Via the TU: Jax's Foreign Born Population

[urbanlibertarian]

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-04-23/story/jacksonvilles-foreign-born-population-diverse-unto-itself

Jacksonville's foreign-born population diverse unto itself

As they settle in, new stores, services and churches have sprung up
Posted: April 23, 2011 - 12:00am

By Deirdre Conner

The very existence of Jacksonville's diverse immigrant community made Avdo Tahirovic the success he is today.

The entrepreneur rattles off the countries of his clientele at his Amar European Grocery stores with ease: "Hungarians, Ukrainians, Russians, Albanians, Bulgarians, Germans, Czechs, Slovakians, Romanians ..."

And Bosnians, of course. Tahirovic, who left Bosnia 18 years ago at age 17 during a time of conflict, now welcomes Serbians into the store along with everyone else, including plenty of Jacksonville natives just curious about the wares.

Duval County's healthy population growth has been bolstered by people moving here from other countries, including Tahirovic and many of his shoppers.

Estimates from the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey show that the number of foreign-born residents accounted for as much as a third of the area's 100,000 population growth.

But the group is not dominated by any one country. Far from it.

Duval County's two biggest immigrant groups - people from the Philippines and Mexico - account for less than a fifth of the overall population of the approximately 71,000 foreign-born here.

Some of the growing numbers of immigrants are due to Jacksonville's status as a top area for refugee resettlement. Duval County is behind only Tampa and Miami in the number sent to the state. In 2010 alone, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families, there were nearly 1,200 refugees resettled here, most of them from Burma, Bhutan, Cuba and Iraq.

Those are so recent that their numbers will not show up in U.S. Census Bureau estimates until later this year at the earliest.

More well-established communities in Jacksonville include Indians, Cubans, Vietnamese and Koreans.

Of the foreign-born population, Census Bureau estimates show that about half are naturalized citizens. People who hail from Puerto Rico are not counted in the figures because they are U.S. citizens.

But Jacksonville's growing diversity is not just due to immigration. While the number of residents who are foreign-born has increased by more than 30,000 between 2000 and 2009, the region's racial and ethnic diversity has increased by an even greater factor. People who identify as Hispanic or Asian now make up more than 100,000 of Jacksonville's 864,000 residents.

Churches, stores and services are starting to reflect the different cultures that have sprung up, most - but not all - in the city's Southside and Baymeadows areas.

That's where Tahirovic's two stores are located; the first has been open for a number of years and the new store on Baymeadows Road has been open since last summer.

In the years since Tahirovic started his first business in the corner of a laundry off University Boulevard, he has added sophisticated software to track what those diverse customers want to buy. He now gets the best prices from distributors of everything from Polish chocolate to Wisconsin cheese. And recently, he bought that very same laundry where he got his start.

"It's amazing," he said. "The American Dream, I have it."



Deirdre Conner: (904) 359-4504

All of these immigrants make Jacksonville a much more interesting place to live.

[BridgeTroll]

Agreed.  Why Jacksonville?  The pages of MJ are rife with reasons for people NOT to come to Jax... or even flee the area.  Why do these folks come?

[Jason]

Its pretty obvious BT, Jax ROCKS!!!   


Of course we have a peice of every positive thing about Florida, great weather, great outdoors, great neighborhoods, beaches, proximity, opportunity, not overcrowded, low cost of living, plenty to do, etc.  But I am curious as to how these folks become aware of Jacksonville.  Do we have a marketing campaign running over there?  Is it simply word of mouth?

[BridgeTroll]

I agree Jason... 

[copperfiend]

I know a few Bulgarian familiies that live here. Their kids went to JU.

[Beloki]

Coming from Europe (Netherlands) myself; I had never ever heard of Jax before my company moved me here (2007). There are no famous movies/songs about Jax that are seen around the world. There is no famous sports team or global company that can give Jax an international branding. Since my arrival: love this place !!!: We have soo much space and Jax is close to everything and anything. The weather (a real +++), the beach, the river, the easy airport (for quick weekend getaways). I agree that the only thing we are missing is a compact downtown that is great for visiting and showing to vistors that come by (but we all here at metrojax have great ideas how to improve so hopefully only a matter of time).

[hillary supporter]

Its pretty obvious BT, Jax ROCKS!!!  


Of course we have a peice of every positive thing about Florida, great weather, great outdoors, great neighborhoods, beaches, proximity, opportunity, not overcrowded, low cost of living, plenty to do, etc.  But I am curious as to how these folks become aware of Jacksonville.  Do we have a marketing campaign running over there?  Is it simply word of mouth?

i returned from nyc after 20 years, my wife was hesitant, weary of the red neck stigma. In 2006, she brought her mother and sister over from Croatia, AND THEY LOVED IT! Her sister wrote a complimentary article of Jax in her local newspaper. And Avdo Tahirovic had a lot to do with winning them over. My wifes mother visits his store once a week when shes here as he offers balken periodicals. Its very rough over there, but they cant wait to come back.
JAX ROCKS!
Try Avdos "cevapcici" on the grill its a bosnian/serbian mixture of pork,beef, veal and spices that cant be beat!

[BridgeTroll]

Sometimes transplants see a place in a better light than the natives...