Woah, Baby.

socal78

Well-known member
Irvinehomeshopper was right. (Again.)

The baby business must be booming in Irvine.

I just returned from a doctor's appointment at the 16300 building of Hoag Hospital on Sand Canyon in Irvine this evening. My doctor, an endocrinologist, shares an office with an OBGYN. When I pushed the door open, the waiting room was PACKED with pregnant Chinese women. More people than seats. They all seemed to be very familiar with each other and it seems they all arrived together as one big group. After taking one look at them and them at me, I took one step back, shut the door, and read the sign again to myself slowly to make sure I had the proper suite. Blink. Blink. Yup. Right one. Take 2, try again. The first thought I had was a flashback to a post IHS made a while ago about the well-oiled Anchor Baby machine in this area. It must be seen to be believed. And it was.  :eek:
 
I am starting to see a large mass of people flee to FR from Irvine due to stuff like this. People I talk with first hand are regretting Irvine and looking at FR as best alternative. Wouldn't be surprised if FR prices go up much faster than Irvine in future.
 
These people with the babies are Irvine's future.  They are rich and get the best of both worlds.  Make money in China, and live in USA to avoid the pollution that their factories are producing.  Would you rather have dreamers?
 
octagon said:
I am starting to see a large mass of people flee to FR from Irvine due to stuff like this. People I talk with first hand are regretting Irvine and looking at FR as best alternative. Wouldn't be surprised if FR prices go up much faster than Irvine in future.


white flight... lol
 
jmoney74 said:
octagon said:
I am starting to see a large mass of people flee to FR from Irvine due to stuff like this. People I talk with first hand are regretting Irvine and looking at FR as best alternative. Wouldn't be surprised if FR prices go up much faster than Irvine in future.


white flight... lol

foothill ranch is too close to the mountain
 
If you think Portola Springs or Orchard Hills are too 'inland', then FR is middle of nowhere.
In the grand scheme of things, FR is an afterthought and will continue to be a white flight destination.

Wealthy Asians will go for pockets of remote or gated communities within Irvine.
Poorer Asians will go for older neighborhoods such as Northwood.
 
jmoney74 said:
octagon said:
I am starting to see a large mass of people flee to FR from Irvine due to stuff like this. People I talk with first hand are regretting Irvine and looking at FR as best alternative. Wouldn't be surprised if FR prices go up much faster than Irvine in future.


white flight... lol

Well, this thread wasn't intended to spark a F.R. vs. Irvine debate. But it is interesting that these comments came up. It is definitely something that is a catalyst to people moving away. Although, White Flight has been taking place for years, heading to areas south of the Y.

I just received a package a few minutes ago. Now, normally I would think of it as a cheesy marketing gimmick as we have discussed these letters many times here on TI. Except the Realtor is not a neighborhood agent. She's from Irvine and didn't leave any packages for the neighbors. Just wanted to talk. Specifically looking for 4 bed homes, all upstairs, w/out a pool (which is what mine is.) Take it for what it's worth. (I don't know how to make it readable without making it obnoxiously large.)

20141024_110511.jpg
 
octagon said:
I am starting to see a large mass of people flee to FR from Irvine due to stuff like this. People I talk with first hand are regretting Irvine and looking at FR as best alternative. Wouldn't be surprised if FR prices go up much faster than Irvine in future.

What are the demographics of the people you've spoken with who are scoping it out? My prediction before I purchased in FR was that the demographics may slowly change due to it butting up against the edge of Irvine's urban sprawl.
 
SoCal said:
Irvinehomeshopper was right. (Again.)

The baby business must be booming in Irvine.

I just returned from a doctor's appointment at the 16300 building of Hoag Hospital on Sand Canyon in Irvine this evening. My doctor, an endocrinologist, shares an office with an OBGYN. When I pushed the door open, the waiting room was PACKED with pregnant Chinese women. More people than seats. They all seemed to be very familiar with each other and it seems they all arrived together as one big group. After taking one look at them and them at me, I took one step back, shut the door, and read the sign again to myself slowly to make sure I had the proper suite. Blink. Blink. Yup. Right one. Take 2, try again. The first thought I had was a flashback to a post IHS made a while ago about the well-oiled Anchor Baby machine in this area. It must be seen to be believed. And it was.  :eek:

How did you know they were all Chinese?  And outside of them making small talk, why do you believe they came together?  And most importantly, why do you believe they are foreigners who are here solely to have a baby? 
 
rkp said:
SoCal said:
Irvinehomeshopper was right. (Again.)

The baby business must be booming in Irvine.

