PASSPORTS AND VISAS 101

Seattle is the largest city in the state of Washington and is also the largest city in America’s Pacific Northwest region.  Known as the “Emerald City”, Seattle is situated in a magnificent natural environment along the Puget Sound, surrounded by evergreen forests, mountains, and water.  The Seattle metropolitan area (the fifteenth-largest metropolis in the United States) has a population of 4 million people and includes the cities of Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent, Everett, Renton, Kirkland, and Redmond.  For many years the economy of Seattle was based on the lumber industry and extraction of natural resources, and then diversified into aircraft and machinery manufacturing during the 20^th century.  In recent times, Seattle has become well known as the corporate home for several famous companies such as Nordstrom, Costco, Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia, Redfin, Zillow, and Starbucks.  Located on the Pacific Rim, Seattle has always been an important city for international trade with Asia and has attracted many Asian immigrants over the years.  There are an estimated 12,500 people with ethnic heritage from Laos living in Seattle, making this city one of the largest Lao communities in the U.S.  Each year Laotian Americans celebrate Lao New Year at Wat Lao Mixayaram, a Buddhist temple in Seattle.

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 freeways and commercial 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, Culver City, Glendale, Long Beach, Carson, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  Once a part of Mexico from 1821-1848, it is well known that Los Angeles has a huge Mexican American population of over 3.7 million residents.  It may be less well known that Los Angeles has the fourth-largest population of Cuban Americans in the country.  Cubans originally came to Los Angeles’s Echo Park neighborhood in the 1960s to escape the Castro regime, where they started restaurants and other small businesses to support themselves.  Although most Cubans have moved out of this neighborhood, there still stands the José Martí monument (one of Cuba’s most historical figures) at Echo Park Lake.  Today there are nearly 100,000 Cuban Americans throughout Southern California and each year Los Angeles hosts the Cuban American Music Festival.

越来越多的美国人选择在厄瓜多尔退休，以享受负担得起的生活消费，温暖的赤道气候，以及多样化的文化和自然景点。

虽然厄瓜多尔在处理贫困问题方面仍旧有不少问题，而且尚未成功实现经济工业化，为公民提供坚实的中产阶级的就业机会基础，但这是一个资源丰富的国家，有着大量的城市和乡镇，这些城镇有着足够的多基础设施、医疗设施和受过教育的民众，使之成为那些寻求新生活或第二家园的美国人的舒适居住地。  当然，在厄瓜多尔的生活成本也大大降低。  绝大多数退休人员每年只需花费25,000美元就能过上舒适的生活--远低于美国或加拿大等国家的平均生活成本。 

Numbeo (https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Ecuador) 的数据显示，厄瓜多尔的生活成本比美国的平均支出低了45%左右。同时Numbeo还发现租金也降低了大约72%。&n

Denver, known as the “Mile High City” because of its elevation of 5,280 feet, is the capital of Colorado and is one of the fastest growing cities in America.  The Denver Metropolitan area is the 19th most populous metro area in the U.S. and has a population approaching three million people.  The metro area includes the towns of Arvada, Castle Rock, Centennial, Lakewood, Littleton, Thornton, Westminster, and Aurora.  The region’s growing and diverse economy, along with its proximity to Rocky Mountain ski resorts and other outdoor recreational activities, make Denver one of America’s best places to live.  Denver has a diverse economy and strong foundation of Fortune 500 companies operating in various industries such as healthcare, financial services, media, apparel, electronics, mining, aerospace, energy, and food and beverage.  Although Denver still maintains a small population of immigrants from Asia, there are still opportunities for locals to get a taste of the Far East without leaving home.  There are an estimated 20,000 Vietnamese living in Denver and the city is home to the Little Saigon Business District.  This is a section of the city where Denverites can enjoy foods from Vietnam and celebrate annual events such as Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.

