Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Chinese tour groups go house-hunting in U.S.

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU
 
bemildred Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:27 AM
Original message
Chinese tour groups go house-hunting in U.S.
Source: LA Times


Reporting from Shanghai -- Caravans of cash-rich Chinese in Hummers and Lincoln Navigators have been weaving through American neighborhoods in recent months, looking for foreclosures and other bargain properties to buy.

With housing prices crashing in the U.S., home-buying trips to America are becoming one of the more popular tour group packages in China. New U.S. visa rules for Chinese tourists and a loosening of foreign investment policies by China have made it easier for people such as Zhao Hongjun of Beijing to go house hunting across the Pacific.

The 48-year-old owner of a media company went on a two-week road trip through the U.S. last fall, visiting scenic sites and checking out properties from Los Angeles to New York. He's been following the swoon in prices ever since, and next month he's considering joining another prospecting group that is heading for San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, three of the hardest-hit housing markets in the U.S.

Zhao's budget: $1 million.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/asia/la-fi-chinahomes7-2008dec07,0,3055086.story



I guess this hegemony stuff can work both ways ...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:35 AM
Response to Original message
1. Deleted message
Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:50 AM
Response to Reply #1
5. Deleted sub-thread
Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.
 
DBoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 01:06 PM
Response to Reply #1
14. well, at least someone's culture values education
studiousness is not exactly rewarded in the US.

Sciences and engineering are not considered prestigious fields.

Maybe if high schools would spend a fraction of their football budget on science labs we would see some change.

And maybe if employers would stop treating technical staff like interchangeable parts, to be disposed of at every minor economic crunch
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
slickale Donating Member (4 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 04:20 PM
Response to Reply #1
19. I disagree wholeheartedly...
If you are referring to this article, http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/17/chinese.students.ap/, then international students are "part of a solid and welcomed rebound in the number of international students coming to the United States, with its giant pool of 4,000 colleges and universities." These students are a show of international faith in the American higher education system. They are not taking the places of our students. Let's take two examples from the CNN article:

Ohio State University:
46,690 total Undergraduates
115 Chinese Undergraduates, up from 20 last year.
.2% of the undergraduate student body.

Kansas State:
26,934 total enrollment
199 Chinese Undergraduates, 65 from last fall.
A terrifying .7% of the student body.

I'm tired of this DU double standard when it comes to the Chinese. Even though I don't post very often, this statement really got me going. How is this different from discriminating against Hispanics and Blacks "taking our jobs and schooling"? Statements like "they're taking the place of our kids at colleges" and that they're coming in "droves" really irk me, because they are not coming taking the places of our students, they are not coming in droves, and worst of all, they pay much more than the average domestic student. These students are paying exorbitant fees, contributing $15 billion a year to our economy. The majority of students pay for educations at colleges and universities that aren't in the top 100. They have to pass rigorous testing that I, as an American, never had to go through, all for a degree to take back to their home countries to edge out millions of other students striving to get a job they're overqualified for.

And what are their goals? Can you honestly believe 100% of the international students just want to earn money? Maybe they want to go to college for all the same reasons Americans want. As a student at University of California, Berkeley, I can honestly say interactions with foreign students from around the world has enriched my learning experience. How are we supposed to combat the negative images of America if we don't even want foreign students learning at our universities?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tansy_Gold Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 04:34 PM
Response to Reply #19
20. One of the points that should be made is that a college education
is becoming increasingly unaffordable for American students.

Another point is that at many public universities, the cost of one student's education is underwritten by taxpayers on the assumption that the graduate will repay the investment by either contributing her/his educated services to the community and/or becoming a taxpayer her/himself.

TG
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
slickale Donating Member (4 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 05:30 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. Amen to that
But I don't think international students, which usually account for less than 1% of the student body, are edging out Americans for enrollment. They're a source of revenue and already have a hard time in American schools due to the pressures of English and socializing. I think unaffordable schooling is something America has to solve, not something we should pin on international students (not that anyone here is doing that).

