Ambartenen t1_ixzjzjm wrote on November 27, 2022 at 4:56 PM

Reply to comment by MattFantastic in Why is it so hard to find an affordable family rental? by No-Sun8788

These apartments are being built with the Chinese grad student market very specifically in mind. Chinese grad students in the US provide 2 billion in fees alone to universities, and spend money unlike any other demographic. They are sponsored by the Chinese government and personal wealth and are free to spend insane sums of money at zero personal risk/loss.

Me relaying a fact does not make me racist. This is just one more evil of capitalism.

SustainableNHV t1_iy3ry8w wrote on November 28, 2022 at 3:14 PM

It can be frustrating when people argue against something you're not saying.

If I may reinterpret what I think you're saying, it sounds like downtown New Haven is being gentrified above the standards of the local middle-class population by wealthy foreigners, specifically students from wealthy families in China. Meanwhile, the big developers in town are actively catering to this trend, because Capitalism is gonna capitalize.

Ambartenen t1_iy3sef8 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 3:17 PM

Exactly! I said it poorly. Thank you!

SustainableNHV t1_iy4bztx wrote on November 28, 2022 at 5:33 PM

Glad it helped! I happen to live nearby, and my anecdotal experience would confirm your assertion. I actually hadn't made the connection yet, but this really helps explain the level of kitsch that they have in their lobby areas.

This whole thread and the complaints about these apartments remind me of this old Onion article: https://www.theonion.com/report-nations-gentrified-neighborhoods-threatened-by-1819569723

Ko_Jones t1_ixzvx76 wrote on November 27, 2022 at 6:17 PM

The chinese government is currently doing a very good job of state-backed -capitalist espionage in this country. It’s amazing how efficient coorporate spying is when it’s backed by a government.

These sponsored students are the next wave of how communist China is fighting the war against the west … by the eventual stealing of trade secrets . Foreigners blend in perfectly in the tech sector and at universities so 🤷🏼 Westerners could never get away with it even if our government was to try and do the same type of state sanctioned espionage, we are at a severe disadvantage .

MattFantastic t1_iy1mx66 wrote on November 28, 2022 at 1:37 AM

Without even getting into the rest of it, there is zero possibility that these literal thousands of new apartments are all being built “very specifically” for Chinese grad students at Yale. How is this even an argument you’re trying to stick to? No, developers aren’t just putting up thousands of new apartment units across a bunch of buildings for the maybe 1000 Chinese students at Yale. Are they a factor? Sure. But come on, the numbers don’t even come close to supporting what you’re saying.