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I mean...you're using a Candian definition of diversity. Which I won't because Canada is a diversity-challenged nation in general. At least when compared to other countries in the Americas
If everyone from Europe and Asia wealthy/ dynamic nations many of whom has similar histories and cultures-its not diverse.
I mean should we really parse out all the various white, black, Latino, and Asian ethnicities in Boston? No, we just don't do that in America. Because those differences generally are not that great.
The cultural differences are less drastic than Boston and I would seriously consider Vancouver the least Diverse major N-A city aside from Portland.
Obviously, Boston has much, much, much more racial diversity and a wider range of continents and socioeconomic diversity represented. No realistic way you could say Vancouver represents as wide a range as Boston. I have nothing left to say in that regard.
It doesn't make it not diverse. It just makes there a lot of White and Asian People.
Not to get into the middle of this, but diversity really is multi-tiered. Racial, Linguistic, National Origin all need to be factored in when weighing diversity.
Not going to get into Baltimore, but when you weigh all three, Boston is clearly more diverse than Vancouver. Numbers-wise along with the eye test on the ground.
As Boston Shudra mentioned, there is really not much in terms of diversity in Vancouver that you cannot find in significant numbers in Boston, outside of the Sikh community, which is present in Boston (including multiple organizations and temples) but not a major part of the community like in the Lower Mainland. On the flip side, Boston has communities that really do not register in any significant numbers in Vancouver, quite a few for that matter.
Even then-I had a Sikh teacher in High School in Boston.
Realistically there are very few cultures you won't come across in Boston if you live there for 10+ years.
Ironically the immigrant group most common in the US (Mexicans) is one of few that are nearly absent in Boston. I've met only 2 or 3 Mexicans in Boston in 27 years.
Boston is MUCH wider because of significantly larger groups from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Not sure about African ethnicities.
Per wiki, 30% of Vancouver is Chinese. Not Asian. Chinese. No ethnic group comes remotely close to dominating Boston like that. Also per wiki, the largest group in 2011 was Irish at 16%, but I’m sure that percentage decreased over the decade.
Again. I'm not talking about percentages of groups, but how many groups are represented.
You say Boston has a wider range. I gave a link that states Vancouver has over 200 ethnic groups.
I'm not saying Boston isn't diverse, or perhaps more diverse, but it is NOT, as you stated MUCH wider.
The urban core of Greater Boston is notably low, compared to expectations formed in many similarly sized metros in the Northeast, in terms of descendants of non-Jewish central Europeans (German, Swiss, Austrian, Hungarian, western Slavic - the funny thing is that I think Lithuanians were more common than Poles in Southie; there's also a historically important Albanian community rooted in Southie) and Mexicans. Central America ex Mexico is well represented, as are Lusophone nations. It's a lot easier to find good linguica/chourico than, say, ready-made sauerbraten or brotchen of types more easily found in other metros. (It's nice to be able to get kimmelweck at Wegmans. I miss hard rolls, in the NYC area sense; like good baguettes and good bagels/bialys, if they are *good* they are breads that are best bought just before the meal at which they are eaten, and stale in a matter of an hour or two - it's a sign of higher quality.)
Again. I'm not talking about percentages of groups, but how many groups are represented.
You say Boston has a wider range. I gave a link that states Vancouver has over 200 ethnic groups.
I'm not saying Boston isn't diverse, or perhaps more diverse, but it is NOT, as you stated MUCH wider.
How many ethnic groups are there in Boston?
realistically we go by naitonality....No one knows how many ethnic groups are in Boston. I'm certain that type of data is not available, i certainly cant find it. Not how we view things in the US. Ethnicity in the US is synonymous with nationality and sometimes even race.
Like African Americans alone are probably 100 different ethnicities stemming from Africa, technically.
White Americans in Boston are probably another 50. It's just a silly exercise IMO.
It's MUCH wider because Vancouver only touches on two continents. Full stop. You're just banking on (hoping) having a ton of different ethnicities that Boston doesnt. But in reality, they're extremely similar in a global context because they live in the same country, similar mannerisms, similar entertainment, eat the same food, and are indistinguishable from one another to everyday joes in the Western World.
You say Boston has a wider range. I gave a link that states Vancouver has over 200 ethnic groups.
The source doesn’t list the ethnic groups. Moreover, having a single family from Chile in the metropolitan area isn’t going to have much of an impact on the area’s culture. That’s not a good measure of diversity.
The article even then goes on to say that at least 50% of visible minorities in the Vancouver area are either Chinese or South Asian.
The urban core of Greater Boston is notably low, compared to expectations formed in many similarly sized metros in the Northeast, in terms of descendants of non-Jewish central Europeans (German, Swiss, Austrian, Hungarian, western Slavic - the funny thing is that I think Lithuanians were more common than Poles in Southie; there's also a historically important Albanian community rooted in Southie) and Mexicans. Central America ex Mexico is well represented, as are Lusophone nations. It's a lot easier to find good linguica/chourico than, say, ready-made sauerbraten or brotchen of types more easily found in other metros. (It's nice to be able to get kimmelweck at Wegmans. I miss hard rolls, in the NYC area sense; like good baguettes and good bagels/bialys, if they are *good* they are breads that are best bought just before the meal at which they are eaten, and stale in a matter of an hour or two - it's a sign of higher quality.)
There are indeed more Lithuanians than Poles in Southie although neither is probably more than 2-4k in population.
