It sounds like the beginning of a cheesy joke: A martial artist, councilwoman, musician, contractor, gallery owner and senior manager (walk into a bar), but it’s more of a riddle: what do these six people have in common? The answer is a surprisingly simple one: they are all immigrants. More importantly, they are all immigrants, and they live and/or work in our towns.

Whether they moved here for work, love or because they needed to escape a bad situation, we found their insights into our culture fascinating (and sometimes a bit humorous). And, although they came to the United States at various times over a 40-year period, we noticed several common threads throughout their experiences.

So, we’d like to introduce you to some of your neighbors and share a bit of their stories. Learn what it was like for them to leave everything they knew behind and why they now call this place home.