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Patrick Finn on Moving To The United States

Patrick Finn on Moving To The United States

Recently in an interview I was asked about what it was like when I first moved to the United States.

Here you will read some insight into what it was like for me moving from Ireland and London, to the United States.

An award-winning remodeler in the North Suburbs reveals his Irish roots and what it was like to move here from overseas:

What were your thoughts of the United States when you first came here?

Loved it right off the bat. I had lived just outside London working there for 2 years before I got here so I was used to a very fast paced lifestyle, coming to Chicago was like a breath of fresh air as the pace of life is a little slower here. I had done a lot of research before immigrating and I chose Chicago as it was the 3rd largest city in the US and to me seemed to be the most interesting.

Anything surprising?

How extreme the weather conditions are. The summers are warmer than what I was used to and the winters a lot colder. Also how quickly the weather changes was a surprise. In Ireland and England the weather is milder without such a large swing in temperature difference.

I was surprised by the large number of Irish that are living in the Chicago area. The 1st company I worked for I met someone who went to the same secondary school (high school here) as I did. He was a few years ahead of me in school. He was a familiar face from the town that is 6 miles away from where I grew up in Ireland. That was nice to meet him, it’s a very small world. He introduced me to a number of other people from our town Killarney that are living here. Also my 1st job here was for a guy who was from the north of Ireland and his whole crew was Irish. That made me feel right at home.

What do you feel stood out the most about coming to the United States?

How warm, open and friendly the American people are to the Irish immigrants especially here in the Chicago area. Living here felt like an extension of living in Ireland a lot more so than I felt when living in England. It was also welcoming to know how much the Irish stick together and help each other out and help each other get established here in the US.

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