Can the Eastern Suburbs be described as a British/Irish/American enclave?

Dear All,

I have lived in Surry Hills for about 8 months now, ever since I was offered a job and arrived in Sydney. One of the things that strikes me about Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Paddington is the sheer number of British and American accents I hear - almost outnumbering the Australian accents! What amazed me was that the Brits and Americans I see in Surry Hills, Paddington and Darlinghurst don't look like the British, Irish and American teenage and early 20s backpackers seen in Bondi and Coogee but a different mix - very smart, older affluent types - the Brits often with crisp RP or posh London accents like you may find in London suburbs like Islington and Clapham. According to Wikipedia, 67% of the population of Paddington alone have roots in North-West Europe, mostly from the UK and Ireland.

I didn't give it much thought until I visited the suburbs of Cabramatta, Liverpool and Blacktown recently - all places I enjoyed with their interesting Vietnamese, Lebanese, Indian and Filipino ethnic shops and restaurants. According to others I have spoken to, they are seen by Australians as enclaves of certain ethic groups - especially Cabramatta with its Viet population. This got me pondering that if people can call Cabramatta and Blacktown enclaves then can one label the Eastern Suburbs (including the inner eastern suburbs) as a predominently British/Irish/American enclave?

Can't say I've noticed more Brits in East Sydney or Eastern Suburbs than elsewhere in middle class Sydney - the North Shore - and Manly in particular - is much more of a British ghetto. In the Eastern suburbs such as Rose Bay or Dover Heights you're more likely to hear South African or Russian accents from the sizeable Jewish community.

You probably do see a lot more white people around the Eastern Subs but I can't say I've noticed Pommie, Irish, American or even Kiwi (Some people call Bondi NZ's fourth biggest city) outnumbering Aussies. There are lots of SE Asian people in Surry Hills too, with China Town being so close. There is a Chinese church on Crown & Albion Sts. There are a few Turkish people around too, with a mosque on Cleveland St. also popular with the cabbies I believe.

When you do out to certain suburbs around Sydney you do become conscious of the many ethnic groups that live here. Jewish people in the Eastern Subs as in 'Jehover (sic) Heights. 'Vietnamatta' was the traditional home for Vietnamese boat people. Liverpool Road, Ashfield is all Korean or Chinese businesses. Strathfield is popular with Asians/Indians too. The Middle East concentrate around Bankstown to Lakemba. Leichhardt has always been the home of the Italian community. Some wags refer to Marrickville as 'The Inner West Bank' but that's just because the Green-dominated council wanted to impose bans on Israel.

Ultimately, young and often single migrants/working holiday congregate where the 'action' is which means the inner city and Bondi-Coogee.

I'm in Coogee and have lived in the eastern suburbs for over 30 years. Of all the people I've known here (rather than those just passing through temporarily) the vast majority have been Australian.