British-asians thinking of moving to Aliso Viejo... (Los Angeles, Santa Ana: travel, work)

[VLWH]

If you have not done so yet, you might want to contact a real estate agent in the areas your thinking about living. This will help in setting up several tours for when you come to town.

Originally Posted by Tahir & Shaela

Thank you very much. Unfortunately, we aren't that fortunate to have a budget that reaches $1M. However, we were thinking around the $700, 000 price bracket. Would you say that this is sufficient to buy a single family home?

We will be coming to California in July for two weeks and we are very much looking forward to getting to know each neighbourhood better.
And yes, Vivo, you are correct in saying that in Britain we refer to Asians as being Indians, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans etc.
I am of Indian ethnic origin and my wife is of Bangladeshi ethnic origin. However, we were both born and bought up in Britain and are not happy in this dull, lifeless country anymore.

Once again, thank you for being so informative. We very much appreciate it!

[vivo]

Originally Posted by jerrycat

what are you on about vivo?

the op said he was asian. here asian means east/se asian but in britain it means south asian. just wanted to make that point for people reading this.

[Tahir & Shaela]

Thank you for your reply jerrycat. It is good to hear a British perspective.
We are aware of everything that you have stated - such as the way of life being different, but that is one of our reasons for relocating to the US.

We did say in our first post that we were thinking of Aliso Viejo because it seems like a nice community and Irvine was not really one of the places we were looking at.

Making friends will just be one of many challenges that we will have to face and will be part of our relocation journey.

Can anyone give us an indication of living costs in the OC compared to the living costs in the UK?

Also, does anyone know whether our British driving licences can be used or do we have to re-take our tests in the US?

Thank you all for your cooperation.

[vivo]

santa monica which borders LA has a large British expat community.
google british expats to find forums
also go to meetup.com and find british expat meetups if u want

[connie&dave]

Originally Posted by bob-jenkins

Your ethnicity should be fine by the people here. Generally, we are very accepting of Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians, African Americans, Filipinos, etc. Now, if you were hispanic, that would be a different story.

I agree with Mach50, I don't think this type of racist remarks have any place in this forum, do you understand you are offending many good people Bob?

[Hossainrobin]

Hello,

Just wanted to add my 2 cents.

I was born and raised in London to a Muslim Asian family (part Bengali extraction..). I first came to the states in 98 and now live here permanently. I first came to DC and stayed in DC, Philly, Jersey. Now I live in the ATL.

I married an military family African American woman and have a large family now.

My experiences have been mixed and varied.

The most racist people I have encountered are in fact African Americans - even though they make up the majority of my CLOSEST friends. They have an obsession with hating foreigners - pretty much like the BNP in the UK. There are even ads on TV - black ads - stating that they have to stop all these foreign workers coming over from taking their jobs...

Personally, I've been treated extremely well by thousands of people - but I've always been sensitive to unjust bigotted views.

African Americans for the most part love me and I love them.

Hispanics pose another problem. They feel they are competing too against 'new foreigners'. Hispanics are bottom of the pile out here - badly so. But they don't want SE asian foreigners coming here and surpassing them. The problem is their education levels and their English - both are extremely poor.

I've owned a few businesses here and dealt with thousands of customers - especially at the ATL airport.

I meet people from all over the country - black, white, asian, hispanic.... Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus...

I get on wonderfully with all and love to communicate - and I found that honest and sincere communication breaks down all kinds of barriers.

CALIFORNIA - this is interesting. haven't been there yet but met some of the friendliest people from there. The young people I met from California remind me of how I grew up in London. I had black, white and asian real friends and we use to go out together and date together without the deep racial barriers that typically plague America. The Californian 'teens' I've met do not seem as racially divided as the East Coast.

So when you get the Cali - let me know!

Oh - and by the way - all these 1000's of friendly people I meet from the DOD, USAF, Marine Core to CEOs and the regular guy on the street who all seem to love me -- I'm a fully bearded Muslim AND I've never had a problem!

Please not also - I do don a full american accent to avoid the accent questions - so I think people assume I'm an average black American as my hair is cut super short and I have mixed facial features...

[pforbro]

I understand that you want to leave the UK because of the mixed weather, but how do you propose entering the USA on a permanent basis to work, other than having a $1 million to invest in your own business. I am told that it is very long and protracted process over several years to gain work permits and visas. Just a thought before you build your hopes and dreams up that this will be easy. I am told that the process is not. There is no point in buying a house if you are not able to live here permanently.

[Tahir & Shaela]

Once again thank you all so much for your replies. We are aware of the visa situation, and the whole reason we are looking into this is because my employer is offering to sponsor me. My employer has warned me it's a lengthy process, I have until September to decide and go ahead with the transfer but I do not know when that will be. That is why my wife and I are coming to California for 2 weeks in July to check out the areas.

Thank you Hossainrobin it was very interesting to read about your experience.
Living in Britain we are very much used to having friends from all different backgrounds and races, do you think we can emulate this once we complete our move to California (OC)?

Also do you think people will be cautious of us because we are Muslim?
We do not wear any religious clothing, and certainly to do not agree with extremism etc etc...

[amc760]

Originally Posted by bob-jenkins

Your ethnicity should be fine by the people here. Generally, we are very accepting of Europeans, Middle Easterners, Asians, African Americans, Filipinos, etc. Now, if you were hispanic, that would be a different story.

Wow, that's disconcerting.

Contrary to whatever you've heard about California, we "Hispanics" are not all immigrants, and most of us are not criminals but hardworking people.

Mexican culture has very deep roots in Southern California especially, and most of have been here for generations. Mexican ties to this region go back centuries before the U.S. ever claimed this area.

There are a lot of hispanic immigrants in this area, and the vast majority of them are just trying to find a better life doing the hard labor and unskilled work, hoping to make a better life for thier children.

But as you will see on this board, Hispanics are frequently targeted, and used as a scapegoat for most of America's problem. It's pretty hurtful to hear all the Mexican-bashing by people who would never consider doing the work these hardworkers do. Mexicans move into bad areas for the cheap prices and in some cases make the area better, although a lot of locals like to accuse them of ruining the neighborhood in the first place.


Anyways, sorry to rant. California is extremely diverse, and people for the most part are very tolerant. I love the diversity of this state, and aside from some bad apples, most people embrace this diversity.

I wish you lots of luck and hope you enjoy it here!

[slang75]

While I think OC is one of the most diverse areas of the country, I do not see people of different races mixing as much as in other areas. I generally see Koreans with Koreans, Indians with Indians, Persians with Persians, etc. We saw 2 huge birthday parties going on this weekend in Bill Barber park. Each had about 30-40 guests. Under one roof were Koreans and under the other were Indians...ONLY. Not a single person of another ethnicity was at either party. I mean, how do you avoid having a single friend from another race in a melting pot like OC? Worse still, how do your kids not have a single friend from another race in these diverse school districts?

This is the same in our complex in Irvine. On the outside it's a little united nations. Try to get to know a Chinese family if you're not Chinese and you may have difficulties. I think it probably ends with the older generations. I don't see that same problem with the younger kids in our area. But, at my sons recent school play, this did happened again with the parents. They split right along ethnic lines at the after party. We're a mixed race couple, so I don't know where we go. I'm sure it's not like this all over OC (it can't be, right?...I get depressed just thinking about it).

I think people are "accepting" here. Warming up to you in a genuine friendship...not so sure. Many people (including us) have had a hard time making real friends here. We have not had problems anywhere else we have lived...so I don't THINK it is us.