[gypsychic]

When we lived in Lakeland, I noticed a larger-than-normal amount of Asians compared to anywhere else I lived or visited in Florida. Especially Japanese. Not sure why. There were numerous Asian restaurants and businesses there of all varieties as well.

[davephan]

It depends where you go in Florida. I’ve heard that there’s only about 30,000 Asians in Florida. I don’t know if that’s true. However, if you go to the Wagon Wheel swapfest in St Petersburg on Saturdays, you’ll see the outdoor flee market area has a very large number of Vietnamese people selling produce. Plus many other Asians that are walking around buying things. Although when you travel around Florida, you don’t see many Asians, probably because there aren’t that many compared to the state’s population, and they are so spread out across the state.

[payutenyodagimas]

if good paying jobs are plentiful like in CA, i would like to relocate to Miami. the weather/climate is good for raising all those tropical fruits/vegetables.

been there one time and driving outside Miami reminds me of home..it is no different from a countryside from 3rd world country

and the water everywhere seems inviting? for a dip..reminds where i came from where you can just jump on the river and have fun

but then, aside from the gators, Miami is literally a floating mass of land. it would take a lot of taxes to keep the water away, especially as the ocean keeps on rising

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by sinatras

Asians value public schools. They know that Florida is not known for the quality of its public schools.

I'm Asian myself, Asians know that family and hard work play much more of a role than arbitrary school rankings in terms of success long term

[Bulok]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

I'm Asian myself, Asians know that family and hard work play much more of a role than arbitrary school rankings in terms of success long term

Agreed, you see it commented here in Citydata quite frequently how Asians flock to certain neighborhoods because of the school rating/district. I often ask myself do the Asians move there because the school is good or does the school score well because the Asians are there?

I got straight As in my school and I didn't even realize my school was a poorly rated one. My cousin who was mediocre back home (he had to have tutoring) was an honor student when he moved to the US.

[Ocean_blue_sky_1999]

Asian (Taiwanese/Japanese) here, and I’m very curious about the same thing.

For one thing, the weather here is almost identical to the one in Taiwan. When I went to Anna Maria Island for the 1st time I almost burst into tears as it basically looked like the rural beachside we frequented when we were little in the ‘80s. Some beaches in Taiwan were also known for its sugary white sands. More freakishly, there’s a bridge currently being built (slate to finish in 2024, designed by the famed Zaha Hadid architectural firm.) that shares very, very similar silhouette/style as Sunshine Skyway.

I’ve been pleasantly meeting fellow Taiwanese people in SRQ area, there are far than I thought. My dentist is a wonderful gentleman born & raised in Singapore, by way of Chicago. I also know there are sizable Taiwanese scattered around Jupiter/Aventura/Coral Gable areas. Orlando is indeed the biggest Asian community in FL.

I thought there are quite a lot of Philippine communities in Jacksonville due to the military presence, no?!

I would love to see more Asians here. We need more presence and representation because the majority of us are friendly, warm and grounded people.

[FL_Expert]

It predominantly has to do with historical immigration patterns. Florida has a long history of receiving immigrants from South America and the Caribbean, not Asia. Florida is slowly becoming more Asian as time goes by through domestic migration. My area is around 10% Asian, though I believe the statewide average is somewhere around 3%.

[Roger Lessman]

I've always assumed it had to do with geography. For immigrants, or even native born Americans of Asian descent seeking to maintain ties with relatives in Asia, the west coast allows for a more reasonable travel time. That said, we're talking 5-6 additional hours by plane, but perhaps these patterns were in place before air travel became common. Then again, maybe it's just that Asian people don't like Key Lime pie and Pub Subs.

[cfenn006]

Originally Posted by gatorlyn

There is a Jollibee in Jacksonville, FL by the way. There is a decent sized Filipino population there due to the military ties. I think most Asians, when they started migrating to the US targeted the bigger cities where the majority of the work/jobs were. The ones who came after were inclined to relocate closer to where they had relatives or knew people, and so on.


I don't think Florida was such a big draw back then as far as Asian immigration, since not much work available, (maybe different for those coming from Latin countries but more so due to proximity), so you don't have the huge populations like California, NY/NJ.

Seriously, a Jollibee!?!
I got to check that out, now if I can only find a place that serves Halo-Halo (Learning how to spell it first might help)

[hokiepoke]

Originally Posted by cfenn006

Seriously, a Jollibee!?!
I got to check that out, now if I can only find a place that serves Halo-Halo (Learning how to spell it first might help)

The spicy fried chicken from Jollibee will make Popeye's spicy chicken cry. My favorite whenever I'm nearby.