Asians living in Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson: house, construction, landlord)

[starla]

Originally Posted by peacenyc

thanks a lot for taking the time to share your story. I will probably take some classes at ASU as needed,

And I agree with what you are saying. I do think life can be easier for minorities in less diverse places that are welcoming.

2 questions if you dont mind. Are the people in that area generally friendly, at least compared to the cities you lived in? And what nationality are you?

People here are MUCH friendlier than in the Bay Area, a bit friendlier than in LA, but not as friendly as in Raleigh. Out of all the places I've lived, I'd say it's most comparable to Ohio in terms of culture, diversity, and friendliness. There's a decent amount of diversity in the cities, but the further out you go the whiter it gets. However, I've never felt unwelcome anywhere.

There are a lot of old people though. Stick to Tempe/Downtown Phoenix if you're looking for young people. Chandler is more family-oriented, though there are lots of tech manufacturing jobs down there which draws some younger folks in. Downtown Chandler is not bad.

I'm Chinese on my mother's side and Euromutt/Native American/God know what else on my dad's side.

Best of luck!

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by peacenyc

Im korean. Thank you! Can't hurt to check it out anyways

Okay, cool...well if you are into Vietnamese food...Cyclo in Chandler has some of the best Pho I have had around. Pretty cool place as well.

Thai Basil in Ahwautukee is pretty good as is Thai Elephant Bisto on University in Tempe...if you are into Thai food that is. I haven't been to a Korean place in a while.

[wit-nit]

If you're looking to have some Korean kimchi and other popular Korean dishes here's a popular place in Scottsdale.
Korean Restaurants, Scottsdale Arizona, "The Red Kimchi"

[starla]

Originally Posted by wit-nit

If you're looking to have some Korean kimchi and other popular Korean dishes here's a popular place in Scottsdale.
Korean Restaurants, Scottsdale Arizona, "The Red Kimchi"

Well I do in fact happen to be looking to have some Korean kimchi, so thanks for this!!!

Looked at the menu, not too expensive either!

[Minntoaz]

It's odd to me that this would even be an issue. Everywhere I've lived Asians are just as much a part of the culture as everyone else. Is there really places in America where asians stand out? I can't imagine.

[TempeAZnative]

There is a nice little Japanese market in Tempe at Priest & University Fujiya Market and next door is an incredible japanese/French bakery Arai Pastry.
http://https://m.yelp.com/biz/arai-pastry-tempe

As stated previously Dobson has incredible Asian restaurants and 2 huge Asian markets with a 3rd on the way. There was a recent piece on AZ Central featuring food hubs around the valley.
Best new food hubs: Mesa's Asian markets and restaurants keep growing

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by TempeAZnative

There is a nice little Japanese market in Tempe at Priest & University Fujiya Market and next door is an incredible japanese/French bakery Arai Pastry.
http://https://m.yelp.com/biz/arai-pastry-tempe

As stated previously Dobson has incredible Asian restaurants and 2 huge Asian markets with a 3rd on the way. There was a recent piece on AZ Central featuring food hubs around the valley.
Best new food hubs: Mesa's Asian markets and restaurants keep growing

There's a really good Asian bakery in Mekong Plaza too, forgot the name. The Asian market is great in Mekong plaza, one of if not the best Asian market I've been to anywhere in the nation. Huge depth, really good prices, and great produce. Huge seafood section also though I've never bought. Asian Cafe Express restaurant in that area is excellent also.

[DetroitN8V]

Mekong is great, but it smells horrific. AZ International Marketplace (same owners, I think), seems cleaner and has an even larger selection.

[MinervaPallasAthena]

Originally Posted by DetroitN8V

Mekong is great, but it smells horrific. AZ International Marketplace (same owners, I think), seems cleaner and has an even larger selection.

Yeah, Mekong is pretty gross.
Lee Lee's is much cleaner and has a great selection - https://www.yelp.com/biz/lee-lee-int...rkets-chandler

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by starla

I'm only half asian, but I can give you my impressions.

I've lived in several places in my life. Ohio, Boston, LA, Raleigh, Silicon Valley, and now Phoenix. IMO, there are two kinds of racism: ignorance and hatred. In places with low diversity, you see a lot of ignorance but very little hatred. People might make some stupid assumptions at first, but generally speaking they are more open to getting to know you before passing judgement. I had no problems making friends in Ohio, Raleigh, or Boston. You might think it's odd that I put Boston in the low diversity category, but that city, or at least the parts I frequented, were seriously white unless you were on certain college campuses. LA and Silicon Valley had a lot more diversity, but people judged you based on your race, and they were also the only places where I faced open name-calling/hatred type racism (and this was just walking down the street in the middle of the day). People in those areas tended to stick with their own race, and a lot of foreigners would live there for years and never even learn english, much less assimilate. And people would ask me ALL THE TIME what my race was (you know, those annoying "what's your background/where are you from/no, I mean where are you from ORIGINALLY" questions that people ask when they want to be sly about asking you about your race).

So far, I've had no problems with racism in Phoenix. The subject of my race has never even come up.

OTOH, I also haven't seen a single asian grocery. I'm sure if I went looking I could find one, but I haven't just passed one on the street while going about my business here. If you asked me where Asians live in Phoenix, I don't know (but my guess would be Tempe and Chandler). There are plenty of Chinese and sushi restaurants around, but I haven't seen much Korean food. IME, there are a lot more Indians in Phoenix than Chinese, Japanese, or Koreans.

Basically, if you're ok with the idea of not having very many Asian friends and living in a predominately white culture, then by all means come on out. But if you're hoping to find a big close knit Asian community and live in an Asian enclave, it ain't gonna happen here. Personally, I think life is easier for minorities in places with less diversity if you're ok with assimilating, but that's just my opinion.

If you're planning to go to grad school at ASU, then ignore what I wrote. You'll have no problem finding Asians on campus.

There are plenty of Asian grocery stores. I don't know what city you lived in to get the impression that Asian grocery stores are plentiful and just available anywhere. SF and the Bay area has a larger than average Asian population and doesn't represent the overwhelming majority of most cities in the U.S. That's like coming from NYC and judging a city for having a small Jewish population. It seems like rather your expectations are wrong and you don't know the Phoenix metropolitan area very well. There are a lot of Asians here. Chandler, Tempe and Mesa have large Asian populations. There was an article in the Arizona Republic talking about a new Asian Corridor on Dobson between Broadway and Southern.

Asian megastore H Mart picks Mesa for 1st Arizona location

Asian corridor flourishes along Dobson Road | News | eastvalleytribune.com