wHAT TOWN IS THE MOST DIVERSE IN TERMS OF ETHNICITY

[miu]

Originally Posted by litlux

As I said, diversity makes life interesting, and sameness can be suffocating.

Sameness can also be safer.

I think the best combination is having a diverse community of well-educated people. And I would pick a well-educated sameness community over an uneducated diverse one.

[brightdoglover]

City-data has ethnic breakdowns for every city you enter on the main page. I was looking for a friend who has an Asian daughter and was whining that his town in Virginia "is too white." Now, his town is some 80% black, quite diverse that way, but "not Asian." I had to point out to him that largely only cities in his beloved California are so largely Asian (unlike the rest of the U.S.).
Anyway, the very pleasant good-schools town/suburb of Acton here is very diverse. Any area with high-tech employment has lots of Asians and Indians and different people.
I pointed out to my friend that most areas are stratified by income/education, not ethnicity/race, and that he is likely to live in a higher-income area with similar people. It is not likely to be "funky," nor do I think he really wants that with small kids, Asian or otherwise.
I personally don't want to live amongst poor people. I know too many of them from my work and my former life in Cambridge (when there was rent control). I prefer a diverse community because there are better restaurants (Two Indian resturants in the area recently!) and just because it makes the world seem less lonely to me, seeing and hearing different kinds of people. I enjoy the Brazilian music playing in the convenience store where I go and discussing samba with the clerk. The world is just more colorful when it's diverse.
But not poor people of any stripe. I learned that.

[WestMass79]

I live in Springfield and it is 1/3 white, 1/3 black, 1/3 hispanic with lots of gay/lesbian amongst the population.

I'd say it's the most diverse at least in Western Mass, if not the State.

[mcbaby]

The real world has all kinds of people in it. We have to accept the fact that we are all different. Public schools in urban areas help kids understand that it takes all kinds to make the world go round. If you try to separate yourself from other people, you lose. I have met very nice people who are totally different from me. I have met some I don't care to be with. It all depends on the individual.

[ckhthankgod]

I would think Cambridge, Springfield, Boston, Brockton, Somerville, Lynn, Chelsea, Amherst, Lowell and Worcester would be the most diverse cities or communities in Massachusetts. Some other decently diverse communities in Massachusetts are:Holyoke, Medford, Lawrence, New Bedford, Leominster/Fitchburg, Ayre(former military town), Framingham, Salem and Hyannis, among others.

[BostonYoureMyHome]

Someone mentioned Acton. It is becoming more diverse for sure. There is even a newish Chinese grocery store in South Acton now. There are a lot of Asians and Indians in Acton. Not very many Blacks or Hispanics though.

IA that Cambridge is probably the most diverse city/town in MA, though.