African American thinks there are not enough of his people in Western Fairfax (Alexandria: homes, buy)

[Joke Insurance]

Originally Posted by pgtvatitans

I am black and I am very familiar with that area as I used to work in Chantilly for two years. I can tell you, that the times that my wife was with me, she loved that area too, but I refused to live there simply because of the statistics. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those black people that have to live in a black neighborhood, but I am also not going to be what I like to call, a pioneer. To me, racial enclaves breed ignorance (this apply to PG County too in the predominantly black parts). When people aren't around other cultures, they form their opinions on stereotypes or the limited experiences that they have had with that race. I'm not saying that this will always be the case, but when you have kids like I do, you have to think about how damaging an experience that can be, if the worse case does happen. I love to be around different races and backgrounds, so that they understand that the world is a very diverse and their understanding of people with different backgrounds will help them when they get older. That certainly hurts the area, but overall Clifton and Centreville are nice places. Perhaps there will be some who are comfortable with taking that risk, but I'm certainly not one and I can definitely your friend's perspective, especially if he has kids.

From a racial standpoint, you are spot on.

How would you fix this problem from a socio-economic standpoint? That issue probably needs to be addressed first before moving on to what you mentioned, imo.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

My sons class here in Fairfax is very diverse; Chinese, Korean, all types of Middleastern people, Hispanic, etc. and very few black people. It seems to me there are a lot of black people in areas of Prince William County and more in Maryland. I dont know why this is. I dont think there is much racism here in western Faifax because it is so diverse.

[Mr Spock]

Just because there is a lot of Asian and Middle Eastern people and a few Hispanics in Western Fairfax does not mean Black People will feel comfortable.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I'm shocked your realtor said that. When my dad was a realtor it was a huge no-no to ever say somethign like that or give any commentary on the racial makeup of an area.

Yes, it's called racial steering and is against the law. A realtor who says stuff like that is looking to get their license pulled and could face serious Federal legal problems.

[mos1992]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Yes, it's called racial steering and is against the law. A realtor who says stuff like that is looking to get their license pulled and could face serious Federal legal problems.

He is a family friend and told me this after the search to be honest but In the future Im looking for a permanent home and West Fairfax may be an option.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Joke Insurance

From a racial standpoint, you are spot on.

How would you fix this problem from a socio-economic standpoint? That issue probably needs to be addressed first before moving on to what you mentioned, imo.

I'm not sure there is a way to fix it unfortunately. People are going to generally move where they feel comfortable and they usually feel comfortable being around people they have the most in common with. I read both articles that the Washington Post had about racial enclaves and racial diversity. It was interesting because the articles were talking about how racial diverse Northern VA is and how racially segregated Prince George's County has become. Then it talked about in the article about PG, how certain black people like having their kids around black professionals. I would imagine similar things can be said across other races. For those individuals, they find a comfort in knowing that their kids have role models that look like them. Can't imagine it being much different with other races.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

My sons class here in Fairfax is very diverse; Chinese, Korean, all types of Middleastern people, Hispanic, etc. and very few black people. It seems to me there are a lot of black people in areas of Prince William County and more in Maryland. I dont know why this is. I dont think there is much racism here in western Faifax because it is so diverse.

Originally Posted by Mr Spock

Just because there is a lot of Asian and Middle Eastern people and a few Hispanics in Western Fairfax does not mean Black People will feel comfortable.

Thank you Mr. Spock. This goes back to what I said earlier, diversity is relative. It doesn't matter how many different races are in an area, if there is few or none that are the same race as you, to some that doesn't mean it's diverse. It certainly wouldn't be for me. Being black is different than being asian. Being asian is different than being Hispanic and even within all those groups are sub groups that are unique.

As far as blacks being in PWC and Maryland, it's really simple, it's about cost of living in those areas. The reason why you don't see many black people in Vienna, Centreville, Clifton or places like that is because a majority of blacks in this country cannot afford those places. Remember, according to Census data whites have 20 times more wealth than blacks. I can't understate this point. Wealth gives many of us a means to even get into real estate in the first place, and to also get pricier real estate. If you don't have a generation of wealthy before you or at least a really, really high paying job, odds on out, you aren't going to be able to afford the $700k+ homes in those areas. In places like PWC and parts of MD, you can buy a nice house around $300k.

[cdrmike]

Maybe they are smart enough not to accumulate so much junk, that they need a 3500sqft McMansion to house it all. Wish I had been that bright.

[RosemaryNThyme]

Originally Posted by mos1992

Im a Middle Eastern and when I was looking for a place to live my real estate advisor told me to avoid West Fairfax and beyond because they will be racist against diversity. I never been there so I don't know what it is like and I won't make a judgement on a single person's opinion. never met any racist Virginian so far people are nice here in NOVA

Your agent could lose his license for saying something as prejudice as that statement, and he should.

[RosemaryNThyme]

Originally Posted by pgtvatitans

Thank you Mr. Spock. This goes back to what I said earlier, diversity is relative. It doesn't matter how many different races are in an area, if there is few or none that are the same race as you, to some that doesn't mean it's diverse. It certainly wouldn't be for me. Being black is different than being asian. Being asian is different than being Hispanic and even within all those groups are sub groups that are unique.

As far as blacks being in PWC and Maryland, it's really simple, it's about cost of living in those areas. The reason why you don't see many black people in Vienna, Centreville, Clifton or places like that is because a majority of blacks in this country cannot afford those places. Remember, according to Census data whites have 20 times more wealth than blacks. I can't understate this point. Wealth gives many of us a means to even get into real estate in the first place, and to also get pricier real estate. If you don't have a generation of wealthy before you or at least a really, really high paying job, odds on out, you aren't going to be able to afford the $700k+ homes in those areas. In places like PWC and parts of MD, you can buy a nice house around $300k.

Wealth is correlated to education and families with two, married, parents. Since Blacks have the lowest educational attainment, and the most out of wedlock births, they are less likely to be in the higher economic brackets. That makes for fewer Blacks in Potomac Maryland, Chevy Chase Maryland, Bethesda Maryland and McLean and Vienna Virginia.

Asians have higher educational achievement levels, and very low levels of unmarried Mothers, making them more likely to achieve wealth and live in the wealthier areas of Maryland and Virginia.

Poor whites are less likely to finish college and much less likely to marry than are whites born in middle and upper income families. The poor whites stay poor for the same reasons that others of any race remain poor, not finishing college and having children without being married. Those are the two fastest ways to be poor, don't finish school and have children without being married. It's a shame that so many in both the White and Black community are following that path to poverty.