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1) If you want to see an example of that in the Bay Area, the Mile 8 convenience store/gas station at 19th Ave. and Irving is pretty amazing - great selection,

1) If you want to see an example of that in the Bay Area, the Mile 8 convenience store/gas station at 19th Ave. and Irving is pretty amazing - great selection, two clean, inside restrooms. Closes at 8 pm though. Cheapest sandwiches, snacks and coffee in the area. 2) The article has a good explanation of how an immigrant community works together to dominate a niche using a favorable banking tie and a labor stream. A similar story is that most Bay Area motels are operated by Gujaratis (fixed), and in Canada minimarts by Koreans. Both have strong banking ties for pre-approved loans based on sufficient family labor and the community track record. 3) The Albanian resistance movement in the last Serbian war was funded by a small construction firm in New York. The owner fed back enough weapons and snipers to ground the UN helicopters (!) persecuting them, as well as lobby in DC. There's a very impressive video online.

vrc 7y ago
I believe the plurality of motels in the US are owned by Gujarati's [1][2][3]. Hence the moniker: "Patel Motels". I'd venture to guess a lot of the Tamilians in the bay are in the IT sector [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/09/south-asia-america-motels-immigration/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/09/south-asi... [2] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Family-Fortunes-Gujaratis-combine-business-2948342.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Family-Fortunes-Gujar... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarati_Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarati_Americans
hogFeast 7y ago
It is very hard for them to get loans. Paying in cash or getting vendor financing from the seller (particularly if they are extended family/kin) is common. Most migrant communities in the US (and outside) have parallel banking systems (for example, there is a completely separate Chinese banking system in the US...this is a function of domestic Chinese banks not having huge operations outside China, it is more common for migrants to deal with branches from their home country though). I would also be somewhat cautious talking about Serbia. Everyone can accept that neither side covered themselves in glory. Let's just leave it there.
vageli 7y ago
> 3) The Albanian resistance movement in the last Serbian war was funded by a small construction firm in New York. The owner fed back enough weapons and snipers to ground the UN helicopters (!) persecuting them, as well as lobby in DC. There's a very impressive video online. Would you happen to have a link or know what to search? This sounds interesting but my searches have yielded nothing so far.
- lionsdan 7y ago
  This was the closest I could find for a starting point: "Shefki Mati, 44, an Albanian American businessman, is training volunteers for the Kosovo Liberation Army at camps in Albania." https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/05/10/albanians-worldwide-answer-rebels-call/10a9154a-75d8-4b57-8965-c86742657ef6/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/05/10/a...
throwaway_gdue 7y ago
> There's a very impressive video online. I tried but failed to find a similar sounding video. Can you send a link or title?

vrc 7y ago

I believe the plurality of motels in the US are owned by Gujarati's [1][2][3]. Hence the moniker: "Patel Motels". I'd venture to guess a lot of the Tamilians in the bay are in the IT sector [1] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/09/south-asia-america-motels-immigration/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2018/09/south-asi... [2] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Family-Fortunes-Gujaratis-combine-business-2948342.php https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Family-Fortunes-Gujar... [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarati_Americans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gujarati_Americans

hogFeast 7y ago

It is very hard for them to get loans. Paying in cash or getting vendor financing from the seller (particularly if they are extended family/kin) is common. Most migrant communities in the US (and outside) have parallel banking systems (for example, there is a completely separate Chinese banking system in the US...this is a function of domestic Chinese banks not having huge operations outside China, it is more common for migrants to deal with branches from their home country though). I would also be somewhat cautious talking about Serbia. Everyone can accept that neither side covered themselves in glory. Let's just leave it there.

vageli 7y ago

> 3) The Albanian resistance movement in the last Serbian war was funded by a small construction firm in New York. The owner fed back enough weapons and snipers to ground the UN helicopters (!) persecuting them, as well as lobby in DC. There's a very impressive video online. Would you happen to have a link or know what to search? This sounds interesting but my searches have yielded nothing so far.

lionsdan 7y ago
This was the closest I could find for a starting point: "Shefki Mati, 44, an Albanian American businessman, is training volunteers for the Kosovo Liberation Army at camps in Albania." https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/05/10/albanians-worldwide-answer-rebels-call/10a9154a-75d8-4b57-8965-c86742657ef6/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/05/10/a...

throwaway_gdue 7y ago

> There's a very impressive video online. I tried but failed to find a similar sounding video. Can you send a link or title?