4 ms·

I was born in a small town on the border of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I remember my parents telling me of the rare, old chinese immigrants there, but

by dluan 9y ago

I was born in a small town on the border of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. I remember my parents telling me of the rare, old chinese immigrants there, but they only came there in the 80's to work as engineers in a glass manufacturing factory. They said they had to drive 1.5 hours to the closest chinese grocery store in Huntsville, AL. Weirdly enough, I think this generation depicted in the article, and my parents, are among the last of the chinese-americans you'd find in Alabama, Iowa, or small town america. It seems more and more young chinese are opting to go back to China.

tonyztan 9y ago
> "more and more young chinese are opting to go back to China" This seems interesting. Do you have a source?
- qiqing 9y ago
  Not an academic source, but... my parents came to the U.S. for graduate school in the late 80's (physics + computer science) and decided to stay and develop their careers here. Literally every one of their classmates (my "aunties" and "uncles") stayed in the U.S. When I was in grad school from 2005 to 2010, the Chinese grad students (e.g., from China as opposed to Chinese American) were quite diverse in where they were deciding to develop their careers. While some stayed in the U.S., many chose 1) going back to China, 2) academic and industry positions in other places in Asia (e.g., Singapore, Japan, Korea), 3) Canada, Europe, etc.
- coupdejarnac 9y ago
  I don't have a source either, but this has been a concerning trend since around 9/11. First, there is the perception that "things are improving" back in the motherland. The middle class is expanding, and the quality of life is improving. Second, it's hard to get work visas in the US, and there is the perception of hostility towards foreigners (Bush's wars, Trump's election, etc). The "reverse braindrain" is a serious problem that the US is experiencing in recent years, because the educated foreigners have chosen to get the hell out or have been forced out. I know a few Chinese with graduate degrees in engineering who are considering returning to China after banking a few more years of American wages. They are heading back to an environmental disaster, but oh well, "progress".
seanmcdirmid 9y ago
Young Chinese Americans are opting to move to big cities, like other young Americans. Chinese are still immigrating to the USA at a similar rate to the last, but are almost all settling in big cities as well. The amount of Chinese coming to study in the USA has exploded in recent years, but those who have stayed have remained relatively the same. Suffice it to say, china’s net emigration rate has been constant over the last few years. The last big immigration of Asians into the rural south happened to be via Vietnam refugees (many ethnic Chinese).

by dluan 9y ago

tonyztan 9y ago

> "more and more young chinese are opting to go back to China" This seems interesting. Do you have a source?

qiqing 9y ago
Not an academic source, but... my parents came to the U.S. for graduate school in the late 80's (physics + computer science) and decided to stay and develop their careers here. Literally every one of their classmates (my "aunties" and "uncles") stayed in the U.S. When I was in grad school from 2005 to 2010, the Chinese grad students (e.g., from China as opposed to Chinese American) were quite diverse in where they were deciding to develop their careers. While some stayed in the U.S., many chose 1) going back to China, 2) academic and industry positions in other places in Asia (e.g., Singapore, Japan, Korea), 3) Canada, Europe, etc.
coupdejarnac 9y ago
I don't have a source either, but this has been a concerning trend since around 9/11. First, there is the perception that "things are improving" back in the motherland. The middle class is expanding, and the quality of life is improving. Second, it's hard to get work visas in the US, and there is the perception of hostility towards foreigners (Bush's wars, Trump's election, etc). The "reverse braindrain" is a serious problem that the US is experiencing in recent years, because the educated foreigners have chosen to get the hell out or have been forced out. I know a few Chinese with graduate degrees in engineering who are considering returning to China after banking a few more years of American wages. They are heading back to an environmental disaster, but oh well, "progress".

seanmcdirmid 9y ago

Young Chinese Americans are opting to move to big cities, like other young Americans. Chinese are still immigrating to the USA at a similar rate to the last, but are almost all settling in big cities as well. The amount of Chinese coming to study in the USA has exploded in recent years, but those who have stayed have remained relatively the same. Suffice it to say, china’s net emigration rate has been constant over the last few years. The last big immigration of Asians into the rural south happened to be via Vietnam refugees (many ethnic Chinese).