Why do whites move away so often when other races move in? (Los Angeles: fit in, house)
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So, I was wondering how can mexican immigrants afford living in LA area since the house prices are so high - even for native born american?.
Stick as many people under one roof as it takes. If you've got 6 people making $8/hr, that's still more income under that roof than the average family has.
Technically, but he's from Spain, so he wouldn't be Latin American.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia
Stick as many people under one roof as it takes. If you've got 6 people making $8/hr, that's still more income under that roof than the average family has.
Back in the early 2000's, I knew a guy who shared a 1 bedroom apartment in Riverside with 5 other people.
My friend: busboy
His wife: cleaning lady
His kid: a 5 year old, the only competent English speaker in the house
His friend: a cook
His friend's wife: cleaning lady
His cousin: busboy
They paid $5 (something) hundred a month. It was quite a setup, my friend, his wife, and their kid took the bedroom. The other married couple had a little cordoned off area with a small bed in the living room, and his cousin had the couch.
I´ve just read another discussion about California and it made me feel totally desperate. People were discussing their reasons of leaving CA. Many claimed that the taxes are too high, others said something about discrimination of gun holders, gay propaganda... and whole lot of people were really scared of how their place has changed from 70´s. They said things that really hurts me. One person said: "I´m tired of hearing spanish ads in Walmart and seing mexican parents walking down the street with their 15 kids. Bye Bye Cali. I´m moving to Texas."
Another one said something like: "I don´t feel like this is US anymore. Even the job offers requires being bilingual."
Another: "California has become a 3rd world country. I can´t wait to move out."
This is insane! First of all, it was such a hard work of your ancestors to build this beautiful golden state called California. So don´t run away and protect what is yours! There aren´t any other San Franciscos or Mullholland drives in the US. California is unique. It was a state the whole world was envy about so how can you just say "bye bye?" Running away is so easy.
Once again I love people of all races but what is too much is too much. The number of immigrants is simply too high and government seems to be unable to make any move. You can´t allow them to steal your country.
This all reminds me of the ancient Rome. The Rome empire was like the USA of that time and it ended up so bad because the number of barbarians outnumbered the number of Romans. First, the immigration was a great contribution for the Rome´s economics but later it was rightly the outcontrolled immigration problem that went to the end of the empire. Not so many people know the fact that many romans were even too lazy to have their own kids and so during the time even the army became more barbarien than roman. Their civilization was degenerating throught the years and one day they realized that there is no way back - because their world was lost forever.
And this seems to be happening with America these days. It´s a downward spiral that is faster and faster. I think I read somewhere that in the early 20th centrury most of immigrants were qualified european workers, while today most of the immigrants are unqualified poor mexicans. And this is putting America down. However, the same is happening here in Europe. Many arabians are coming to France, Germany, Italy ....my country is next on turn.
While we´re so openminded we are highly confused of their behavior. They don´t want to asimilate with us. They speak their onw language and act the same way they acted in Iran or whatever state they come from. Many of them don´t even work and just live from our social benefits. They´ll be 10% of the population very soon. In many schools where they make 40% and more they insult native europeans by words like: "You dirty christian."
Can you believe that? Strangers that should be grateful to us that we let them to come to our country are acting like they are the masters and we´re their slaves. They are building minarets where they contrive plans to destroy us. If a christian people builded a church in the middle of Teheran - they would be burned alive.
I´m very off topic and I´m so sorry for that. I´m just a very sincere person and this is on my mind.
To summarize it all - I think that if you´re an immigrant and you want to live in a strange country, you should learn their language, behave like them and try your best to make your new country a better place. You can´t just take, you also have to give. And this is what I want to do. I love America, your culture and everything. I love it maybe even more than you natives. On the other hand, if you let strangers to come to your country, you shouldn´t run from them - you should try to live with them and show them the right way. If the newcomers are unprogressive ones who don´t wanna adopt your culture/laguage - just escort them out without any regret. Because it would be pretty bad if the greatest nation in the world died so early after it´s birth.
