# American "ethnic" neighborhoods in other countries



## miamipaintball (Jul 11, 2008)

goschio said:


> There are several American army towns in Germany.
> 
> The newest one is near Grafenwoehr. This is basically a purpose built town in Bavaria for American soldiers . On first sight it looks like any other german suburbia but when you look closely you see the little differences. Instead of Volkswagen and BMW you see lots of pickups and american brands. Also note the baskteball courts and all these trampolines (American like to jump on trampoline?). And of course the lack of walkways along the streets. This is basically little America with American supermarkets (selling american products and accepting US dollars) and american schools.




the car thing is because German cars are cheaper in Germany, and the American dollar is weaker than a euro.

so owning a jap or american car is cheaper.

i know cause im from germany and live in the USA, actually from schwienfurt bavaria, where the biggest army base is, my mom told me her town use to have bball courts, checked them out and they were turned to soccer courts.

and yeah lack of sidewalk is horrible


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## LtBk (Jul 27, 2004)

goschio said:


> There are several American army towns in Germany.
> 
> The newest one is near Grafenwoehr. This is basically a purpose built town in Bavaria for American soldiers . On first sight it looks like any other german suburbia but when you look closely you see the little differences. Instead of Volkswagen and BMW you see lots of pickups and american brands. Also note the baskteball courts and all these trampolines (American like to jump on trampoline?). And of course the lack of walkways along the streets. This is basically little America with American supermarkets (selling american products and accepting US dollars) and american schools.


Looks like a typical American exurb than a German suburb.


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## חבר1.0 (Jan 19, 2010)

Tel Aviv has a suburb called Ra'anana that is home to many Americans (as well as British, Australians, Canadians and South Africans and South Americans).


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## Medaart (Jan 20, 2009)

RawLee said:


> I hope there arent any here. Assimilate or GTFO.:cheers:


Just like my belgian friend said, there are a lot of Hungary people in Rotterdam too. They are not even asked to fully assimilate. Just integrate but even that gives trouble so I think you should talk to them with your wisdom.

(No little America's here either just a lot of diplomats and expats in the Hague.)


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## socrates#1fan (Jul 1, 2008)

I wouldn't see why Americans would have trouble blending in areas such as Europe (especially if they are Euro-American). In addition, America is sort of a final destination, working class Americans don't typically move in larger numbers to other nations, which also prevents little Americas.


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## Zehneh (Oct 10, 2009)

Americana is a city (município) located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. As of the year 2000, Americana had around 203,000 inhabitants.

The original settlement evolved around the local railway station, founded in 1875, and the development of a cotton weaving factory in a nearby farm.

*After 1866, several Confederate refugees from the American Civil War settled in the region*. Following the Civil War, slavery was abolished in the United States. In Brazil, however, slavery was still legal, making it a particularly attractive location for former Confederates. Among them, there was William Hutchinson Norris, a senator from Alabama. Due to Italian immigration at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, *only some 10 percent*of the current population are of Confederado descent and about a dozen English-speaking families remain in the area.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americana,_São_Paulo


Santa Bárbara d'Oeste (Portuguese for West Saint Barbara) is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. The population in 2006 is around 200,000 inhabitants and the area is 272.27 km². The elevation is 1,886 ft (575 meters).

*In the late 1860s Confederate refugees from the American Civil War (known as Confederados) settled in the region*. Among them, there was William Hutchinson Norris, a senator from Alabama. Their descendants still hold an annual Confederate picnic on the second Sunday in April that features typical southern American foods like biscuits, fried chicken and hot dogs, as well Confederate songs sung in Brazilian-Portuguese accents.

Santa Barbara has several museums and tourist attractions, including the Immigration Museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Bárbara_d'Oeste

At the end of the American Civil War in the 1860s, a migration of Confederates to Brazil began, with the total number of immigrants estimated in the thousands. They settled primarily in Southern and Southeastern Brazil: in Americana, Campinas, São Paulo, Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Juquiá, New Texas, Xiririca, Rio de Janeiro and Rio Doce. But in Santarém, Pará – in the north on the Amazon River – and in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco received a significant number of American immigrants.[2]

(...)

