Zhelko Dimic grew up in Vranje, a small town in Serbia. But during the time he grew up, Serbia wasn't a good place to live

During this time there was a dictatorship and economical ruin. At its worst point the hyperinflation was so bad that it was rising more than 50% per day. It was also extremely hard to find a job. There was a hidden unemployment rate of around 50%. These push factors are what made Zhelko leave Serbia.

I'm an example of hyperinflation!

Zhelko knew that realistically only Australia, New zealand or Canada would accept him, so what made him choose Canada specifically?

1.  Canada had a great reputation for the standard of living. In fact, it was ranked number 1 for quality of life by the UN.

2. Canada was known for economic and political freedom, especially compared to Serbia. After growing up poor and in a broken country this was all he could have wanted.

3. There were many job opportunities for Zhelko's profession (electrical engineer) in Canada specifically, which compelled him to go somewhere he knew he would have stable employment.

When Zhelko got accepted in 1997, he was ecstatic. Many people describe it as being equivalent to winning the lottery. He threw a party with all of his friends and celebrated. The way everyone saw it, he was going to finally live a normal life, and he did. He was able to get a fresh start away from all the corruption in Serbia, but there were also many challenges of moving to a new country.

Immigration

There were many challenges of coming to Canada as an independent Immigrant. For one, he only came to Canada with a few thousand dollars to keep him afloat, and most of it was borrowed from his uncle. He also wasn't fluent in english yet, so he had to face the struggles of a language barrier that blocked him off from many things. But even after he became fluent he still noticed people's attitude and perception of him slightly changing when they heard an accent. 

After settling in Canada, he met my mom, and a few years later they had me and my twin brother. This makes me a second generation Canadian.

Serbian Culture