Effect of immigration on society in the US on housing patterns?

Answer 1

I'm sure there is a book that can answer this more fully, but I can tell you about where I live. The housing pattern here in Las Vegas, NV is that immigrants (sometimes legal sometimes not) buy or rent homes. If they buy a house, they make the down payment and move in. They live there for a couple of years or less making payments, usually late and after being warned they'll be kicked out if they don't pay on time. They let the house fall into disrepair and scatter trash, toys etc. all over the place. In some neighborhoods, the neighborhood association rep goes and talks to them and gets them to clean the place up a bit on the outside for a while. They blast loud music, work on their cars in the driveway and basicly drive the neighbors nuts. Pretty soon, they move out and leave the house a total mess and with the majority of the purchase price of the house unpaid. Then a relator buys the house, fixes it up and sells it to another immigrant family. The cycle repeats.

Sometimes, the house sits empty for a long time between buyers. You sometimes see whole blocks of empty houses. Neighbors who take care of their houses eventually get fed up with the noise and the mess and the percieved decline in their own property's value and move to a "better" neighborhood. Eventually, the whole neighborhood is just rental and short-term owner housing. The appearance of the overall neighborhood declines to the point that people start even avoiding going through there and bingo, you have another slum district. There are many neighborhoods in Vegas that used to be very nice, upscale places that are now graffitti and trash marred areas of houses that are barely meeting city code if they are at all.

It also affects area business districts. Signs go up in foreign languages, mostly Spanish, advertising directly to immigrants. Stores that people who lived in the area for years used to shop at are replaced with smoke shops, pawn shops, Mexican food stores etc. After a while, you hear more Spanish than English spoken in the area. There are parts of Vegas that look and sound just like towns in Mexico that I have been to.

The overall effect is that the nice new houses are built further and further out in the suburbs on the edge of town and closer to the mountains. The stores that the people who build those homes usually shop in, move out near the suburbs too to get more of their business. The areas they move out of decay like I described above.

I know people who have lived here in Vegas most of their lives who are actually considering moving to Reno or Carson City because the neighborhoods they grew up spending time in are so changed, they feel like it's not even the same town anymore.

Now, this is a free country and people can and should be able to live where they want to. If people want to move out of countries where they can't get work, the government is corrupt and the overall quality of life is so terrible that they are compelled to leave, I can't blame them. I've been to Mexico twice and each time to different parts. The first time to the northern provinces near the border and the other time to Guadalajara which is a lot further south. From what I saw down there on those week long trips, I'd say that if I was born in Mexico I would leave for a better place too.

All I'm saying is that I wish that those who leave other countries looking for a better life here would not make a mess of the places they move into in Vegas. I don't have very much money either, only about $4000 in savings most of the time. I don't live in a fancy house either. It's pretty basic. However, I still take care of it. I keep it clean and I don't leave stuff laying all over the yard outside either. I don't drive my neighbors nuts with loud music and yelling. I don't spray graffitti on anything. I make my payments on time. My house looks pretty good compared to many of the houses in my area. You don't have to be rich to take pride in what you own.

I do have a neighbor who is from Mexico who actually is an exception to the rule. He takes good care of his house and the area around it too. So, by his example I know it's possible for immigrants to take care of their neighborhoods. He's polite to his neighbors and is actually pretty nice to talk to. His English is a bit broken but it's better than my Spanish. I remind him of that when he apologizes for being hard to understand. At least he tries. I have worked in several retail stores around here, and I have gotten many customers who actually expect us to have sales associates in the stores who speak Spanish! I've had some actually get mad because no one working in the store spoke their language and they had to actually speak English to ask their questions. Now, how's that for an effect on society?