Like other African groups, the first Ivorians to arrive in the United States were imported as slaves in the 18th century. In the 1970s a small group of Ivorian students came to the United States and then lived there permanently. A larger wave of migration of Ivorians happened in the 1990s. In the 1980s, Ivorians (and people of West Africa in general) saw the US as a place of great economic and educational opportunities. Thus, the Ivorians began to settle in cities such as Chicago, Atlanta and Boston to get better work than they could at home. Hairbraiding and driving taxis were prominent occupations for Ivorians. A strong system of chain migration began. That is, friends and family emigrated to the United States, coming to places like New York City. Also, the First Ivorian Civil War in 2002 prompted the emigration of thousands of Ivorians to North America.