Originally Posted By: carmela
Originally Posted By: B_A_
Originally Posted By: carmela
Originally Posted By: alexm1122
There are, but they're going fast. Bensonhurst & Dyker Hgts while still having a sizable Italian population are fast turning Chinese, Russian & Mexican. Plus, hard to believe I know, even the old South Brooklyn still has plenty of Italians left. But we're like dinosaurs & won't be around long.

It's an immigration issue; if an Italian is going to leave Italy- and why would he/she, the Italians live pretty good now, at least equal to the USA-- there are plenty of places to go that are closer to home and offer greater opportunities for immigrants.


I agree it's an immigration issue, or at least it was. My husband moved from Sicily to Bensonhurst just in time to finish up his senior year of HS at New Utrecht. He had a grandmother here at the time on Bay 14th St, so that made it easier for them to come over.
But to say Italians live pretty good now, is not true. Unless, you consider living in a near to 3rd world country living well?

I'd say second world. I've visited Italy many times but only been as south as Rome, the rest is just too hot for me during the times I'm free. I'd love to see it one day.
But anyway, the north is a wealthy place, where people seem to do live prettty good and are as affluent as any Northern-European or American people. In Rome, the squalor begins. But in these globalised times it seems that even the Mezzogiorne as a coveted place to be for immigrants, although it's just a gateway to the reat of Western Europe for many of those. But the mass immigration from the south of Italiy has stopped. I guess people must be really almosst starving to do such a thing. Why would anyone give up a life in Africa to sell cheap sunglasses an other crap in Italy. Always wondered about that.


I can agree totally with what you're saying with regard to the north, especially Rome, Firenze, Bologna, places like that.

But when speaking about the ones that emigrated to Bensonhurst and other parts of Brooklyn, those are Sicilians, so those are the ones I was talking about.
And even today in Sicily, jobs are few, many people live just above poverty level and to compare their lifestyle to USA is absurd. They are a happy people, regardless, and eating well and having family around them is all it takes to keep them happy. But economically, they suffer.

Opposite to you, I've never really been to the north of Sicily, unfortunately. Just to land at Rome airport. lol And yes...summer is HOT!!!! haha


Well, I've only been there as a tourist, I can't even remember now how may times: more than five, less tham ten, so I'm not an expert, but not totally ignorant. Some parts of the north of Italy like Tuscany seem like paradise on earth to me,(a crude Batavian). I suppose there are more places like that in the world: for instance the Provance region in France and maybe even parts of California, the later I've never visited yet. Yet Firenze, even though it's a Disneyland packed with tourists like me is a treasure, a city full of wonders for the culturalry and historicly interested (end of sponsorend message from the Tuscan-tourism council, but yes, you should visit the place).
Well, as long as they can eat well and don't starve I guess they are doing too well to mass emigrate to the US or Northern-Europe and the Amricain LCN lost it's breeding farm. Perhaps over 50 years in America people will be talking about Latin OC. I suppose that's a good thing for the American-Italians.