Size of expat community?

[iamsillywarm]

When does a person become an expat as opposed to a tourist?

 

[Crema Americana]

I differentiate the two by their reasons for moving here. They certainly have different connotations.

Someone who moves here for work temporarily could either be an expat (sent by their company, expenses often paid, an entrepreneur exploring new markets) or an immigrant (skilled or unskilled trying to find a better way of life compared to their home country.)

Immigrants move for work, better quality of life, and to escape persecution. They are often fleeing from something, whether it's poverty, crime, or unfriendly governments. Expats generally move for adventure, love, curiosity, a "calling" of some sort... not for economic reasons other than being sent somewhere by outside forces.

I suppose you could see them as one in the same, but background plays an important part. I don't think I am in the same situation as a Chinese immigrant that comes with almost nothing to live and work here permanently. When things get tough here I have the option to legally leave and enter someplace else.

 

[Napoleon]

When does a person become an expat as opposed to a tourist?

When they get a Sube card.

 

[Canick]

An expat comes to work and/or live with the intention of one day moving back to his/her home country (or somewhere else).
An immigrant moves to another country with the intention of residing there permanently.

 

[Adios_USA]

Here;s the official meaning of Expatriate....

ex·pa·tri·ate(ek-spa

tre-at

)
v. ex·pa·tri·at·ed, ex·pa·tri·at·ing, ex·pa·tri·ates
v.tr. 1. To send into exile. See Synonyms at banish.
2. To remove (oneself) from residence in one's native land.

v.intr. 1. To give up residence in one's homeland.
2. To renounce allegiance to one's homeland.

n. (-it, -at

) 1. One who has taken up residence in a foreign country.
2. One who has renounced one's native land.

adj. (-it, -at

) Residing in a foreign country; expatriated: "She delighted in the bohemian freedom enjoyed by the expatriate artists, writers, and performers living in Rome" (Janet H. Murray).

 

[Roxana]

Indec´s website shows the censo, and it says that almost 2 million people were not born in Argentina and were living in this country last year, instead of 1, 5 million that lived here in 2001.

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

... associate with an "Ernest Hemingway, hanging out in local bars,"

Yes, that one.

 

[Amargo]

iPad then expat
no iPad then inmigrante

 

[afield]

I'd say an expat is somebody who in general has arrived rather recently to the country (2-3 years average, 10 years max?) and hasn't come to the decision of staying and/or integrating with the local society. Some expats become immigrants but it is more a mental attitude (temporary stay) than statistical. That's why I'm surprised at having heard some figures if an expat isn't defined precisely. But maybe this has been done and I'm unaware of it.

 

[willwright]

Most people who post here are really just tourists, here for only a few months. The people who are true expats are without doubt shrinking in number. Years of hassles living here and over 25% inflation has a tendency to reduce their numbers.