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If you ask any random 100 people around America what they'd associate SF with, it would be gays by far at #1. Its not a good or bad thing, it just is. Whether or not its warranted, it is what it is.
Why is that such a hard thing to believe for SF boosters?
Yawns.
This thread is not about what people think hun.
It's about what IS. aka 'IRL'
And 'IRL', The Bay Area is more racially diverse and it's not a matter of opinion.
I don't know if you knew this but SF hosted the very first Gay Games. The Gay Olympics was founded in SF in 1982 and is now the worlds premier Gay Games.
I have to side with you overall. SF's Latino and Asian communities make a bigger splash in its culture ATM but in the 80's SF was the premier Gayborhood in the world. SF's the best city to be a minority in the world IMO. What you can accomplish in SF is unparalleled by any other city.
I've never once even heard of the "Gay Games" before. Sounds rather silly to me to be honest. Like I said, homosexuality isn't a predominate culture in SF. Its there, but its nowhere as large as the Asian culture in SF. No one would ever visit SF and say to themselves "my God, there are so many gay people" but they would notice the very higher percentage of Asians.
If you ask any random 100 people around America what they'd associate SF with, it would be gays by far at #1. Its not a good or bad thing, it just is. Whether or not its warranted, it is what it is.
Why is that such a hard thing to believe for SF boosters?
Hmm, perhaps that would be the case with the more uneducated Americans, but that's about it. I've noticed that the vast majority of people mention things like the rolling hills, the fog, the natural beauty, the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, good restaurants, wine country, etc. The people who say "gay" first are usually young or uneducated- definitely not people who do much traveling at all.
But SF doesn't even have the largest Chinatown in the US, NYC does. I'm not saying that SF isn't known at all for Asians, but that SF's most known demographic isn't Asian: its the gay white male. Maybe that will change over time, but in 2014 that really is the view of SF to most people.
Once again, maybe to the uneducated population who know nothing about San Francisco.
Although there is always a back and forth debate, most sources confirm that SF has the largest Chinatown in North America with 100,000-120,000 people. Also, SF Chinatown is widely regarded as the best and most impressive Chinatown in North America. To add, New York's Chinatown is only 45% Asian! San Francisco's Chinatown is over 80% Asian!
Once again, maybe to the uneducated population who know nothing about San Francisco.
Although there is always a back and forth debate, most sources confirm that SF has the largest Chinatown in North America with 100,000-120,000 people. Also, SF Chinatown is widely regarded as the best and most impressive Chinatown in North America. To add, New York's Chinatown is only 45% Asian! San Francisco's Chinatown is over 80% Asian!
When did the topic change to "most impressive Chinatown"? LA's Chinatown is pretty wimpy, but if you head 10 minutes east to the San Gabriel Valley you'll find 350-400k asian residents. Check out the list of cities with significant Chinese-American populations and nothing even comes close to the communities in the SGV.
There's a reason that LA has a larger raw number of asians than any other American city (1,884,669 to NY's 1,878,261 and the Bay Area's 1,005,823), and it has nothing to do with how "impressive" our Chinatown is.
San Francisco is ethnically diverse (mostly among Asian and Hispanic populations) but not socio-economically. And I find it very hard to label a major city in The United States that has a 6% (and dwindling) African American population "diverse". I would say Oakland is more diverse.
SF Chinatown is better than Manhattan Chinatown tho.
But SF doesn't even have the largest Chinatown in the US, NYC does. I'm not saying that SF isn't known at all for Asians, but that SF's most known demographic isn't Asian: its the gay white male. Maybe that will change over time, but in 2014 that really is the view of SF to most people.
When did the topic change to "most impressive Chinatown"? LA's Chinatown is pretty wimpy, but if you head 10 minutes east to the San Gabriel Valley you'll find 350-400k asian residents. Check out the list of cities with significant Chinese-American populations and nothing even comes close to the communities in the SGV.
There's a reason that LA has a larger raw number of asians than any other American city (1,884,669 to NY's 1,878,261 and the Bay Area's 1,005,823), and it has nothing to do with how "impressive" our Chinatown is.
First off, the topic changed when the other poster stated that SF wasn't know for its Asian community and when he said that "SF doesn't even have the largest Chinatown, NYC does." That is what my post was addressing. But since you decided to put in your two cents, this is from YOUR SOURCE
"According to the 2012 Census estimates,[1] the three metropolitan areas with the largest Chinese American populations were the Greater New York Combined Statistical Area at 735,019 people, the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area at 629,243 people, and the Greater Los Angeles Combined Statistical Area at about 566,968 people."
So according to your own source, the Bay Area has more Chinese-Americans than the Greater LA area. And what is the population of the Greater LA area???? 18 million people! What is the population of the Bay Area???? A little over 8 million people!
The San Gabriel Valley is about 28% "Asian" and has a population of 1.6 million people OVERALL. So yes, its high, but we're not dealing with massive numbers here. San Jose alone is about 33% Asian with about 350,000 Asians. And that's just the one city in the Bay Area. The entire Bay Area is 23% Asian with 8 million people!
Congrats, a city with 4 million has more Asians than any other city in America! I guess NYC can claim to be "Blacker" than Detroit because it has a higher overall number than Detroit! I guess LA is "Blacker" than New Orleans or Atlanta! That is faulty logic buddy!
PS- the video you posted isn't very special. Asian markets! Wow! You're right, nothing like those in the Bay Area or just in SF lol.
San Francisco is ethnically diverse (mostly among Asian and Hispanic populations) but not socio-economically. And I find it very hard to label a major city in The United States that has a 6% (and dwindling) African American population "diverse". I would say Oakland is more diverse.
SF Chinatown is better than Manhattan Chinatown tho.
This is a pretty accurate post. The black population in California has been shrinking for years now. Not just in SF, but in most major Californian cities. However, its definitely been the most profound in SF. SF used to be 15% black, now its 6%. Oakland used to be 50% black, now its about 30% black. Richmond and Compton(similar sized cities in California) used to be about 60% black, now they're both under 35% black. East Palo Alto used to be 70% black, now its about 20% black. From 2000 to 2010, SF actually lost more black people overall than any other American city after Detroit.
In regards to socio-economics, SF severely lacks a middle class. There is a relatively large Upper-middle class and a relatively large Lower-middle class. But you lack a strong middle class. The only truly middle class areas I can even name in SF are the Sunset district and MAYBE Glenn Park. I remember a few years ago when San Francisco ranked fairly poorly in both violent and property crimes, especially compared to cities with "rougher" demographics such as NYC or LA(both have a higher Latino and Black populations). The higher crime rates in SF were widely seen to the lack of a middle class and very rich living in very close proximity to the poor.
Yes, Oakland is more racially diverse than SF, primarily because of the growing latino population and decreasing black population in Oakland.
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