If My Ancestors Stayed Where Would I Be  

   

           For this project I have chosen to research my father's side of my family as it was really the easiest one to track back.Now although my grandfather was an orphan and never really knew who his father was he knew who his mother was and thankfully he left us with records of his whole life.

          Now thanks to my granddads attention to detail I was able to find out that he as a child grew up in Swinden, which is a small village in Craven district of North Yorkshire England

             Though amazingly it for how small it is Swinden has a lot of different variety of not only things to do and places to go, but places to eat and swim and watch soccer for the local team. As a sixteen year old I would have gone to one of the elementary schools in Swiden then going to one of the thirteen high schools with plans to probably go to either  New college or Swinden college. Unfortunately In my free time I would probably play a lot of soccer and most likely have a job working on either a farm or in one of the restaurants based on where I would be living in swinden  

"Swinden." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 30 May 2016.

"Living in Swinden." Web. 30 May 2016.

"Where Would I be..."

As I began researching and finding information on my roots, I originally assumed my maternal roots came from Poland and my paternal roots came from Scotland and Ireland. All my life I have grown up knowing that my mother’s side of the family is from Poland. I grew up eating home made Polish foods as well as foods from the Polish store near my grandparents house. However as I did some further research I found out that my family, on my mother’s side, is also from England and Russia.

In this project I will focus on my maternal roots that immigrated from Poland and Russia to Toronto, Ontario.

This is an image of Poland and Ukraine, Europe as well as the borderline of Russia

While researching information about my roots on my mother’s side of the family, I learned that my great great-grandparents were the first to immigrate to Canada. All 4 sets of great great-grandparents immigrated from Europe to Canada, but all for different reasons. On my grandfather's mom’s side of the family, my great great-grandfather, Emilio Swatuk, was originally born and raised in Russia (Godovitz). Although I do not know where in Russia specifically, family rumours of Emilio being a supporter of the Romanov Family confirm that he lived somewhere in Russia.

Around the beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1915, Emilio forced himself to leave Russia for his own safety. When the Soviets over through the Romanov family, who were in power at the time, they would execute those who were supporters of the Romanov family, and the family themselves. Therefore, because of this, Emilio left Russia and moved to England where he lived, met and married his soon to be wife Annie. Once they married, Annie and Emilio decided it was in their best interest to immigrate to Canada to escape the Russian Revolution and to begin a new, better life.

Once in Canada, my great great-grandparents settled in Toronto. Although I was unable to find or locate their immigration records, when talking to my grandfather in a phone call, he stated that they lived in a house on Bathurst Street and Queen Street in Toronto, Ontario with their 11 children (Godovitz). In Order to provide for and care for their children, Annie was a stay at home mother and Emilio worked for a mattress company called Simmons.

On the other hand, my grandfather’s dad’s side of the family immigrated to Canada from Russia as well. Joseph Glodowicz, his grandfather, was born and raised in Ukraine, Europe and lived in a part of Ukraine that was very Russian influenced. I am not specifically sure of the time period, however some time before the beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1915, Joseph moved to Poland, Europe where he eventually met Josephine (Godovitz). Josephine (also known as Sophie) lived in Poland her entire life also growing up in an area that was highly influenced by Russia.

This is a map of Ukraine. It shows where it is in comparison to Russia and Poland. Although I am unaware of where exactly my great grandparents lived in Ukraine, I do know it was a Russian Ukraine area so I can assumed it was close to the border of Ukraine and Russia.

In Poland, Sophie and Joseph met and married just before the first World War and the Russian Revolution. As the Revolution began, they decided to immigrate to Canada to start their life together and to escape the chaos that was about to begin. Once they were in Canada, they lived in a little house on Dundas Street, just west of Bathurst Street and only a few miles from the Swatuks (which is how my great-grandmother and great-grandfather met). Joseph then found a new job working for Massey Ferguson, a tractor and farm machine company, providing for himself, his wife and their 7 children. Also, when they moved to Canada, the Glodowiczs’ changed their last name from that to “Godovitz” in order to “fit into” the English culture and to sound more english (Godovitz).

For my great great-grandparents, the main causes for immigrating from Europe to Canada was the fact that the Russian Revolution had begun and they wanted to escape the chaos. Also, because the first World War was beginning, it was safer for them to leave the their country. Not only that, but at this time new job openings and factory work in Canada, specifically Toronto, had become a prime work opportunity for Canadians and Canadian immigrants, so starting a new, safer, and better life in Canada were their best options (Godovitz).

