Many migrants decide to live in a suburb close to other migrants from the same country.
It makes sense because they can speak a common language, receive support from people who have been through similar experiences, and share the same culture.
Regional Opportunities Australia CEO’s Mahir Momand says that something as simple as having a grocery store selling food you know might help you settle better.
Those neighbourhoods where you have also grocery shops and where you can go and buy groceries similar to what you already know, the culture shock, in that case, is very little.
Getty Images/Ariel Skelley
Large migrant communities are most often found in cities where useful resources, like migrant centres, are concentrated.
Berivana Mohamed is a volunteer at the Australian Migrant Resource Centre in Adelaide. She came to Australia as a refugee from Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995.
She's involved in many different groups, but she also kept ties to the Bosnian community. She says that her mum was a social worker for the ex-Yugoslavia community and she used to work with everyone from that region.
When Berivana got to her teenage years, she decided to do her high school work experience in the same organisation.
She says that being close to the Bosnian community in Adelaide is a positive thing, but that it did make it harder for her mum to learn English.
Getty Images/SDI
Fatima Salihi lives near Adelaide. She came to Australia from Afghanistan with her family in 2018. She's involved in several clubs, which is very important to her to feel connected to the wider Australian community. It also helped her learn English quickly.
But she likes to stay in contact with the Afghan community, as well.
For her parents, who are still learning English, living in proximity to the Afghan community is even more important. Fatima explains that if they don't engage with the community, they're alone at home. They feel more isolated and they feel lonely.
We talk the same language and we share our dreams and happiness. We understand the depth of the words that we say. That's when we feel connected.
While the support of your community is important, Momand warns against people living in what he calls "pockets".
Within those pockets, they speak their own language and that removes them from connecting with the rest of the Australian community, which removes them from learning English, which removes them from understanding the culture and the norms of that country that they call home.
Getty Images/FatCamera
While this can happen, Mohamed says that being close to their community is positive for migrants, especially when they first arrive, and that doesn’t prevent them from contributing to the Australian society.
He believes that it's very hard to settle in a country where people don't speak the same language, the culture is totally different and the system is completely different.
And this is why in the beginning, immigrants need that extra help from someone who has the same background.
Later on though a lot of these refugees assimilate with the community and they contribute in many different ways and work together.
Getty Images/Thomas Barwick
Living near your community doesn't always mean living in a big city. More and more, you'll find migrant communities in different regions of Australia.
For example, the area of Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay has a big Sikh community from India and they are really successful there.
Most migrants benefit from receiving support from their community, especially when they're new to a country. But creating relationships with other Australians is just as important.
