I don’t understand those views” of people not feeling accepted, he said.
The first Asian-American elected to a four-year term on the City Council, he is now a Republican state assemblyman representing the 68th District, which includes Irvine. Steven Choi is perplexed by stories of residents struggling to adjust to Irvine. “If you are more familiar with English, you do fine here.” 'Who wouldn't want to be in such a city?' The focus is on language,” added her husband, Bill Lee, 65. So they don’t focus on politics, you see. “They realize we are bringing investment here. While some residents love the equity they are building as housing prices rise, others worry it’s making Irvine out of reach for many.
Lee said some longtime residents she’s talked to are open about their concerns about how “foreign money” is causing real estate values to skyrocket. And they tell me back, ‘When do you take ESL?’ ‘Your command of this language so poor,’” she said. “I do not know how I can talk the same speed like a local. She describes her language skills as “classroom English” and said she knows it bothers some people. But she sometimes also feels like an outsider. Like Hartman, Lee said she generally finds “shelter” in Irvine. At 63, with grown children, she and her husband bought their condo as an investment and split their time between Hong Kong and Orange County. Lily Lee said she experienced similar feelings since moving to Irvine two years ago. “Chinese with perfect English, they get better treated,” she said. This has inspired Hartman, 30, to try to improve her English. Over time, however, she said she became self-conscious about her heavy Chinese accent and believes it affects the way some people treat her. “Everyone asked me when I will buy some house.” (Paul Duginski) She was also struck by the single-mindedness of the culture. I saw so many foreign faces, it caused me much surprise,” she said about her first days in Irvine. There is much she loves about its neighborhoods, and she recently married and plans to settle down here. She’s part of a wave of immigration by Asians to the city. May Hartman moved to Irvine from Shanghai in 2014 to study accounting at Irvine Valley College. Loving Irvine, but feeling like an outsider Some also think it might all be too much, too fast. Some feel self-conscious about their heavy accents, while others talk about encounters with the occasional longtime resident who resents the influx of Asians and other immigrants.įor white residents of Irvine, the boom has brought much to like - rising home values, stellar test scores and an explosion of ethnic restaurants, cultural celebrations and retail spaces that have brought international sophistication to a place once known as cookie-cutter suburbia. (Paul Duginski)īut even in this haven that residents call “a mini-United Nations,” diversity sometimes brings strain.įor recent immigrants, it can be hard to fit into the Irvine ideal. The master-planned city has become synonymous with a certain kind of lifestyle, a magnet for high-achieving families of all races and backgrounds looking for the best public schools for their children and safe, immaculate neighborhoods for themselves. It is more Asian than white, affluent and booming - its population now surpassing 250,000 as it continues to be an economic powerhouse of Orange County. In a region known for its cultural mix, Irvine stands apart.
The Woodbury Town Center in Irvine looks like so many other sparkling new shopping villages in suburban California with its Trader Joe’s, HomeGoods, Home Depot framed by swaying palm trees and Spanish tile.Īs customers make their way through the outdoor mall, the words they leave in their wake are less uniform: Arabic, Tagalog, Hindi, Cantonese, Korean.
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