Most WASP suburbs of New York City? (Rye, Mexico: real estate, broker)
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Many of these suburbs aren't "WASP" at all if we use the criteria of English + American ancestry. For instance Saddle River is 18% Italian, 14% Irish and 9% English/American.
On the other hand, Rye can be much more aptly described as such: 28% English/American, 20% Irish, 16% Italian
Darien CT is 25% English/American, 25% Irish and 18% Italian
One notable feature of "WASP" suburbs is that Irish ancestry is more common than Italian ancestry.
Couple things:
1) Where are you getting these statistics? They don't seem to add up to anywhere near reflect the total non-Jewish white population of the towns in question (e.g. Saddle River, 90% white, 10% jews).
2) Most "WASPs" don't identify as English/American on a census, but rather just plain white, since in America, most WASPs are generally European white mutts. There are plenty of German, Scottish, Nordic, and even Irish WASPs as well even if you go by the strict "White Anglo Saxon Protestant" definition. For example, my wife was raised Lutheran (though not religious today) and is a mix of German, Norwegian and Irish; I'm pretty sure most people would consider her a WASP as she herself does, even though she is not of English descent at all. Heck, by your criteria (English American ancestry), many towns in far upstate NY are more WASP than any of the wealthy suburbs listed.
Then why are there so many "Jewish" suburbs and "Italian" suburbs in the New York area if all white people are basically the same group?
In these suburbs, the Jews and Italians identify as such and there is a distinct culture among them. I would consider Scarsdale and Great Neck to be very "Jewish". Its as much cultural as it is ethnic in my opinion.
Similarly, certain suburbs are more "WASPy" than others regardless of the ethnic composition, which normally does skew heavy toward white and protestant of course. However, others such as Irish Catholics, Italians, Jews and even some Asians now can be considered "WASPy" without being ethnic WASPs in the strict sense of the word.
1) Where are you getting these statistics? They don't seem to add up to anywhere near reflect the total non-Jewish white population of the towns in question (e.g. Saddle River, 90% white, 10% jews).
2) Most "WASPs" don't identify as English/American on a census, but rather just plain white, since in America, most WASPs are generally European white mutts. There are plenty of German, Scottish, Nordic, and even Irish WASPs as well even if you go by the strict "White Anglo Saxon Protestant" definition.
It's a proxy for "WASP", not a perfect measure. Surely the places that have a higher English/American percentage are the most WASP. But the more "WASP" towns will have a higher than average number of Scottish ancestry as well as Dutch and German.
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Heck, by your criteria (English American ancestry), many towns in far upstate NY are more WASP than any of the wealthy suburbs listed.
It's a proxy for "WASP", not a perfect measure. Surely the places that have a higher English/American percentage are the most WASP. But the more "WASP" towns will have a higher than average number of Scottish ancestry as well as Dutch and German.
Indeed. But the question is about NYC suburbs.
And what are the English? The original inhabitants of Britain were the Picts. The Celts took over. Then the Latin's ruled Britannia. Then the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came in, along with Vikings and at a later date the Norman French.
So even those coming directly from England centuries ago would have shared a lot of genetic heritage with people across the continent. Not counting the fact that Europeans from all over always came to the US, even during the colonial period.
Then why are there so many "Jewish" suburbs and "Italian" suburbs in the New York area if all white people are basically the same group?
These are cultural and political units. Any of those people are free to leave those communities and marry whoever.
And many have done so.
There's the assimilated population of white Americans, and there are those comparatively recent white americans who chose to maintain some sort of ethnic identity.
It's a proxy for "WASP", not a perfect measure. Surely the places that have a higher English/American percentage are the most WASP. But the more "WASP" towns will have a higher than average number of Scottish ancestry as well as Dutch and German.
Indeed. But the question is about NYC suburbs.
Come to think of it, England was Catholic until Henry the 8th and there are still "English" Catholics.
The whole concept of WASP is just silly US politics.
And what are the English? The original inhabitants of Britain were the Picts. The Celts took over. Then the Latin's ruled Britannia. Then the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes came in, along with Vikings and at a later date the Norman French.
So even those coming directly from England centuries ago would have shared a lot of genetic heritage with people across the continent. Not counting the fact that Europeans from all over always came to the US, even during the colonial period.
Europeans coming from "all over" during the colonial era is a bit of an exaggeration. Most were from the British Isles and almost all the rest came from northwestern Europe.
Last edited by King of Kensington; 02-11-2015 at 04:38 PM..
Europeans coming from "all over" during the colonial era is a bit of an exaggeration. Most were from the British Isles and almost all the rest came from northwestern Europe.
The South and West were French and Spanish, and there are a number of Americans with heritage from these countries.
In the 1800s, after colonialism many European immigrants from Europe anglicized their names and joined the "mainstream" US population.
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