I think housing is a completely different issue, and we should keep it that way.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Festivito Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:35 PM
Response to Reply #19
23. You're talking about what was, not what is.
And, the originating post was not trying to say that foreigners should not take spaces of Americans at Universities. We can build more universities, make it a business.

What's being said is that Americans now don't have money for college and foreigners do.

It's sad that our bankers/shadow-bankers have stolen so much from most Americans that countries that used to be our enemies can buy US out of our land.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
OhioChick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:45 PM
Response to Reply #23
27. Well Said, Thank You. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
alarimer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:42 PM
Response to Reply #19
25. Schools want them because they pay much higher tuition.
They could care less about anything else. They pay higher tuition than even out-of-state students.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Vincardog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 08:46 PM
Response to Reply #25
31. US Universities will not fail a foreign student. Just let them pay as long as they will
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
OhioChick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:44 PM
Response to Reply #19
26. Foreign students are coming in droves....
India sends maximum students to the US to study

India continues to be the leading country to send maximum number of students to the United States for pursuing higher education for the seventh consecutive year surpassing China, an official report said.

India has retained the first slot for the seventh year in succession with the number of Indian students in the US increasing by 13 per cent in 2007-08 to reach 94,563, according to the Open Doors report published by the Institute of International Education with support from the US Department of State's Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.

The total number of foreign students pursuing studies and research activities in the US reached an all time high of 6,23,805 in 2007-08 session, marking an increase of seven per cent over the previous year, the report released today said.

The new enrolments were up by 10 per cent in the colleges and universities in the US, the report said. The increase in students is attributed to the outreach efforts carried out by the Department of State in key international markets including India, China, Vietnam and Brazil .

More:http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/nov/17india-send-maximum-students-to-us-to-study.htm

Flush with money, eager Chinese students flock to U.S.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Chinese students are enrolling in U.S. universities in record numbers, encouraged by aggressive recruiting combined with China's booming economy and growing middle class.

Their enrollment grew by 8 percent in the fall of 2006 and by 20 percent last year, according to Institute of International Education figures being released Monday.

Individual universities surveyed by The Associated Press also are reporting high growth this year.

Chinese enrollment increased 300 percent this year at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., accepted 65 students from China, more than double its 2007 figure.

Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, already boasting a strong international student program, is enrolling 290 Chinese students, up from 127. The spike was more than 400 percent at Ohio State University, the nation's largest campus, with 115 undergraduates from China compared with 20 last year.

Xiaoli Liu, an Ohio State freshman from Beijing, said Chinese universities offer solid academics but can't compete with the overall experience of higher education in America, including more opportunities for out-of-class activities, an open learning environment and diversity.

More: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/17/chinese.students.ap/

After Post-9/11 Lull Students Study Abroad En Masse

U.S. Colleges Reporting Record Increase in Foreign Students

Nov. 23, 2008

After being scared off in the post-9/11 years by tightened visa restrictions and America's soured image, foreign students are flocking back to the United States in record numbers.

At the same time, the number of American university students fitting in at least a semester abroad continues to climb: A still small but growing portion of the population sees overseas study more as a normal part of a college career than as an exotic exception.

Welcome to the era of globalized higher education.

"The growth in international students coming here is part of a trend of growing numbers of international students worldwide, but it's more than that," says Allan Goodman, president of the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. "The State Department has made a real effort to change the perception that getting a student visa is impossible, but the underlying attraction is that nobody has the quantity and quality in higher education that we have," he adds. "It's one thing 'Made in USA' that everybody wants."

The number of foreign students in the US jumped by 7 percent to 623,805 between the 2006-07 and 07-08 academic years, according to the annual "Open Doors" report on international study released this week by the IIE. The previous high, which was 586,323 foreign students, was recorded in the 2002-03 academic year. The IIE also finds that the number of "new" or first-time enrollments of foreign students is growing faster.

More: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3615124

Now...On the flip side...

College May Become Unaffordable for Most in U.S.