OP, re-read your last post, then re-read your question, and you have your answers.
I left CA because the parts I really like are too expensive and quality-of-life (job/income potential, commutes, etc) prohibitive. Basically, I only like the mountains.
So I went somewhere else. The cultural stuff doesn't bother me, in fact, I enjoy CA's culture far more than I enjoy the culture where I am now. I think some people just like a scapegoat (illegals, politics, etc) for their own personal problems/inequities.
I'm sure at least half the people who want to leave, wouldn't leave if somebody wired $20 million dollars into their account today.
There are so many people here on the CA forums who have left and come back, some who have left and come back just in this forum's short history! They're not coming back because they hate it.
So love it or leave it. If somebody leaves, all they're doing is making room for somebody else.
OP - I have to say you have received some excellent and well reasoned answers to your questions about why "white flight" occurs and that it's not limited to whites only now.
I've lived in California all my life, exept for a 3 year tour in the army and am nearing my 64th birthday - yikes!
I have lived in Los Angeles since July 1994 and have seen many changes in that time. I live in the Highland Park area of LA which is directly between downtown LA and Pasadena. HP is heavily Hispanic, probably 85% to 90%, based on my observations only. I stick out like a sore thumb as I'm white with gray hair and blue eyes so I don't blend into the demographics too well - LOL!
Anyway; in spite of that my experience, for the most part, has been very good. Life here is basically what you make of it. If you expect the best, that's usually what happens. If you go around looking for the bad, then that's all you will see. It isn't perfect; I have had words with a few people on occasion but that would happen even if I lived in a lily white neighborhood - trust, maybe even more so!
I don't worry about what language people speak (I don't speak Spanish except for greetings etc.) although I have worries about things like the high drop out rates in schools etc. Still, in spite of the complaining I do sometimes, I love California. If I leave it will be to go someplace with great scenery like Utah, Colorado, Arizona, etc. and not about taxes, immigration issues or any of that. It takes time for new immigrants to acclimate and there is a tendency to hang onto what they know such as language and customs.
Some of my best experiences in LA have been with total strangers that don't match my demographic. So if you come here, just be open to others and don't assume anything.
Hi there,
this topic might be a bit ridiculous but I hope you will understand me. I have never been to the USA, I´m a white european but I´m planning to move to USA very soon. I just love your country, your architecture and that I could enjoy travelling through deserts in Nevada or visit old plantations in the South. I have read a lot of threads here and I was in a daily contact with american boy of my age for 3 years. I´m interested mainly in LA, Dallas and Atlanta.
However, I learned some informations that were shocking for me and I just need to know your thoughts about that. The most shocking information was the "white flight" thing. For example Atlanta. When blacks moved in (in the 60´s), whites moved out to suburbs and to northern parts of the city. Today, all southern suburbs are mostly black, but blacks still keep moving even far down to south where whites live, and when they move in - whites move out and the previously middle class neighbourhood becomes rundown. I even heard a man saying: "They (blacks) are marching through the main street and nobody´s safe."
Well, I thought LA could be a bit better, but then I read a thread called "where did the walley girls go?" and some people said that whites are moving away from CA because of increasing number of hispanics.
This really makes me feel miserable. I wanted to ask you some questions:
1) are hispanic people in the USA really that bad or is it just the ignorance of whites?
2) If I didn´t care about the demographics and moved to a minority majority neighbourhood (like Whittier for example) - would this be OK for me? No hate just because I´m white?
3) Are really so many whites leaving SoCA to Oregon, Arizona, Nevada...etc? If yes, I think California might become more Mexico than USA and that wouldn´t be cool in my opinion.
Just to let you know, I hope this won´t cause any racism here. My last sentence was a bit strong but I meant it like I want to live in the USA, not in the Mexico - and I have really nothing against mexican people. I met a latino girl here in EU and she was so fantastic. She was very kind and intelligent. And I also had a black friend, who was also pretty inteligent and nice. We could talk for hours and hours.