I just returned from a doctor's appointment at the 16300 building of Hoag Hospital on Sand Canyon in Irvine this evening. My doctor, an endocrinologist, shares an office with an OBGYN. When I pushed the door open, the waiting room was PACKED with pregnant Chinese women. More people than seats. They all seemed to be very familiar with each other and it seems they all arrived together as one big group. After taking one look at them and them at me, I took one step back, shut the door, and read the sign again to myself slowly to make sure I had the proper suite. Blink. Blink. Yup. Right one. Take 2, try again. The first thought I had was a flashback to a post IHS made a while ago about the well-oiled Anchor Baby machine in this area. It must be seen to be believed. And it was.  :eek:

How did you know they were all Chinese?  And outside of them making small talk, why do you believe they came together?  And most importantly, why do you believe they are foreigners who are here solely to have a baby? 

Well, they weren't speaking German. LOL. They were speaking with the staff in their (the staff & patients') native language. I'll give you the names so you can determine the nationality. Either Chinese or Taiwanese. I can't tell the difference but I know it is one or the other. My doctor, Y*an L*eun*g speaks Chinese and graduated from a university in Taiwan. The OB he shares the small office with also speaks Chinese and also went to university in Taiwan. They list Chinese as their first language on health websites. The O.B. is Dr. J*ame*s T. Y*an*g.

You can't fit a dozen people into 1 time slot or 2 time slots or even 3 time slots. They would have had to arrive as a group. I wouldn't describe it as casual small-talk. I don't speak Chinese but I speak Body Language. They were horsing around with each other. You don't do that with somebody you just met five minutes ago. 

I mentioned the group to the front desk woman who is also my doctor's wife. I said -- Wow, the baby business is big. She was like - Oh, you know about this? I said yeah. She said yeah, it's a big part of the other doctor's business. Apparently it is confusing the heck out of other patients. One of them took one look, walked out, and called the front desk from the hallway for reassurance they were in the right place.

This office is affiliated with Hoag hospital, which is also mentioned specifically by name in this Chinese ad for a maternity hotel posted by Javacly last year:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3954.msg60841.html#msg60841

Birth tourism is not a myth, as Zubs pointed out above. Here's a thread where IHS mentioned it in 2011:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=1811.15

"Women pay big to have babies born in the U.S. USA Baby Care?s website makes no attempt to hide why the company?s clients travel to Southern California from China and Taiwan. It?s to give birth to an American baby."http://theadvocate.com/home/4885740-125/women-pay-big-to-have

L.A. Times: Chinese want an American newbornhttp://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/03/local/la-me-birthing-centers-20130104

Complaints of Birth Tourism Spike in L.A. County:http://abcnews.go.com/US/birth-tourism-complaints-spike-los-angeles-county/story?id=18337755

Cracking down on illegal operations:http://ktla.com/2013/02/05/task-force-formed-to-investigate-maternity-hotels/

USA Baby Care.com:http://www.usababycare.com/contact.html

^ Local pics
 
rkp said:
SoCal said:
Irvinehomeshopper was right. (Again.)

The baby business must be booming in Irvine.

I just returned from a doctor's appointment at the 16300 building of Hoag Hospital on Sand Canyon in Irvine this evening. My doctor, an endocrinologist, shares an office with an OBGYN. When I pushed the door open, the waiting room was PACKED with pregnant Chinese women. More people than seats. They all seemed to be very familiar with each other and it seems they all arrived together as one big group. After taking one look at them and them at me, I took one step back, shut the door, and read the sign again to myself slowly to make sure I had the proper suite. Blink. Blink. Yup. Right one. Take 2, try again. The first thought I had was a flashback to a post IHS made a while ago about the well-oiled Anchor Baby machine in this area. It must be seen to be believed. And it was.  :eek:

How did you know they were all Chinese?  And outside of them making small talk, why do you believe they came together?  And most importantly, why do you believe they are foreigners who are here solely to have a baby?

Good point. There are Asians here in the US that are citizens, have legal green cards.

So it's kind of hard to say, the ladies that you saw are foreigners. (Unless you asked for identification)
 
SoCal said:
rkp said:
SoCal said:
Irvinehomeshopper was right. (Again.)

The baby business must be booming in Irvine.

I just returned from a doctor's appointment at the 16300 building of Hoag Hospital on Sand Canyon in Irvine this evening. My doctor, an endocrinologist, shares an office with an OBGYN. When I pushed the door open, the waiting room was PACKED with pregnant Chinese women. More people than seats. They all seemed to be very familiar with each other and it seems they all arrived together as one big group. After taking one look at them and them at me, I took one step back, shut the door, and read the sign again to myself slowly to make sure I had the proper suite. Blink. Blink. Yup. Right one. Take 2, try again. The first thought I had was a flashback to a post IHS made a while ago about the well-oiled Anchor Baby machine in this area. It must be seen to be believed. And it was.  :eek:

How did you know they were all Chinese?  And outside of them making small talk, why do you believe they came together?  And most importantly, why do you believe they are foreigners who are here solely to have a baby? 