It is unknown just how many immigrants went to Brazil as refugees from the war, but unpublished research in the records of the port of Rio de Janeiro by Betty Antunes de Oliveira counts some 20,000 Americans that entered Brazil from 1865 to 1885. Of those, an unknown number returned to the United States as conditions improved there. Many immigrants renounced their U.S. citizenship and adopted Brazilian citizenship.

The immigrants settled in various places in Brazil ranging from the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to the northern Amazon region (especially Santarém) and Paraná in the south. But most of the Confederados settled in the area around present-day Santa Bárbara d'Oeste and Americana – this, derived from the name Vila dos Americanos. This was the name given by natives in the region because of its American population.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Brazilian


The Confederados are an ethnic sub-group in Brazil descended from 10,000 to 20,000 Confederate Americans who immigrated chiefly to the area of the city of São Paulo, Brazil after the American Civil War. Many returned to the United States, but descendants of Confederados have intermarried in Brazil, live in many different cities, speak Portuguese and consider themselves thoroughly Brazilian.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederados


Lives of seemingly endless despair motivated many to relocate. An estimated 3 million Southerners abandoned their homes in the former Confederate States. They moved all over - to Texas, out West and even to Northern states. Many left the United States altogether despite language difficulties, distance and expense, never to return. 

Many migrated to Mexico, Canada, England (pro-Confederacy during the war), Venezuela or numerous other foreign locations. But the most popular country of Southern emigration *was Brazil*. Southerners were energized with the favorable news that Brazil rolled out welcome mats for them, provided cheap land and, for good measure, threw in cheering crowds, parties and serenades. 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/dec/17/confederados-forge-new-cultural-identity/


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## xzmattzx (Dec 24, 2004)

Good point by many that the U.S. is a destination for immigrants, and not a leaving point. Another good point was that Americans abroad aren't immigrants, but ex-patriates (implying a temporary move for business instead of permanent residence).


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## Jaborandi (Nov 19, 2006)

During the Viet Nam war, there was a flourishing Yank community of draft dodgers and deserters on Baldwin Street, a neighbourhood in the centre of downtown Toronto. It was concentrated around a funky store called The Yellow Ford Truck, so named for the vehicle which brought some of them here. All traces of their presence have now been replaced by an army of cafes and restaurants.


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## isakres (May 13, 2009)

Ex-pat communities can be found in Chapala, Ajijic and Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco down here in Mexico. There is a noticeable ex pat community in San Miguel de Allende as well.


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

Medaart said:


> Just like my belgian friend said, there are a lot of Hungary people in Rotterdam too. They are not even asked to fully assimilate. Just integrate but even that gives trouble so I think you should talk to them with your wisdom.
> 
> (No little America's here either just a lot of diplomats and expats in the Hague.)


Dont tell me they get by with hungarian Americans (and other immigrants also) refuse to speak the local language here.:nuts:


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## VBurd2128 (Jul 20, 2010)

Zehneh said:


> Americana is a city (município) located in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. As of the year 2000, Americana had around 203,000 inhabitants.
> 
> The original settlement evolved around the local railway station, founded in 1875, and the development of a cotton weaving factory in a nearby farm.
> 
> ...


It's amazing the things they didn't teach us in school when I was growing up. I'm not surprised the Civil War was taught from a Yankee perspective, as I grew up in the north, but they didn't even mention this whole Confederate "move to Brazil" post-war thing at all.


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

RawLee said:


> I hope there arent any here. Assimilate or GTFO.:cheers:



Now thats a rather interesting attitude. 

Given that back in the days of the Eastern European immigration we used to have some rather sizeable Hungarian neighborhoods in US cities like NYC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, etc, still quite a few Hungarian traces left.


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

bayviews said:


> Now thats a rather interesting attitude.
> 
> Given that back in the days of the Eastern European immigration we used to have some rather sizeable Hungarian neighborhoods in US cities like NYC, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, etc, still quite a few Hungarian traces left.


As I already asked here, do they speak in hungarian with you, or in the stores, in schools, everywhere? 'Cause thats what immigrants from the "west" do here, only use their own languages.


