Migration

After reviewing my family tree from my maternal side of the family, it is clearly seen that America was introduced to my ancestry before my mother was born and this had a significant impact on her migration here. At 21 years old, my mom in 1989 achieved an international migration from Zernez, Switzerland to Glendale, California. There were many significant pull factors that inclined her to move here. A pull factor is a favorable attribute of a place that attracts migrants. A significant pull factor my mom  was attracted to was family. Her aunt from her Father's side lived in New Jersey and she would visit her when she was a teenager during the summer for a couple months. Since her Aunt had moved here alone without any family, it inspired my mom to do the same. Another pull factor was her citizenship status. Since she was born in the United States, her American citizenship and passport made it easier for her to come here. 

My mom grew up in a small rural town in the Swiss alps, and while growing up she was heavily influenced by American culture including music and media such as the Beach boys, the Eagles, and Elvis, as well as movies which portrayed different beaches and attractions such as Venice beach and Santa Monica as cool and dreamy. It can be seen that her inclination to migrate to America was mainly due to Behavioral Theory, in which migrants choose where to migrate based on their idea of what the place is like even though they have never been there. 

There were also some push factors that inclined my mom to move out of her hometown. A push factor is an unfavorable condition of a place that supports migration. The weather in my mom's hometown was mainly cold and filled with snow which prevented a lot of outdoor activities in the colder months. After seeing images of California, she was drawn to the seemingly sunny weather there. Switzerland is also a land-locked country and after seeing media of beaches in California she was drawn to the coastal city life. 

My mom's migration could be classified as a voluntary migration. A voluntary migration is one that crosses an international border and is done by choice after considering the pros and cons of the move. A pro of her moving to the United States was that she could keep her Swiss passport so this was a big opportunity for her since she was able to travel the world while still holding on to her roots. Her voluntary migration also allowed her to choose exactly what state she wanted to go to. When she first came to America she went to Florida, and experienced humid and hot weather which she mostly liked, although while over there she was informed of the frequent hurricanes that occur there and thought she wanted to live somewhere safer from natural disasters. 

Since she migrated here with her boyfriend who was not an American Citizen, this move continued her to be the first from her mom's side of the family to immigrate and live in the United states. 

When I asked her about some of the push factors for leaving Switzerland she stated that because it was such a small town and country, moving would allow her to feel more of what the world was really like and experience the real impact of different people and cultures. Her main pull factors for the U.S. were the beach life, an economic pull factor such as job opportunity in big cities, environmental pull factor of nice weather, and a chance to travel and experience a new culture. 

Some details of her migration that she would like to share is the culture shock she felt in the beginning of her migration. She said it was hard to make new friends and have lasting friendships as well as good neighbors because everyone was always moving and the lifestyle of those around her felt fast paced so there were always a lot of changes. Nothing was really stable here compared to her small hometown in Switzerland. Another major shock was that she had no support from her family since she came alone, and this made her more individualistic and acknowledge that family is a big help when wanting to create a family and raise kids, which she wished she had thought more about. Lastly she stated that she still feels like a tourist sometimes, she has a European accent and when meeting new people they always point it out and ask her where she's from.