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America isn’t called the ‘Melting Pot of the World’ for nothing. Since its inception 250 years ago, this young nation has been attracting immigrants from every corner of the globe. This diversity is what makes America the unique country it is, and provides the colourful population that keeps the nation strong and vibrant.

In every major city in the country pockets of ethnic groups from around the world can be found maintaining their traditions and at the same time integrating into American society. Most expat communities are found along the coast, especially in California and New York City.

Europeans were the first immigrants to the United States, mainly from the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Today, deeply entrenched neighbourhoods of Germans influence the cultural scene in cities like Milwaukee while the Irish have a strong presence in Chicago and New York.

Asians also began migrating to American fairly early on, especially the Chinese who came over to work on the railroad and in the mines. Chinatowns are a common component of most major US cities, especially in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. South Koreans, Thais and Vietnamese are heavily represented in Californian cities like Los Angeles, while Europeans such as the Polish and Czechs tend to settle on the east coast.

The Latin world also has a strong showing in American cities, mainly in the southern regions. Arizona, Texas and California are home to very large Hispanic populations, mainly from Mexico and Central America. In fact, in the Arizona cities of Tucson and Phoenix the number of Hispanics now outnumbers Anglos.

Florida is another major hub for Latin expat communities, particularly those from the Caribbean region. Miami has thriving Cuban, Puerto Rican and Dominican communities that create much of the unique atmosphere the city is famous for. The biggest melting pot in the US has to be New York City. This was the gateway for immigrants into the US and the distinct neighbourhoods they created are still largely in place today more than a century later.

New York is home to Little Italy, Chinatown, Irish Hell’s Kitchen and just about every other kind of ethnic group in the world. Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco are the other top US cities with large and healthy expat communities. In general, Asians have settled along the west coast in California and Europeans have stopped in the eastern cities.