Dallas, Texas
Portland, Oregon

When I say "Seattle," I'm thinking of the whole metropolitan area...which would include the east side (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Newcastle, Issaquah) as well as Renton, Kent, West Seattle, Federal Way, etc. We have Asian families everywhere. My primary physician is a woman from Japanese stock; my dentist is a Chinese lady, my opthalmologist is from India...and I'm a caucasian male.

There is new construction everywhere...the priciest seems (to me) to be east of the city. Go to www.nwsource.com and look at some ads to get a feel for price, then jump on Horizon or Southwest to come up and check areas out.

Northern Virginia: Fairfax County, Loudoun County (and Arlington and Alexandria) are all very diverse.

Both KBHome and Centex build communities here, too - esp. in Loudoun County and southern Fairfax County. There are also dozens of other developers in these areas as well.

Seattle is inifintely more diverse than the East side. However, there are many churches thoughout the east side.
My sister lives in Redmond(which is not so diverse) and is surrounded by any number of congregations.

Aside from Austin in TX you might want to consider San Antonio. We've lived in both cities and are currently in San Antonio. Housing is TX is very low cost compared to most other areas of the country. San Antonio has less traffic problems than Austin, and it is possible to live centrally ('inside the loop') with middle-class income. There are areas that are being gentrified downtown that are still very reasonably priced. Or tons of suburbs to choose from too. The city is diverse. There are LOADS of things for families to do here.

The downside - Austin and San Antonio are both HOT HOT HOT for about 60-70% of the year. Winters are nice here. Summers are brutal.

Portland & Seattle came to mind. I love Austin (my daughter is going to law school there), but I could not take the heat. My dautghter's having a very hard time with the heat also.
FYI, I'm not far from you in San Jose (close to Los Gatos & Cambell).

I wouldn't say that Seattle is "infinitely more diverse" than the eastside, at least not with respect to Asian professional people. Virtually all of the many Asians whom my husband and I know as friends and colleages (he is a doctor, I am a laywer) live either on Mercer Island or the eastside, mainly Bellevue. As do all the Asian teachers at our daughter's school, and our dentist, who is Asian. And I know that mdhuang expressed a preference for an ethnically-diverse church, there are several Asian churches (including ones with services in languages other than English) on the eastside.

Try shopping at the Bellevue Uwajimaya or Trader Joes and you'll see.

Again, thanks, everyone, for all the responses. My husband and I are having some valuable discussions based on all of your comments, and we're thinking about going over to visit Texas and Washington at some point during the year.

We have heard great things about Seattle, but some of the areas, like Bellevue and Kirkland, are pretty expensive (it's up there with the Bay Area).

Any other areas in Seattle that are somewhat affordable... with diversity?

Hello mdhuang,

I'm glad you came back to see the resonses and ask questions. Yes, most areas around Seattle are expensive for a young family. I suggested you look at Snoqualmie Ridge based on the experience of some friends of my son, a couple in their late 20's who bought a very nice home there a few years ago and have started their family. I go to visit them with my son, and I see a neighborhood with lots of Asian and South Asian families. The homes are new, and it is a 30-minute commute to Seattle; much shorter to Bellevue. If you check the website and scroll to "Quadrant Homes", you will see they have homes in "the 300's" (sometimes I hate this real estate jargon, but it is useful). You will also see one of their real estate agents is Asian. Perhaps you could contact Ms. Lee and ask her if the community would be a good fit for you?
http://www.srmpc.com/homes/

Have you considered the midwest? Very affordable and believe it or not, but there are alot of Asians where I am (Dublin, OH)b/c of Honda here and also OSU. We moved here from Emeryville after our DD was born. It is a beautiful, growing family friendly community with excellent schools. Dublin is really well planned (new developments but tons of bike paths/parks and greenspace) and is close enough to Columbus so there is still alot of cultural opportunities. The weather though...not so great from Nov-March, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for us. Also Chicago and Chicago suburbs although more expensive than here, are terrific. I suspect you'd have alot more diversity since its such a large city. We lived there 7 years ago before kids and had a blast. Good luck in your decision!

just back from atlanta area, pretty diverse, stockbridge/henry county area new development we saw (Heron's Bay?) very nice and growing. this is south of atlanta wehre there is more diversity than in north atlanta. north is just about built out and now attention seems to be in south. this particular area is southeast. southwest is newnan, peachtree city, etc., with growing populations and good schools. houses not as inexp. as texas, apparently, but fairly good quality and many amenities.

