Monthly Archives: January 2022

UPDATED April 4, 2022

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.  It’s also become a popular destination for relocation from other parts of the United States as well as for immigrants from other countries, including newcomers from India.  Indians make up one of the fastest growing groups in Charlotte and now have a population of over 20,000 residents.  Charlotte is home to several cultural organizations representing the various ethnic groups of India such as Gujarati, Tamil, Sindhi, Telugu, Marathi, and others.  The city hosts the annual Festival of India and is home to the Hindu Center of Charlotte, and has a growing number of Indian restaurants and grocery stores.

UPDATED March 25, 2022

Portland is the most populous city in the state of Oregon and the second-most populous city in the Pacific Northwest.  The Portland metropolitan area has a population of 2.5 million people and is the 25th most populous metropolis in the United States.  The city is located on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, which meet on the northern end of the Willamette Valley.  The valley stretches for 150 miles between forested mountains containing rich farmland and scenic views.  Over 250 agricultural items are produced here, including award winning wines like pinot noir and hops used in the production of craft beer.  There are at least 5,000 Cambodians living in the Portland area and the city is home to the Cambodian American Community of Oregon, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the Khmer language and promoting the culture and history of Cambodia.  Portland is also home to the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Oregon, an organization that supports Wat Dhammarangsey, a Cambodian Buddhist temple that hosts traditional events such as Cambodian New Year.  Cambodia is an important destination for Portland area businesspeople working in the sportswear industry because many of the city’s famous brands manufacture their products in this Southeast Asian country.

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— includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Decatur, Mableton, Conyers and others.  Atlanta is the commercial capital of the Southeast United States and has the third-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country.  Atlanta has also become a popular destination for international firms seeking to establish a North American headquarters, which even includes a few companies from Australia.  Australians, eager to cash in on high returns in a growing US economy, have also made investments in Atlanta real estate.  Of course, there are also many Atlanta-based firms doing business in Australia such as Cox Enterprises, WestRock, Coca-Cola, Inspire Brands, AGCO, and so many others.  American tourists rank as the second biggest spenders in Australia and the country has always been a popular travel destination for Atlanta area college students from Georgia Tech, Emory University, and University of Georgia.

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.  The metropolitan area includes the municipalities of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Chamblee, Roswell, Alpharetta, Marietta, Duluth, Norcross, Tucker, Decatur, Mableton, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta has become a very diverse and international city.  The Atlanta metropolitan area has nearly 85,000 immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and has one of the largest populations of West Africans in the country.  There are even some immigrants from Benin, however the numbers are small because there are only about 5,000 Beninese in the Untied States.  The city of Atlanta has a sister city agreement with Cotonou, the largest city in Benin.  As a former colony of France, this is a French speaking country and visitors from Atlanta might find it useful to prepare for their trip by enrolling in language courses at the Alliance Francaise d’Atlanta in Midtown.  Yoruba is also spoken in Benin, a language that has been taught by The University of Georgia since 1996.

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 the sixth largest population of Hispanics in the country, numbering nearly 2 million residents.  The overwhelming majority of this population has Mexican heritage, so Mexican culture is not unfamiliar to most residents of Dallas.  Bolivians, on the other hand, only number about 1,500 in the Dallas area.  Although Bolivia and its culture is little known to most in Dallas, the country is an emerging travel destination for those seeking unique attractions. 

UPDATED March 25, 2022

San Francisco, known as the “City by the Bay”, is one of America’s most famous and beautiful cities.  Located in Northern California, San Francisco is just one of the many cities that together make up the San Francisco Bay Area, or Bay Area for short.  The 14-county combined statistical area (that comprises the Bay Area) has nearly 10 million people, making it the fifth-most populous region in the United States.  The Bay Area includes cities such as Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, and San Rafael.  From the early days of the California Gold Rush to modern times with the growth of Silicon Valley, the Bay Area has a long history of attracting immigrants and adventure-seekers from all over the world, including newcomers from Asia.  Cambodians first came to San Francisco in the 1950s as college students, and then larger groups came during the 1970s as refugees fleeing their country’s civil war.  There are now 15,000 Cambodians in the Bay Area and about 25,000 in the San Joaquin Valley.  Stockton, Modesto, and Fresno all have Cambodian Buddhist temples along with several authentic Cambodian restaurants.  San Francisco is home to the Cambodian School of San Francisco, an organization teaching Khmer language and culture.