# Coming to USA , concerns.. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2005, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683 "2005-06-03T05:07:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/21 "2005-06-03T16:49:05Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > Don’t worry about it; most Americans consider it rude to bring up racial designations at all. I don’t agree with this. It’s all people talk about in Los Angeles. What is considered rude is to suggest that racial differences can have negative as well as positive consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/22 "2005-06-03T16:56:33Z")
> [@Hello Again](#): > > As a side note, the term “asians” in the US _usually_ refers to people of Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese descent. I’m not sure if we have a generic term for people from the Indian subcontinent, except maybe “Indian” as a generic, rather than national, term. (the terms Native Americans or American Indians refer to the indigenous peoples of this continent). Sometimes people use the term ‘East Asian’ for those groups, but if someone says simply ‘Asian’, it’s usually assumed that East Asians are meant. ‘South Asian’ works pretty well to denote Indians, Pakistanis, Bengladeshis, and Sri Lankans. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/23 "2005-06-03T16:59:31Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Indeed, it’s quite the reverse. I did say national rivalries were **erased** ; that is, the Indian-Pakistani conflicts “back home” are n’t even a factor in personal and professional relationships on this side of the pond. As far as a term for those from the subcontinent - I’ve heard “Asian Indian,” to avoid any confusion with Asians (those from China, Korea, Japan and so on), and Indians (which, in the US, is a term usually identified with Native American). I’ve also heard “Subcontinental Asian” to encompass those from India, Sri lanka, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. When someone refers to “Indian” in the US now, and the context is unclear, they might get a response in jest like “dot or feather?” If you say you’re Sri Lankan, most will know it’s the island south of India. and associate it with Arthur C. Clarke, rabid cricket fans, the ongoing civil war and the Tamil Tigers, and/or the recent tsunami. Sri Lankans will probably me mistaken for those from India. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/24 "2005-06-03T19:08:03Z")
Which is why I was agreeing with you. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/25 "2005-06-03T19:18:12Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > I don’t agree with this. It’s all people talk about in Los Angeles. What is considered rude is to suggest that racial differences can have negative as well as positive consequences. WTF, I’ve lived in LA for more than 50 years and race isn’t even in the top 10 subjects. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/26 "2005-06-03T20:21:38Z")
Here in Southern California, there are tons of people of Asian heritage everywhere, especially at the universities. The Asian communities at UCSD and SDSU are gigantic. Most universities elsewhere have a large number of Asian students. A lot of large American cities have neighborhoods where Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Korean or another Asian language are spoken and written on signs and businesses. There’s nothing inherently unsafe about living in America. It’s just like anywhere else: don’t do stupid things with bad people and you’ll be just fine. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about muggings and murders and rape, but it’s not anything at all like it sounds. I’ve lived in this country for 18 years in the DC area and Southern California, both relatively high-crime regions, and have never been robbed, mugged, assaulted, raped, or had any other criminal transgression taken upon me. Actually, just about the worst thing that happened to me was that I accidentally left a CD in a friend’s car and it was stolen along with the rest of his CD collection one day. Sucks, but it’s stolen music. Not really anything to write home about. It’s funny because I went to Israel recently for a week and a half, and everyone I talked to here–EVERYONE (except for those who had been to Israel) said the same thing you’re saying: “OMG! Don’t people die walking down the street there? Will you be safe?” In the end, that’s closed-minded, nonsensical thinking. The vast majority of people everywhere grow old and die of natural causes. Some neighborhoods in some cities tend to be home to wackos of various kinds. They’re usually pretty easy to spot. If you go out and do everything with terrible fear in the back of your mind, you’ll have a terrible life. Come here, have fun, enjoy yourself, be smart and you’ll do just fine, just like _everyone else_ who lives here. Also, as other posters have stated, crime and safety varies by region, as we live in an absolutely gigantic nation. Crime rates for cities can be misleading, because the majority of a city’s crime is generally focused on one to three small areas within the city. Actually, that’s why California has the Three Strikes law you may have heard of–the idea is that 90% of crimes are committed by the same 10% of the population, and we lock up the ones who break the law again and again. It works fairly well as a