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Immigration to the Land of Opportunity Essay examples

Decent Essays

Immigration to America is often a decision made in order to discover a better life for a family or individual. America’s founding ideals are usually what compel foreigners to move to the US. The stories of America being the “Land of Opportunity” have continued to persuade people to immigrate. Although immigration in the 20th century is much different from recent immigration, the underlying reasons for moving to the US are usually quite similar.
Anna Romano was 24 years old when she, her husband Gino, and her expected daughter moved from Ponza, Italy to the United States in 1971. Her sister-in-law was the first of her relatives to move to the United States, in hopes of finding opportunity for her family. After hearing great things about …show more content…

Although they had exceedingly high expectations for life in America, these expectations were met when they arrived.
The lifestyle changes that came along with the transition from the small island of Ponza to the city of Boston were quite drastic. When they first arrived in America, Anna and Gino lived with Gino’s sister and her husband. Shortly after their arrival, Anna gave birth to her first daughter. Seeing as Anna and Gino did not know any English, it was difficult for them to adjust to the American culture and lifestyle. Fortunately, Gino quickly found a job that had many Italian employees, so he was able to communicate with them without difficulty. Anna, on the other hand, did not have similar luck. In Ponza, most women did not work. Therefore, she did not have any experience or specific skill in addition to speaking only Italian. This made it incredibly difficult for Anna to find work. However, she came across a job as a housekeeper, and did this for several years. In Ponza, employment was much different than it is in America. Fishing and owning small shops were most of what the jobs consisted of on the small island. These jobs did not pay much. In America, Anna and Gino were paid weekly and consistently, which was a huge benefit for them despite the fact that they were not paid very much. This

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