Greater Houston is the fifth most-populous metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of over 7 million residents.  Houston is one of America’s most ethnically diverse cities.  With over 145 different languages being spoken in this global city, it is no surprise that Houston has plenty of great restaurants offering delicious cuisine from all over the world, including some of the country’s best Chinese cuisine.  This is a fast-growing and youthful city that attracts entrepreneurs, corporate businesspeople, international investors, and students.  Greater Houston encompasses nine counties and includes the cities of Sugar Land, Baytown, Conroe, Pasadena, Pearland, The Woodlands, and Galveston.  Houston has over 100,000 ethnic Chinese, with about half of those residents either immigrating from Taiwan or whose parents or grandparents came from Taiwan starting in the early 1970’s.  Taiwan is solidly represented in this city through active organizations like the Taiwanese Heritage Society of Houston and the Houston chapter of the Taiwanese Association of America, which organizes events like “Taiwan Yes Houston” that celebrates Taiwan’s night market culture.  Ties with Taiwan are further cemented through direct flights from Houston to Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei) on EVA Air.

Argentina’s popularity with foreign retirees continues to grow as expats seek the lower cost of living in the eighth-largest country in the world. Diverse European influences give the Argentine Republic a rich and vibrant culture reflected in its architecture, fashion, museums, literature, and cuisine. Its majestic landscapes span the towering Andes Mountains, lush rainforests, pristine Atlantic beaches, glacial lakes, and the flat plains of Patagonia and the Pampas.

Atlanta has a population of 6.1 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-largest 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, Decatur, Mableton, Clarkston, Conyers, and others.  Atlanta is a diverse and international city that includes a growing population of immigrants from South Asia, including newcomers from Nepal.  The Atlanta metropolitan area has a population of around 5,000 immigrants from Nepal and is home to the Nepalese Association of Georgia, an organization whose mission is to preserve and promote Nepali cultural heritage.  This organization celebrates several events throughout the year such as Nepal New Year and Hindu festivals like Dashain, Tihar, and Hartalika Teej.  Atlanta also has a Nepali Cultural Center that provides Nepali language lessons and even has a few restaurants that serve traditional dishes from Nepal.

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, Culver City, Burbank, Long Beach, Carson, Irvine, Anaheim, and Inglewood.  Los Angeles and the Southern California region have a huge economy that attracts people from all over the country.  The area also attracts immigrants from all over the world to pursue business opportunities.  There are 15,000 Bangladeshi immigrants in Los Angeles and about 25,000 living throughout Southern California, making this the 2^nd most populated region in the United States for people whose ethnic heritage comes from Bangladesh.  Los Angeles is home to Little Bangladesh, a four-block area near the Islamic Center of Southern California that has Bangladeshi restaurants and shops.  The city is also home to several cultural and social organizations such as the Bangladesh Unity Federation of Los Angeles, which organizes the annual Bangladesh Independence Day Parade. 

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, and Palo Alto.  The Bay Area is well known for its cultural diversity and large Asian and Pacific Islander population.  There are an estimated 20,000 Laotian Americans living in the San Francisco Bay Area, making this one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country with immigrants from Laos.  And in the neighboring Central Valley cities of Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, and Fresno, the population of Laotian Americans numbers about 40,000.  The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the few places in the United States that has Lao cuisine and restaurants that are branded as having origins from Laos.  San Francisco is home to the Center for Lao Studies, which is one of the few organizations in the world that promotes and preserves the cultures and languages of Laos.

UPDATED January 21, 2024

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, 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, including investment from outside the country.  Before the pandemic, the state of North Carolina was one of the top destinations for investors from China.  North Carolina has a range of industries that match the interest of Chinese firms, including textiles, agriculture, chemicals, industrial machinery, and various high-technology businesses.  There are nearly fifty Chinese firms with investments in the Charlotte area along with numerous American companies doing business in China.  There are a few thousand citizens of China living in the Charlotte area and the city is home to the Carolina Chinese Chamber of Commerce.