Published: December 3, 2008
The rising cost of college — even before the recession — threatens to put higher education out of reach for most Americans, according to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

Over all, the report found, published college tuition and fees increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007 while median family income rose 147 percent. Student borrowing has more than doubled in the last decade, and students from lower-income families, on average, get smaller grants from the colleges they attend than students from more affluent families.

“If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” said Patrick M. Callan, president of the center, a nonpartisan organization that promotes access to higher education.

“When we come out of the recession,” Mr. Callan added, “we’re really going to be in jeopardy, because the educational gap between our work force and the rest of the world will make it very hard to be competitive. Already, we’re one of the few countries where 25- to 34-year-olds are less educated than older workers.”

More: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/education/03college.html?_r=2&hp

I have no problem with foreign students coming to the U.S. for our education system (which many say is below par) but would rather see American kids be able to get a college education, first.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
slickale Donating Member (4 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 09:23 PM
Response to Reply #26
32. I agree
that American kids should be able to get a college education first. But I would hardly call 623,805 international students a threat to an American looking for a college education. According to 2005 census numbers, there are 17,478,000 college students. I can't find a 2008 census of college students, but if we divide current international students/researchers by the 2005 census of college students, only 3% of total college students are international.

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/08s0271.pdf

I have also found this link, stating there are 11.3 million college students as of 2007, which would mean international students make up 5.5% of the student body.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm

These numbers are a little iffy, since I can't find if they represent undergraduate students only or also those pursuing Master's or Doctoral degrees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics site does restrict their numbers by age, 16-24. Also, these percentages do not mean American students are being pushed out. If there is evidence of that, then I will reconsider my statements.

Also, after reading those articles, I get the overall feeling that the new influx of international students is positive. Unless it's going straight to the school's board of directors, that's money going to fund the school worker's wages, classroom equipment and an overall better educational experience for all students in America.

Monetary advantages and statistics aside, I still stand by that American students benefit greatly from learning about other cultures through exchange students. We ship over 200,000 students abroad to some of the world's best universities, too, so it's not completely one sided.

In conclusion, I'm glad that you're looking out for American college aged students (I am one afterall :)), but as a college student on a campus with more international students than others, I have never felt that the school put any group over another. I agree with you that college is becoming ever more unaffordable, but this is not the fault of foreign students, but flaws in our own education system and economy. I think we should deal with this problem as a domestic issue first and welcome the extra revenue international students bring.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
wellst0nev0ter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:38 AM
Response to Original message
2. I For One Welcome Our New Chinese Overlords.
quian ke wan lai!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
file83 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-08-08 03:19 AM
Response to Reply #2
37. Don't you mean Landlords?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ohio2007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:42 AM
Response to Original message
3. but will the occupiers keep the lawns well manicured ?
will thier habits be a bad influence on these affluent neighborhoods?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
geckosfeet Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 02:31 PM
Response to Reply #3
16. Sure. They will hire our unemployed as gardeners for lawn maintenance.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
TomClash Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:48 AM
Response to Original message
4. Meet the new boss - same as the old boss
I'm not terribly fond of this development. We don't need more foreign fascists.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
w4rma Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:12 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Or in this limited case, meet the new landlord - same as the old landlord. A nation of renters. (nt)
Edited on Sun Dec-07-08 12:12 PM by w4rma
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
yardwork Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:43 PM
Response to Reply #7
10. I know of several expensive properties that were bought recently by people in China - now rented.
This is definitely happening in my town, which is rich with renting options to students, visiting professors, and high-level management in pharma and other technological companies.

People invested in high-end properties during the housing boom and got caught with balloon payments and mortgages they couldn't afford. Now they're desperate to unload the properties. The prices are still very high - up around a million. Investors from Hong Kong, China, India, and other Asian countries are buying the properties and renting them.

Good opportunities for those who are cash-rich right now.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Phred42 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:11 PM
Response to Original message
6. Here come the Carpetbaggers
Thanks Conservatives hellova Job
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
davsand Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:14 PM
Response to Original message
8. What a mixed bag this is.
Buying that property is probably gonna help keep those markets from finding rock bottom. They are, in essence, propping up the real estate markets in some places that are already over inflated. That will keep the situation in place the prevents average folks from owning a house in several metro areas.

