How large or small is the ME community in your area?

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Hey guys,

I was just wondering about everyone's areas. Is there a large or small ME immigrant community in your city? If your spouses or fiances are already here, has this had any impact on them or you?

There is a relatively small number of ME immigrants here in Louisville. I am comparing that to So. Cal, where I grew up so maybe thats not a fair statement

It seems we are an eclectic group here. Some from larger cities, some not.

Do you guys think seeing or hearing people from your native region and/or cultural backround would make "adjusting" any easier?

Lisa

[lindaishak 0]

Hi Lisa,

My hubby and i live in SO CAl and from what i can see there is quite a large ME community here but so far we have not come across too many Moroccans, which is where my husband is from. Also, my husband perfers to keep to himself but he has always been like that.

melinda

[sereia 0]

Hi Lisa,

My hubby and i live in SO CAl and from what i can see there is quite a large ME community here but so far we have not come across too many Moroccans, which is where my husband is from. Also, my husband perfers to keep to himself but he has always been like that.

melinda

same here. where in so cal are you? i'm in orange county and as far as i can see there is a very limited supply of MENA people here with the exception of iranians. especially in my small area of OC. but a friend of mine is part of a southern california moroccan society and they had a party recently and had quite a lot of attendants. not sure where they all live though! my husband and i both had to work or we would have gone!

[MelindaandTarek 0]

There is a very small - - very very small community here where I live....have talked at length w/my fiance about this and other things as well....do have a few families that live close by though....

[sara535 15]

we are in Central California in a pretty small town and there are very very few ME people here. My husband really misses having some "peeps" around, I think its that sense of community feeling he misses. Its one of the reasons why we discuss often moving to a bigger city.....

[aya*abouelnasr 0]

Sara, I can see that your peace of mind is going to be shattered in about 14 years! LOL Your daughter is so cute!, I am sure there is going to be a line out of your front door. LOL I'll bet Dad will keep those boys at bay tho!

The ME community near me is pretty much nill, that has been a great strain on my husband. We do go to an arabic store to buy food and the owner is from Palestine, so that helps some. Also he ran into a man recently at the mall here that is from Jordan and they talked for a while. I am sure the adjustment factor would go a lot smoother if they just have someone to talk to once in a while. I know if the shoe were on the other foot and I had moved to Jordan, it would brighten my day to run into someone who spoke my language and had a similar background as me.

[PetraPerson101 0]

I know if the shoe were on the other foot and I had moved to Jordan, it would brighten my day to run into someone who spoke my language and had a similar background as me.

Are you kidding? I HATE that in Jordan. People talking to me in English - I go there to speak Arabic, not go around speaking English - it's like a plague that follows me around!

It's borderline on: "HEY! I SPEAK SOME ARABIC! HELP ME GET BETTER! Go practice with someone else!"

By the way - English - is a requirement for High School graduation. You'd be surprised at how many people in Jordan speak English... pretty good - to very proficient.

( And - here's a trick I quickly learned. To get the best prices in stores - when someone speaks to you in English, just look at them with a puzzled look ... then speak Arabic to them. Tourists ... get fleeced. Happens everywhere - we have tourist traps here in the USA too - so don't point fingers. )

Around here, there's a LARGE Arabic/Middle-East population. Of course, we're around NYC -so- obviously. Walk into just about any shop around here and there's an Arab there. We've got food abound (4 Arabic food stores within about 5-10 minutes of me) - halal meat stores/butchers, restaraunts, etc.

Only thing we don't really have up here - are the bookstores and stuff - need to go to NYC for that.

Edited November 26, 2007 by KyanWan

[Imua 0]

I know if the shoe were on the other foot and I had moved to Jordan, it would brighten my day to run into someone who spoke my language and had a similar background as me.

Are you kidding? I HATE that in Jordan. People talking to me in English - I go there to speak Arabic, not go around speaking English - it's like a plague that follows me around!

It's borderline on: "HEY! I SPEAK SOME ARABIC! HELP ME GET BETTER! Go practice with someone else!"

LOL - this is me in Nepal - I hate it when people automatically speak English to me. It especially annoyed me when my ex used to speak very loudly in English when we were in public to show off, and it would be like a sign - 'hey look! foreigner here!!' and people would stare. A lot of times it's kids who want to practice their English and I cut them some slack, but sometimes I say that I am an English teacher and if they want private tutoring then they can pay me at my standard rate of 1,000 NRs per hour...

Good idea on looking puzzled when the shopkeepers speak to me in English, never thought of that.

[polarbear 0]

There isn't a large community in Miami, but I know probably 10-15 Egyptians and they know even more. I found a mosque that is predominantly arabic, so I started going there to meet some of the Egyptian women because I had alot of questions. I actually found several Americans married to Egyptians and quite a few women from the country as well. But all in all it's a small community. I think I'm lucky that several people want to go to the airport with me to pick him up and everyone speaks arabic. He doesn't speak any english.

This is all about 30min drive from me (and there is another north) but it's worth it. I just haven't been able to find any in my neighborhood.

[MrsAmera 41]

Huge. Enough said. There are about 20,000 Moroccans in the DC area alone - not to mention the tens of thousands of other Arabs/Middle Easterners. When we first lived in WI there was a much smaller community. I'll tell you gals something though moving into the smaller community forced my husband to integreate and learn English. Had we moved here to DC first I doubt that would have happened - even he has told me that it probably wouldn't. So he was glad that we lived in a smaller community with few middle eastern people.

[Jenn! 918]

Pretty big community here, especially Moroccans it seems to me. I think it's made the adjustment a lot easier. I don't think we would have moved here if there weren't any other Moroccans.

[Zee Bee 61]

I live in Philly and like most big cities we have a pretty big ME population. The first things I look out for when I move (1) nearest African food store and (2) the best Arab food around

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

San Antonio has a small but growing Middle Eastern community. And there are quite a few Palestinians around But most of the Muslim community here is Pakistani or Indian, not Middle Eastern.

As far as the Arab grocery markets -- here in the U.S., you will often find Palestinians running them (or Lebanese or Jordanians of Palestinian origin.) It's a cultural thing....

[sereia 0]

Huge. Enough said. There are about 20,000 Moroccans in the DC area alone - not to mention the tens of thousands of other Arabs/Middle Easterners. When we first lived in WI there was a much smaller community. I'll tell you gals something though moving into the smaller community forced my husband to integreate and learn English. Had we moved here to DC first I doubt that would have happened - even he has told me that it probably wouldn't. So he was glad that we lived in a smaller community with few middle eastern people.

that is definitely one plus to having moved to orange county instead of staying in NYC. he's learned better english SO FAST since his arrival. but on the down side... i can see how lonely he is for his people. last month we went to NYC for a visit and he was thrilled to see so many restaurants, hookah bars, moroccan bakeries, and just arab people.

[Nasturtium 500]

It doesn't exist There are some students here at the university, and other than that? Well-- nothing. So no halal stores, no arab stores, nothing kosher either. So if I want Arabian kinds of foods, I have to order off the internet. He actually likes it this way-- he says he's not interested in talking to other arabs