Monthly Archives: February 2022

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.  The Orlando economy is expanding thanks to the internal migration of Americans from slow growth states along with the flow of immigrants from all over the world, including from Vietnam.  Although a growing number of “secondary migrants” have been coming to the Central Florida region for education purposes and to open small businesses in recent years, Orlando is home to one of the oldest Vietnamese immigrant communities in the United States.  Vietnamese originally came to Orlando as refugees after the Fall of Saigon in 1975.  They would establish “Little Vietnam”, a business district near downtown Orlando with numerous Vietnamese restaurants, markets, and other small businesses.   

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, Forest Park, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta has become an extremely diverse and international city that includes a large population of Vietnamese.  There are over 50,000 Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans living in Atlanta, making it the 8^th largest city for Vietnamese in the United States.  Vietnamese immigrants originally came to Atlanta as refugees in 1975 after the Fall of Saigon, but in recent decades, Vietnamese have been coming to the metro area as international students to study business and engineering, and as investors running small businesses.  Vietnamese small businesses, restaurants, grocery stores are found along the Buford Highway corridor in Chamblee and Doraville.  There are also Vietnamese communities in Gwinnett and Clayton counties. 

Phoenix is the capital of Arizona and is the largest city in the Mountain Time Zone.  The Phoenix Metropolitan Area has a population of 4.8 million and is one of the fastest growing cities in America.  New residents and businesses come here for the low cost of living and year-round warm weather.  Phoenix gets more sunshine than any other major city on the planet.  The Phoenix Metropolitan Area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, includes the cities of Casa Grande, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Maricopa, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale, Surprise, and Tempe.  The Valley has a strong base of semiconductor, electronics, and aerospace manufacturers.  Real estate, construction, healthcare, financial services, and tourism are also major components of the Phoenix economy, which has over 200 golf courses, 500 hotels, and 40 resorts.  These attractions make Phoenix a very popular destinations for the one million Canadians who visit the area each year.  Thousands of Canadians own second homes in Phoenix, many of them living in golf and condominium communities.  Phoenix is sister cities with Calgary, a city in the western Canadian province of Alberta.  Each year the Phoenix Sister Cities organization hosts the Great Canadian Picnic, a social event celebrating Canadian heritage.

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.  With a population of about 15,000, the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area has the second largest population of Bangladeshi immigrants in the United States.  Concentrated in Northern Virginia, the area is home to a few Bangladesh markets and restaurants serving halal foods and favorite dishes like Mughlai paratha, briyani, shorshe ilish, haleem, and chana masala.  There are religious and community organizations in the area such as the Bangladesh Islamic Center and Bangladesh Association of Greater Washington DC, as well as cultural organizations like Bornomala Shikkhangon and Bangladesh Center for Community Development that teach the Bangla language. 

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, Vallejo, Concord, Pleasanton, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, Palo Alto, and San Rafael.  The economy of the Bay Area is one of the most vigorous and entrepreneurial on the planet.  Silicon Valley (in the southern part of the Bay Area) has attracted engineers from all over the world, including those from Canada.  Canada has also been an attractive market for San Francisco’s tech giants like Salesforce and Google, who have established offices north of the border to tap into the country’s engineering talent.  The San Francisco Bay Area has a strong foundation of nonprofit organizations and social clubs that support Canadian expats such as the Digital Moose Lounge and Canadian Women’s Club.  There is even a meetup spot (Augie’s Montreal Deli in Berkeley) where Canadians can watch NHL hockey and Toronto Raptors games.

Peru ranks as one of the world’s most appealing countries for retirees due to its scenic beauty, low cost of living, and rich culture.  Best known for the Incan city of Machu Picchu, one of the “New Seven Wonders of the World,” Peru is also home to 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites.  Retirees are drawn to the country’s lush Amazon jungles, laid-back beach towns, ancient villages, and the towering Andes Mountains.  Living costs average more than 50 percent less than those in the United States (https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Peru).  The country also features modern infrastructure, restored historic buildings, modern supermarkets, shopping venues, and a vibrant culinary scene.

The Republic of Peru encourages retirees and their families to take up residence through its Rentista (“person of independent means”) visa program.  Publications such as International Living rank Peru as one of the top retiree destinations in South America and among the easiest for obtaining a retiree visa.  More than 100,000 foreigners live in Peru (including retirees, employees, students, and digital nomads), of whom 10 percent originated from the United States.  The largest expat community is in the capital city of Lima, although foreign residents are also common in Arequipa, Cusco, Mancora, and other cities across the country.

Greater Houston is the fifth most-populous metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of over 7 million residents.  Greater Houston encompasses nine counties and includes the cities of Sugar Land, Baytown, Conroe, Pasadena, Pearland, Galveston, and The Woodlands, which is a popular neighborhood for Canadian expats.  Houston is one of America’s most ethnically diverse cities.  With over 145 different languages being spoken here, it is no surprise that Houston has plenty of great restaurants offering delicious cuisine from all over the world.  Houston even has a bar (The Maple Leaf Pub) that serves poutine and plenty of Canadian beer.  And a little piece of Canada is coming to Houston this year with the arrival of Tim Hortons, the beloved Canadian doughnut franchise.  This is a fast-growing and youthful city that attracts entrepreneurs, corporate businesspeople, and students from Canada.  There are an estimated 20,000 Canadians living in Greater Houston; many of them working in the oil and gas business, but there are also Canadians working in health care, electronics, financial services, logistics, industrial manufacturing, and aerospace.  Houston is home to the Canada-Texas Chamber of Commerce, and the city has direct flights to five Canadian cities. 

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.  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, Torrance, Long Beach, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  Los Angeles is a place that attracts young people from all over the world, including Australians interested in making their mark on the world within the music, film, new media, and other creative industries.  There are many successful Australian actors, directors, writers, and musicians living in Los Angeles, and the city is home to Australians in Film, an organization promoting Australians in the entertainment industry.  There are an estimated 45,000 Australians living in Los Angeles, making the City of Angels the number one city for Aussies in the United States.  Los Angeles is also a transportation hub for Americans traveling to Australia; Qantas Airways, Delta, United, and American Airlines offer direct flights to Sydney from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). 

New York is America’s most-populous city, and its metropolitan area has over 20 million people.  New York City contains the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx.  The New York metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island, and the Mid and Lower Hudson Valley.  It also includes several large cities in New Jersey such as Newark, Edison, Elizabeth, Paterson, Jersey City, and Hoboken, along with cities in Connecticut that include New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford.  New York is considered “Capital of the World”, not only due to its economic power, but also because it is a center of diplomacy and culture.  The city is home to the United Nations and there are over 800 languages spoken here, including Bangla, the national language of Bangladesh.  With nearly 100,000 Bangladeshi people living in New York, Bangla can be heard throughout the city and chances are good that the person serving your morning coffee at Dunkin’ or driving your taxi is from Bangladesh.  New York is the center of Bangladesh culture in the United States and home to two-thirds of Bangladeshi immigrants.  There are several dozen Bangladeshi restaurant and grocery stores in New York and the city is home to organizations like the Bangladesh Society.

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, Miramar, 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”.  While Spanish is often heard on the streets of Miami, French is another language that can be heard around the city; there are an estimated 2 million Canadians that visit South Florida each year, a quarter of whom come from Quebec, Canada’s French-speaking province.  Miami is even home to a French-speaking newspaper, Le Soleil de la Floride.  Attracted to the warm weather and beautiful beaches of South Florida cities like Miami, Canadians are the top international visitors to the Sunshine State and inject over 6 billion dollars into the economy each year.  Canadians are also the top foreign real estate investors in the state of Florida.