Has the actual number of "white people" gone down in Fairfax County in the last twenty five years? (Annandale: how much, quality of life)

[yamota]

I went to my niece's recital and it seems like every other kid's last name was either sun or sung, or chung or lee or zung or park or jong

[OrangeFish]

Originally Posted by spencgr

I, on the other hand, find most of the people in this region have a varied mix of friends who socialize amongst cultures.

Very true. Except for Yankees fans. I put up with them but tend not to socialize with them.

[Lucky★]

With this map you can zoom out to anywhere in the U.S. to find a place that is just right for you -

Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census - NYTimes.com

[Novadhd5150]

Originally Posted by Lucky★

With this map you can zoom out to anywhere in the U.S. to find a place that is just right for you -

Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census - NYTimes.com

wow, interesting.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Workaholic?

I want to know what happened to the white people who used to dominate Fairfax County. Are they still here, or has the huge increase in ethnic minorities and immigrants caused a white flight of these old fashioned Americans to more traditional places like the rest of VA, NC, Tennessee, or Ohio where most people are just regular folks

The only "white flight" I see is younger folks from the NoVA suburbs moving into DC because they enjoy a more urban lifestyle. I've lived here 20 years and it doesn't seem much different now from then.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by Workaholic?

In my experience the Greeks hang out with other Greeks, People from Egypt hang out with other people from Egypt and those from Morocco hang out with fellow countryman. The population has become balkanized and don't mix. It is not like a group of white 5th Generation Americans making new friends with a new comer to the area from Wisconsin!

That usually disappears after a generation. How many Irish or Italian neighborhoods are there anymore? Kids have this funny habit of befriending and marrying kids from other cultures.

[Carlingtonian]

Originally Posted by Workaholic?

I do like my neighbors and on a personal basis I usually like the ethnic minorities and immigrants that have taken the place of the white people who left.

I have no personal distaste for the browning of the Fairfax County population, but still wonder where all the white people went to!

I'm glad you added this, as the subject line had me kind of wondering.

As others have noted, there's been a lot of immigration into the US in the last 40 years. (The previous large wave [Irish and Italians] was 1880-1920 or thereabouts.) This last wave, most of the countries worth getting the hell out of (due to wars, starvation, poverty) have been populated by folks who are not white.

In addition, the newer groups tend to have more children than do European Americans (barring exceptions like Mormons and traditional Catholics). Their native countries are more recently agricultural, where it pays to have a big family, and we haven't been mostly farms since I don't know--the 1920s? Maybe before that?

Some people will always feel discomfort when new people show up. But I'm reassured when I think of how just about every Mexican American back in Texas speaks English with an American accent or even a Texas accent. And it works in reverse; my great-grandparents would perhaps have been horrified to know that I grew up eating tacos at home.

Ain't that America.

[Bull Run Paradise]

For what its worth, I was just taking a day trip to Shepherdstown, WV and its apparently a magnet for retirees. Had dinner at the Bavarian Inn and overheard some conversations from nearby tables from retired CIA folks (all "white" as far as I could tell) so it would seem like they're moving to places with lower cost-of-living and a slower pace of life.

[Workaholic?]

Wild and Wonderful West Virginia is one of the whitest places in America. The Panhandle of WV, which is within commuting distance of Washington DC, is booming and nearly everyone is white! I wonder if the people who live in places like Charlestown are in fact escaping from the "New America" and want to live in a place similar to where they grew up but still work in the DC area with its higher wages. I also notice that Frederick County MD is booming and full of white people.

* In today's politically correct world few people would admit they moved to a place because they felt more comfortable being around a majority white population but I suspect deep down many Washington DC area refugees who moved to places like Harpers Ferry, Martinsburg, Winchester, Frederick and Charlestown actually moved there for that very reason.

Originally Posted by Bull Run Paradise

For what its worth, I was just taking a day trip to Shepherdstown, WV and its apparently a magnet for retirees. Had dinner at the Bavarian Inn and overheard some conversations from nearby tables from retired CIA folks (all "white" as far as I could tell) so it would seem like they're moving to places with lower cost-of-living and a slower pace of life.

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Workaholic?

because they felt more comfortable being around a majority white population

Please explain why an area that is not "majority white" makes people (assumingly you, too) uncomfortable?