I've never lived in a Chinatown. My parents and immediate relatives have not either. So, its funny that there are so many Chinatowns around the world. I do try to see them when I can. I've been able to check the Chinatowns in LA, SF, NYC, Chicago, Sydney, Seattle, and KL. I missed my chance when I was in the Dominican Republic.
But in the Los Angeles area, "chinese" culture or inhabitants don't live or even frequent a "chinatown". "Little Taipei" is a nickname given to suburb cities that have a high concentration of Taiwan immigrants, both 外省人 and 本省人.
Among friends that I grew up with that lived in these Little Taipeis, we sorta refer to the area as "The Heights". They consist of Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, Walnut, and Diamond Bar. The main drag is sorta in a shape of a square that's Fullerton, Colima, Nogales, and Gale. There are drags on Azusa, Hacienda Blvd, and Grand, but pale in numbers to those of that main drag. The only reason Walnut and DB are included is that the cities include many many Chinese/Taiwanese folks that end up going to Rowland Heights anyways.
The term was used when many of us started going away for College. But when they returned for the holidays and summer, we would say, "when you coming back to the heights?" We even named our now defunct mailing list "The Heights". I would say that 90% or more of these guys are no longer in the Heights area (are you close to the area you were primarily raised in?). I seem to be one of the few that's left.
You'll get your supermarkets, food places, and all those video stores!
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