What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
#61
Banned
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2014
Location: Hawley
Posts: 958
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
Can we please return to the original posit - it's really quite simple.
Expat for less than 12 months = FAIL.
Expat for 12 months or greater = PASS.
And if one has expatted to more than one foreign location for greater than the deemed 12 months, then that counts as a PASS for each location. So one can accumulate several expat passes, I suppose they could be termed 'E' levels. And it would be nice to receive a printed certificate of each 'E' level pass in order to have proof of one's expatability.
Expat for less than 12 months = FAIL.
Expat for 12 months or greater = PASS.
And if one has expatted to more than one foreign location for greater than the deemed 12 months, then that counts as a PASS for each location. So one can accumulate several expat passes, I suppose they could be termed 'E' levels. And it would be nice to receive a printed certificate of each 'E' level pass in order to have proof of one's expatability.
#62
Banned
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2014
Location: Hawley
Posts: 958
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
I am not sure I would say that a person who moves to another country for a job opportunity or a family relationship (i.e. marriage or relationship) is exactly the samething as being an expatriate. I wonder what others think about this? I would like to think moving to another country as an expat is more like being an adventurer if one has no connections to the country they are relocating too. I am not sure moving for employment or a relationship is exactly the same thing,
#63
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
I am not sure I would say that a person who moves to another country for a job opportunity or a family relationship (i.e. marriage or relationship) is exactly the samething as being an expatriate. I wonder what others think about this? I would like to think moving to another country as an expat is more like being an adventurer if one has no connections to the country they are relocating too. I am not sure moving for employment or a relationship is exactly the same thing,
As opposed to a migrant / immigrant whose intent is a more permanent relocation.
Having a connection to a new country would not preclude you being an expat - nor would having no connection mean you are not a migrant / immigrant. I moved to Australia with no job, and no connections (other than a few friends made through BE) - but definitely not an expat but an immigrant (and now Oz citizen as well )
#64
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2011
Location: Somewhere between Vancouver & St Johns
Posts: 19,840
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
From the Oxford dictionary
noun
/ˌeksˈpātrēət/
/ˌeksˈpātrēət/
/eksˈpātrēˌāt/
noun
/ˌeksˈpātrēət/
- a person who lives outside their native country.
"American expatriates in London"
/ˌeksˈpātrēət/
- denoting or relating to a person living outside their native country.
"expatriate writers and artists"
/eksˈpātrēˌāt/
- settle oneself abroad.
"candidates should be willing to expatriate"
#65
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
#66
Banned
Thread Starter
Joined: Jul 2014
Location: Hawley
Posts: 958
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
I always thought of an expat as someone who moves for a job temporarily, and not looking to integrate into, or become a citizen of, the foreign location.
As opposed to a migrant / immigrant whose intent is a more permanent relocation.
Having a connection to a new country would not preclude you being an expat - nor would having no connection mean you are not a migrant / immigrant. I moved to Australia with no job, and no connections (other than a few friends made through BE) - but definitely not an expat but an immigrant (and now Oz citizen as well )
As opposed to a migrant / immigrant whose intent is a more permanent relocation.
Having a connection to a new country would not preclude you being an expat - nor would having no connection mean you are not a migrant / immigrant. I moved to Australia with no job, and no connections (other than a few friends made through BE) - but definitely not an expat but an immigrant (and now Oz citizen as well )
Thanks for your good comment. It is good to hear other folks point of view. I may have to reconsider my point of view.
#68
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
I am not sure I would say that a person who moves to another country for a job opportunity or a family relationship (i.e. marriage or relationship) is exactly the samething as being an expatriate. I wonder what others think about this? I would like to think moving to another country as an expat is more like being an adventurer if one has no connections to the country they are relocating too. I am not sure moving for employment or a relationship is exactly the same thing,
#69
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
After naturalizing i just refer to myself as British/American or if someone asks for more information I just say I moved here in 2016 and my wife is from this area.
Can’t think of when I’ve ever used “immigrant” or “expat” to describe myself in conversation.
Can’t think of when I’ve ever used “immigrant” or “expat” to describe myself in conversation.
#70
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
Ditto, though I am still frequently asked where I am from because of my accent, and I have been in the US since 2001.
#71
Heading for Poppyland
Joined: Jul 2007
Location: North Norfolk and northern New York State
Posts: 14,453
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
#72
Re: What All Considering Becoming Expats Should Consider
Me too - but weirdly, people in New York will often say to me, “do I detect a New England accent?” (Or something equally polite and diffident.) So at that point, I say, yes, I lived in Boston for many years. To me, people from Boston, Maine, Cape Cod etc. do not sound remotely English, but maybe to folks from rural New York they do? Back in the 1970s, someone in Boston asked me, “whereabouts in the Old Country are you from?” Presumably thinking I was Irish. But I’d agree, I don’t remotely identify as either an expat or an immigrant.