Absentee landlords, however, are not always a good thing for any neighborhood, and that is not limited to overseas owners. This purchase by the Chinese and Indian investors has potential to be a saving grace for neighborhoods--especially if those properties are maintained and kept from deterioration.


I can see how this is gonna contribute to a lot of the racism that is already present and that does not bode well for the security of those properties.


Laura
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bemildred Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:20 PM
Response to Reply #8
9. A lot of scope for the exercise of xenophobia here.
That was one of the first things that occurred to me about the story.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
rucognizant Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:43 PM
Response to Reply #8
11. Maybe........
They don't like COmmunism any better than the RW rs here.?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Robb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Dec-08-08 08:52 AM
Response to Reply #8
38. Absentee owners are never good
Doesn't matter if they're in China or NYC, they're not contributing to their community in ways that actually make it vibrant.

I say this with some authority as a recent refugee from a resort town. Homes that are empty all but two weeks a year -- no matter how well they are kept up -- piss in the community's pot.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
scytherius Donating Member (576 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:48 PM
Response to Original message
12. Make sure and thank your local Republican for all this. Never forget. n/t
nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
47of74 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:05 PM
Response to Reply #12
22. The Republicans have sided against the American people.
And while I may someday forgive them - like when the devil has to buy snowblowers - I will not forget what they did to us.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pipoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 10:38 PM
Response to Reply #12
35. What an over simplified world you must live in.
The state we find ourselves in is neither a Republican nor a Democrat issue. It is a greed issue which all have partaken. Pretend it is the other guy and not learn or understand the true cause only to relive it...it's the American way.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Strelnikov_ Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 12:52 PM
Response to Original message
13. The circle must close
Edited on Sun Dec-07-08 12:52 PM by loindelrio
That money spent at WalMart etc. has to return somehow for the system to continue.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
No Elephants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 01:28 PM
Response to Original message
15. In the 1980's, the Japanese bought a lot of U.S. real estate. Now it's the Chinese.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bdamomma Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 02:34 PM
Response to Reply #15
17. America for sale to the highest bidder.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 02:42 PM
Response to Reply #15
18. mid-late 70,s, Iranians invaded Vancouver BC, Seattle, among other places.,
They were playing Monopoly with the real estate market, drove it sky high.
I was there.
Broke.
Priced out.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ohio2007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 07:43 PM
Response to Reply #18
29. did Freddi Mac give them loans or were they the Shah's bureaucrats? n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
dixiegrrrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 10:03 PM
Response to Reply #29
33. Fleeing the country after Shah was deposed. They had plenty of money.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pipoman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 10:23 PM
Response to Reply #15
34. Yep, and it was not the end of the US as we know it
Edited on Sun Dec-07-08 10:24 PM by pipoman
It in fact helped us through a tough time. Ultimately as with American real estate investors, some won and some lost but most simply helped forge status quo. Somebody down thread mentions Monopoly, good analogy, like Monopoly US real estate investing involves a thorough understanding of American culture, a finger on the pulse of the market, a very watchful eye and a good measure of luck. International (and national for that matter) absentee owners usually loose on one or more of these counts, usually to the benefit of the community.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Joanne98 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 06:40 PM
Response to Original message
24. That's okay. We'll just nationalize them back later!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pitohui Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 07:16 PM
Response to Original message
28. how many houses can he buy in those areas for a pea picking 1 million?
i can sell him most of a decent neighborhood in southeast louisiana for that price

oh well a sucker and his money were made to be divided...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ohio2007 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 07:45 PM
Response to Reply #28
30.  China already holds the liens on US debt,now they'll hold the deeds
to the property.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
pitohui Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Dec-07-08 11:02 PM
Response to Reply #30
36. only if they get out of vegas and los angeles
for the kind of money mentioned in the article they won't buy much real estate there
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Tue May 07th 2024, 01:03 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Latest Breaking News Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC