Imnotmoving
Member
German, Italian and Irish.
Why Do the Chinese Love Irvine?
- Thread starter Liar Loan
- Start date
NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
The most important investment in your relationship that you can make is in your wife and children. Pour your love in them and they will reciprocate your love.
A loving home environment is very rare these days in the households in Irvine due its fast paced environment. The traditional Irvine households are threatened by over-busy schedules, financial pressures, both spouses working, as well as multiple cars, televisions, digital devices, that pull the family apart in different directions vs pulling them together. There are good qualities about the Asian culture, but there are also the bad.
May i ask the age of your children. Are they still in school?
That is really sad to here. Sounds like times have changed a lot from when I grew up.
About 20% of Buena Park residents and 12% of Fullerton residents are ethnic Koreans. I used to live down the street from Amerige Heights near the intersection of Beach and Malvern. 3 Korean markets at the intersection (Hannam, H Mart, Zion).
I think a good % of them (Korean Americans) probably relocated from Garden Grove area.
Back in the 1980s-1990s many Taiwanese moved to Irvine/Cerritos and Koreans to Garden Grove. But these migrations are always changing. Today you'd find Vietnamese moving into Garden Grove and the Korean demographic & businesses there in sharp decline, versus Korean businesses now dot Beach Blvd in Buena Park.
I just flew back from Taiwan (dodged the earthquake) and the real estate market there is booming. Prices went up a lot as investors used RE for low interest rate loans and tax shelters. My high school friend who relocated back to Taipei sold his properties in LA and Shanghai to buy additional condos in Taipei. He said the most recent purchase was valued at $1 million USD and he only expect rental income to cover 50% of the cost. I asked if he'd consider investing in LA/OC, he said no because he thinks houses here are overpriced (?!).
I know two people that were sent to two different Asian countries as expats. One for 3 years and the other for 5. Their kids went to what are essentially International Schools. The parents and their kids tended to hang out with other parents and kids at these schools. Maybe the locals thought the same of these foreigners. Just saying...
I lived and worked in Switzerland for a considerable period of my life; my in-laws are Swiss, so I'm back there every now and then. It's somewhat common for affluent expats to purchase homes in Switzerland and send their children to international schools, which can cost anywhere from several to over a hundred thousand CHF per year in fees, despite the excellent Swiss public schools. The international schools are most often attended by children of English-speaking families, who sometimes spend their entire lives in Switzerland in a bubble, with virtually no Swiss contacts, and without speaking any of the 4 local official languages. And when I say they literally cannot speak the language, it's not an exaggeration. Similar kinds of things happen in other places like the UAE, East Asia, etc.
So the phenomenon of Irvine FCBs purchasing properties as if money is no object is not particularly unusual, except perhaps in scale. When I was in Zurich, the expat community was extremely prominent, to the point where you could easily live indefinitely without speaking a word of German, whether at work or in day-to-day life. A perceived lack of integration against a backdrop of extraordinarily low rates of home ownership in the country breed a common resentment against expats there, which I guess is similar to what some of the members here feel.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
panda
Well-known member
I want to assure you that you are not only one feeling the way you do. Many families in Irvine feel isolated without having any meaningful relationships.
The most important investment in your relationship that you can make is in your wife and children. Pour your love in them and they will reciprocate your love.
A loving home environment is very rare these days in the households in Irvine due its fast paced environment. The traditional Irvine households are threatened by over-busy schedules, financial pressures, both spouses working, as well as multiple cars, televisions, digital devices, that pull the family apart in different directions vs pulling them together. There are good qualities about the Asian culture, but there are also the bad.
May i ask the age of your children. Are they still in school?
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Imnotmoving
Member
Not going to disclose anything about my children. Yes I am a devoted housewife to my family. Retired to be 100% at home. I have a few mom friends that are Asian and have reassured me that the exclusion I am feeling is on purpose. They don’t want their children fraternizing with the Caucasian kids for fear of them losing laser focus and eating foods they perceive as fat foods. It’s rather insulting I have to say. And if my children said or did the things some of their children have they would be charged with hate crimes and booted from school. I am just being completely honest here.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Nothing is more distracting from studying than a good potato chip. 
panda
Well-known member
This is very sad. I am sorry that you had to go through this. I assure you that this not just happening to you but also among the Asian mom circles in Irvine. I wouldn't give up making new friends. There are really good genuine people out there who are not like this. These Elitist Asian moms are not worthy to be your friend. If they assured you that their exclusion of you is on purpose, just let them go.
