Monthly Archives: May 2021

UPDATED September 21, 2022 (Please see message below regarding COVID-19 Restrictions)

Charlotte is the 23rd-most populous city in the United States and is the most populous city in the state of North Carolina.  The Charlotte metropolitan area is a sixteen-county region that stretches into the state of South Carolina and includes the towns of Concord, Gastonia, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Indian Trail, Mooresville, Monroe, Salisbury, Matthews, Statesville, Rock Hill (SC), and Fort Mill (SC).  Known as the Queen City, this metropolis of 2.6 million people has been one of the country’s fastest-growing cities the past two decades.  Charlotte’s youthful population, low cost of living, and geographic location in America’s Sun Belt, have made it an attractive destination for business investment.  The Interstate 85 corridor stretching from Atlanta to Charlotte has attracted investment from industrial companies from all over the world, including those from Japan.  The state of North Carolina has nearly 300 Japanese-affiliated firms and employs thousands of Americans.  There are about 1,000 Japanese living in the Charlotte area and the city is home to the Japanese Association in Charlotte, an organization that hosts annual events such as the Bon Odori Festival.   The city is also home to the Japanese Language School in Charlotte and UNC Charlotte offers a bachelor’s degree in Japanese Studies.

UPDATED September 21, 2022 (Please see message below regarding COVID-19 Restrictions)

Atlanta has a population of over 6 million people, making it the 9th most populous metropolitan area in the United States.  Atlanta is the capital of Georgia, which is the 8th most populous of the 50 states.  The city and surrounding area—known as the Atlanta metropolitan area—is also the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Lithonia, Decatur, Mableton, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta is a diverse and international city that is home to about 7,000 Japanese, many of whom are highly skilled professionals working as executives for Japanese companies or working in an academic capacity at one of Atlanta’s 57 colleges and universities.  The Atlanta area and the state of Georgia have hundreds of Japanese companies doing business here, and there are at least 50 Georgia companies with operations in Japan.  Delta Airlines offers daily nonstop service from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Tokyo Haneda Airport.  Americans in Atlanta interested in learning more about Japan can makes plans to visit the annual JapanFest in Duluth.

Greater Boston is the eleventh-most populous metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 4.9 million people, and includes towns such as Cambridge, Brookline, Quincy, Brockton, Lynn, Newton, Waltham, and Medford.  Boston is one of America’s oldest cities and has a rich history that attracts over 20 million tourists each year.  Known as the “intellectual capital of the United States”, Boston is a center of education that has more than 350,000 college students from around the world, including international students from Zambia.  Boston University has one of the oldest and largest African Studies programs in the country and the African Language Program at Harvard offers training in dozens of languages including Bemba, an indigenous language spoken in Zambia.  Although the population of Zambians in the Boston area is small, the community is large enough to form its own organization called the Zambia Association of New England, which hosts annuals events and celebrations.  As one of America’s leading cities for medical research and academia, Boston has several hospitals and universities that provide education and healthcare services to the people of Zambia.  Boston is also home to organizations like MIT D-Lab that send engineers to Zambia to tackle poverty challenges. 

Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.  Founded in 1682 by Englishman William Penn, a social reformer and champion of liberty, he named the city Philadelphia using the Greek term meaning “brotherly love”.  Philadelphia has the nickname “City of Brotherly Love” and is nowadays more casually known by locals and non-locals alike as “Philly”.  The Philadelphia metropolitan area has over 6 million people and includes cities and towns in the states of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in addition to Pennsylvania.  The area is well known as a center of higher education and has more than 80 postsecondary institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Drexel, Villanova, and Thomas Jefferson University.  Philadelphia does not have a particularly large population of Zambian immigrants, however, the city does have connections to Zambia through its hospitals, universities, charitable organizations and church groups that make trips to the country.  University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Language Center is one of the few schools in the United States to teach Nyanja, a language spoken in Zambia.  Philadelphia is also home to professional golfer Vincent Kabaso, the first Zambian PGA member.

