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> I was born to expat parents Do you mean your parents were immigrants? Because that's what they were. Expat is the most pretentious colonialist term I can thi
by jdmoreira 5y ago
> I was born to expat parents
Do you mean your parents were immigrants? Because that's what they were. Expat is the most pretentious colonialist term I can think of.
- jandrewrogers 5y agoAn expat is not an immigrant. The term "expat" usually denotes a person living outside their native country for a significant period of time. There is no implication that an expat is seeking permanent residency, it is more transient status.
- toyg 5y agoThis came up before - the problem becomes that you then have "expats" who never actually go back, but never stop calling themselves such. So transiency is not really the discriminating factor. The term "expat" is indeed a leftover from British colonial times, when you look at things objectively. People who define themselves as expats are typically some sort of migrant for economic reasons, exactly the same as somebody coming from, say, Ethiopia; they just have enough money and culture to escape the label. If we really want to look for something that differentiates expats from regular migrants, we'll find that it is a certain obstinacy to not "go native", to maintain a separatedness from the local culture even after years or decades. Which is, again, a typically colonialistic mindset.
- yarky 5y ago> they just have enough money and culture to escape the label. Exactly. But isn't that true about everything ? Isn't economic/cultural capital what makes us call someone a Doctor/Sir? An expat/immigrant ? > is a certain obstinacy to not "go native", to maintain a separatedness from the local culture even after years or decades. Not exactly, I've met tons of immigrants who never wanted to "go native" as well as several expats who adopted their new culture as theirs. All of this happens in people's minds and whether they ever end up leaving isn't really in the equation.
- Existenceblinks 5y agoAnd expat in asia gets more biased appreciation than the other way around. Ask asian countries' governments they know exactly how expats work (pun intended).
- ncpa-cpl 5y agoThat is the textbook definition, but in reality expat is usually applied to those from higher income countries only. Do this quick experiment, do an image search "expats in <destination_name>" vs "migrants in <destination_name>" and compare the pictures: See what their income appears to be, clothing, skin color and circumstances. Dubai: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=expats+in+dubai&t=h_&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=expats+in+dubai&t=h_&iax=images&ia... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=migrants+in+dubai&t=h_&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=migrants+in+dubai&t=h_&iar=images&... Costa Rica: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=migrants+in+costa+rica&t=h_&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=migrants+in+costa+rica&t=h_&iar=im... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=expats+in+costa+rica&t=h_&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images https://duckduckgo.com/?q=expats+in+costa+rica&t=h_&iar=imag... For example, for 'expats in Costa Rica' I got shown a couple in an outdoor hotel, and for 'migrants in Costa Rica' I got shown the Immigration Police detaining a group from Africa and a dozen people sharing a bed.
- jdmoreira 5y agoExactly. Calling yourself an expat is essentially: 1. Detaching yourself from the label immigrant because you feel it's demeaning 2. Assuming you are better than other people