Monthly Archives: June 2021

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

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 students from the Philippines.  Schools like Boston University, Harvard, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology all have Filipino student organizations.  There are a few thousand Filipinos living in Greater Boston and about 12,000 throughout the state of Massachusetts.  Although Boston does not necessarily have a strong connection to the Philippines compared to other major U.S. cities, this city (and the city of Springfield) have made one of the biggest contributions in relations between our two countries—the game of basketball.  Basketball was invented in Springfield by James Naismith, and Boston is home of the Celtics, one of the game’s greatest NBA franchises of all time.  Basketball is a national obsession in the Philippines and fans there are just as passionate as those in Boston.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

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 Temple University, Drexel, Villanova, and University of Pennsylvania, whose Penn Language Center offer courses in the Filipino (Tagalog) language.  Historically, Philadelphia was also an important city for the nation’s military and had the country’s first naval shipyard.  Filipinos were allowed to join the U.S. Navy starting in 1901 and have found a home in Philadelphia ever since.  There are now over 35,000 Filipinos living in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and the city is home to the Filipino American Association of Philadelphia, one of the oldest Filipino organizations in the United States.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

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 nearly 100,000 Filipinos residents and has over 100 organizations and programs that provide services to Filipino Americans and people of the Philippines.  Considering the close historical connections between the United States and Philippines, Washington, D.C. is one of the most important foreign capitals for Filipinos working in government and international politics.  During World War II, there were several hundred thousand Filipinos that fought alongside American troops to defeat Japan.  Today the contributions of Filipinos during the war is commemorated at the World War II Memorial, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

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.  Charlotte and the state of North Carolina have become an important financial center and is the headquarters of several large banks.  There is a strong link between Charlotte and Philippines when we consider that some of these large banks have operations in Philippines to handle their customer service and back office administration.  North Carolina is also home to several military bases, and the Philippines is a popular retirement destination for many American veterans.  Residents of Charlotte interested in trying Filipino food before their trip to Philippines can check out Joel’s Asian Grill in Mooresville.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

The city of Orlando, located in the Central Florida region of the United States and known as “the City Beautiful”, is ranked as America’s 23rd most-populous city.  The Orlando metropolitan area includes various cities and towns such as Kissimmee, Sanford, Winter Garden, Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, and Apopka.  The metro area has a population of 2.6 million people and is home to several theme parks including Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, and Universal Studios.  Orlando’s theme parks, natural attractions, and year-round warm weather make it one of the most-visited cities in the world.  Tourists are also drawn to the area’s outlet shopping malls, which is a popular destination for international visitors, especially those traveling from Philippines (who are no strangers to the mall!).  There are an estimated 140,000 Filipinos living in the state of Florida and 20,000 Filipinos in Central Florida.  Orlando is home to nearly a dozen Filipino restaurants and grocery stores, giving American people planning a trip to Philippines an opporuntity to try Pinoy food before they start their journey.  Orlando may soon have its first Jollibee, a fast-food franchise based in Philippines that offers unique menu items such as adobo rice, pancit palabok, pork sausage, corned beef, peach mango pie, and halo-halo.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

The Greater Miami Area is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of 6.2 million people.  The metropolitan area is composed of Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.  Its main cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miami Gardens, Miramar, Homestead, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, and Boca Raton.  This is a diverse community where 40% of the population was born in another country, and it is one of America’s most important cities for international trade.  Miami is a business hub for the Latin American region and is often thought of as the unofficial “Capital of Latin America”.  The city is also considered the “Cruise Capital of the World” and is the headquarters of several cruise line companies.  Filipinos are an important source of labor for the cruise industry, making up nearly a third of all cruise ship workers.  Although the population of Filipinos in South Florida is relatively low compared to other major American cities, there are still nearly a dozen Filipino restaurants and grocery stores in Miami due to the preponderance of Filipinos in the cruise industry.  This makes Miami a great city for local American people to sample chicken adobo, chop suey, pancit, lechon, pinakbet, and fried lumpia.

UPDATED November 26, 2022 (Please see information below under "Other things to consider")

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 with an estimated population of 15,000 Filipino citizens and about 45,000 Filipino Americans.  Filipinos have been in Atlanta for decades working in the healthcare industry but nowadays also work in various other fields throughout corporate America doing office administration, accounting, engineering, and computer science.  Atlanta is home to the Filipino American Association of Greater Atlanta and the Atlanta Filipino Student Association.  Atlanta even has a Filipino grocery store (Manila Mart in Doraville) with imported products from the Philippines and a Filipino restaurant (Estrellita in Grant Park) and a few pop-up restaurants.