I have never really thought about moving towards the midwest, mainly because I'm not familiar with the area. I appreciate how specific everyone is about which cities to look into and where to find new developments.

enzian: Thanks for leading us in the right direction. The Quadrant Homes look good awesome and they are below our price range!

MDHuang, there's another thread that mentions the website www.findyourspot.com which may be a good place to start.
TxTravel--too cool that you're from our "new" area!! I've just topped a thread about taht part of the state for brief trip ideas from Texarkana.
Hope you can return some day soon!! They say T'kana will be "booming" wehn I-49 crossed the I-30 there--more tech jobs?? If you don't mind me asking, where do you live now?
Good luck to the OP another idea is to just browse through realtor.com in different cities/areas mentioned above to see what housing your $$ can buy . Try plugging in 75503 for starters (-:

You mentioned diversity but what else is really important? I LOVE Seattle, its one of my favorite places! Prepare for traffic, rain and high prices though. There is some areas not too far from Seattle. I know someone who loves Bainebridge Island, (I spelled that way wrong!), and another who moved to Bothell. They love it there. In Eastern WA there is the tri cities. Less rain, less crime. Many people are moving there. High desert and water.
Of course Bend is the big choice but its being innundated now. Everyone loves Bend. Water, snow, sun and high desert. We are spending Christmas in Sun River ... beautiful!!!

Seattle area.

You can look at the US census for statistics on minority populations. Here is a school district guide which has information by geographic area and school district. If you look at the high schools, you get a quick overview of the ethnic mix of different areas.

http://community.seattletimes.nwsour.../?vortex/index

This guide doesn't include Tacoma, which is very diverse. The eastside has a large Asian population, particularly Bellevue. As you note, though, the price of housing is pretty insane, but it isn't as bad as the Bay Area, from what I hear.

If you're interested in taking another look at the Midwest, I'd recommend West Michigan - specifically Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford, or even closer to Lake Michigan - Grand Haven or Holland.

All of those cities offer diversity with large Asian populations as well. They're all growing and I think you & your spouse could easily find work in your fields. Christianity is a big part of this community so you'll fit in right there. (Grand Rapids has been called the city of churches)

In the Kentwood or SE Grand Rapids area, we have several Asian grocery stores too. And because we're in the midwest, housing is very affordable and it's mostly safe here. We have lots of suburbs, parks, lakes, and things to do for children. Most of our schools around here are excellent. (I have several family members & friends in the education field so if you want more specifics, e-mail me at heidi623 at gmail dot com.)

We have four seasons here and they're all beautiful. It snows in the winter here, but it's quite pretty. Spring, with all the greenery & flowers is very colorful, summer is warm and sunny, and fall is beautiful with all the trees changing colors.

Here's a web site for more info:
http://www.michiganswestcoast.com/

Feel free to e-mail me with more questions.

Heidi

No matter where you look, don't assume that the suburbs will be "white bread." I live in north Texas and even 20 years ago, my area was probably 90% white. Now, however, our community is incredibly diverse. I look at my kids' schools and I's so grateful for the diversity. They don't think a thing of it, which is fantastic.

Until 9th grade, I went to schools that were 100% white. (Not forced segregation of the schools; it just reflected the population of our town.) The only Asians were a few childen of "war brides" (Japanese or Korean moms).

The population of "middle America" has become so much more diverse than it used to be. So if I were you, I'd think of an area/city I liked, THEN check out the diversity. I bet you'll be surprised at how diverse many areas are.

Since someone else mentioned Michigan, I guess I'd throw in Ann Arbor as well. Only problem is that they're still close enough to Detroit to get the automaker implosion that's going on here now.

Coincidentally, I may be relocating to Seattle in the next couple of weeks.

You should really consider Dallas Texas. Some of the best school districts in the state are located in and around Dallas.

We are definately a melting pot.

Good luck.

When I lived in Dallas (25 years) nearly all the wonderful folks in many entry level positions were from my now estado de Guanajuato.
A car is a liability here and the weather is orders of magnitude better than Texas.
Given the 2.6-3% property and 8.25% sales taxes, Texas is no bargain for retirees
M (SMdA, Gto.)