Asian Life in San Francisco | Asian American Poll

ASIAN LIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO
(Updated Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 05:09:04 PM to reflect the 100 most recent valid responses.)

Which San Francisco Bay area offers the best environment for Asian Americans?
Downtown SF | 47%
East Bay | 31%
Marin County | 8%
South San Francisco | 14%

What's the best thing about living in the San Francisco Bay area?
Breathtaking Scenic Beauty | 40%
Clean Air | 19%
Lots of Fine Chinese Restaurants | 15%
Asians Everywhere | 18%
Great Universities, Skiing and Wine | 8%

What's the worst thing about living in the San Francisco Bay area?
No Summer Weather | 12%
Perpetual Gridlock | 40%
Too Crowded with Asians | 1%
Shortage of Decent Housing | 47%

This poll is closed to new input.
Comments posted during the past year remain available for browsing.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISING INFO

© 1996-2013 Asian Media Group Inc
No part of the contents of this site may be reproduced without prior written permission.

WHAT YOU SAY

[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]

AC,

"You are definitely mistaken about NYC. I'm intimitately familar with the various Chinese Business Associations in the city. It is such a potpourri of Chinese people it is not even fun these days. As for actual geographical origin of various owners in Chinatown themselves, it is also diverse here in the city."

Dude, I was referring that Asians should introduce new business trends in their neighborhoods or other neighborhoods. Those Chinatown folks you've mentioned in NYC will go into the history books in a couple of years. The fact that there is a current recession and economic crisis in Chinatown is not the fault of the 9-11 terrorist attacks but the lack of innovation and new trends during bad times. Many of the businesses that sell souvenirs in the Chinatown area are hard hit and will close down. Many restaurants/eateries in the area will also share the same fate.

The reasons are

1) These businesses have too many competitors that sell or offer the same merchandise/food.

2) These businesses don't offer unique or different products/food from their competitors.

3) These businesses rely mostly on tourists and not enough on locals as their primary customers.

For example, imagine there were 10 bubble tea shops, 10 Sweet n Tart style restaurants, 20 souvenir shops, and 10 sneaker stores in Chinatown. In good times, these businesses can make enough to get by because they can profit from the booming tourist industry. In bad times, many of them will be weeded out because there are not enough tourists to patronize them. We all know that during bad times, most people are less willing to travel and spend money.

Business folks also need to look at businesses that fail in order to succeed. If you study why businesses succeed and not fail, then you cannot become a successful businessperson.

LSD Monday, June 10, 2002 at 19:04:10 (PDT)

"They may have had humble beginnings, but through persistence, achieve big things."

Exactly! Let's put it this way, if we really want to achieve real success, we can do it. Most of our parents have modest expectations of us. They want us to have a good job, have a house, get married, and then have children. Could ABCs achieve great things in this country besides our parents' expectations? You bet!

"For example, we have Gary Locke who is Toisan...that's the 1st step to something bold among us."-- "Does he even speak any Chinese? He's so Americanized, I don't even consider him to be my brother."

Remember, Gary Locke is still an ABC. He might not speak a lick of Cantonese or Toi San but at least his ancestry is clearly Chinese.

I don't want sound like a whiner, but just look at the average ABC in this country. I don't care whether they live in SF, LA, Seattle or NY, most of them are fuzzy about their surroundings and their goals. I see many FOBs and even people like our parents who are more focused and productive than the ABCs. ABCs have the advantage yet many don't take full advantage of the opportunities.

LSD Monday, June 10, 2002 at 13:41:39 (PDT)

"Hey, I wasn't talking about power. I was trying to say if we became like the Japanese, Koreans and Taiwanese, hell, we'll have the POWER! Why? We dominate in numbers and we represent more than 50% of the Asians outside of Asia. So imagine what would happen if the people from our communities are represented in every facet of life. We'll basically have a MONOPOLY when it comes to Asian representation and influence. I hope many ABCs have bigger dreams than the usual model minority status thing."

There is a bit of a flaw in that logic. Could it be the reason why soooo many Cantonese hane left the motherland is because they had no money and no status in the first place? Unlike Japanese and Taiwanese, who have money back home to back them up, these poor old Cantonese go overseas with little more than the shirts on their backs! That's why many of them end up going to poor old countries in South America, Africa, etc. Anything is better than home!

The Japanese and Taiwanese who leave are more educated, with more financial backing, so that's why they rule the commerce.

However, with that being said, these days, a lot of Cantonese are working with Viets and Viet/Chinese for business ventures. I think Cantonese have a lot more in common with Viets than Taiwanese. There are many parallels in their stories. Now, let me tell you, Viets have one great work ethic. They really know how to do business. They may have had humble beginnings, but through persistence, achieve big things. When they do make it to the top, they aren't all elitist like our Taiwanese friends. They recognize where they came from, and don't change their attitude just because they are rich now. When I walk into the Pho shops, they are generally all happy and smiling even though it's 9 o'clock at night, and they are ready to go home. When I walk into the Taiwanese bubble tea shop (to check out chicks, never to drink that crap) in the middle of the day, the girls working there are rude and obnoxious, like the world revolves around them.

"For example, we have Gary Locke who is Toisan...that's the 1st step to something bold among us."

Does he even speak any Chinese? He's so Americanized, I don't even consider him to be my brother.

"That depends on when you learn it. How you learn it. And how talented you are at grasping accents."

Well, generally, this is the case. For instance, Andy Lau's Mandarin is better than Takeshi Kaneshiro's (born in Taiwan) Cantonese. Yeah, I guess you are right about grasping accents. I took Spanish in HS, and although I don't remember too much of the grammar, I can still speak without much of an American accent. Some Mexicans have commented that I sound like a real Mexican! Las chicas latinas son muy caliente!
TSJ Eric@KristinKreuk.net Sunday, June 09, 2002 at 11:40:42 (PDT)

NEWEST COMMENTS | EARLIER COMMENTS