Racial diversity-- Vancouver (Seattle, Felida, Central Park: crime, new home, established neighborhood)

[yaani]

Hi all--

(I normally lurk, but am hoping someone can provide me with insight)

I am a person of color with a white husband and we'll be moving to Vancouver this year (job related)-- we don't have children yet, but will start to work on it in the next year or so Our preference is to live very near, maybe 20 minutes drive (or closer) within the Portland, OR border.

**this is a sensitive topic, so please be tactful with your replies, but I have to ask:
and I'm phrasing this as best as I can not to offend, but what is the "tolerance level" in that area for someone with a family like mine?


(I hesitated to ask this, but looking at some of the threads-- threads of other states/cities relating to minorities, etc, some of the attitudes are a bit disappointing and unfortunately (in this day and age), in addition to looking for a decent area when moving, making sure that it is somewhat racially diverse always has to be next on the list.)

Our property has been vandalized before because of this and of course I'd rather not bring up children in a place where we are not welcome. We know nothing about Vancouver or the area we *think* we'd like to move to.

At the least, I expect to be stared at, and perhaps even a couple of people to move when they see (me?) coming, as is usual, but really, I just want a safe place to live and enjoy life like everyone else.


I know that people ask the question a lot-- where is a "safe" and affordable place to live, and I'M NOT ACCUSING ANYONE HERE (PERSONALLY) OF THIS, but in all honesty, "safe" sometimes translates to NO minorities.

We are looking in the 200-400k range, near the border, in a "safe" neighborhood... what do you think?

[sykesfamily]

Hi there I had to comment on this. I have lived in Vancouver for almost 12 yrs now. I am a woman of color married to a white man. We have been excepted where ever we go here and love vancouver. We are actually moving out of Vancouver up North and I have been wondering the same thing as we take up roots up north of Seattle. But here we live in a a nice well established neighborhood in west vancouver nestled between I-5 and I-205. We have wonderful neighbors here and we have never experienced any racial issues out of all the places we have lived around clark county. You will love it here. We also have one child and he has been excepted by peers. Good luck girl and everything will be just fine here in Vancouver. Also I would recommend the west side of vancouver. Like i said we are in a good commuting area here in west vancouver between both highways to make commuting easy. It is a buyers market here in vancouver we have been trying to sell since nov and still on the market. So you should not have a problem finding a nice home in that price range with alot to offer.

[yaani]

Thanks so much Sykes... that helps a lot
Again, I hope no Vancouverans were offended, but this is a (sad) reality in many places.

Thanks for the well wishes and Good luck with your venture to the northern part of Washington.

I will take your advice and look into the western part of the city...

....better yet, why don't we just buy your house and save us all the trouble, lol

[st33lcas3]

You'll be fine. I've lived here over ten years now and can say that Vancouver is a pretty relaxed town when it comes to interracial couples. I don't recall ever hearing of any crime committed against any couples and there is no real racial hate crimes other than the once in a while punk kids trying to stir up something.

Safe areas in town would be along the river (Columbia Way to East Old Evergreen Highway), Fishers Landing in east Vancouver, Felida on the north side of town (not shown on the map), Vancouver Heights in central Vancouver. Heck, lets just say stay out of the areas of Rose Village, Central Park, Harney Heights and Fourth Plain Heights. Those are the highest crime areas.

[yaani]

^Thanks for the extra details because looking at the map would mean nothing without the input...

and thanks in advance to anyone else

[hml1976]

Well, I'm not much help because its kind of a different situation but my husband and I are Caucasian and our children are Asian, we adopted. When we lived in Tennessee people were very kind but often pointed out that our kids were a different race (yeah, we know), asked us if they were adopted, etc.

No one here asks me a thing. While I'm happy to talk about adoption and think my kid's ethnicity is fascinating, its nice to live somewhere where no one gives a hoot. There is an another mom on my street (also Caucasian) who adopted her daughter from Ethiopia, we're both new to town and she's had the same experience as I have.

Good luck with your move!

[kaca621]

Hi, I am a Filipina married to a german descent american man and there is no such thing as racial profiling here for couples of different culture and racial background. As a matter of fact I moved from SoCal 2 years ago because my significant other is from here and I was a little worried about that too. Now, I'm so happy. It's almost as diverse here as in Southern California!!! Hope this helps you make your decision. All the luck!

[sykesfamily]

You are so Welcome yaani. You will be Happy to cal Clark county your new home. After 12 long years we are going to miss it here. Just the other day my husband and I were driving around and he looked at me and said he wishes he could find a stable secure job in his field here because Vancouver is so beautiful and serene. We hope to be back in 5-10 unless we fall in love with were we will be moving too. Good luck girl.

[aeroz]

Originally Posted by yaani

Hi all--

(I normally lurk, but am hoping someone can provide me with insight)

I am a person of color with a white husband and we'll be moving to Vancouver this year (job related)-- we don't have children yet, but will start to work on it in the next year or so Our preference is to live very near, maybe 20 minutes drive (or closer) within the Portland, OR border.

**this is a sensitive topic, so please be tactful with your replies, but I have to ask:
and I'm phrasing this as best as I can not to offend, but what is the "tolerance level" in that area for someone with a family like mine?


(I hesitated to ask this, but looking at some of the threads-- threads of other states/cities relating to minorities, etc, some of the attitudes are a bit disappointing and unfortunately (in this day and age), in addition to looking for a decent area when moving, making sure that it is somewhat racially diverse always has to be next on the list.)

Our property has been vandalized before because of this and of course I'd rather not bring up children in a place where we are not welcome. We know nothing about Vancouver or the area we *think* we'd like to move to.

At the least, I expect to be stared at, and perhaps even a couple of people to move when they see (me?) coming, as is usual, but really, I just want a safe place to live and enjoy life like everyone else.


I know that people ask the question a lot-- where is a "safe" and affordable place to live, and I'M NOT ACCUSING ANYONE HERE (PERSONALLY) OF THIS, but in all honesty, "safe" sometimes translates to NO minorities.

We are looking in the 200-400k range, near the border, in a "safe" neighborhood... what do you think?

I'm a white woman, and about two years ago I dated a few black men. There were always stares and reactions from people, but that happened in Portland where we went on dates. One black male in a restaurant did a thumbs up sign to my date. I felt very uncomfortable.

As for Vancouver, I think you will get mixed reactions. Some will be very accepting. But there are groups/clusters of conservative Christians who disapprove.

[ThaBigCheese]

I have to jump in here and respond to the last poster. I've lived in Vancouver since 2000 and Beaverton before that since 1995. I like to call this the interracial couple capital of the west. I'm a black man married to a white woman and we have 4 children who are mixed. I've never known a more accepting community and I will be sad to leave here in the next few days because I've lived here for a long time. I've never even once had someone look at me sideways for being married to my wife, nor have my children. In fact a good portion of the friends we've made here have been interracial couples with children. I really don't know if it just worked out that way or we just kind of gravitate towards one another but thats just how it is.

My recommendation to you is East Vancouver, specifically in the Evergreen school district. Outstanding school district, terrific place to live. Really, there are no worries at all. I've never in all my life known as many interracial couples as I know now. Welcome to Vancouver and enjoy your stay!