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Diversity in Phoenix/surrounding
Possibly moving from Oakland, CA

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SEAnative
msg: 1

Sun, Dec 4, 2005, 2:25pm

Hello-

I am a Seattle native (hence the username), but have been living in the SF Bay Area the last few years. One of my favorite things about living here is the diversity... there is such a mix of everything. Including me and my wife. You could easily guess that, being from Seattle, I am white... and I am. And my wife is Mexican.

So to put my question in perspective-- here in the Bay Area, you can't help but notice all the different grocery stores and restaurants and even small businesses that are of other cultures. There are also events and holidays from other cultures that are publicly celebrated all the time. And, to be honest, it is possible to live your entire life in an area like this and never need to speak english. That's just to put it into perspective... my wife of course speaks english just like you or I. She has also lived with me for a stint in my hometown of Olympia, WA, where there is very little diversity, and she loved it there too... because it is a beautiful place. But it is also boring at times. ;-)

So I am just curious as to what the culture is like in Phoenix, or certain parts of Phoenix, or surrounding communities. Can any of it compare to what I had described above? It is not essential but would keep things more lively and interesting, you know.

Thanks.
NickCoons
msg: 2

Wed, Dec 14, 2005, 9:33pm

While Phoenix itself has about 1.4 million, Phoenix is surrounded by suburbs that make up about an additional 2 million people. You're right that there are a large number of hispanics here being so close to the southern border. Also, Phoenix's dining experiences have increased dramatically over the past 10 years, as we now have more square feet of restaurants than New York City. And these restaurants cover the spectrum.

I don't normally get too much into this aspect, so I can't be of much help here.. just providing some of the basic information that I know. I've also never lived anywhere but in the Phoenix metro area, so I can't make a personal-experience comparison.
SEAnative
msg: 3

Sat, Dec 17, 2005, 2:17am

Ah... I browsed the threads in this forum a couple weeks ago and must've confused you with someone else, I thought you lived out in the smaller towns.

I don't really need a comparison with other towns, just basically a bit of a description of what you see around Phoenix. For example, around the Bay Area, it is commonplace to see things like billboards in spanish only. Certainly not something you see in the Northwest.

Just little things like that that I'm curious about.

 


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