Welcome to Suburbia

I am a new resident of San Ramon, but not your typical suburbanite.  You see, I don't fit the typical mold of what a San Ramon resident looks like.  For starters, I am not White.  According to the 2010, US Census the racial makeup of San Ramon is 38,639 (53.6%) White, 2,043 (2.8%) African American, 205 (0.3%) Native American, 25,713 (35.6%) Asian, 156 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,536 (2.1%) from other races, and 3,856 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6,250 persons (8.7%).  Seems pretty diverse enough doesn't it?  It appears so but in reality, when you frequent businesses here, it appears that the majority is White, the "large" minority is South Asian (or Indian as I prefer not to call it), then the rest is either Black or Hispanic.  When you look at folks that are the latter, it appears that they are mostly employed in businesses that are native to San Ramon.  And as far as the entire tri-valley demographics, well, they are pretty much the same with neighboring cities such as Danville and Dublin having similar racial make ups.  But the reason that I am calling myself a "misfit", is not only because I am not White.  It is because I am also short, overweight, and well, just not your typical tri-valley, all-american blonde skinny Barbie. 

I moved to San Ramon with an open mind and because my husband relocated here due to a new position.  The area is beautiful, clean, has good schools, and seems friendly and tolerant (but only on the surface).  I have never felt so out of place in a city than I do here.  Perhaps I am sensitive to the whole race thing, but I feel a pervasive tension towards minorities in this city, that I cannot pinpoint.  San Ramon is not as bad but whenever I go to Danville, things go up a notch.  Danville which is the neighboring city, is filled with rich, prentensious, indignant, and intolerant people that happen to be majority White.  I have frequented businesses in both San Ramon and Danville and have felt more looked down upon in businesses in Danville than in San Ramon. However, the tension is still there. 

Since I just moved, it makes me feel less than welcome and I hope that the feeling quickly goes away.  I am just curious if I am the only minority in this area that feels uncomfortable living here.  You would think that the Bay Area is a diverse mix of highly educated, tolerant, and utopian citizens but unfortunately this is less so in the Tri-Valley. 

In this blog I will chronicle my day-to-day encounters with living in this strange town feeling like a fish out of water.  It is not meant to offend or criticize any one group or race, it is just a way to record my observations and garner feedback on these observations.