Why does Portland have such a low Asian population compared to other West Coast cities? (Phoenix: living, versus)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
San Francisco, Seattle, Sacramento all had a major gold rushes and the establishment of huge Chinatowns in the late 19th century, which would have been a starting base for Chinese immigrants, followed by other Asian and SE Asian. Sacramento has a relatively large Asian population because of the Hmong resettlement as well.
Portland has a Chinatown, but it lacks the age and size of other cities. We weren't a major gold or railroad town, and those two things were the impetus for early immigrations.
Actually Portland had the second-largest Chinatown in the US in the 1890s. Portland was a pretty bustling port city in the late 1800s. The area that is now considered Oldtown south of Burnside was at one point Chinatown. The area that was Chinatown was actually one of the more sizable Japantowns in the nation. It wasn't until the 1930s and the forced relocation of Japanese during World War II that the area that is currently Chinatown became predominantly Chinese.
Seattle has the historic International District, but much of the Asian immigration to the area came much later in history. Portland actually gained Chinese population after Seattle and Tacoma expelled Asians in this period. Most of the high percentages of Asian immigrants on the West Coast came after the 1960s when the immigration laws were changed. Seattle was only about 4% Asian in 1980...The Asian population increased over 100% by each decade since then...
And while San Francisco has historically always had a large Chinese population and Chinatown since the Gold Rush, just as there has been longstanding Japanese and Fillipino communities on the West Coast, the real demographic changes in California have come much more recently.
One reason that Portland has a smaller Asian population is that it's just not as attractive economically for immigrants. People move where the best opportunities are. And once you have a sizable population of one group who's succesful, others follow pretty quick. But Portland has much more of Asian influence in the last decade...and a drive out NE Sandy(Vietnamese) or 82nd(Chinese, among others) or Beaverton-Hillsdale(Korean) shows this.
I agree with the above for the reasons why Portland hasn't attracted immigrants, people migrate for economic opportunity. The available jobs and skill sets need to match. I still contend that not being an international gateway city contributes to the lack of Asian immigration today.
Many high tech engineers here are Asian but that group is not sufficiently numerous to make a dent.
One of the reasons why Vancouver BC has many Asians is that many HK residents carried British passports. Canada made it easy for them to establish residency if they invested in Canada. Many did just in case they didn't like life under Beijing administration.
I think it's probably due to many different factors, the history of transcontinental railroad construction (which ended in California), the history of Japanese detainment camps, the history of asian immigration to Hawaii. People generally tend to stay near their family for the most part, so lot's and lot's of people don't end up in Oregon. It's not like there's an unwelcome sign at the border or anything. You may as well ask why there aren't lots of asians asians in the midwest.... who knows, different reason's I bet.
Maybe it has something to do with Oregon not having much of a highway system until around 1915 (I think, of course nobody drove anyway) before that you pretty much had to follow these trapper trails through the forest if you wanted to get from Washington to California, not much for railroads until some guys from California decided we should get some too.
That is an interesting question I've been wondering myself. We've decided to increase that number by a whopping four in June. Me, my wife and our two kids are moving there.
Coming originally form Chicago which is a diverse city of many immigrants I believe it works this way. One ethnic group comes and utilizes whatever opportunities they can find to become successful. The first immigrants bring in others from the "old county" to share in these opportunities.
Perhaps Oregon has simply not had very many opportunities for Asian immigrants to make it worth their while to relocate here. The lure of San Francisco, LA and California in general probably offered more.
That's just a speculation. I know today there are many Russian immigrants who appear to be doing quite well in Oregon. It just may be a matter of the choice of the various ethnic groups as to how to utilize the best advantages in a new place.
I find it interesting that Portland is able to support nonstop flights (or "flight") to Asia while Sacramento and San Diego cannot. I've heard that the city of Portland has provided Delta with generous subsidies to sustain the nonstop flight to Tokyo/Narita but I'm not sure if that's true or not. I live in downtown Portland and have always felt like there is a thriving Asian population. Definitely more so than Sacramento which I've visited numerous times.
The reason for the nonstop flights between Asia and Portland can be summed up in one word, NIKE. Have you noticed the Japanese influence on the campus? A Japanese firm backed NIKE when another Asian firm tried to pull the rug from under them early on. Also NIKE's footwear is manufactured primarily in Asia, they need good connections for their manufacturing specialists. These are business flights from the Silicon Forrest to Asia. Many of NIKE's expats are stationed in Asia.
Portland is not a gateway city for Asian immigrants because we don't have many jobs for immigrants except for a few H1B holders. The other group are 'impats', key employees who work for Portland businesses who are not US citizens.
I haven't spent much time in Sacramento except for the Jazz Festival. Lets assume that the statistics of the OP are correct about Sacramento for a moment. I do know that several silicon valley firms, including but not limited to HP, have manufacturing operations in Sacramento because they cannot retain technicians because of housing costs in the Bay Area. Sacremento isn't too far for R&D to travel from SV and employees who move to Sacremento from the Bay Area can visit family (often aging parents). Many technicians are of Asian heritage and have been in the US for two or more generations.
I know these things because I am a retired HR Specialist and spent a lot of time analyzing workforce ethnic statistics and have professional/social relationships in the markets I mention.
I am not familiar with San Diego's demographics but do know they have a significant bio science presence. That field too has many of Asian ethnicity.
I haven't spent much time in Sacramento except for the Jazz Festival. Lets assume that the statistics of the OP are correct about Sacramento for a moment. I do know that several silicon valley firms, including but not limited to HP, have manufacturing operations in Sacramento because they cannot retain technicians because of housing costs in the Bay Area. Sacremento isn't too far for R&D to travel from SV and employees who move to Sacremento from the Bay Area can visit family (often aging parents). Many technicians are of Asian heritage and have been in the US for two or more generations.
I know these things because I am a retired HR Specialist and spent a lot of time analyzing workforce ethnic statistics and have professional/social relationships in the markets I mention.
I am not familiar with San Diego's demographics but do know they have a significant bio science presence. That field too has many of Asian ethnicity.
Sacramento's Asian population is pretty diverse. You have a large Chinese population, but you also have large longstanding Fillipino population(just like in a lot of parts of Califorrnia including San Diego where they are the primary Asian group and one of the most successful Asian groups including lots of local business owners). In Sacramento and the surrounding area you also have large numbers of Hmongs(originally settled as refugees from Vietnamese and Laos) and a lot of East Indians, especially Sikhs who have a large role in the surrounding farming and trucking industries in the Central Valley.
There was a time when agricultural workers where Asians, I remember when having a Japanise gardner was a status symbol in Portland. Those families have sent their kids to college, parents are now aged.
Portland is not a gateway city for Asian immigrants because we don't have many jobs for immigrants except for a few H1B holders. The other group are 'impats', key employees who work for Portland businesses who are not US citizens.
This is true of the last company I worked for in the IT department. Over the past few years the long time employees in that department were let go and the work was contracted to contractors from India. Now these people are being let go and the work is being outsourced ironically enough to India.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
