Interracial (White/Mex-Amer) couple to Phoenix from OC-Cali? (Tucson, Scottsdale: insurance, crime)

[sablebaby]

Originally Posted by rockx

We have decided not to move to Arizona.


So we are moving back to a diverse big city, more tolerant and not so easy to generalize.

San Francisco or NYC are our choices...I don't feel like having my child grow up around racism and unrest.

Good luck with that! You're going to find that everywhere.

[rockx]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

Good luck with that! You're going to find that everywhere.

True.

But not on a daily basis. We have lived in NYC just last year and rarely felt bias, we goto San Fran a lot...people are very receptive, they give you a shot before just generalizing.

[sablebaby]

It sounds like you haven't even been to AZ to know for sure that you will be treated badly. So, now you are generalizing us.

[rockx]

Originally Posted by sablebaby

It sounds like you haven't even been to AZ to know for sure that you will be treated badly. So, now you are generalizing us.

Sorry didn't mean to sound like that, I just have heard a lot of bad things about the areas diversity lately. Not too many positives.

[jco]

Originally Posted by rockx

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are a White/Mexican-American couple with a child on the way, living in Orange County California, thinking about a move to Phoenix to buy a house.

Just a few questions and concerns about the area out there:
Is Phoenix pretty acceptable to Interracial couples?
Is there a particular area more suited for non-racist people? Especially Mexican/White?
What about a mixed race child attending schools around Phoenix?

Basically the overall question is:
Are mexican-americans integrated into society out there, or are they perceived as 2nd class humans?

We both make really good salaries as Senior IT and could easily afford to live in the Scottsdale area and are thinking that is the place.

I'm in the same boat as you. We have not had any problems. If anything, it's worked to our benefit to be an interratial couple. Our son has had no problems at all.

As far as Hispanics, there really are two groups. There are those who have no interest in assimilating into the culture, speak Spanish only, and would prefer that Phoenix become a little Mexico. There are others who did well in school, have respectable jobs, and embrace being Americans while still honoring their heritage. Our family falls in the second category and we don't have problems at all. We've been embraced by both cultures. My husband has had two experiences of racism in his entire life living in AZ. Both were stupid little things and he brushed them off.

My FIL, however, lives in Flagstaff and says that he never knew he was Mexican until he moved there.

[twiggy]

Originally Posted by rockx

We have decided not to move to Arizona.

After considering the choices, comments from friends and around the internet boards. It just sounds like the same epidemic that is in the SouthEast. Illegals and the companies that hire them, are making people racist towards well educated Mexican-Americans.

So we are moving back to a diverse big city, more tolerant and not so easy to generalize.

San Francisco or NYC are our choices...I don't feel like having my child grow up around racism and unrest.

It is to bad you feel you have to separate yourself from a state with a high illegal population of mexicans. A lot of these people make a honest living to put their children through school, whom they love as much as you love yours, to become respected as well. It is true that the illegals make it impossible to give you stats on just what the population of hispanics are. I still know you wouldn't suffer any prejudice here for being a legal american. Are you afraid people will think your illegal? I really don't understand what you are worried about. I am white/african american and people assume I am hispanic and speak spanish to me often. It's flattering to me though, and I never think there treating me with any disrespect. Arizona isn't my favorite place to live for a lot of reasons but prejudice isn't one of them. This state bends over backwards to educate hispanic children so that they have a chance to have a life like you do. I wonder if maybe your afraid you might be mistaken for illegal or should I say poor mexican. Let's face it, if they had money and drove over the border in a BMW and decided to stay, papers or not, I don't think there would be quite the fuss! Believe me we are as diverse as you can get when it comes to the hispanic culture.
My doctor is hispanic, my tax guy is hispanic, the woman who owns my favorite mexican food place is hispanic, the manager at my grocery store is african american, the manager at my local Wendy's is hispanic and so was my real estate agent, and loan officer. The drug traffic here is worse but that is due to both mexicans and americans who do business together illegally. I think of most illegals as refugees really, they are fleeing for safety, food and better shelter. Not to under mind your education or the fact you were born here. You shouldn't let them make you feel like you now have to struggle with prejudice, really it's only them who have that to deal with that, don't you think?
As for AZ, I believe you would be welcome with open arms here and meet a lot of other successful people to hang out with. Good luck to you were ever you may roam!

[rockx]

Originally Posted by twiggy

It is to bad you feel you have to separate yourself from a state with a high illegal population of mexicans. A lot of these people make a honest living to put their children through school, whom they love as much as you love yours, to become respected as well. It is true that the illegals make it impossible to give you stats on just what the population of hispanics are. I still know you wouldn't suffer any prejudice here for being a legal american. Are you afraid people will think your illegal? I really don't understand what you are worried about. I am white/african american and people assume I am hispanic and speak spanish to me often. It's flattering to me though, and I never think there treating me with any disrespect. Arizona isn't my favorite place to live for a lot of reasons but prejudice isn't one of them. This state bends over backwards to educate hispanic children so that they have a chance to have a life like you do. I wonder if maybe your afraid you might be mistaken for illegal or should I say poor mexican. Let's face it, if they had money and drove over the border in a BMW and decided to stay, papers or not, I don't think there would be quite the fuss! Believe me we are as diverse as you can get when it comes to the hispanic culture.
My doctor is hispanic, my tax guy is hispanic, the woman who owns my favorite mexican food place is hispanic, the manager at my grocery store is african american, the manager at my local Wendy's is hispanic and so was my real estate agent, and loan officer. The drug traffic here is worse but that is due to both mexicans and americans who do business together illegally. I think of most illegals as refugees really, they are fleeing for safety, food and better shelter. Not to under mind your education or the fact you were born here. You shouldn't let them make you feel like you now have to struggle with prejudice, really it's only them who have that to deal with that, don't you think?
As for AZ, I believe you would be welcome with open arms here and meet a lot of other successful people to hang out with. Good luck to you were ever you may roam!

Thanks for the comment, what I am afraid of is exactly what is happening in Orange County California where we live right now. People are treating Mexicans like slaves, thinking that all they do is serve food and do lawns.

Actually I am white and my wife is mexican american, I fear for her having to hear the racist comments everyday, even though she was born in the US.

I am not from the Southwest, I am not used to this illegal problem you have here, but I know I don't want my child growing up in an area hostile to 1/2 of their race.

It seems there are some nice, open minded people in AZ though.

Thanks for the luck.

[twiggy]

I'm afraid, thanks to the news reporters, the whole country is focused more on hispanics. I am afraid though it would be worse for your wife in a place with few educated hispanics in a predominantly white area. At least here there are a lot of hispanics in high profile jobs. Most natives here, hispanic or not, embrace the culture and enjoy the fiestas. It does have the flavor of mexico here but this is not considered a bad thing for most Arizonans. A lot of our houses, food and clothing are traditional to mexico and it suites the climate. I have only noticed out of towner's being shocked at first, but there coming from very rural, white area's. They soon realize Arizona doesn't treat every hispanic like a maid. Especially when they start seeing the jobs they possess and the income they make. In this sun they are rarely out in the summer because there more incline to burn easily!lol So you won't see them most of the time. Race is on more of an even space here, thanks to the mix. Nobody in particular sticks out. That is a good thing.

[phxn8iv]

RockX,
Phx is much like LA in this way. We are a 3rd generation Mexican-American family and many of us are married to 'gringos'. It's more of a class thing, so unless one of you looks like an Echo Park Cholo(a) and the other like an OC suburbanite, no one will pay attention to you. Even in Scottsdale.

[Reid3416]

Coming from Canada I think it's really sad that a person has to ask about an "acceptable" place to live with ones spouce where they won't be discriminated against.