While going into further research I found some very interesting information on what life in Poland is like today. When looking at their current government structure, I found that Poland is run by a Parliament, just as Canada, and has branches of judicial, civil, constitutional, and administrative law (THE WORLD FACTBOOK). Poland follows many of the same governmental and legal ideas as Canada as they are also a democratic country with a very strong legal system.

When looking at the education rate and schooling in Poland, in comparison to Canada, it is very similar. Children go to school by the age of 7 and attend a primary and middle school and have the choice of 3 different “high schools” to attend before university (Education and Schooling in Poland). They attend school 5 days a week from ages 7 to 18 just as students in Canada. Not only are our education opportunities the same but the unemployment rate in Poland is very low. In comparison to Canada's unemployment rate of 6.9% (THE WORLD FACTBOOK), Poland has a very strong workforce and work availability for youth, such as my age, as well as adults with an unemployment rate of about 10.2% (THE WORLD FACTBOOK).

In conclusion, I believe that overall my life in Poland would be very similar to my life in Canada today. Had my ancestors not immigrated from Poland, Russia and Ukraine, my life would not have had a severe impact if I was to be living there currently. Because Poland is such a modernized country; trading, importing and exporting with more developed and richer countries, their economy, education, healthcare, and workforce opportunities for youth, adults and families are very good. Just as I do here in Canada, I believe I would live a very privileged and lucky life in Poland.

This is the URL to my reference page:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aME-9Cem9HjTPL36nZ836cveSZg0nu-fNGLWhcxtJLY/edit

Life On "Jamrock" The Story of my Heritage

When asked about my Heritage I instantly reply with Jamaican. Which often see people replying with "what, Really?" Yes, truth be told my paternal Grandfather is from Jamaica. In the year 1946 he left Jamaica to go to England to get a better education and to a country with a better job market. For in Jamaica he had been driving trains, which did not pay as much as his new job as an accountant.

Now a little more about my grandfather. His grandfather had emigrated from Germany in the 1850s as there was a need for workers in Jamaica at that time. As one article puts it "Jamaica has experienced high levels of migration since it became a British colony. From the 17th through the mid-19th centuries, European traders relied on forced labor from Africa and later indentured labor, initially from Europe (particularly Ireland and Germany) but then from India and China, to work on Jamaican sugar plantations alongside the indigenous Taino population."(Glennie/Chappell 10).
This seems to be the probable reason for my great-great-great-grandfather's emigration from Germany.

At the Time my Grandfather immigrated, as well as today, Jamaica has been seen, and is in fact a poor country. Most of it's limited wealth comes from it's tourism economy with very few places for jobs requiring higher skill than working at a resort. This leaves many Jamaicans no choice but to immigrate to a new country, with one study showing that the majority of Jamaicans have one or more members working abroad, my grandfather among them.

So why did my grandfather settle in Canada? Well in fact at first he didn't. After World war 2 the first place my grandfather went to was Great Britain. There he received a higher education by enrolling in courses that dealt with accounting. But when applying for a job he met with quite a bit of discrimination. So he and his new English wife (my grandmother) decided to move to one of the colonies. They narrowed it down to Australia or Canada, and as my grandfather had a cousin already living in Canada, the choice was easy. So in 1958 my grandfather moved from London, England to Toronto, Canada, where he has lived ever since.

Now if I were living in Jamaica today I feel that my life would not be as good as it is here in Canada.
This is because Jamaica has a shortage of skilled health care practitioners. This means that health care is much more expensive than it is here in Canada. And considering that Jamaica also has a very high youth unemployment rate, around 34%, I would not be able to afford said healthcare.

Jamaica has one of the highest Homicide rates of any country, currently rated 5th in the world by the world bank. Some 1200 People die by murder each year. This is generally attributed to gang wars. By comparison, Chicago, which has roughly the same population as Jamaica, at 2.7 million, had 468 killings in 2015.

Life expectancy in Jamaica is relatively low at 74 years, compared to Canada's 81 years. This is again due to the fact that Jamaica has a shortage of Healthcare practitioners. Though 99% of Jamaican Citizens enjoy access to fresh drinking water, and 80% have access to sanitation facilities, as listed in the "CIA World Fact Book".

The Population if Jamaica is not very diverse with 92% identifying as black, 6.2% identifying as mixed and the rest as other. The Majority Religion is Protestant Christianity, with only 1.2% percent identifying as Rastafarian.(There's a Stereotype debunked for you, Though Jamaicans do listen to a lot of reggae and ska music.)

Jamaicans enjoy large amounts of literacy, the literacy rate being at 89%, as well as large amounts of Government funding with the current GDP spent on education at 6.3%. Large Amounts of students are taken out of school and are made to commit acts such as child prostitution, and aiding in drug manufacture and distribution. It is estimated that there are 40,000 children currently in these circumstances.       

Overall Jamaica seems like an alright country to live in if your well off, but if you were below the poverty line I could see life being somewhat deplorable. In the end I am glad that my grandfather decided to leave his homeland and come to Canada because no country can compare to the true north strong and free.

I Would Be... My Family's journey from Ireland

As I look at my family’s history I realize that it seems fairly standard. My family comes from England Ireland and Scotland, my paternal ancestry is more in England and Ireland, while my mother’s family is more Scottish and Irish. As I looked at my family’s tree it appeared as though if my family hadn’t immigrated to Canada, I would living in Ireland. After learning this from my grandmother, I decided to focus on my paternal roots that come from Ireland.

Republic of Ireland

    James Hillis my great-great-great-great-great grandfather (that’s 5 greats attached) was born in Antrim Northern Ireland on December 27th, 1804. He left Ireland in the mid 1820’s likely because of the potato famine. There is no exact date because I was unable to find an immigration record. I was told by my family  that he first went to the Eastern United States and got married before coming to Canada.  At this time the U.S.A was full of opportunity for immigrants coming from Europe who wanted better lives. Many people from western Europe were heading to the area James went to Indiana. His first wife, Sarah McClure had a son, James Hillis Junior. Sarah died in 1825 and my grandfather moved with his son to Toronto.

    A few years after arriving in Toronto James met his second wife, my great- great- great- great- great mother, Mary Smeltzer (also 5 greats). She was also an immigrant from Ireland, who likely moved for similar reasons. Mary was born in 1814 and emigrated in the early 1830’s. I was also unable to find her immigration record. They moved out of Toronto, to Erindale Ontario, and started a bigger family. Mary and James Sr. had 13 children together, including my great, great, great, great grandfather, John Hillis.

    Many of the census records from before 1901 were destroyed during Ireland's fight for independence. The first attempt to take an official census was made in 1813 (About Pre-1901 Census Fragments) this made finding some reasons as to why my relatives would have left Ireland difficult. At this time however it was also common for many to leave because of the potato famines that were striking the country. My family doesn’t know much else about James Hillis because of the lack of records, he was buried in Peel County.

   

As for my life in Ireland compared to my life in Canada, the first thing that came into my mind was that I would have an Irish accent. Personally, I think that would be great.Ireland’s population is 4.64 million. Canada’s population is 36.28 million. Given that Ireland is a geographically smaller country this makes a lot of sense. According to the CIA World factbook Ireland’s unemployment rate is higher than Canada, 9.4% compared to 6.9%, however when looking at population in addition to the unemployment rate, this means nearly 3,384,000 Canadians are without jobs while around 320,160 people in Ireland are unemployed. The World Factbook also shows that youth unemployment rate is also lower than Canada, 13.5% in Canada and 26.8% in Ireland.

As likely as it is that I wouldn’t have a job, most young people in Ireland spent 18 or 19 years in school including any post secondary studies. Canadian youth usually only spend around 16 or 17, also including any post secondary studies. Ireland and Canada’s languages are also mostly English so I would not be speaking a different language. Both countries have very high literacy rates and high sanitation rates (“Canada””Ireland”). Both countries have legalized gay marriage, however Ireland’s law on abortion states that it may only be performed if it is an emergency that will save the mother’s life. Even though both countries are very similar in regards to politics they have some slight differences.

    Canada is a more diverse country than Ireland when you look at ethnicities, according to the CIA World Factbook more than half of Canadians identified as other than European, Canadian, or Asian, less than 4% of Irish would identify as non-white.

    As a whole I feel as though my life in Ireland would be very comparable and rather similar to my life in Canada. Even though I was unable to find much proof as to when my ancestors immigrated, I am glad they were able to leave the famine struck land they lived in, even though it means that I didn’t get an Irish accent.Here are my works cited

Who would I be if My Grandparents never immigrated to Canada from Pakistan?

Who would I be if My Grandparents never immigrated to Canada from Pakistan?  

My roots on my maternal side are from England and Ireland, and on my paternal side my roots are from Pakistan. I will focus on roots on my paternal side and how my grandparents came from Pakistan to Guelph, ON.

If my grandparents on my paternal side never immigrated to Canada my father would have never met my mother and I would not be alive today. But, if by some miracle I was born, my life and who I am would have been very different in Pakistan.    

My grandfather, Muhammad Masood, immigrated to Canada in 1969 of November and my grandmother, Musarrat Masood, and my father Asim Masood, immigrated to Canada 3 months later in January of 1970. Muhammad was 39 years old when he came over, Musarrat was 32 years old, and my father was 6 years old. My grandfather decided to move to Canada when the opportunity arose because he believe it would be a better life for him and his family. This includes many new and a better opportunities for jobs and to live a health and well balanced life between family life, job, and time for fun. The factors for my grandma to go to Canada were that “[she] wanted to be a doctor but [her] father told [her] that [she] could not because it takes to much time and that he needed to marry off [her] six sisters first,”(Masood). So Musarrat wanted independence, to make her own living, and not be a burden on her parents anymore which she could do if she immigrated to Canada. The factors were that she was scared to travel to Canada, that it was far from her family, and she would miss them.

            Figure 1                                                     Figure 2

Musarrat Masood's family she had to leave behind in Pakistan.

My grandfather travelled to Canada by plane, lived in Toronto for 10 days, and got a job within that 10 days in guelph. Then 3 months later my grandmother and father came over by plane as well. My grandmother recalls “[that] [her] first job was babysitting the next door neighbour children in the apartment they lived in and was paid $20 a week,”(Masood). My grandmother later went to college and went to be a training officer but change because she did not like talking to the men that worked there. So then she became a nurse because she wanted to help people. Soon after they got settled and got a house and had two more children.  

Figure 3                                                          Figure 4

Figure 3: Musarrat and Mohmand Masood’s Canadian Citizenship Certifications.  Figure 4 Muhammad's first letter home to his wife and child when he got to Toronto, which would take two to three weeks.  

If I was living in Pakistan right now at age 16 I would be living in my great grandmother's house with my family, the education expectancy is 7 years for girls living in Pakistan, according to the CIA world fact book. So, I would mostly likely complete grade 8 and then I might go to secondary school but my mother could make me drop out if she needed help at home, like my grandmother did for her mother. “The unemployment rate for youth 15-24 in Canada is 13.5% and in Pakistan it is 7.7%,”(The World Fact Book). The unemployment rate is much lower in Pakistan because they want young works who can work longer, harder and quicker for them instead of older people who work slower and get tired faster. The unemployment rate is higher in Canada because they want older people who have experiences and skills to work for them instead of young people who do not have the skills or experience. I would most likely have job because there is a higher rate of employment in urban and in high income families which my grandmother comes from. “Pakistan, like many other developing countries, has a health-care system that is split between low-cost government-funded hospitals offering basic services and expensive private-sector medical institutions. But the majority of the country’s 180 million people have little access to health care,”(Bahree). My family would be able pay for the basic services but not the private-sector. So more expensive treatment I would not get like chemotherapy or surgery to insure I will live a long healthy life. Rights and freedoms are very equal between men and women in Pakistan like in Canada. In Pakistan there is a lot more violence towards women and child marriages. There a lot of “Violence against women and girls—including rape, murder through so-called honor killings, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage—remained routine. Pakistani human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) estimate that there are about 1,000 “honor killings” every year,”(World Reports 2016: Pakistan). So in Pakistan I would be married off at age 12 or 13 to an older man. I would have to end my schooling and care for the children that I would have. I could possibly die in childbirth or experiencing abuse from my husband.

All in all my life and who I would be, would have turned out very different from the life I have now, if my grandparents never immigrated from Pakistan to Canada. I have a very comfortable life in Canada I got to school for free, I have a job and make my own income, I have free healthcare so if I am badly hurt I can get treated for what I need, and I have equal rights and freedom. In Pakistan my life would have been hard and maybe even fatal, if I was abused badly or killed and could not get the help I need. I am very thankful that my parental grandparents immigrated to Canada, so I could become the person I am today.      

     

Works Cited

Bahree, Megha. "Bringing Healthcare to More Pakistanis." The Wall Street

    Journal. Dow Jones and Company, 6 Nov. 2012. Web. 30 May 2016.

    <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204846304578090713421035962>.

Ghosh, Palash. "Child Marriage Should Be Legal: Pakistani Legal Advisory Body."

    International Business Times. IBT Media, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 May 2016.

    <http://www.ibtimes.com/

    child-marriage-should-be-legal-pakistani-legal-advisory-body-1560767>.