Albanians are growing but generally more present in Connecticut. A lot of the new Eastern Europeans live in Dorchester and Hyde Park. My local Greek pizzeria (you cant tell by "House of Pizza" in Hyde Park eventually became an Albanian one (I asked). The Massachusetts Albanian American Society was founded in 2006. There's a viral Albanian rapper/celebrity promoter from Boston as well..https://lawire.com/vasjan-zisi-the-b...a-and-da-baby/ 'Vasjan Zisi'
Study: Connecticut has the top Albanian population "Nearly 6.5% of the U.S. population who claim Albanian heritage lives in Connecticut. While residents with Albanian ancestry make up only 0.3% of the state's total population, that amount is 5.5 times greater than the percentage of Americans with Albanian ancestry"
When you're in Vancouver, you definitely feel immersed in an International city. There are so many different Asian and European accents heard just walking along the street. Vancouver has a large number of Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, British, Irish, German, Scandinavian and Australian immigrants. I remember going into a random pub and at least 2/3 of the white people had British, Irish, or Australian accents - that's something that would never happen in most American cities. There are also many sections of the city and metro where you can get immersed in environments that feel like you are in Asia, with no one understanding English and everything feeling very foreign.
The thing is - as people have pointed out - Vancouver is missing immigrants and people whose heritage is from South America, Central America, Mexico, and Africa. Those are huge gaps that Boston just does not have. In terms of well-rounded diversity, there's no doubt that Boston has more of it. To put it bluntly, Vancouver is missing Hispanics and Blacks. Boston pretty much has all continents covered. Its most glaring group that is missing are Mexicans, but this is not a strength for Vancouver either.
So in my mind Boston is clearly more diverse. However, if you were to ask me which city feels more international, that would be a much tougher call. I could see compelling cases for both cities in that regard.
Again. I'm not talking about percentages of groups, but how many groups are represented.
You say Boston has a wider range. I gave a link that states Vancouver has over 200 ethnic groups.
I'm not saying Boston isn't diverse, or perhaps more diverse, but it is NOT, as you stated MUCH wider.
How many ethnic groups are there in Boston?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
realistically we go by naitonality....No one knows how many ethnic groups are in Boston. I'm certain that type of data is not available, i certainly cant find it. Not how we view things in the US. Ethnicity in the US is synonymous with nationality and sometimes even race.
Like African Americans alone are probably 100 different ethnicities stemming from Africa, technically.
White Americans in Boston are probably another 50. It's just a silly exercise IMO.
It's MUCH wider because Vancouver only touches on two continents. Full stop. You're just banking on (hoping) having a ton of different ethnicities that Boston doesnt. But in reality, they're extremely similar in a global context because they live in the same country, similar mannerisms, similar entertainment, eat the same food, and are indistinguishable from one another to everyday joes in the Western World.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boston Shudra
The source doesn’t list the ethnic groups. Moreover, having a single family from Chile in the metropolitan area isn’t going to have much of an impact on the area’s culture. That’s not a good measure of diversity.
The article even then goes on to say that at least 50% of visible minorities in the Vancouver area are either Chinese or South Asian.
Considering there are 56 ethnic groups in China and 2000 in India, it’s not surprising that Vancouver has 200. Not sure why that exercise would be worth while, as you would be hard pressed to meet a Canadian or American born person who could easily differentiate more than maybe a dozen from each. They would just call them Chinese or Indian.
Not taking away from the variety and uniqueness that exists in each country of course, but if you really dig into the numbers then you could make the same ridiculous claims for most large cities.
When you're in Vancouver, you definitely feel immersed in an International city. There are so many different Asian and European accents heard just walking along the street. Vancouver has a large number of Chinese, Korean, Indian, Filipino, British, Irish, German, Scandinavian and Australian immigrants. I remember going into a random pub and at least 2/3 of the white people had British, Irish, or Australian accents - that's something that would never happen in most American cities. There are also many sections of the city and metro where you can get immersed in environments that feel like you are in Asia, with no one understanding English and everything feeling very foreign.
The thing is - as people have pointed out - Vancouver is missing immigrants and people whose heritage is from South America, Central America, Mexico, and Africa. Those are huge gaps that Boston just does not have. In terms of well-rounded diversity, there's no doubt that Boston has more of it. To put it bluntly, Vancouver is missing Hispanics and Blacks. Boston pretty much has all continents covered. Its most glaring group that is missing are Mexicans, but this is not a strength for Vancouver either.
So in my mind Boston is clearly more diverse. However, if you were to ask me which city feels more international, that would be a much tougher call. I could see compelling cases for both cities in that regard.
Ultimately what you're saying Vancouver is more integrated. This in large part is due to the fact that there is less difference and differences socioeconomically/in terms of education between Asian immigrants and white Canadians than between white Bostonians and virtually another racial group in the city.
Add to this fact that there weren't racial covenants, redlining blockbusting in Vancouver (as is the case with all of the western US/Canada) so its obvious it's going to feel more integrated.
Downtown Boston feels far less international than Fields Corner, Upham Corner, East Boston, or even Hyde Park/Allston IMO. It's another one of those things where when you're in Downtown Boston youre really only seeing the same 2/3 types of people and not a representation of the metro and certainly out of the city...
A lot of that is due to the fact that everything in central Boston is priced at ultra-premium..., and also that Boston has many self-contained neighborhoods and cities with their own mixed-use corridors. No reason for a regular joe to go to downtown Boston.
If Boston were as Asian as it is Latino or as Asian as it is black it'd likely feel more integrated. But maybe not as Asians are relatively poor in Boston proper (not the metro).
Literally all of Boston's 80%+ white neighborhoods are located in central areas
Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site
West End, Charlestown, South Boston are all also pretty central (next ring out) and part of a tourist experience and are all at least 72% white.
Last edited by Yac; 02-24-2021 at 12:14 AM..
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