Immigrant communities you wish Pittsburgh had (and where you'd put them) (Mars: crimes, homes)

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by escilade18

I say that the Mon Valley could really use a revamp which I believe that immigrant communities could bring.

There are few job opportunities in the Mon Valley, previous waves of immigrants moved there for jobs.

Not vice versa.

The last thing the Pittsburgh area needs is for waves of immigrants from China or Sweden or wherever moving to the area just to chill.

[ebyrnes]

I would love to have immigrants from the Mid East move to the north side (selfishly, for their good food). Some folks from Turkey and Greece would be great as well. I would be thrilled to have any person move here if they are willing to keep the 'hood clean and relatively crime free. We have a decent foundation here in Marshall-shadeland (transit, library, mixture of housing stock), we just need decent people to move in and help to move the riff raft elsewhere; let Cranberry deal with them for a while.

[Johnland]

Living Tampa, I would love to see a much bigger Hispanic population in Pittsburgh. When I move back to Pittsburgh, I'll miss that element of the culture here. Also, much more Asians would be a boost since they typically have the highest education levels and incomes. Would boost the economics of the city.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

There are few job opportunities in the Mon Valley, previous waves of immigrants moved there for jobs.

Not vice versa.

The last thing the Pittsburgh area needs is for waves of immigrants from China or Sweden or wherever moving to the area just to chill.

Immigrant communities which have formed as refugees in the U.S., such as Cubans, Vietnamese, etc, have managed to contribute quite a bit to regional and national economies as well.

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Answering my own question, while I think it would be great if there were some new immigrant communities, I would prefer if we see a rise in diversity sort of similar to what Minneapolis-Saint Paul has seen - some components which are seen nationally (Chinese, Mexican, etc), but a few distinctive groups which aren't found in large numbers elsewhere (Hmong and Somali in the case of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, but it could be something else of course here). It would help add to the uniqueness of Pittsburgh, rather than just making it feel more like everywhere else in America.

Have the Somali immigrants to Minnesota been good for their area? They're specifically controversial to a lot of residents in urban parts of Ontario (Toronto, Ottawa, for example). Disproportionately responsible for crimes previously not seen to the same degree, like swarmings (not sure if this is a term used here, but it's like a mugging, except done by a whole group of people against one or two, usually much more violent) and gun crimes. With that said, those brought to Canada are disproportionately refugees who never seem to really adjust, and so I wonder if there's a difference between them and those who come to the US, who are maybe from a different immigrant background (skilled workers? I don't know). Refugees from middle eastern backgrounds have disproportionately been trouble as well, contrasted with those who come from different immigrant backgrounds to Canada and start businesses, have educated kids, and so on.

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Immigrant communities which have formed as refugees in the U.S., such as Cubans, Vietnamese, etc, have managed to contribute quite a bit to regional and national economies as well.

I think that refugees and immigrants are two different phenomena.

Refugees are people that the federal government agreed to place in the United States because of political unrest or warfare in their native countries, and they go to the communities where there are social service agencies willing to assist them. These refugees really don't have a choice of coming to Pittsburgh, they might just as soon be placed in Australia, Canada or other nation willing to help in one int'l effort or another.

Immigrants come here on their own for opportunities in the region- whether its Ukrainian or Polish peasants seeking an entry level position in coal excavation in the 19th Century or later on, African Americans in the south looking to switch careers from agriculture to steel production in the 20th.

Refugees are certainly fine to come here too, provided our economy is growing enough to support them, immigrants presumably wouldn't bother making the trip unless there was opportunity already here.

[SolitaryThrush]

There are tons of students from the Middle East here, mostly living in Oakland, Shadyside, and East Liberty. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sponsor them to study English and do graduate work abroad, and Saudi students are the fastest-growing among international student nationalities. Problem is, for this thread's purposes, there's nothing keeping them here once they graduate.

There are also refugees from Somalia living in Northview Heights: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/...merica-664578/

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by SolitaryThrush

There are tons of students from the Middle East here, mostly living in Oakland, Shadyside, and East Liberty. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sponsor them to study English and do graduate work abroad, and Saudi students are the fastest-growing among international student nationalities. Problem is, for this thread's purposes, there's nothing keeping them here once they graduate.

Foreign students aren't immigrants, and their foreign sponsors probably wouldn't be too appreciative if a lot of them did stay (in violation of their original visas).

[sparrowmint]

Originally Posted by SolitaryThrush

There are tons of students from the Middle East here, mostly living in Oakland, Shadyside, and East Liberty. The governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sponsor them to study English and do graduate work abroad, and Saudi students are the fastest-growing among international student nationalities. Problem is, for this thread's purposes, there's nothing keeping them here once they graduate.

There are also refugees from Somalia living in Northview Heights: From Somalia to Pittsburgh: Bantu refugees find cause to celebrate new lives in America - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Well, that's the wrong way to put it. More like, there's plenty forcing them to leave. Namely, US immigration law.

[Goinback2011]

I would like some Jews to move to Pittsburgh from Eastern (and other parts of) Europe

You'd have to use Mr. Peabody's WayBack Machine to have that one happen.