"Map of Pakistan." Radio Free Europe. RFE/RL, n.d. Web. 30 May 2016.

    <http://www.rferl.org/content/pakistan-polio-worker-killed-khyber/

    27637255.html>.

Masood, Musarrat. Personal interview. 26 May 2016.

"Women's Rights in Pakistan." Wikipeadia. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2016.

    <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_rights_in_Pakistan>.

"The World Fact Book." Central Intelligence Agency. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2016.

    <https://www.cia.gov/index.html>.

"World Report 2015: Pakistan." Human Rights Watch. 2016 Human Rights Watch, n.d.

    Web. 30 May 2016. <https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/

    country-chapters/pakistan>.

Figure 1. 1962. Photograph.

Figure 2. 1964. Photograph.

Figure 3. 1971. Photograph.

Figure 4. 1969. Photograph.

I would be

Revealing my Roots

Researching the origins of my family

My family is from many different countries, but mostly Europe. My family members originate from Italy, Whales, Ireland, Scandinavia, and Native Canadian. For this blog post I will be focusing on my maternal roots from Italy since I have the most information available about this side of my family. Originally I had believed that my maternal family was only from Ireland, but after interviewing family members I discovered that many of them believe that our family had immigrated twice originally from Italy to Ireland to Canada.   

My family that originated in Italy was my great great grandfather. He moved from Italy in the mid 1800’s to Ireland and my great grandfather moved from there to paulgrave, Ontario in the early 1900’s to Orangeville Ontario.  

A map showing the location of Italy and Ireland in relation to each other.  Also showing the

locations of where my great great grandfather traveled to and from.

It was originally believed that my maternal roots came from Ireland, but after interviewing my mother it is highly likely that my great great grandfather was actually from Italy. I also interviewed my grandfather and agreed that it was very likely based on my mother’s maiden name, the customs of my family, as well as the physical characteristics that majority of my family has.

In my interview with my mother she stated “I think that our family was from somewhere other than Ireland before they moved to Canada” (Treble) she believed this because majority of my family share characteristics of people of Italian descent. After doing more research I discovered that my family shares a lot characteristics with people from the south of Italy “our family all have dark hair, eyes, and tanned skin. Also it looks like all of our family has bags under our eyes” (Treble) which a lot of Italian people do. After more investigating I discovered after asking our family doctor that the reason my family has these dark skin marks under our eyes is because our veins actually sit very close to our skin (Davenport). This means that the dark skin under our eyes would be genetic and not caused by a lack of sleep, stress, or any other causes.        

These Images demonstrate the typical physical Italian Characteristics. A tanned complexion, dark hair, and eyes. As

Well both pictures demonstrate the “bags” under both the man

And the woman's eyes most likely caused by veins sitting

Close to their skin.  

After researching life in Italy in the 1800s I discovered that it was very likely that my great great grandfather left Italy because of the Franco-Prussian war, which ended in 1871 (Ancos). The Franco-Prussian war started in 1871, which was around the time that my grandfather was thought to have left Italy. Also it was estimated that approximately 550 000 Italians left Italy between 1869 and 1871(Irial). The reason that so many Italians left was in huge part due to the war that was occurring in this time period. Based on this information I find it very likely that my great great grandfather did leave Italy in this time period to travel to Ireland in order to escape living in or having to join the war.

If I were to live in Italy right now I feel that my life wouldn’t be bad and i would have a pretty content life although my life would probably be better were I am now, Canada. Majority of Italians have modern cars, can afford expensive car insurance, and people are able to go out, eat, and drink well (Roe).In Canada more people feel as if they are more secure, have a higher life satisfaction, and are generally more healthy based on a survey conducted by OECD  Better life index.  Although if I were to live in Italy during the mid to late 1800s then life would be very different. 1870 was the year that Rome was officially taken over in the Franco-Prussian war, which means the quality of life in Italy at this time would have been very poor. Due to the fact that you would have lost many loved ones fighting the war, and the other effects war has.     

In Italy the unemployed youth rate is at 44.2 percent Compared to Canada which has an employment rate of 13.4 percent as of march 2016. Although I have a job now it is very likely that I would have been able to get a job at a much younger age and with greater ease when I was looking for one based on the employment rate of each country. I feel that this would be good for not only me but other youth my age as well. Many of my friends, who do not have jobs, feel bored and that they have nothing to do. I believe keeping youth busy is a good thing to do because it provides youth with something productive to do, become more responsible,and gives them a sense of belonging. All of these things would contribute to a better quality of life for youth.