Well, they weren't speaking German. LOL. They were speaking with the staff in their (the staff & patients') native language. I'll give you the names so you can determine the nationality. Either Chinese or Taiwanese. I can't tell the difference but I know it is one or the other. My doctor, Y*an L*eun*g speaks Chinese and graduated from a university in Taiwan. The OB he shares the small office with also speaks Chinese and also went to university in Taiwan. They list Chinese as their first language on health websites. The O.B. is Dr. J*ame*s T. Y*an*g.

You can't fit a dozen people into 1 time slot or 2 time slots or even 3 time slots. They would have had to arrive as a group. I wouldn't describe it as casual small-talk. I don't speak Chinese but I speak Body Language. They were horsing around with each other. You don't do that with somebody you just met five minutes ago. 

I mentioned the group to the front desk woman who is also my doctor's wife. I said -- Wow, the baby business is big. She was like - Oh, you know about this? I said yeah. She said yeah, it's a big part of the other doctor's business. Apparently it is confusing the heck out of other patients. One of them took one look, walked out, and called the front desk from the hallway for reassurance they were in the right place.

This office is affiliated with Hoag hospital, which is also mentioned specifically by name in this Chinese ad for a maternity hotel posted by Javacly last year:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php/topic,3954.msg60841.html#msg60841

Birth tourism is not a myth, as Zubs pointed out above. Here's a thread where IHS mentioned it in 2011:http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=1811.15

"Women pay big to have babies born in the U.S. USA Baby Care?s website makes no attempt to hide why the company?s clients travel to Southern California from China and Taiwan. It?s to give birth to an American baby."http://theadvocate.com/home/4885740-125/women-pay-big-to-have

L.A. Times: Chinese want an American newbornhttp://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/03/local/la-me-birthing-centers-20130104

Complaints of Birth Tourism Spike in L.A. County:http://abcnews.go.com/US/birth-tourism-complaints-spike-los-angeles-county/story?id=18337755

Cracking down on illegal operations:http://ktla.com/2013/02/05/task-force-formed-to-investigate-maternity-hotels/

USA Baby Care.com:http://www.usababycare.com/contact.html

^ Local pics

I know birth tourism exists and probably know more about it than most with friends who are directly involved in that business.  I never questioned the existence of it.  I questioned your conclusion as your first post indicated an assumption based on looks and small talk.  Not sure why you left out that the doctor's office confirmed it in your original post. 
 
I obviously disagree because I was there. Like I said, the Chinese ad is for Hoag. This is Hoag. It's not far-fetched. I don't understand why it's even being called into question...?? What's the point? You don't want to entertain the idea they are engaging in birth tourism? Okay, that's fine, you can believe what you want. It is what it is. Rkp, I wouldn't say the staff confirmed it but they didn't squash the notion. You can always call that number in the Chinese ad yourself and ask for more information on how to make your child a U.S. citizen. If it was one big coincidence, how  would they schedule this many people into a narrow time slot in an office with one O.B.??  To me, it was plain as day. Very fobby, didn't speak a lick of English. (I grew up in this area and can tell the difference between Americanized Chinese and foreigners.) Eyephone, as for the assertion they are citizens, I don't see how that's likely. I've tutored immigrants through the county to take the naturalization test. They have to take it in English unless they meet certain exemptions. It is an exceedingly difficult challenge unless you actually speak the language. None of these *pregnant* women are eligible for the exemptions such as being over age 50. No, I didn't check their I.D. to confirm their age.  ;) They are of child-bearing age.
 
To me it doesn't matter, as long as they paid for the services. (Doctor/hospital bill) I think people have a problem with people having babies and not paying the bills.
 
eyephone said:
To me it doesn't matter, as long as they paid for the services. (Doctor/hospital bill) I think people have a problem with people having babies and not paying the bills.

thats an interesting question. who does pay for the hospital bill? when we had our daughter hoag charged upwards of 15-20K and i believe the insurance negotiated rates ended up being around 10-13K.  if they charge 20K for the service im guessing that doesnt include the cost of the hospital.  do they use the ER and not have to pay for it like the poor folks here in the US?
 
Btw, I want to apologize in advance if I come off as rude or bitchy in my replies today. I've been under a tremendous amount of stress this week. Even my doctor noticed my pulse was running fast yesterday and wouldn't come down. (B.P. is great, though.) I'm very high-strung right now. I probably shouldn't even be posting because I'm so aggravated. Just know it's not you, it's me.  :p
 
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