whole. > [@elmwood](#): > > The further south you go, the more Bible thumping you’ll hear, You mean the further southeast. > [@Mehitabel](#): > > Most Americans think Buddhists are cool, Hang out with the kids in your Philosophy or Theology class and you’ll probably find they’re very interested in a lot of information you take for granted as a Buddhist. Anyway, there’s really nothing to worry about. We think the rest of the world is an incredibly unsafe place to live (we hear a lot about hunger, war, and theft, in particular) and your perceptions are simply a result of the media in your neck of the woods returning the favor. Spend a little time here and you’ll see it’s just like your first day at school, where you were all worried about having a horrible day but it turned out there was nothing to be afraid of. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/27 "2005-06-06T12:41:16Z")
> [@Cliffy](#): > > Which is why I was agreeing with you. > > –Cliffy I thought you were disagreeing when you said “It’s quite the reverse,” confused by the “Indeed” before it. My bad. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/28 "2005-06-06T14:19:13Z")
> [@RandomLetters](#): > > South Asians like yourself are pretty common around universities around the US, so I doubt you would draw much comment. Agreed. I wouldn’t worry about it at all. > [@Diehard](#): > > Also that there are lot of muggings , murder in certain city areas! Although a few universities are in bad neighborhoods, you can pretty much bet that a college town is safe. You may want to double check when you narrow down your options, but for all intents and purposes you have nothing to worry about at all. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/29 "2005-06-06T14:35:27Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Although a few universities are in bad neighborhoods, you can pretty much bet that a college town is safe. You may want to double check when you narrow down your options, but for all intents and purposes you have nothing to worry about at all. IMO. FWIW, USC is in South Central L.A. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/30 "2005-06-06T14:52:44Z")
Penn (the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school) is also in kind of a funky neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/31 "2005-06-06T15:09:07Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > FWIW, USC is in South Central L.A. Acknowledged. However, if one were to randomly pick a university w/ a Master’s program, one would could bet on picking a school that is not in a bad neighborhood. Would you agree w/ that? (Hell, I could be wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/32 "2005-06-06T15:21:24Z")
I used to live in a pretty safe area of NYC. We only had one stabbing in my building in the three years I lived there, only one body in a trunk was dropped in the vacent lot next door and I think there was only like one time where a dude with a samuri sword (or katana) held a bar hostage. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/33 "2005-06-06T15:22:19Z")
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 25,265 Sri Lankan natives in the United States in 2000. EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT Population 25 years and over… 21,820 (100.0%) Less than 9th grade……………… 495 (2.3%) 9th to 12th grade, no diploma… 2,335 (10.7%) High school graduate (includes equivalency)… 3,360 (15.4%) Some college, no degree………… 2,870 (13.2%) Associate degree……………… 1,620 (7.4%) Bachelor’s degree……………… 4,865 (22.3%) Graduate or professional degree… 6,280 (28.8%) EMPLOYMENT STATUS Population 16 years and over…… 23,920 (100.0%) In labor force……………… 17,320 (72.4%) \_Civilian labor force… 17,275 (72.2%) \_\_\_\_Employed……………… 16,545 (69.2%) \_\_\_\_Unemployed………… 730 (3.1%) \_\_\_\_\_\_Percent of civilian labor force… (X) (4.2%) \_Armed Forces……… 45 (0.2%) Not in labor force……… 6,600 (27.6%) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/34 "2005-06-06T15:29:55Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Acknowledged. However, if one were to randomly pick a university w/ a Master’s program, one would could bet on picking a school that is not in a bad neighborhood. Would you agree w/ that? (Hell, I could be wrong.) Of course. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/35 "2005-06-06T15:43:28Z")
[QUOTE=RandomLetters] “Creme of the Cake” is. [QUOTE] The googles! They do nothing! (Seriously, what does this mean?) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/36 "2005-06-06T17:44:44Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > Acknowledged. However, if one were to randomly pick a university w/ a Master’s program, one would could bet on picking a school that is not in a bad neighborhood. Would you agree w/ that? (Hell, I could be wrong.) Well technically one could bet on anything with a greater than 0% chance of occuring. ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683/37 "2005-06-06T23:57:45Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Penn (the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League school) is also in kind of a funky neighborhood. Maybe 10-30 years ago, but they bought up everything surrounding the campus and gentrified it to oblivion. You have to go looking for trouble on campus now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coming-to-usa-concerns/306683.md?page=1)