kids.

[Mattie]

Originally Posted by JohnD_fla

I wouldn't call what exists in that town a 'vast cultural diversity'. A great many of the people who live there are from two particular south American cultures. If you are not from either then you will likely have more issues socializing with them than your kids will with their kids.

I agree. I can be harder for the adults than the children. All three of my boys had friends where the family spoke Spanish at home, but they were bilingual. I was able to call the mothers for play dates, etc.

The one time it was a big problem, was a class trip to Disney. It was an overnight, and my son was in a group where the chaperone was Spanish speaking, and the 4 other boys were also. We had only recently moved there, and I didn't realize just how common it was to find oneself the only non-Spanish speaker in a group. He had a miserable time, nobody spoke to him. Six months later, his best friend was from Venezuela.

We lived in The Landings, and there were not many Spanish speaking families in our neighborhood.

[AlexRodriguez]

"We lived in The Landings, and there were not many Spanish speaking families in our neighborhood."

Exactly! "The Landings" and other small neighboring communities like "Palm Island"; "Orchid Island"; "Laguna Springs II";"Sunset Springs"; ETC, are more "English Speaking", inclusive and down-to-earth than big communities with large population of snobby Venezuelans.

"Six months later, his best friend was from Venezuela"

My wife is from Venezuela and her cousins also lives here in Weston (All of them are extremely nice) and your son's friend I'm sure is a sweet kid as well as many Venezuelans I have met. The problem with some Venezuelans in Weston and Doral is that they had a middle-class life style back home before Chavez forced them to migrate (most of them had "cachifa" or a "service lady" at home) and they still believe that they are "la pepa del queso" (that's a Venezuelan saying that translates to: the seed of the cheese - cheese doesn't have a seed, so you get the idea) Bottom line, those out of touch with society Venezuelans that are harmless but rude and do whatever to keep their social status even outside their home country, are one of the reasons why Chavez convinced the poor to vote for him to re-distribute Venezuela's wealth (a big communist lie of course) and eliminate the bourgeoisie. On the other hand, you'll find a lot of Venezuelans from poor and rich backgrounds that are very friendly, educated and polite all around Weston.

Colombians (the # 1 Hispanic group in Weston) are more down-to-earth, but sometimes they don't realize that Spanish is not everyone's language and that they're in America - believe me, they don't do it on purpose, it's just a cultural thing, but they are very friendly and approachable.

[ralanprod]

It's definitely a bigger issue for adults than for kids. My sons have many friends in Weston, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic.

Occasionally there will be older family members that don't speak much English - but all the kids speak English. I doubt you will find it to be a major issue. The girl my older son dated over the summer was Venezuelan. Her family was very nice, and rarely spoke Spanish when he was there so that he wouldn't feel excluded.

I don't speak Spanish, and it's never really been an issue. Occasionally a person will speak to me in Spanish, and I just let them I know I don't speak Spanish, and they usually revert to English. No big deal.