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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
Is Seattle a Haven for Asian Americans?
he Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is only 11th largest in the size of its Asian American population (285,000, or about 11.4% of the area's 2.5 million), but it claims one of the oldest and richest slices of Asian American history. Its Chinatown was home to America's first Asian-owned manufacturing business, the Wa Chong Co. The company produced, among other things, a very fine grade of opium, some of which was probably exported to China with the U.S. government's blessings.
Best city for AA?
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Since its birth in 1910 Seattle's atmospheric International District was settled by generations of Chinese, Japanese, Filipino and Vietnamese immigrants. In the late 70s the aging District began enjoying a rebirth into its modern incarnation thanks to Asian American activism in seeking to preserve it as a historical and cultural site. More recently an influx of trendy young AA professionals, entrepreneurs and artists has helped transform it into a vibrant part of downtown Seattle's cultural and night life. The District hosts the Northwest Asian American Theater Company and the Wing Luke Asian American Museum, named after a Chinese American elected to the Seattle City Council in 1965.
On the far end of the Seattle area's cultural spectrum is lush, ultra-modern Bellevue, one of the nation's most affluent communities. Asians make up 20.3% of the students of the Bellevue School District, thrice the 7.3% concentration in the general population of Washington state. This points up the fact that Seattle hosts one of the nation's best established Asian populations. Unlike some urban areas dominated by one or two Asian nationalities, Seattle's AA population is highly diversified, comprising the nations 7th largest Japanese (31,000), the 8th largest Vietnamese (44,000), 9th largest Corean (38,000), and the 11th largest Chinese (58,000) and Filipino (53,000) communities.
The area's Asian Americans take pride in their high degree of acceptance and integration. The fact that the state's governor is a Chinese American named Gary Locke doesn't hurt, of course. Or that the city's major league baseball team is owned by Nintendo chairman Hiroshi Yamauchi and sparked by Ichiro. Even on the grassroots level, one sees signs of acceptance. The ratio of AM/WF couples is noticeably higher than in most other metro areas. A cop who was rude in issuing a jaywalking ticket to a group of Asian Americans last year was reprimanded by the police department. And the ticket was dismissed by the judge.
Is the Seattle area really a haven for Asian Americans? What are the best and worst aspects of AA life there?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:56:41 PM)
What is it with us Asian-Americans and our need to be in close proximity to Chinatown? The reason that Seattle doesn't have as vibrant a Chinatown as some other cities is because Asians such as myself don't live in one centralized, segregated area. We live everywhere in and near Seattle and have access to Asian restaurants and businesses near our neighborhoods. So we really don't have to go to Chinatown every weekend to wrestle the little old Chinese ladies for the freshest gai lan -- We can get that closer to home.
Northwest Asian Boy
Wednesday, April 03, 2002 at 19:10:30 (PST)
Who cares if SF has amusement parks, or if VC is cleaner? VC is in Canada and if you want to move to Canada, you need to pack your passport. If this guy Toi San Joi is an American born Chinese, he should talk about cities in the US, not Canada.
One of the problems with SF is that Asians have the money, the population, but little or no political influence. That's why the black mayor of SF allows all the poor blacks to beat up the poor Asians! And the poor Asians of SF don't fight back! At least in Seattle, the poor blacks aren't going to "cross" the poor Asians unless they're expecting a beating in return (some poor Asian males in Seattle end up in gangs and could care less about the boyz from the hood!).
BTW, why can't the Asian population in SF get an Asian candidate for mayor? Do all Asians in SF just sit there, play bingo and not vote? If Asians don't have any clout in SF (or LA, or NY, or Chicago, or any other "supposedly" great city for Asians), then it's a waste to say that the city is the best place for Asians!
If Asians in SF had any clout, they would be influencing everything in the Bay Area! But they don't!
Toi San Jai Looks At All The Wrong Things
Wednesday, April 03, 2002 at 18:12:29 (PST)
There are no good jobs in Vancouver. People make very little $ and unemployment rate is 10% or more, worsened by the weak Canadian $. HK people are no longer coming and pumping any money. HK economy is at its very worst in History ...
It gets boring very quickly in Vancouver, which is mainly a retirement place for Canadians. Also the Bellevue area outside of Seattle is cleaner and wealthier than Vancouver and it is growing fast with very upscale shopping.
I think Seattle is a much better place for young people with potential for personal growth.
Canadian that lived in the Seattle-Bellevue area
Wednesday, April 03, 2002 at 16:43:08 (PST)
These are come good responses. Before I get anyone confused, I am not from VC. I live in the Bay. I like VC better than Seattle because it looks more like a city. It reminds me a lot more of SF or HK. The downtown area is vibrant and modern. Seattle's is nice, with Safeco Field and the new Seahawks stadium, but the nearby Chinatown area is rundown. The shopping district is okay, with the Nordstrom headquarters, and the original Gameworks, but it doesn't even come close to VC's or SF's.
As far as entertainment/nightlife goes, none compare to SF. First off, where are the amusement parks? Fun Forest in Seattle is a joke. I know Six Flags recently bought Enchanted Forest, but it will be years before we see anything major there. VC has Playland, with the awesome classic "Coaster," but that's about it. In the Bay, we have PGA and SFMW to choose from, and the parks in LA are not all that far either.
Hey, what's wrong with HK people? Without the help of HK people, VC would not be the place that it is. The Canadian government promotes them coming over to pump money into the economy. HK girls are DOPE! They sure know how to dress... rrRRrrR. Oh yeah, I'm first gen ABC, BTW.
Toi San Jai
Eric@KristinKreuk.net
Wednesday, April 03, 2002 at 00:33:07 (PST)
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