Philadelphia population INCREASE

[solibs]

When I moved to South Philly I would bump into a few mexicans on occasion. Now there are 12,000 of them by most estimates. Again, Puerto Ricans, no doubt there are more of them in Philly. Dominicans, I couldn't really tell you.

It does seem to me like the number of mexicans might be dipping a bit with the economy. When their shops start closing it'll be obvious.

You have to consider why people come here. For a while things in the Philipines were not so great, now they're a lot better. A lot of them in the neighborhood are moving to Cherry Hill but more still are going back to their country.

The biggest minority in my 'hood are the Indonesians and even though Indonesia is a fairly stable country with decent opportunities the people that are coming here are ethnically Chinese and christian and are discriminated against over there for being Chinese and for not being muslim - the guy who owns the restaurant down the street from me is muslim, so they're here too, but mostly they're christian here.

Most of the Mexicans have no intention of staying here. They just want to make a quick buck, build themselves a house in their hometown, move home and live really well. If there's no money to be made here you'll see a lot of them go home or stop coming.

The Vietnamese community in Philly are mostly South Vietnamese, from Saigon, and came here as entrepreneurs/middle-class. They can't or won't go back because their families fought with the americans against the current regime. The people that are still coming over are mostly their extended family.

[wanderer34]

I can understand, but according to the latest census figures, it seems like there are more Mexicans in the area, about 90,000. I assumed that they were ALL legal!!! I'm not sure whether census is counting just the legal ones or basically all the Mexicans, but the only thing I can say about the Mexicans is that the Mexican economy has to improve greatly so all of them can have jobs!!! I know many of them are poor and are just trying to make a quick buck,and I can respect that, but this is ridiculous!!!

[solibs]

The census counts everyone. It doesn't matter what their status is. If you don't answer the forms and send them back in, they keep sending people to your house until the information is complete.

I was out in Lindenwold last night at a locally famous BYO bowling alley. Mexicans are definitely not confined to certain neighborhoods in the city. They have a big presence in the city because of all of the restaurants but the big employers are in the suburbs - the builders, the landscapers, the warehouses, light industry, non-unionized hotels, etc.

[wanderer34]

Originally Posted by solibs

The census counts everyone. It doesn't matter what their status is. If you don't answer the forms and send them back in, they keep sending people to your house until the information is complete.

I was out in Lindenwold last night at a locally famous BYO bowling alley. Mexicans are definitely not confined to certain neighborhoods in the city. They have a big presence in the city because of all of the restaurants but the big employers are in the suburbs - the builders, the landscapers, the warehouses, light industry, non-unionized hotels, etc.

I think the Mexicans are more concentrated out in the outskirts (Norristown, parts of South Jerey, DE) than they are in the city, just check out Kennett Square. As far as the city is concerned, in terms of living, it's still Caribbean Spanish that dominates (Puerto Rican and Dominican).

[sbhubbell]

What amazes me is this hispanic population in Reading! When I was living there the Reading school district was 41% hispanic. Once I was shopping in the Burlington factory downtown and EVERYONE around me was speaking spanish, it was a bit disconcerting suddenly feeling like I was in a foreign country.

Then I moved to Texas. Now I really AM in a foreign country I am so wishing I had studied Spanish in school instead of wasting my time becoming fluent in German. :P~~~

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by sbhubbell

I am so wishing I had studied Spanish in school instead of wasting my time becoming fluent in German. :P~~~

There's always Milwaukee.

[BillyJacc]

You should see Los Angeles... (LOL)

[RoysGuy1729]

I think Philly just needs to hope the people that are coming to the city are going to be more productive then destructive. I kind of consider the job market first off and I know there are jobs out there but face it, there's not much room for new businesses in the city so if the population does keep rising where are they going to work? Valid or no? I'm not so sure about that just turned off the brain to fingers filter for a minute.

[solibs]

Good article in Forbes about the top 20 cities to weather this recession in. Philly is #10.

It's all about the eds and meds. People still go to school (20 colleges/universities in the metro), they still get sick (a dozen hospitals - some of the best), they still watch TV (Comcast), they still talk on the phone (Verizon), and they still eat food (food terminals in South Philly/Camden/Wilmington).

[Tone509]

Originally Posted by solibs

Good article in Forbes about the top 20 cities to weather this recession in. Philly is #10.

It's all about the eds and meds. People still go to school (20 colleges/universities in the metro), they still get sick (a dozen hospitals - some of the best), they still watch TV (Comcast), they still talk on the phone (Verizon), and they still eat food (food terminals in South Philly/Camden/Wilmington).

That's a pleasant surprise!