City in the western world with most direct/firsthand connection to Asia/Asians?

[Capsicum]

I'm still kind of curious as to why Persian Jews live with non-Jewish Iranian immigrants stateside, rather than with other Jewish communities.

NYC has lots of recent Jewish communities of Middle Eastern or former Soviet Union backgrounds (Syrian, Israeli, Bukharan Jews etc.) alongside all the other, previously established Jewish communities.

Yet, Persian Jews chose to immigrate to LA far more than NYC, unlike those other Middle Eastern groups.

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

I'm still kind of curious as to why Persian Jews live with non-Jewish Iranian immigrants stateside, rather than with other Jewish communities.

NYC has lots of recent Jewish communities of Middle Eastern or former Soviet Union backgrounds (Syrian, Israeli, Bukharan Jews etc.) alongside all the other, previously established Jewish communities.

Yet, Persian Jews chose to immigrate to LA far more than NYC, unlike those other Middle Eastern groups.

Persian Jews in NYC live in Great Neck, which is one of the most Jewish suburbs in the U.S. Great Neck is probably around 80% Jewish.

And I believe Persian Jews in LA live in historically Jewish areas. Bev Hills/Tehrangeles area is heavily Jewish, as is Encino/Tarzana area (though neither are almost entirely Jewish like Great Neck). DC area has some Persians too, and they're around Bethesda (again, historically pretty Jewish).

Are there any U.S. Persian Jewish enclaves that aren't alongside other Jews?

As to why Persian Jews went to LA moreso than NYC, no idea. Maybe there was an existing LA Persian community assisting the migration (as with Russian Jews in NYC), or NYC wasn't an obvious destination in the tumult of the late 70's.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

But then why LA in particular (other cities' Persian immigrants' demographics aren't as heavily Jewish, like say Toronto, despite Persian Torontonians living in places not too far from Jewish Torontonians, like North York)?

And why didn't they say, move to the East coast in the US where there were historically more (and still are more) Jewish immigrants of many backgrounds?

Isn't LA the third largest Jewish city in the world?

[Docere]

- Jewish immigrants tend to move into Jewish neighborhoods

- Jewish immigration waves are often earlier than non-Jewish. For instance nearly all FSU immigrants pre-1990 were Jewish. Non-Jews often move into neighborhoods where Jewish immigrants are (such as Bathurst-Steeles in Toronto).

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

- Jewish immigrants tend to move into Jewish neighborhoods

- Jewish immigration waves are often earlier than non-Jewish. For instance nearly all FSU immigrants pre-1990 were Jewish. Non-Jews often move into neighborhoods where Jewish immigrants are (such as Bathurst-Steeles in Toronto).

For both the US, and Canada?

[Docere]

I suspect so. If a Russian immigrant to Toronto wants to find Russian speakers - Bathurst-Steeles is "ground zero." It was Russian-Jewish immigrants that established it as a Russian enclave.

[dubu]

I voted Seattle. I would vote vancouver but i haven't been there but I want to go back to Seattle. I have a Korean friend there and we go to a Asian area and eat some good food.

[Capsicum]

Originally Posted by Docere

I suspect so. If a Russian immigrant to Toronto wants to find Russian speakers - Bathurst-Steeles is "ground zero." It was Russian-Jewish immigrants that established it as a Russian enclave.

Seems to vary by city quite a bit though.

Chicago's Polish-Jewish or Russian-Jewish communities didn't seem to have the same overlap/connection with Chicago's Polish communities or other eastern European communities.

Also, unlike LA there wasn't much Persian-Jewish immigration to Toronto, but it would seem like in theory, there could have been if they wanted to live with a pre-existing Jewish community, especially somewhere like North York where already a large (non-Persian) Jewish presence existed around North York not too far from where there was a (non-Jewish) Persian presence later (eg. Willowdale).

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Capsicum

Seems to vary by city quite a bit though.

Chicago's Polish-Jewish or Russian-Jewish communities didn't seem to have the same overlap/connection with Chicago's Polish communities or other eastern European communities.

But there is no Polish-Jewish migration. Poland hasn't been Jewish for 80 years.

USSR had a large Jewish population and there was pretty heavy Soviet Jewish migration to Israel, U.S. and Canada, and at least in the case of U.S. and Canada, I suspect later Russian arrivals, regardless of religion, migrate to the existing enclave.

It's anecdotal, but there are lots of Christian former Soviets in Brooklyn, and they all seem to live in the same locales as the Jews from former Soviet. Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, Bensonhurst, Madison, Bay Ridge, Kensington.