Anyways, I really hope I didn´t insult anybody since I love people of all races from my heart. Also, I hope you´ll excuse my english. I´m just a bit worried about the things I found out and I thought that only native americans could help me...
wow, this is almost like a TROLL posting but I think you are serious. Let me give you my opinion:1-Whiteflight is nothing like it was 20, 30 or 40 years ago for starters. 2-people leave the inner cities or the surronding areas like Atlanta and yes, Los Angeles because of crime more than because people of different races move in. 2-many people are more comfortable with those they understand and share customs with. This was why areas and neighborhoods were thought of as Irish, Italian, Jewish, Asian for so many years. Not only do whites moves to certain areas others do as well. Take Lincoln and Boyle Heights: one time Jewish, then Italian and now Mexican. Glendale used to be lilly white, middle to upper middle class protestant: now, it is still a nice place to live but it has a high population of Armenians. This isn't bad, just fact. We could go on and on about this, it is just the way people are. Some areas are family friendly, some primarity retired people and others gay and lesbian friendly.
1940 - majority non-Latino white
1950 - ethnically and racially mixed, large white plurality or perhaps bare non-Latino white minority, but white flight hasn't really started yet. The demolition of Chavez Ravine will set that in motion.
1960 - ethnically and racially mixed, white flight fully underway, Latino and non-Latino white numbers probably pretty close to equal
1970 - majority Latino, white flight continuing, some non-Latino whites, some Asians. White middle class is gone. White working class declining but still present.
1980 - overwhelmingly Latino. Some Asians. Very few non-Latino whites. Gang and drug problems becoming worse. White flight has been completed.
1990 - like 1980, even more overwhelmingly Latino, but middle class/lower middle class Latinos begin leaving, Gang and drug problems are getting even worse. Tiny number of non-Latino white creative types and druggies. The number of non-Latino creative types will increase as the decade progresses.
2000 - overwhelmingly Latino. However, non-Latino white creative types have moved in. The hipsters are beginning to follow in their wake as they usually do. Latino and Asian creative types also coming in.
2010 - still majority Latino, but more non-Latino whites than there have been since the '60s. Plenty of hipsters, most but not all of whom are non-Latino whites. Middle class professionals have come in. Creative types not priced out thanks to RE crash, but when/if the economy recovers and if rents start soaring again? A rough edge remains but definitely safer than late 20th century. Most happening L.A. neighborhood. "The Sunset Strip has moved east". Troublemakers from outside (esp. 714 and 909) beginning to come in.
2020 - ????????
what you need to do is go to the library or amazon.com. Textbooks are written about this subject. It is a complex issue and no one here is likely to give you an unbiased answer. This is a socialogical/human geography kind of question (that was my major and it is incredibly interesting and the more you learn the more it will make sense, frustrate you, and hopefully even give you hope. Please look into a cultural geography textbook, a sociology/demography textbook and look online for books about white flight that cover this subject in it's entireity.
Truly, the situation in LA is quite different than what happened in the south, in Chicago, etc. The hispanic migration is a bit different than the white flight we associate with the south and chicago.
To sum it up though, people don't want to deal with crime. Some white flight is based on fear. Other white flight I believe is based on the fact that too often low-income families bring with them thier thug children who have not sufficiently learned how to operate in a civilized enviornment. This is not race specific, you will find plenty of low income whites who fit this description and there are plenty of cities (such as Spokane) where I live, where the bad sides of town are still primarily white people. I believe the term is "white trash" though I hate that term.
And no, I would not recommend that you move to a minority area as a white European. Please first find a safe place (basd on crime rates, reviews, etc. ) and explore from there. Then you can decide where to move.
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and it is incredibly interesting and the more you learn the more it will make sense, frustrate you, and hopefully even give you hope. Please look into a cultural geography textbook, a sociology/demography textbook and look online for books about white flight that cover this subject in it's entireity. 
