Nonfiction Reading Response on Upfront Article

          The article, "No Job? Get Lost!" by Andrew Higgins, is about Norway's northernmost territory, Svalbard, that doesn't allow unemployment. In Svalbard you cannot live there, if you didn't have a job. Even the retirees are deported unless they had proof that they can support themselves. In this part of Norway, even homelessness is not allowed. Everyone had to have a permanent address. Moreover Svalbard rarely has any crimes.The author also talks about how the police enforced a rule that anyone moving outside the city limits of Longyearbyen must carry a weapon and know how to use it. In that case, the rule includes kids too! To sum up, Svalbard has its good sides of being one of the safest place to live but also the bad sides of unemployment not being allowed. 

          The author suported his opinion by adding a lot of details, quotes and elaboraton. His bias seems to be be more for the fact that Svalbard is a great place to live. For example he uses a lot of loaded words such as law-abiding society, prides and lawlessness. These words indicates a positive impression that Svalbard is a safe place to live. The author supports this by saying, "Residents regularly leave their car and snow mobile keys in the ignition and don't bother locking their front doors." Leaving your door open is a big risk to take and there might be cases of stolen items. However in Svalbard the people don't have to worry about their things getting stolen. The author added the perspective of Governor Odd Olsen Ingero of Svalbard and Mark Sabbatini, an American in Svalbard. Yet I think if the author added the perspective of the residents living in that place, it would make his argument stronger. All in all though, the article indicates that Svalbard is a great and safe place to live.

          This article has taught me a lot of things. I never knew that there was a place where unemployment wasn't allowed. I learned that Svalbard is so safe that people don't need to worry about leaving their doors unlocked. There's not many crimes in Svalbard. In total, the police in Svalbard handle about 100 cases a year. Compare to other countries this is really little amount of crimes. On the other hand, the price of fresh foods is very shocking. A gallon of milk in Svalbard is $27 , the world's most expensive milk. Compared to the United States that sell milk for about $3.70, Svalbard's price is too expensive. Even with the expensive prices I personally think Svalbard would be an amazing place to live.