What's the story with the white people in Prince George County? :) (Bethesda: townhouse, neighborhood)

[ATL_II_DMV]

Originally Posted by TechlawyerinPG

Even as a black parent, those are not appealing stats to me for a school I want my child to attend.
I prefer stats that better reflect the real world.
And there are more than a few Hispanic (and probably more El Salvadoran than Mexican)...the last few years that has changed to closer say 10-15% in many schools.

I know the stats are different now, I was referring to the stats of Oxon Hill / Fort Washington when I was growing up

The Hispanic population has greatly increased since then, especially in the northern P.G. area

I moved to Alexandria, but would probably still send my kids to school at my mother's in P.G. honestly.

My old neighborhood (Indian Queen) is a decent place to live

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by nelumbo

The "Old Greenbelt" core of Greenbelt was a New Deal planned community for lower income workers. The community was originally white-only and did not begin desegregation until a few decades later. The original Old Greenbelt area (now mostly or entirely the GHI coop houses) seem to have retained a relatively high percentage of whites. There are newer developments immediately adjacent to Old Greenbelt, such as the University Square apartments, Lakeside North, and Charlestowne areas. These are mainly rentals and are very diverse. The other "new" sections of Greenbelt along 193 seem pretty mixed, but I am not as familiar with them (only moved to Greenbelt recently).

The Old Greenbelt area is suburban in a rather crunchy granola way. Not a whole lot of retail aside from a few strip malls and the center of Old Greenbelt. The USDA land to the north, NASA to the east, and Greenbelt Ntl Park on the southwest side of Greenbelt kind of hem Greenbelt in with undeveloped/offlimits space.

Somewhere in this area - either Beltsville, Greenbelt, or possibly part of College Park...I saw an Indian population in a small number of representation.

Does that seem about right? Any visible sign? Or not more than any other ethnicity? They might have got the number on some stat from being UM students, than of home-owners. I am not sure though.

Just curious if you know anything about that.

[nelumbo]

I don't know about home-ownership, but there are quite a few Indian retail outlets in the Langley Park area - Sari Palace, several small groceries, Spice World, and some restaurants (Woodlands, Tiffin/Udupi Palace). My rental community in Greenbelt also has a fairly good showing of people of Indian descent - but there are a lot of immigrants in general, from pretty much everywhere. I'm not sure about affiliation with UMCP, but there are probably at least some people who are students or postdocs there or at NASA.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Steelers10

I think you have answered my question well on both counts. Perhaps some of the cultural tension in PG County is a result of a "blacks have taken over" viewpoint. Hence, the more negative aspects of the county become actualized on these discussion boards. In Japan, blacks are a novelty; I would be interested to see if this perception changes with a massive African influx or if there exists a genuine imbrace of this "cool" culture. I just hope Maryland never gets held to a litmus test where a natural disaster forces us to show our true social colors. Would there be an outpouring of support and cooperation, or more of the same "we better watch out for the blacks in PG County and Baltimore". From my recollection, Miami was generally supportive of incoming Katrina evacuees whereas in Houston and Atlanta there was considerable tension.

There won't be a "massive" influx of Africans in Japan. Believe that. Keep in mind in Japan a cop can ask for identification documents at will and are specifically directed to ask foreigners. Also as a foreigner you have to have a passport or identity card at all times.

So they can pretty control the migration levels easier than here.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by EdwardA

There won't be a "massive" influx of Africans in Japan. Believe that. Keep in mind in Japan a cop can ask for identification documents at will and are specifically directed to ask foreigners. Also as a foreigner you have to have a passport or identity card at all times.

So they can pretty control the migration levels easier than here.

True. At the airport, it is not uncommon to see, generally Indonesian or Filipino in groups, handcuffed, and being deported home.

It appears to me that most black in Japan, are generally Africans from Africa. If you go to Ropponggi, you will literally see 200 or so african guys. They work for all of the bars and clubs, and try to promote the bars. I don't know their legal status, they might have got work visas of some kind.

Whereas in that same area, I've seen dozens and dozens of Filipinos being rounded up who don't have ID. But African guys walking around all over the place around those things happening. I think they get a business visa. As long as their legal, they are okay, but will be asked.

IF you are white, they often assume you are Russian. Over where I live in Niigata, there is a port that goes directly to Vladivostok. Many Russian sailors here, and some things have Russian menus. I am often assumed to be a Russian because of it. But even plenty of Americans/Canadians who are caucasian get asked for ID all of the time.

Actually that is true in every country. Even when I spent 10 months in South America, I was constantly asked for ID to see my status. It's really unusual that the US has so many laws against that type of thing.

[EdwardA]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

True. At the airport, it is not uncommon to see, generally Indonesian or Filipino in groups, handcuffed, and being deported home.

It appears to me that most black in Japan, are generally Africans from Africa. If you go to Ropponggi, you will literally see 200 or so african guys. They work for all of the bars and clubs, and try to promote the bars. I don't know their legal status, they might have got work visas of some kind.

Whereas in that same area, I've seen dozens and dozens of Filipinos being rounded up who don't have ID. But African guys walking around all over the place around those things happening. I think they get a business visa. As long as their legal, they are okay, but will be asked.

IF you are white, they often assume you are Russian. Over where I live in Niigata, there is a port that goes directly to Vladivostok. Many Russian sailors here, and some things have Russian menus. I am often assumed to be a Russian because of it. But even plenty of Americans/Canadians who are caucasian get asked for ID all of the time.

Actually that is true in every country. Even when I spent 10 months in South America, I was constantly asked for ID to see my status. It's really unusual that the US has so many laws against that type of thing.

We went to Ropponggi on our trip last year to Japan. You're right about the Africans they seem to be concentrated in that area. I did see some Black Americans, at least I assumed they were since their features were not pure African but very view.

[bballniket]

Tiger Beer, most of the Asian commerce in the county is in Beltsville (Korean), Greenbelt (Indian/Chinese), and Laurel (Indian/Chinese). All three towns are over 10 percent asian, with Greenbelt being around 13% asian if you include those who are part Asian.

[Jaded]

Tiger Beer,

You'll find that most of PG County's reputation comes from the cities that are within the beltway and nearer to SE DC. It isn't because of the AA population either, it's the crime rate and poverty levels that make those cities less desirable. You don't have to stick to the northern parts of PG county either. Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Clinton, Accokeek, parts of Fort Washington, and the community of Woodmore are all nice. I would caution against those areas that are within 2-7 miles of SE DC only for the reasons mentioned above.

I live in Upper Marlboro in a planned community and we have on our block alone 3 white families, 3 mixed couples, 3 single ladies, 1 same-sex couple, 1 asian couple, and 8 african american families. This is just in the townhomes, the single-family homes are much more diverse; but I think this is pretty good given the makeup of the county as a whole. We don't regret moving to our community at all, and have found the stereotypes we were given about PG to be mostly flawed. Good luck in your decision.

[slowlane2]

Here is one prominent Asian from P.G. County Frank Cho - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia His parents still live in Beltsville, according to a lengthy cover article in the "Washington Post Sunday Magazine" last year.

[slowlane2]

My old neighborhood (Indian Queen) is a decent place to live[/quote]

But, did you not hear about the dead body that was just found in Indian Queen, in the trunk of a car, on Kisconko Turn (street) ?

Read the story by clicking here The Washington Post: National, World & D.C. Area News and Headlines - washingtonpost.com and in the search box type "Kisconko".