Expats not happy, why stay?

[SaraSara]

soulskier, hope you find what you are looking for in Alaska. Five years is a long time to be away from friends.

I wonder: does anyone have information - figures, I mean - about how long expats last away from home, on average? Statistics, I mean.

If so, please share it....

 

[gouchobob]

soulskier, hope you find what you are looking for in Alaska. Five years is a long time to be away from friends.

I wonder: does anyone have information - figures, I mean - about how long expats last away from home, on average? Statistics, I mean.

If so, please share it....

I guess first you have to have a definition of what an expat is. I remember reading somewhere that 80% of the people who move overseas return to their home country within 2 years, this sounds about right to me.

 

[SaraSara]

The dictionary says:

"expatriate
noun |eksˈpātrēit|
a person who lives outside their native country "

My definition would be, someone who moves to a foreign country intending to stay permanently.

I'd guess that it takes about three to four years for the novelty to wear off and reality to sink in.

Better definitions

 

[Alzinho]

Some people are professional expats.

*puts hand up*

 

[gouchobob]

The dictionary says:

"expatriate
noun |eksˈpātrēit|
a person who lives outside their native country "

My definition would be, someone who moves to a foreign country intending to stay permanently.

I'd guess that it takes about three to four years for the novelty to wear off and reality to sink in.

Better definitions

I would agree with your definition of planning on staying permanently. I would not include people that are here on a temporary basis, sometimes for months at a time, I would class them more as people on an extended vacation.

 

[jp]

soulskier, hope you find what you are looking for in Alaska. Five years is a long time to be away from friends.

I wonder: does anyone have information - figures, I mean - about how long expats last away from home, on average? Statistics, I mean.

If so, please share it....

Not really a stat, but work wise, I think 2-3 years is generally seen as the optimal length of time to spend in another country.

 

[mini]

I would agree with your definition of planning on staying permanently. I would not include people that are here on a temporary basis, sometimes for months at a time, I would class them more as people on an extended vacation.

Well, I'll disagree then! LOL.
By definition expats can be temporary or permanent. They are just people who live in a country of which they are not citizens.
In my book, if you plan stay permanently your an immigrant.

 

[gouchobob]

Well, I'll disagree then! LOL.
By definition expats can be temporary or permanent. They are just people who live in a country of which they are not citizens.
In my book, if you plan stay permanently your an immigrant.

Ok, I can agree with this as well but I would refine the definition a bit. People who come to stay permanently as we know often don't bother with even getting residency let alone citizenship I would not call them immigrants, but they could be expats. I would say someone who is on a 2 or 3 year work assignment that plans on returning to their home country after the assignment is an expat. Someone who is here just for a few months isn't employed could be a student or a tourist, but not an expat in my opinion. Don't know if we could ever agree completely on a definition.

 

[mini]

Ok, I can agree with this as well but I would refine the definition a bit. People who come to stay permanently as we know often don't bother with even getting residency let alone citizenship I would not call them immigrants, but they could be expats. .

Why aren't they immigrants? If they plan to move some here permanently then they certainly are. They are just illegal immigrants, immigrants none the less What makes them different from other illegal immigrants?
They are also expats.

 

[SaraSara]

It's hard to differentiate. In my view, one thing is to live abroad, another to become an expatriate. Some people have overseas job assignments, some are permanent tourists. But expatriates are people who decided to give up their home country and become part of another one.

I'm thinking of people I know who came to Uruguay, saw a house they liked, and went back home to sell everything they owned. They settled down in Uruguay, became residents, and intend to get full citizenship. The first such couple has already returned to the US, after two years in Atlantida.

I'm sure there are better definitions than mine, and would like to hear them.