This reading was very interesting because I was surprised to learn that better wages and employment is no longer the driving force behind emigration. Because of the global economic restructuring, immigration to American has not only become a means of escape for many immigrants who are suffering either political or religious turmoil or extreme poverty, but for more complex reasons such as accessing institutionalized credit and insurance markets, educational opportunities for their children, and formal and informal migration networks. A large part of this change is due to the types of immigrants that are coming to this country. Instead of the poor,uneducated masses, a new class of highly-skilled, educated, and even affluent Chinese immigrants are beginning to emerge.

As a result, this new class of Chinese immigrants is taking over neighborhoods in both New York and Los Angeles and gentrifying the neighborhoods. They have created these “ethnoburbs” and in fact made many neighborhoods more diverse. I was also surprised that the different Chinatowns, especially in New York represent different populations of Chinese immigrants. Living in New York CIity all my life and being to both Manhattan and Flushing’s Chinatowns many times I had always assumed the immigrants were largely Cantonese immigrants. However, according to the article, the immigrants that settled into Flushing were mainly Taiwanese who were skilled and educated and thus Flushing became a thriving commercial area.

In the creation of all these new Chinatowns, and other ethnoburbs, a lot of the authenticity of these neighborhoods and not simply assimilating to become “‘indistinguishably’ American or white” is reliant on communication and the ever progressing technology. Immigrating to America no longer means losing connection with family and traditional roots of the emigrated country because most places are only a Skype phone call away.

Emma Park-Hazel