San Francisco, most diverse city in the USA? (San Jose, Long Beach: upper-class, real estate)

[MikeNigh]

Almost everyone I've met is either not originally from the USA or has lived abroad (not exactly normal for an american). Plus there are so many Asians here the whole area is nearly a china town. Lots of Mexicans who are regulars and speak spanish. Almost entirely spanish and japanese(?) radio stations.

As someone who has lived abroad I keep track of when I come across real immigrants or people who have really lived abroad (especially not just Europe). In the office I work at there is about 20 people and only 2 are american. Of those 2 they both have lived abroad. Is San Francisco the most diverse city in the USA?

[ccm123]

I think LA is even more diverse. LA has more African-Americans, Armenians, etc.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

It it the most Asian big city, although I can't rightfully claim that is the most diverse.

I agree that LA is more diverse, and NYC is also way up there (and has much greater representation of many groups from EMEA and the Caribbean than anything here out West).

[HappyinCali]

NYC, la, Chicago, Oakland are all likely more diverse. Especially nyc

[sav858]

It's not even the most diverse city in the Bay Area.

[rkwalton]

I'm one of those Americans who has lived abroad and I agree that I meet a lot of people here who've lived overseas. But I now live in an area that's mostly Asian. It's not a bad thing and an easy adjustment for me as when I lived abroad I lived in an Asian country, but in NYC I had diversity on my block(s) (I moved a couple of times while I was there) and you don't see that a lot here. I'm not saying that NYC is an ideal melting pot, but you can live in an area with hipsters (young whites mostly), Puerto Ricans and Hassidic Jews - and that's totally normal.

I also felt it was more diverse because you not only had an Asian population but also Afro-Caribbeans, Africans, and Latinos from various countries, and European immigrants too.

San Francisco IS diverse, but I don't think it's the most diverse city in the USA by a long shot. It does have a high population of well-educated and well-traveled people. On that it probably ranks VERY high.

[Gentoo]

Oakland is more diverse than SF. Within CA Long Beach would also be more diverse.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

Almost everyone I've met is either not originally from the USA or has lived abroad (not exactly normal for an american). Plus there are so many Asians here the whole area is nearly a china town. Lots of Mexicans who are regulars and speak spanish. Almost entirely spanish and japanese(?) radio stations.

As someone who has lived abroad I keep track of when I come across real immigrants or people who have really lived abroad (especially not just Europe). In the office I work at there is about 20 people and only 2 are american. Of those 2 they both have lived abroad. Is San Francisco the most diverse city in the USA?

I think it is one of the most diverse... I see Whites, Asians, Blacks, Indians, and Hispanics everyday. I also see many interracial couples.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by MikeNigh

Almost everyone I've met is either not originally from the USA or has lived abroad (not exactly normal for an american). Plus there are so many Asians here the whole area is nearly a china town. Lots of Mexicans who are regulars and speak spanish. Almost entirely spanish and japanese(?) radio stations.

As someone who has lived abroad I keep track of when I come across real immigrants or people who have really lived abroad (especially not just Europe). In the office I work at there is about 20 people and only 2 are american. Of those 2 they both have lived abroad. Is San Francisco the most diverse city in the USA?

I would say no, SF for sometime has been losing some ethnic and racial minorities. Oakland and San Jose are more diverse than SF. San Jose has twice the Hispanic population 30% vs 15% with admittedly less non-Hispanic whites 28% vs 41%. SF is becoming more of an upper-class city, while the other large cities in the Bay Area are more economically diverse, and racially diverse. Fremont perhaps not so much, since it is majority Asian, not majority minority like the other 3.

Sacramento is also somewhat more racially diverse than SF. California has a lot of racially diverse cities, so SF has tough competition if it wanted such a title.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by cardinal2007

I would say no, SF for sometime has been losing some ethnic and racial minorities. Oakland and San Jose are more diverse than SF. San Jose has twice the Hispanic population 30% vs 15% with admittedly less non-Hispanic whites 28% vs 41%. SF is becoming more of an upper-class city, while the other large cities in the Bay Area are more economically diverse, and racially diverse. Fremont perhaps not so much, since it is majority Asian, not majority minority like the other 3.

Sacramento is also somewhat more racially diverse than SF. California has a lot of racially diverse cities, so SF has tough competition if it wanted such a title.

Due to the high real estate costs SF isn't as diverse ethnically as one might think - I think it's now only about 6-7% African American. Unfortunately the color that counts these days is green.

In Fremont, the ethnicity breakdown is 50% Asian, 33% Caucasian, 14% Latino/Hispanic, 3% African American. Asians are not a monolithic population - they comprise many different ethnicities/cultures, so it isn't completely accurate to just say because a city is majority Asian, it isn't diverse. Fremont's Asian population in particular isn't just Chinese and Indian (which by itself have many ethnic/linguistic subgroups), there are lots of other groups such as Filipinos, Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thais, etc. Not to mention Afghanis and Persians too.