Report on Metros Where Immigrants Thrive: San Jose, Baltimore and SF Top 3

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by ion475

I saw some numbers where while the immigrants population in Pittsburgh MSA is small (It's <5% of total population), something like 50% of them are very recent to the area and are from Asia (did not mention which part, though) and 35% are from Europe, 15% Hispanics. That favored "where immigrant do well" demographics...



The Korean population wasn't always in Catonsville/Ellicott City, though...they started off around Station North / Charles Village area only to move to the suburbs around the 1980s or so. You can still see some remnant of Korean businesses in that area like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3121...7i16384!8i8192

But the main businesses are definitely now along Route 40. Not just Korean (although the area is "Koreatown") but also Chinese and Indian business serving the (likely) immigrant professionals that lives in Howard County.

East Asian immigration is definitely different nowaday - the older generation of immigrants were definitely not as wealthy and are more working class - you still see them in SF or NYC. The 2nd wave (1980s-1990s) they're already wealthier and were already living in suburbs.

Take Chinatowns, for example, suburban Chinatowns start to grow in 1980s (i.e. San Gabriel Valley in LA), grew even further in 1990s and on...only for additional Chinatowns to form (i.e. the "suburban" Chinatown in Houston is in Bellaire Blvd, but there are additional Asian businesses in Sugar Land b/c that's where the people live).

Funny thing is my first uber ride in Baltimore, was a pick up there and at the time it was an active homicide scene.

Fwiw Ive also been to this Korean spot around the corner, they have an ecclecic crowd and cheap drinks...


Its just surprising how contained the influence of immigrant business is in Baltimore. It feels hella 'American' to me relative to the cities in New England or New York City. I can see the remains of Chinatown and the 2 Ethiopian businesses trying to revitalize the otherwise super downtrodden area.

[ion475]

Originally Posted by Bluefox

I feel like this is a misleading article. It’s really about where immigrants who have already thrived their entire lives in their home countries go on to thrive even more. And then thrive on to oblivion.

Seems very tone deaf to the overall immigrant experience in this country and I daresay tone deaf to the lived experience of most of this country immigrant or not. Elitism - a recurrent theme it seems.

Edited to add: I’d be more interested in hearing stories about more immigrants to these cities from less fortunate backgrounds and their experiences living in some of the most expensive, exclusive and unequal areas of the nation. Maybe I’ll write to NPR

As somebody already said - immigration to USA is definitely quite bipolar.

On one hand you have the professionals who thrived in US universities then get good paying jobs. Most of them are from countries that are further from US, i.e. East/SE/South Asia or Europe.
On the other hand you have immigrants who are literally economic migrants who moved to US seeking better opportunities, most of them from closer areas like Central America.

That being said, most of the latter are actually fairly hard working people. All those jobs in farms that nobody wants to do? All those labor-intensive jobs (construction etc.)? The biggest obstacle is definitely the fact that US overall has become harder and harder to "climb up the ladder" no matter how hard working you are.

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

Funny thing is my first uber ride in Baltimore, was a pick up there and at the time it was an active homicide scene.

Fwiw Ive also been to this Korean spot around the corner, they have an ecclecic crowd and cheap drinks...


Its just surprising how contained the influence of immigrant business is in Baltimore. It feels hella 'American' to me relative to the cities in New England or New York City. I can see the remains of Chinatown and the 2 Ethiopian businesses trying to revitalize the otherwise super downtrodden area.

Baltimore never really has large immigration from, let say, Asia or Latin America though. That remain of Chinatown is definitely sad - especially when you compare that to the one near Center City Philadelphia.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9553...7i16384!8i8192

Philly itself doesn't have large Chinese migration either (compare to NYC or even Boston) but it does have that classic "urban" Chinatown with that eccentric mix of American buildings and Chinese signs.

DT Baltimore is just sad either way. Total waste of an area with historically nice architecture. I can say the same for the Charles Village / Old Goucher area anyway - it's right there in a prime location and managed to be totally rundown.

BTW...the place you linked to in Baltimore (The Crown) is definitely...weird just looking at picture. But I wonder how long those places will survive. Once the owner is old enough and retire that's likely it.