                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                               Quality of life in Italy compared to Canada

(Canada is the dashed line)

In Italy classes for secondary education are

typically smaller than those in Canada. Italy

typically has a class of 10 to 20 pupils while Canada has classes of around 30 students. Since Italy has a smaller class average  it is much easier for Italian students to get more extra help, and more one on one work meaning it is more likely for them to be successful in school.

Furthermore Italy has a health plan and recognizes health care as a right just like Canada does. If I were to live in Italy my health care would be relatively the same. In Italy health care is given to anyone regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, or economic status according to international living. This is a right given to anyone just like in Canada.

Based on the information I have collected I believe that my quality of life in Italy would be worse than if I was to live In Canada, although it would not be bad by any means and I would likely be happy, and feel secure. I am glad tho that my ancestors were able to relocate themselves from Italy to Ireland to eventually Canada and I admire their bravery in doing so in search of a better life.   

Citations   

     Anco. "Life in Italy." Lifeinitaly.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2016. 
     <http://www.lifeinitaly.com/history/life-italy-during-19th-century>. 

   Google. Google Maps. Google.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2016. 
     <https://www.google.ca/maps/@47.4458061,4.5309032,5z>. 

   Personal interview. 20 May 2016. 

   Personal interview. 20 May 2016. 

Totaro, and Vasarri. "Italian Youth Employment Rate Rise." www.bloomberg.com. 
     N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2016. <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/ 
     2015-07-31/italian-unemployment-rises-with-youth-jobless-at-record-high>. 

Understanding Italy. "Italian Educational System." Understanding Italy. N.p., 
     n.d. Web. 30 May 2016. <http://www.understandingitaly.com/ 
     profile-content/education.html>. 


     

I Would Be ISU

My great grandparents were born and raised in the Netherlands. They gave birth to three daughters there. In 1948 they moved to Canada for a better life. The economy was better here and World War II had also just ended the year before. It was easier to get into Canada back then as well. My grandma became pregnant again with a son (my grandpa) and he was born in April of 1949. She had another son the following year. In 1951, she passed away from a blood clot in her leg. She chose death over amputation. My great grandpa could not take care of five kids on his own, so he sent the oldest child who was six years old at the time, and the youngest who was six months, back to Holland to be with family. In 1954, he got remarried to their live in nanny. They had two kids together (1955 and 1960).

Postwar Dutch Immigration through Pier 21

In 1962, they moved to California because my great grandpa got a job offer. Their two kids and my grandpa had no choice but to follow. My grandpa later came back here in 1969 because he did not want to fight in the Vietnam War. He reconnected with a past girlfriend who would be my grandma, and they had my mom in 1972. My great grandpa passed away in August of 1999, which was a couple weeks before I was born, from cancer. My grandpas step mom is still living in California today.

           Downtown Amsterdam Apartments

If they didn't immigrate to Canada and I was living in the Netherlands, I think I would be in a good place. Living conditions are good and they have nice spacious apartments. There is also a lot of festivals throughout the year and people in that country are very supportive and friendly. The social life would be great. Statistics show that Holland has a crime rate that is lower than average. Of course there is crime and unsafe areas anywhere, but I would feel safe for the most part.

Right now the unemployment rate there is 6.9%, which is the same as Canada. There is also a 30% tax-free allowance for people with specific skills in the work force. The average salary is $27,000 to $33,000. That isn't as much as Canada considering ours is $50,000, but the cost of living in Holland isn't as high. It is fairly easy to get a job as a resident as well. It's a little harder for immigrants.

The healthcare there is very efficient. It is rated the best in Europe. Waiting times aren't long and prescription collections are fast. It is mandatory to belong to a medical scheme, which means people have basic services for a monthly fee and can't be refused for anything. They also have very high health standards and normally facilities and hospitals are university based. Residents are automatically insured by the government for long-term nursing and care but everyone is required to have their own basic health insurance. I think it's nice that it will cover dental care up to eighteen years old. This is great but it is kind of expensive. 2016 shows that it is just over $1400 a year.

Education is compulsory starting at age 5. School is required every day until the age of 16. Then a partial education is required where students need some kind of education for at least two days a week. Compulsory education ends at age 18 but a diploma on a VWO, HAVO or MBO level is required.

Based on all of this and I was living in the Netherlands, I would have a good life like I do here. I would most likely end up getting a good job, have nice living conditions, and I'd have a fair education and healthcare. I'd also have a really big family and a lot of close people around me.