From London to San Francisco, rising rents are pushing Chinese immigrants out of Chinatowns and into suburbia, reports the Financial Times.
In New York Chinatown, the Asian population has dropped 15 percent in the last decade even as the city wide Asian American population grew 30 percent. Not coincidentally, trendy boutique shops are replacing Chinatown noodle shops.
In San Francisco’s Chinatown, the population has dwindled by 23 percent over the same 10 years and in Philadelphia, surrounding luxury developments are pushing up rents
“Young families, new immigrants, they’ve all moved away to areas with cheaper residential rents, like Queens. My friends and family have all left.” said 42-year-old Siu Lam.
