Several years ago, I lived in a community that included 25 townhomes. I was on the HOA and we couldn’t figure out why 85% of the neighbors were not coming to the meetings, or responding to mail.
We learned that 14 of the homes were ESL and occupied by people from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, India and Korea.
Usually, 1-2 adults in the family was working 50+ hours per week and there was either a parent/grandparent at home during the day who could NOT speak English. They were quiet, respectful neighbors but, due to language and cultural differences, there was little interaction among neighbors.
Imagine what it would be like if YOU had to go live in Beijing for work (or other reason) and navigate a totally different culture, values, language, etc. You’d probably choose to live in an ex-pat community with other white, English speaking people, go to ex-pat bars, etc. It’s what people do.
