Japanese presense at all in Sacramento? Or good Asian presense? (San Francisco: crimes, houses)

[sunrise82]

Sorry, I kept writing kind where I meant kid. This is my tiny netbood writing.....he he he...

[Jimbo15]

If you were looking to find a neighborhood where your wife and child will find people who look like themselves, I am not sure Southside Park would be your first choice.

In the era of enforced racial covenants, Southside Park was a neighborhood where asian people could buy property and as a result there are some legacy institutions that date back to that era.

But Southside Park was a very dangerous neighborhood in the 70's and even into the early 80's. T street was where the local streetwalker's and drug dealers did there business. Ceasar Chavez ran his marches to Southside Park and to the local Catholic Church across the street which was and still is the national shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Southside Park is a neighborhood that is improving, but can still be pretty sketchy especially at night.

If you are looking for a neighborhood where your wife and kids can find people who look like them with fewer issues of personal safety, Greenhaven, Land Park (especially South Land Park), Elk Grove or Davis would all probably be much better choices.

If you are willing to expose your wife and child to a neighborhood with similiar levels of crime and pedestrian access, then that would also open up a lot more neighborhoods to consider in Oakland, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville and Fremont.

[mrc136]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Actually statistically, it appears that Sacramento is around 16-17% Asian...which I LIKE. How much of a presense do they really have?

Additionally, and perhaps a bit more interesting to me. I'm white American who has lived in Asia for years, and currently living in Japan with a wife and son. My son is currently an infant, but I plan to be in Japan for another 5 years or so, where he'll know a lot of Japanese. Is there a sizeable enough Japanese influence in Sacramento where he could use or practice Japanese in some kind of Japanese community or business community or something? Or not really?

If not, how is the general Asian population IN FEEL beyond the statistics? Do they seem prevalent? Or are they mostly just in the suburbs with seemingly little presense/influence on Sacramento?

Tiger Beer, There is quite a large Asian presence in the Sacramento Area, but not a very large Japanese population. I am a college student at Sacramento state, and most of the Asian students I know are second generation and seem to affiliate themselves with the African American/ hip-hop subculture more than Asian culture. They are also either Chinese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Thai, etc... South East Asian. There is a Japanese supermarket on fruitridge though....

However, Sierra College in Rocklin of all places has the highest concentration of actual Japanese. They have a Japanese exchange student program and there are probably hundreds of Japanese students at that school. (I know because I went there).

In summation, yes Sacramento has a lot of Asians, but they are not anything like the Japanese. I know because I live in sacramento, and have spent a little time in Japan. So coming from Japan you would notice a huge difference between Asian Americans vs Japanese.

I would look toward San Francisco for a larger Japanese presence.

[NorCal Dude]

I've always felt the majority of the Asian presence was hmong

[wburg]

Depends on the neighborhood. In Southside there are still neighborhood businesses whose signage is all in Chinese (not even an English translation), which indicates a lot of native Chinese speakers and first-generation immigrants, even in the parts of town that have had Chinese residents since the Gold Rush. There are a lot of Hmong/Mien immigrants here, Vietnamese and Cambodians for the past few decades, and a growing Thai and Korean presence in the outer suburbs, but I don't think the Hmong people represent a majority.

[mattinsac]

You may be right. The Other Asian Category with 28.5% of the Asian population is largest category for Asians in census for the city of Sacramento . The Other Asian category in Sacramento is likely to be mostly Hmong, so they may be the largest Asian population in the city.

Sacramento city, California - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2005-2007

For what its worth, in Elk Grove the largest Asian community is Filipino, followed by Chinese and then Vietnamese. A lot of the Asians are moving out to Elk Grove for the same reason a lot of white people moved out of the cities in the 50's and 60's to get their children into better schools in bigger homes for less money in the suburbs.

Elk Grove city, California - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2005-2007

There are proportionately more Asians in Elk Grove than in Sacramento as well, with 27.5 of the population of Elk Grove being Asian as opposed to the 19.3% in Sacramento.

Elk Grove is better educated than Sacramento with 35.1% having a bachelors degree or more vs 28.7% in Sacramento and has a higher family income $54,629 in Sacramento vs $87,155 in Elk Grove.

[quasi888]

Tiger Beer, I think mrc136 has really hit the nail on the head. As it pertains to providing an atmosphere where your son could apply his Japanese language skills, the 16-17% statistic doesn't imply very much at all, considering (a) Japanese represent a fairly small percentage of that group [I grew up in southern California with mostly Japanese American friends, and noticed that the JA population was much smaller when I moved up to Northern California, even in San Francisco); and (b) the majority of that Japanese group are most likely nisei, sansei, and yonsei -- born here, with limited Japanese proficiency.

The largest community of JAs in the Sacramento area I have seen is at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. (The have an annual bazaar that is quite popular.) That would probably be your best bet -- they even have a Japanese language school on Saturdays.

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[NorCal Dude]

Either way I feel sac for a city of its size has a large asian demographic of many different sub groups. Every time I have friends or family visit out east they are amazed by the abundance of cuisine in simple suburbs like Elk Grove.

[Suericio]

off topic but i always thought elk grove was ghetto?

[Majin]

It is ghetto.