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this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2024
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First of all, stop using word "expat" when you're talking of immigrants but from "better countries"
Hard agree, expat as a term only exists because white people wanted to separate themselves from those they deem ”lesser immigrants”
I moved to Japan from Sweden, I only call my self an immigrant because that’s what I am
PewDiePie is that you?
Ive usually seen "Expat" defined as someone working in another country, but explicitly with the intent to be there temporarily and leave once their time at that job ends, rather than moving there with an intent to stay and join that society. Which, granted, doesnt seem to be what OP is actually talking about in this case.
That's what it means but some people use it wrong and some people complain about it being used wrong, wrongly
What OP is talking about has been a thing since the 90s and even 80s and earlier with ex-military.
Move to a cheap country where your pension/disability/passive income/whatever makes you wealthy.
Originally places liked it because it was an influx in cash. But then it became too popular and they were gentrifying places to the point locals couldn't afford to live and these leeches never worked.
It became big again with the internet when people became able to work and American job while overseas remotely. But by now most American companies just won't pay American wages. If they wanted someone overseas they'd pay them the low wage they always do.
With those younger people they added the "temporary" because they say they'll move back someday.
What you're talking about (if the job is in that country) would be a migrant worker.
But they also don't like that label, they think they're better than it.
I'd argue we should call all migrant workers expats. Unless they're literally working in a migratory fashion, spring here, summer there, fall somewhere else, etc.
It's short for "expatriate." I'm not saying it isn't used in the way you described, but that's not the original meaning.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expatriate
Yea, I always thought an "expat" was someone who was temporarily sent to another country to work for their company there.
Americans don't want to be grouped in with "dirty non-white immigrants" so they consider themselves expats even if they intend the move abroad permanently.
Thats just the expats changing the narrative when people started calling them out on it.
I always understood that you refer to yourself and your fellow countrymen abroad as expats. You use the word immigrant when referring to others.
Yes, this is exactly how I would define it.
I also don't think it imparts a general pro/anti integration with locals (not to say some assholes aren't out there).
If I was thinking of immigrating elsewhere, I'd want to be near a few other people from my country who've been there longer than me, if only to make the transition easier and to get help with any issues specific to people from the same place.
That's some old fashion 'us versus them,' kinda thinking.
I'd love to see countries mark "expat" as an option on forms...
Just as a trap to filter them all out.
It was literally in the last couple of weeks that I first came across this. I thought it just meant 'a person living in a country in which isn't their home country' regardless of origin, etc. The only thing I thought of it is that it wasn't necessarily permanent whereas immigrant to me had permanence. It's wild that, to me, it seems to have come out of nowhere.
I always saw expats as something between immigrants and tourists. They aren't trying to switch countries and they aren't just on vacation. There's plenty of good reasons for this category, like being sent somewhere by your employer. This naturally creates a community of foreigners who aren't necessarily worried about fitting in as a new citizen or permanent resident would be.
But yeah, this idea that Western countries have expats instead of emigrants is weird.