Why "expat" Rather Than "immigrant"?

[Bajo_cero2]

And why you think you are not an inmigrant instead?

 

[Joe]

There is a phrase "Expat Package" which means a bunch of goodies when you relocate overseas for a job assignment. Maybe this is where the perception of expat being higher than an immigrant comes from. Immigrants don't get packages worth tens of thousands of dollars when they arrive at their destination.

http://britishexpats...ad.php?t=696194

 

[ElQueso]

And why you think you are not an inmigrant instead?

Well, first, inmigrant isn't an English word. Second, if you read my treatise, you'll see that I don't believe that one definition defines people, at least in this case (and really in no others). I am both an immigrant AND an expat. "Instead" denotes an "either/or" choice.

 

[Redpossum]

I see what you mean, Queso. It's perspective. When Argentina sells soy beans to China, they are an export from the Argentine perspective, and an import from the Chinese perspective. Much in the same way, I'm an American expat, but an Argentine immigrant.

A rose by any other name, would still change dollars on Florida.

 

[ElQueso]

And why you think you are not an inmigrant instead?

Ok, thinking about it further, you may be right, at least to an extent. It still doesn't have to be "instead" but it can still be a case of two words meaning the same thing.

It occurs to me that immigrant and expat may be mutually exclusive when an expat has not made a decision to stay. When an expat has made a decision to stay, he is still an expat by definition, but he is now an immigrant as well. Both words actually mean that the person is foreigner. I think until a resident becomes a citizen he or she is an expat.

Personally, maybe I don't consider myself an immigrant because I only have residency (even though it's permanent) and don't necessarily intend to stay. I certainly didn't come here to stay and I'm not happy enough here to say "this is where I'll die." But I still don't think I have any special privileges just because I'm living in a country where I was not born.

There is a phrase "Expat Package" which means a bunch of goodies when you relocate overseas for a job assignment. Maybe this is where the perception of expat being higher than an immigrant comes from. Immigrants don't get packages worth tens of thousands of dollars when they arrive at their destination.

http://britishexpats...ad.php?t=696194

It's not a "bunch of goodies" the person is receiving, it's compensation to that person because they are working for a company in foreign lands. There may be a perception among people as to what that means as far as privileges go, but there are also perceptions among some people as to what being "black" means. Prejudices don't make something a fact. And I think we need to work to get rid of prejudices as much as possible

My father worked for Western Electric and in the 70s and 80s and he did a lot of traveling around installing public telephone switches and such. He would relocate to a place in the States and each place where he relocated he was given Package. It depended on where he was sent, how long he was sent and who accompanied him. Once, we went with him, for a year, and he received a much greater Package. He wasn't an expat, but he received something similar to an Expat Package.

I still do not buy that being an expat means special privileges in a foreign country.