Bulgaria

Well, I'm not trying to lecture for starters. I attempted to make clear from my first statement that I was talking primarily about my experiences with the groups based on my time in Portugal and Spain. I'm not in a contest with you, just offering my experiences. I misspoke (which I admitted in the follow-up post) about the use of the term 'wealth'. It was admitted to be lazy and inaccurate. I am a native Spanish speaker so I understand the issues of Romanian's similiarity to Latin and the ease with which its speakers adapt to other Romance languages. We weren't discussing languages so I don't see how the language discussion is relevant. In the Iberian peninsula their interactions with Slavs are generally among those in higher educational and professional groups, as opposed to relatively poorer Romanians. The World Bank stats linked in my earlier post also show slightly higher Bulgarian educational levels in their home country, not Spain. The poverty line question does not address purchasing power parity either. You can have a population with a lower GDP that can enjoy higher living standards depending on average prices in a given country.

My claim about the attitudes of the groups is again based on the populations present in Spain and Portugal, which are also the countries where I can compare attitudes about Roma, hence the remark. I know nothing about Romanian attitudes toward themselves, hence my remarks being about attitudes toward them and Bulgarians in an area with which I am familiar. I am more than willing to yield to your insights based on your firsthand experience in Bulgaria and/or Romania, as I have none.

 

They must be truly unique because this is the case in nearly all emigrated countries.

 

We are talking about their "Westerness" / insularity not about their rates of emigration.

I meant that it is easier (in general) for a meeting of minds to occur between a Westerner and a Bulgarian than a Westerner and a Romanian as Romanians are more insular.

That insularity is driven by their social narrative which is large part states that they are "special". Bulgarians do not think this way.

Anyway. That's enough on this.

Moving on...

 

So the exclusionary behavior is attributed to ethnic nationalism?
Interesting how that just never stops with us humans. Anyway carry on.

 

EDIT: That's not the case. The reason I highlighted "to Spain" is because the rates to a single country says nothing in general. You need to see rates from the departing country rather than those of a single arrival country. Also you need to consider the social / cultural aspects / ties such as language / culture.

e.g. Caribbean emigration to Japan (in isolation) says nothing about the collective strength of the Caribbean economy.

 

Well as far as the Caribbean is concerned yes it actually does. The influx of people who leave is due to dwindling opportunities. My own family did it which has made me very sensitive to the plight of immigrants. No one leaves in such large numbers (to anywhere in the world) if opportunities are good for them there. It's usually the middle to upper middle class who leave since the truly poor don't have the resources and the rich have no real reason to.

 

I think you need to re-read what I wrote.

You are suggesting that higher rates of immigration to any ONE country "A" from a particular country / region "B" than another country /region "C" indicates that country "B" has a worse economy than country "C".

This is not true.

Using my example let's say.

Country A = Japan
Country B = S. Korea
Country C = Caribbean

There are far more S. Korean immigrants in Japan (per head of population) than Caribbeans but Korea has a far better economy than the Caribbean. This is due to strong cultural ties between Korea and Japan.

Rather than the rates of immigration to any ONE country you need to check the total rate of emigration / departures (or desire to) in the Caribbean to all countries to get a more balanced picture.

So (as I said in my original post) considering Spain IN ISOLATION says little to nothing about the total rate of emigration at source in Romania.

 

Is that the case percentage wise?

 

Japan is just an example to illustrate the principle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_of_Japan#Koreans