Los Angeles is America’s second most populous city after New York.  Greater Los Angeles—which includes Los Angeles County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County, Ventura County, and Orange County—has a population of nearly 19 million people.  If Greater Los Angeles were its own country, it would be the 15th largest economy in the world (its GDP is slightly less than the GDP of Indonesia).  Known for its endless sprawl, Greater Los Angeles is the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area and includes over 200 cities such as Santa Monica, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, Long Beach, Carson, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  Los Angeles is one of the most multicultural cities on the planet and attracts people from all over the world, including immigrants from Sub-Saharan African and the country of Zambia.  The population of Zambians in Los Angeles is not huge, however, the city does have an honorary consulate that works with the embassy to promote trade and investment between our two countries in the manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and healthcare sectors.  Lusaka, Zambia’s capital and commercial center of the country, has a sister city agreement with Los Angeles that dates back to 1968. 

A growing number of foreigners are moving to Thailand so they can work in a year-round tropical paradise that provides all the contemporary comforts of the West.

The Kingdom of Thailand offers lush jungles, sandy beaches, colorful Buddhist temples, and spicy, aromatic cuisine. Modern infrastructure, stylish hotels, and well-regarded international schools also distinguish the South Asian kingdom. The quality of Thai healthcare services regularly rank it among the top 10 countries in the world, enabling the medical tourism sector to draw visitors from both hemispheres.  

The city of Dallas and the surrounding metropolitan area is the most populous metropolis in the southern United States and fourth-most populous in the country.  The Dallas metropolitan area—known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, or DFW by local residents—has a population of 7.6 million people and includes the cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, Plano, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Frisco, Mesquite, Denton, Grand Prairie, and McKinney.  The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, located in North Texas, is one of the fastest growing regions in the country thanks to its low cost of living, low taxes, abundance of resources, and ease of doing business.  Dallas has the second-highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States and there is a long list of companies that have been relocating to the area from other parts of the country.  Dallas has a growing population of immigrants, including those from Sub-Saharan Africa and the nation of Zambia.  The city is home to the Association of Zambians in Dallas-Fort Worth, a nonprofit organization that caters to the needs of Zambians and hosts events such dinner parties, business expos, and Independence Day celebrations.  Dallas also has several Christian ministries and nonprofit organizations providing services in Zambia.

Chicago is America’s third-most-populous city and its metropolitan area, known as Chicagoland, has a population approaching 10 million people.  Chicago is a vibrant international city with a robust economy that is the corporate headquarters for 57 Fortune 1000 companies.  While manufacturing and food processing provide a strong foundation for its economy, the city is also an important financial center and is home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Chicago metropolitan area covers 14 counties across three states—Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—and includes cities like Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Cicero, Skokie, Gary (Indiana), and Kenosha (Wisconsin).  Chicago has a growing population of immigrants from Africa, including those from Zambia.  There are a few hundred Zambians in the Chicago area and they have a nonprofit organization—the Zambian Heritage Association of Chicago—that promotes their homeland’s culture and heritage.  For any American people interested in trying Zambian cuisine, the city or Urbana (two hours by car from Chicago) has one of the few Zambian restaurants in the country where diners can enjoy foods such as nshima, gizdodo, goat meat, and various stews.

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and is an important global city that attracts visitors from all over the world.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area—which includes the District of Columbia and parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia—is America’s sixth-largest metropolis and has a population of 6.3 million people.  Cities within this area (apart from the District of Columbia) include Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, and Reston—all in Virginia—along with the Maryland towns of Bethesda, College Park, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Silver Spring.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area has a large population of immigrants from Africa, including a few hundred from Zambia.  Although their population is not huge, it is large enough to host community events and organize a nonprofit group representing the interest of Zambian people in the area (Association of Zambians in D.C., Maryland & Virginia).  As our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. is home to federal agencies like USAID and Peace Corps that have programs in Zambia to help bolster the country’s healthcare, education, and agriculture infrastructure.  There are also dozens of nonprofit groups throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area doing work in Zambia.