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## city_thing (May 25, 2006)

the spliff fairy said:


> This is something like a misnomer. Although London has many links and history with America, there is no America-town.
> 
> There's something like 250,000 American residents in London but they blend in with the locals - like the comparable French/ Italian/ Irish/ German/ Spanish/ Australian/ Canadian etc communities, they may run separate institutions, schools, businesses, traditions, celebrations and places of worship, but they rarely congregate these and don't visibly stand out. There's no ex-pat culture where rich communities fence themselves off from the locals like in the ME or Asia.


London has a very famous Australian 'ghetto' though - Earl's Court/Shepherd's Bush etc.

Being Australian/British, I used to loathe passing through those areas on the Tube and hearing the awful "awwww g'day maaate faaaarken hell" coming from the area's residents. Always bought a tear to my eye, and not for sentimental reasons.


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

RawLee said:


> As I already asked here, do they speak in hungarian with you, or in the stores, in schools, everywhere? 'Cause thats what immigrants from the "west" do here, only use their own languages.


For the most part, yes. I've gone into stores many times if I'm in a hispanic area and haven't been able to communicate with anyone because they speak Spanish. I have a Cuban friend from Miami who only speaks English, and he said he's had a REALLY hard time in Miami when he goes back to visit. He'll be in entire sections of the city and can't find people in stores or anywhere who speak enough English to communicate with him. They all look at him really suspiciously because he can't speak Spanish. Like he's some freak since he looks Cuban enough...

Polish is another big one in Chicago where everyone in the churches, stores, on the streets, etc. all speak Polish and nothing else. My friends parents and grandparents have been here for 20 years and still only know a few words of English. I have a better time in the Polish neighborhoods though with people at stores who speak English. People take note that I'm obviously not from that area, but they speak enough English that I can get through fine.

I was in a Serbian area a few weeks ago and had to have my friend help order us food because the people in the restaurant didn't know any English. It was definitely a funky little place!


Another big one is the Asian population. I live near the Little Vietnam area in Chicago along Argyle Street. Normally though you can get through with the key English words in the stores, but certainly it's difficult if you're wanting to walk around having a conversation. There are plenty of schools, stores, newspapers, churches, TV stations, etc. etc. that function in many other languages in our area.

I'm sure in places like NYC it's just that much bigger.

I was surprised to learn that in much of the Midwest, German was in fact the first language used in schools and in daily life up until WWI. Then the transition to English started.

My grandparents grew up in a collection of small towns in southwest Iowa that fully functioned in Swedish, with a small Russian population at one end of town as well. They got along pretty well according to my Grandmother, but they couldn't really interact with one another very well. Broken English was their translation language.

I've gone back to that town now though, and although signs are still in Swedish and you can certainly tell the heritage, most everything spoken is now in English.


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

RawLee said:


> As I already asked here, do they speak in hungarian with you, or in the stores, in schools, everywhere? 'Cause thats what immigrants from the "west" do here, only use their own languages.


As you probably know, most of the Hungarians that came to the US arrived during the 19th & early 20th centuries, with a modest uptick after the 1956 uprising. Most spoke primarily Hungarian. 

Today most Hungarian Americans are 3rd or 4th generation, so they mostly speak English but many do retain some Hungarian culture & customs. Add to that there are still quite a few Hungarian churches in cities with sizeable Hungarian populations. 

I'd be surprised if the children of the immigrants you get in Budapest won't be speaking fluent Hungarian, & many of the immigrants themselves will probably learn enough Hungarian to get by.


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## BrickellResidence (Feb 4, 2008)

there's 500,000 more americans living in mexico city, most of them lives in La Condesa neighborhood and Santa Fe. there's about 1 million americans living in mexico, its the country with the most americans outside US


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## desertpunk (Oct 12, 2009)

^^
Especially in Baja California.


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## j0nas (Oct 18, 2007)

brickellresidence said:


> there's 500,000 more americans living in mexico city, most of them lives in La Condesa neighborhood and Santa Fe. there's about 1 million americans living in mexico, its the country with the most americans outside US


How many of these are americans of mexican ancestry?


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## BrickellResidence (Feb 4, 2008)

I go to a american school in mexico city, all of them are Americans of European ancestry none mexican ancestry.........


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