An English euphemism for English migrants who escape the poverty & backwardness of their pathetic homeland, to colonise a wee enclave in a nicer, more welcoming community in Europe.
I moved to Dubai 12 years ago. I lived up to the ‘expat lifestyle’ and over there, your passport dictates your status.
Fast forward 10 years later, I moved to Canada with my Canadian wife. I’m definitely an immigrant now - no fancy expat lifestyle to adopt here.
I remember reading an interview with Joni Mitchell at least 40 years ago when she was outraged to be called an ex-pat because she was living in the US at the time.
She said that regardless of where she lived, she would always be a Canadian patriot, therefore never an ex-patriot.
It's from 'expatriate worker', when home country mnc or gov sends employees on overseas assignments, either long or short term. But 'expat' is generally misappropriated.
Expats maintain their nationalities and act superior to the ‘natives’. Immigrants become a part of their new countries. Maybe expats should just be called foreigners.
Expat means someone who temporarily resides in a country for work purposes only. I am an expat in Saudi as I am here purely for work purposes. When I finish I will either return home to UK or emigrate and become and immigrant with intent to retire and live.
Sorry but you're wrong this time. An expat is someone who travels to work in a foreign country temporarily. An immigrant is someone who travels to a foreign country with the intention of settling there. I've been an expat in 31 countries and an immigrant in 1.
It’s funny, because the only people I ever see call themselves “expats” are former Americans, while everyone who immigrates to America calls themselves immigrants even though they have more of a right to be called American than expats.
I know Cuban-Americans who are citizens who think of themselves as expats. They still have the deed to their house in Cuba, which they brought with them when they fled the Castro regime at the age of 9. They're in their 60s now and still expect to go home someday but been US citizens for ~50 years
It's a word in the dictionary. It means (in our case) an American who maintains their citizenship but lives or works in another country. The word exists because we have words for things.
Seriously, I thought "expat" would - correctly used - describe someone who lives abroad for a while, e.g. for work, but has no intention to stay.
Immigrants are people like me: moving to another country (Scotland, yay! ♥) for good.
Thank you, Scotland, btw, for being so welcoming!
Well, expatriating is different from immigrating, they're fundamentally different concepts. You can immigrate without expatriating but you cannot expatriate without emigrating.
The Oxford dictionary states that an expatriate is someone who lives outside their native country. I prefer to say that I am an immigrant. It's just personal preference, I guess.
I've always felt that expat implied a temporary status or that you weren't really going to cultureate yourself. Immigrant on the other hand says you are absolutely going to become a part of that culture where you move.
Comments
Fast forward 10 years later, I moved to Canada with my Canadian wife. I’m definitely an immigrant now - no fancy expat lifestyle to adopt here.
She said that regardless of where she lived, she would always be a Canadian patriot, therefore never an ex-patriot.
It’s when you live and work in another country on a temporary basis which still retaining your home countries citizenship
Only if you make the move permanently do you emigrate and become an immigrant to the country
An expat lives outside of their country of origin, but they do not intend to make that necessarily permanent
I'm a guest in their home, and grateful every day for their hospitality
There. I said it.
Immigrants are people like me: moving to another country (Scotland, yay! ♥) for good.
Thank you, Scotland, btw, for being so welcoming!
Maybe study the etymology of both words before making sweeping statements?
Rather pathetic tbh.