What's the Indian community like in Cincinnati?

[kjbrill]

The most conspicuous item in this and similar threads is the total lacking of people with the discussed ethnic background joining in and telling the rest of us how it is. They either don't participate in anything of this nature or they don't care. I have to believe they don't participate which tells me they are still withdrawn from the total society.

[flashes1]

KJ: I estimate 30% of my neighborhood in Mason is Indian and 20% is Chinese. They are good people, but very very very very quiet....and rarely outdoors. I was literally knocked off my chair when my wife told me the Chinese family across the street had 13 year old twins.......which I had not seen one time in the two years they had lived there. We are moving to another neighborhood in Mason.....our house in currently under contract with.....you guessed it....an Indian family that's currently living in an apartment. You can't make this stuff up.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by flashes1

KJ: I estimate 30% of my neighborhood in Mason is Indian and 20% is Chinese. They are good people, but very very very very quiet....and rarely outdoors. I was literally knocked off my chair when my wife told me the Chinese family across the street had 13 year old twins.......which I had not seen one time in the two years they had lived there. We are moving to another neighborhood in Mason.....our house in currently under contract with.....you guessed it....an Indian family that's currently living in an apartment. You can't make this stuff up.

I understand what you are saying, and I see similar evidences of both Indian and other asian people in the neighborhoods surrounding me. As you say they are extremely quiet, so it may be misleading how many are really here. At the same time, the school athletic teams use my street as pat of their exercise and conditioning programs. So it is very evident as I watch the kids run by just how many of them are of asian ancestry and it is admittedly high. I also note in the local media how many asians are winning the top awards in the schools for achievement.

I am not sure the reason for the influx into Mason other than they are obviously achievers and Mason represents a non-threatening area to them.

My wife is a frequent visitor to the Mason Community Center, and she tells me it is very obvious the number of asians and middle east who visit there. She says the older people are very set in their historical ways, but their kids dress and behave just like any other kids. I think this is good.

[Briolat21]

As far as not participating..

I think the C-D universe is a fairly small one. In fact forum users in general may be a fairly small universe.

So, wouldn't be surprised to find out that there were lots of different people in the area who could answer these specific questions, but who will never find this message board in order to do so..

[goyguy]

Moderator cut: orphaned

Moving right along...whether it's due to overt discrimination - legal or not - or a "birds of a feather" philosophy, clustering among one's own is a natural human instinct which is writ large when one has left one's homeland. I observed this firsthand when I landed in Japan as a P & G brat many years ago. Because the native language is far too complex (and dissimilar to "Western" tongues in alphabet and grammar) it wasn't an option to attend local schools and jump right in with local peers academically after a year or two of bilingual classes, the way Americans seem to think all new immigrant children to our shores should be able to do. My siblings and I were sent to a private school, founded by Christian missionaries from Canada, instead. It was there that I got a better grasp on how there are three types of immigrants. One arrives thoroughly prepared and eager to assimilate, fully versed in the language and culture or perhaps even born to parents who took care of that aspect for them. The second-smallest group lands without a clue but with an open mind, seeking the companionship of compatriots but not seeing that as a refuge. The largest group - by far - not only seeks the companionship of compatriots but DOES see that as a refuge. Usually this is because of linguistic awkwardness, but that's not to say that ethnic/religious prejudice doesn't play a part for some folks too.
I will always be grateful that my parents fell squarely into the second category. Our immediate, which is to say within the apartment house, neighbors were either originally from India or were Caucasians from the US. A small enclave of Norwegians, Germans, and other White foreigners was a few blocks distant. Aside from that the community was entirely Japanese. That meant learning quickly what "letters" and symbols meant in stores ("Does the sign over the milk give the percentage of butterfat, or is it saying that it's marked down by that much today?") It also meant getting good with sign language. But I can fully understand and sympathize with people arriving in the States from abroad who "seek the companionship of compatriots and see it as a refuge." Even if understanding English is a non-issue, norms of behavior are different and there are all sorts of cultural nuances which aren't the same either. Add to that homesickness that phone calls and Skype can only do so much to alleviate, and you have a household that "keeps to itself" and doesn't search for even online social media outside their own comfort zone. Many were the families in Japan who counted the days until their next return visit to America, or better yet the day they left for good. They lived out their lives in school-related activities, hanging around the sort-of country club minus golf in our city that barred Japanese people from joining, and perhaps getting involved with one of the English-speaking Christian churches. (Either that, or they drank their days away.) Quite a few marriages struggled or collapsed. The identical scenario presents itself in the present-day US: The male (usually) head of household either takes the initiative to advance professionally, or is assigned to a stint in the States, and the family tags along and is left on their own. The toll this takes on some usually goes unnoticed. But a chord was struck with me when a South Asian housewife deliberately opened a van door and jumped out as the vehicle sped down I-75 one day last year. No surprise, the Enquirer did no kind of follow-up investigation - no five-part series on how immigrants assimilate or isolate themselves, no look at how gender roles continue to confine and damage people, etc. You can bet there were quite a few mealtime discussions in certain homes in the aftermath, however.
So-called "clannishness" is also abetted by the way many Americans just plain are: blatantly ignorant and hateful, or two-faced ("I'm not racist but...") Who has the time for sorting out true friends from the rest when you have to get ahead on the job and/or keep the household functioning? It's bad enough for a lot of us natives who do speak the language. Following the path of least resistance is perfectly logical. Many are those born in this country, whose families have been here for centuries, who behave the same as numerous recent immigrants who are "antisocial, you never see them at a block party and they never answer when you say hi." Nobody has gotten on stage to joke about their own culture by way of saying, "It's a Malaysian thang, you wouldn't understand, hahahahaha." But that's the gist of it.
As for what seems to be a concentration of Asians between I-71 and Route 4, that's easily enough explained. Some "pioneers" got there first and were pleased by the suburban surroundings and above-average public schools, then they told two friends and THEY told two friends and so on and so on.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by jlrosen

