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You are only inferior if you let people make you feel that way. I am Chinese and I identify as so even though I've been growing up here since I was 4 and a half. I can do and do do all the things that are included in American culture (heck, when I was a kid, I even screamed my head off to a Backstreet Boys concert), I have no accent except for maybe a slight southwest Virginian drawl, and yet I still proudly retain my culture and celebrate all the Chinese holidays and write perfect Chinese calligraphy. Bottom line is, stop being worried. There are people who are going to judge you no matter what race/gender/type of person you are. And quite frankly, it is just too bad for those people because in the end, it is them that feel uncomfortable and them that have to deal with their complex. Keep living your life, keep doing what you do, and if someone tells you you're inferior---clock them over the head with a handbag -_-. Even if you didn't have your accent, even if you weren't from a foreign country, you may be judged simply because you are a woman or you're black or white or tall or short. Its unavoidable. Happy trails and keep your head up.
SmerkyGrl, Thanks for your reply. I agree with everything you said, however it is tough to live in an area where there is little 'foreign' acceptance. Where we live now I am the only foreigner in a 98% white, mormon (LDS/religion) neighbourhood and despite feeling pretty good about who I am and where I came from, I do feel like an outcast at times. So I just want to make sure I am moving to a better area and not worse than what I experience right now. There are states with little foreigners and therefore people are not willing to get to know you - call it, fear of the unknown! I just want to be in an area where people are more willing to make friendships without worrying about race/color/accents and etc. :0) Fab
SmerkyGrl, Thanks for your reply. I agree with everything you said, however it is tough to live in an area where there is little 'foreign' acceptance. Where we live now I am the only foreigner in a 98% white, mormon (LDS/religion) neighbourhood and despite feeling pretty good about who I am and where I came from, I do feel like an outcast at times. So I just want to make sure I am moving to a better area and not worse than what I experience right now. There are states with little foreigners and therefore people are not willing to get to know you - call it, fear of the unknown! I just want to be in an area where people are more willing to make friendships without worrying about race/color/accents and etc. :0) Fab
Ah well in that case, I assure you NoVA has plenty of diversity. Its why people were complaining in this thread, isn't it? :P I'm pretty sure you'll find yourself at home. As I said, there'll always be the people who give you the evil eye but in the end, its their loss and their issue. There are plenty of "foreigners" in NoVA to support you and share your culture.
Hi everyone, this post has left me worried. We are about to move to VA and I am a foreigner. I am wondering if this 'negative' felling towards foreigners is common in northern VA or just in certain areas.
It's more like just in certain people, some of whom like to post here. NoVa in general has a high proportion of foreign-born and foreign-educated folks and they are an integral part of all of our communities. For the vast majority of us, this is one part of what makes the area so interesting. There are people here from almost everywhere. In Fairfax County, the local schools make official communications available in all of English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, and Urdu. That's what we look like here. But there will always be some few reactionaries who find that sort of thing somehow unpatriotic or whatever. It's generally safe simply to ignore them...
I'd like to co-sign to everything SmerkyGrl and saganista said.
Fabforever, don't be worried in the slightest about being a foreigner in Northern Virginia. People here are very accepting of diversity. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I'm not a fan of Northern Virginia at ALL but I will give it credit where it's due and will say that I have lived in some of the most diverse areas of the country (New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, etc.) and have to say that Northern Virginia without a doubt is the most integrated, accepting and racially harmonious place that I have ever lived. Don't let the few bad apples in this thread, some of whom purposely only post inflammatory posts to rile people up (known in internet speak as "trolling"), spoil things for you. They are not representative of the majority of people in Northern Virginia.
So I just want to make sure I am moving to a better area and not worse than what I experience right now. There are states with little foreigners and therefore people are not willing to get to know you - call it, fear of the unknown! I just want to be in an area where people are more willing to make friendships without worrying about race/color/accents and etc. :0) Fab
In NoVa, you're more likely to have the reverse problem. In some areas, a foreigner might seem mysterious and exotic and so come almost automatically to people's attention. Here, where it's highly likely that you'll hear half a dozen different languages being spoken during a 30-minute ride on the Metro, another someone from someplace else is, well...just another someone from someplace else. Welcome to the club. You'll have to do some actual work to stand out from the crowd here...
All of you nice people should write your Congress members now! otherwise things will only get worse. Please take a few minutes and send an e-mail to your Senator and House of Rep. Then VOTE at the next election.
Congress is about to give a free pass of thousands of illegal immigrants and sign them up to our already stressed system. These will be people who have not paid into the system but will receive all the benefits. That bothers me. Pay your share and then get benefits. Not break the law by sneaking into the country and then take a free ride.
Most all us have immigrant backgrounds - you may need to go back a few generations or it may be recent. So to all the hard working immigrants who pay their taxes - Thank you.
Thank you everyone for your replies and I am glad to hear Northern VA is accepting of foreigners. Here where we live, I feel isolated and a lot like an alien/ET. I think I get asked where I am from a thousand times a day and sometimes I even have to explain that in my country we DO NOT live on trees and other misconceptions like that… You guys wouldn’t believe me if I told you all the weird things people ask and assume of me (for being a foreigner) over here! :0) It is funny to see how things change from state to state and I think I will be able to have more of a social live once we move. Don't get me wrong, ID is not that bad, it just lacks the diversity and acceptance that I need.
meMesa - I agree with you, my husband and I went through a long and very expensive immigration process to bring me here. We did it the right way and paid for everything, all the paperwork, medical exams, interviews and etc. My husband is actually upset about the fact that some immigrants might get a free ride. But it is such a complex issue, I don't think people will ever reach an agreement on what to do and what is best for the country. But I will stay out of that conversation; it is too controversial, especially here in the board and there are too many different opinions on the subject.
Fab, you wouldn't have any problem in McLean. The children at the local school bus stops were born in China, Japan, India, Mexico, Colombia. The American kids have lived in France, Korea, Poland, Italy, Spain, Greece, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Argentina with their Foreign Service parents. In fact, our kids are in the distinct minority having been born in this country and never having lived overseas.
It's been my experience that most people in northern Virginia don't have issues about "foreigners" because many of their neighbors fit that description. Many do have concerns about ILLEGAL immigration, for reasons having less to do with accents and more to do with crime, overcrowding in apartments and small houses, and having large groups of young, unemployed men hanging around parking lots seeking work.
Actually, Northern Virginia is very "White" in comparison to other metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, which has become much more ethnically diverse since the decline of the aerospace industry in the 90s and subsequent middle-class population exodus. The San Fernando Valley, once the bastion of WASP conservatism, has become one of the most ethnically diverse areas within LA if not the country. Iranians, Armenians, Mexicans, El Salvadorians, Koreans, et al, all live in the Valley.
However, Northern Virginia is much more diverse than Baltimore's or Richmond's suburbs, which remain much more culturally "Southern."
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