For the other Americans out there

[buddy]

What region of the U.S. do you live in, and what ethnicities are the most common ones there?

I'm from western Pennsylvania, though I go to school in central Pennsylvania. There is a slight difference because central Pennsylvania is far more rural and more northern European. It's heavily German- and British-American, though the student population is far more diverse since we're coming from all over Pennsylvania, and some from New Jersey, New York, and other states.

Back in suburban western Pennsylvania where I'm from (outside Pittsburgh), the major ethnicities are Italians, Irish, Poles, Slovaks, Jews, Germans, Croatians, and others. We even have small concentrations of East Indians and East Asians in our area as well. African-Americans are mostly concentrated in Pittsburgh proper. There are practically no Hispanics.

The different Euro-Americans are largely mixed with one another, so intermediate physical types are very common.

[tonynatuzzi]

Where I live in the Bay Area,we have Filipinos,Mexicans,Italians,Germans,Chinese,Russians,
Central Americans,Irish,Armenians,Brazilians,Jews,Vietnamese,
African Americans,etc just one big melting pot.

[Toasty]

I live in San Diego, it's not very varied really, there are mostly
Northern european people and Mestizos, these 2 groups dominate the population, then with some Black and Oriental.

[Josh]

I live in Edmonds, a town a little bit north of Seattle. Most people seem to be some kind of Northern European mutt. There are a lot of East Asian immigrants and a fair amount of Mexican immigrants as well. I would suspect that Southern and Eastern Europeans make up a smaller percentage of the population than East Asians do. Blacks are a rather small minority where I live. In Seattle proper, it definitely depends on the region. Ballard for instance is very Northern Euro, with a historically strong Scandinavian presence. South Seattle is very largely black and Southeast Asian. I don't know the whole ethnic make up of Seattle too well, but I'd like to find out more about it and when I do, I'll post it here.

[buddy]

Yeah the Bay Area is easily one of the most diverse regions in the country (or the world). Every European, Asian, African, and Latin American ethnicity is found there.

[murphee]

My area of Western Oregon--mainly Euro-American. Then, many Mexicans and Amerindians. Some Asians, a few Blacks and Jews.

[Josh]

murphee said:

My area of Western Oregon--mainly Euro-American. Then, many Mexicans and Amerindians. Some Asians, a few Blacks and Jews.

Sounds about like Western Washington, except the last two sentences would read like "Then, many Asians and Mexicans. Some Amerindians, a few Blacks and Jews."

[buddy]

It seems that out west there aren't too many Irish Catholics, Italians, or Eastern Europeans. I guess those of us who are Catholic or Jewish are very heavily concentrated here in the Northeast and also in the Chicago area, with only a few pockets elsewhere.

[tonynatuzzi]

Buddy you know San Francisco and San Diego have their own Little Italys but outside of those pockets your right you won't find that many Italians elsewhere on the westcoast.Most of my relatives live back in the northeast.New York City,Upstate New York,and Rhode Island to be exact.

[buddy]

tonynatuzzi said:

Buddy you know San Francisco and San Diego have their own Little Italys but outside of those pockets your right you won't find that many Italians elsewhere on the westcoast.Most of my relatives live back in the northeast.New York City,Upstate New York,and Rhode Island to be exact.

Yeah Tony that's true, I actually have some relatives in the San Francisco area, including one who was a former mayor of the city. Also, I think quite a few northern Italians settled in northern California.

[tonynatuzzi]

From what time period was this relative of yours a mayor of San Fran and whats his name.

[Josh]

buddy said:

It seems that out west there aren't too many Irish Catholics, Italians, or Eastern Europeans. I guess those of us who are Catholic or Jewish are very heavily concentrated here in the Northeast and also in the Chicago area, with only a few pockets elsewhere.

There are a fair amount of Irish descendents where I live. I was raised Catholic, and at the church my family goes to, most of the whites are of Irish descent, with some Italians and other ethnicities. I don't know of any distinct Southern or Eastern European communities in the Seattle area, though I imagine they must exist since there are a few Russian Orthodox churches in Seattle.

[murphee]

There are very few Italian-Americans where I live. I do know a family who moved here from New Jersey, though.
Despite this, Italian restaurants are popular here and there are some very good ones, including one at a small town on the coast that has an Italian-American chef from New York. Stuffed Shells Florentine (pasta filled with cheese and spinach with tomato sauce) while looking at the ocean--very nice.
The Catholic Church is very big here, every town has one or more Catholic churches, but unlike the major cities of the East Coast, their members do not consist largely of Irish or Italians.

[tonynatuzzi]

So most of the Catholics where you live are Mexicans and Anglos since you said most are not Italian and Irish.

[murphee]

A few years ago, I attended a festival at a Greek Orthodox church in Seattle. I think it was called the 'Oregano Festival,' and I bought the most delicious dried Greek oregano there. There was Baklava and other goodies there, too.