there is a large indian concentration in gaslight clifton.

Originally Posted by CincyJim

I live in the Clifton part of Cincinnati and there is a decent Indian population running several restaurants, 5, 6, or 7 ???.

Clifton is centered at the intersection of Clifton & Ludlow Avenue, just NW of the University of Cincinnati and has a busy little shopping area and many great homes. Clifton is a very nice part of Cincinnati, equal to the Hyde Park section just not as big.

Originally Posted by Whisman

If the concentration of Indian restaurants in the local community are any indication, there seems to be a sizable population, especially in the Clifton Gaslight area as others have said. Also, on rt. 42 there is an excellent restaurant - New Krishna Indian Cuisine, and across the street is the Patel Brothers grocery.

There is still a sizable Indian population in and around Clifton Gaslight. There are also a lot of middle easterners as well.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by TomJones123

There is still a sizable Indian population in and around Clifton Gaslight. There are also a lot of middle easterners as well.

Of course there is. Many of them are medical professionals so it is natural they would want to live close to work. I would expect nothing less. The fact many of them come here with skills is to me significant. They expect to earn their way, not be wards of the state.

[flashes1]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Of course there is. Many of them are medical professionals so it is natural they would want to live close to work. I would expect nothing less. The fact many of them come here with skills is to me significant. They expect to earn their way, not be wards of the state.

Yes, the Indian and Chinese immigrants' work ethic is amazing, and as a group, they are the wealthiest race in America. Mad props. I do think they should get outside more though, and take better care of their lawns! And smile a little more!

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by flashes1

Yes, the Indian and Chinese immigrants' work ethic is amazing, and as a group, they are the wealthiest race in America. Mad props. I do think they should get outside more though, and take better care of their lawns! And smile a little more!

I understand what you are saying. But if I came from half a world away into a culture where my language is not recognized and my religion may be under attack I may lead a low profile life also. I also would like for especially the older adults to express a more active involvement in the community. But if it was me, I can thoroughly understand why they are reticient.

The good signs are the kids seem to be assimilating quite well. This is good for the future.

[neilworms2]

Yes, the Indian and Chinese immigrants' work ethic is amazing, and as a group, they are the wealthiest race in America. Mad props. I do think they should get outside more though, and take better care of their lawns! And smile a little more!

A lot of these people come from places where they lived in apartments and aren't used to mowing lawns. Plus smiling a lot is an American thing - does not mean they are bad people - to put it into perspective imagine moving to France due to an amazing economic opportunity - a dream job. In that country smiling a lot is rude - seen as disingenuous and I'm sure some Frenchman somewhere would be complaining about you doing it. For me at least that's one area where I'd have a hard time adjusting because that behavior is so ingrained in the way I act and is culturally acceptable and encouraged where I grew up.

So go easy on them for this kind of thing, they tend to be productive highly educated members of society who have an excellent work ethic and that's what counts. There are good people and bad people but in the end they are people.

They may have a certain behavior so ingrained in them that its very hard to change it. As long as said behavior isn't directly harming people so be it.

I'm going to also add that non all the not skilled workers are bad either. Some of the best service I've ever gotten at fast food restaurants was from Mexican immigrants ;-). Also not all of them are non skilled either, a friend of mine was born in Mexico City and his father came here as an architect. People are people.