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. Zechariah 9:12
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. Zechariah 9:12
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usctrojancpa
Well-known member
That is really sad to here. Sounds like times have changed a lot from when I grew up.
momopi
Well-known member
I have heard some people calling Irvine "the Chinatown of OC"! People living outside of Irvine have a perception that the majority of the population in Irvine is Chinese which is somewhat true but there is a large Korean population in Irvine as well!
About 20% of Buena Park residents and 12% of Fullerton residents are ethnic Koreans. I used to live down the street from Amerige Heights near the intersection of Beach and Malvern. 3 Korean markets at the intersection (Hannam, H Mart, Zion).
Are the Koreans local as I haven't heard of any FCB's coming from Korea other than FCB's parking their money in Irvine real estate from China?
sleepy5136
Well-known member
from my experience I see Koreans actually being primary residence owners rather than investors
momopi
Well-known member
I think a good % of them (Korean Americans) probably relocated from Garden Grove area.
Back in the 1980s-1990s many Taiwanese moved to Irvine/Cerritos and Koreans to Garden Grove. But these migrations are always changing. Today you'd find Vietnamese moving into Garden Grove and the Korean demographic & businesses there in sharp decline, versus Korean businesses now dot Beach Blvd in Buena Park.
I just flew back from Taiwan (dodged the earthquake) and the real estate market there is booming. Prices went up a lot as investors used RE for low interest rate loans and tax shelters. My high school friend who relocated back to Taipei sold his properties in LA and Shanghai to buy additional condos in Taipei. He said the most recent purchase was valued at $1 million USD and he only expect rental income to cover 50% of the cost. I asked if he'd consider investing in LA/OC, he said no because he thinks houses here are overpriced (?!).
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No lies told. (Fellow Caucasian mom here)
irvine buyer
Active member
I once passed out White Rabbit candy at a gathering of mostly Caucasian people to see how well it would be received. A couple people ate it, most declined as they were not familiar with it, a couple people asked what it was made of which resulted in one person making a snarky racist comment about what he thought might be in the candy. White Rabbit is from China and a very popular candy there. Should a parent feel offended if they offered this candy to another child only to have the other child's parent object to eating it?
I know two people that were sent to two different Asian countries as expats. One for 3 years and the other for 5. Their kids went to what are essentially International Schools. The parents and their kids tended to hang out with other parents and kids at these schools. Maybe the locals thought the same of these foreigners. Just saying...
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I'm good. I don't need any insights. I know what I have experienced. I will say, it is ONE specific demographic that behaves this way. It's not Koreans, Japanese, Indians, or Singaporeans. You can probably deduce who is left.
Loco_local
Active member
Were the parents recent immigrants or were they born here?
This happens the world over and is not remotely exclusive to Irvine or anywhere else.
I lived and worked in Switzerland for a considerable period of my life; my in-laws are Swiss, so I'm back there every now and then. It's somewhat common for affluent expats to purchase homes in Switzerland and send their children to international schools, which can cost anywhere from several to over a hundred thousand CHF per year in fees, despite the excellent Swiss public schools. The international schools are most often attended by children of English-speaking families, who sometimes spend their entire lives in Switzerland in a bubble, with virtually no Swiss contacts, and without speaking any of the 4 local official languages. And when I say they literally cannot speak the language, it's not an exaggeration. Similar kinds of things happen in other places like the UAE, East Asia, etc.
So the phenomenon of Irvine FCBs purchasing properties as if money is no object is not particularly unusual, except perhaps in scale. When I was in Zurich, the expat community was extremely prominent, to the point where you could easily live indefinitely without speaking a word of German, whether at work or in day-to-day life. A perceived lack of integration against a backdrop of extraordinarily low rates of home ownership in the country breed a common resentment against expats there, which I guess is similar to what some of the members here feel.
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Imnotmoving
Member
I am starting to think maybe the FCB crowd is scared of being exposed for illegally transferring so much money out of their country. If I was committing a bunch of crimes I would probably be pretty tight lipped as well.