• burntbacon@discuss.tchncs.de
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        1 month ago

        I always thought expats had to live in little expat communities, keeping themselves aloof from the rest of the population. It’s a level of snobbery beyond even still caring where you’re originally from. That was my understanding from all the little compounds I saw in the global south.

      • purplemonkeymad@programming.dev
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        1 month ago

        I’ve always assumed it depends on what your context is. If your perspective is the country that the immigrant is from, then they would be an expat. If you are in context of the other country they are an immigrant.

        Ie

        “My friend is an expat who went off to The Netherlands.” “My friend is an immigrant that came here from The USA.”

        • Soulg@ani.social
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          1 month ago

          That’s what I’ve always assumed too, but I only ever hear it in reference to other Americans, so I could absolutely believe that it’s just some weird shit they use to separate themselves from immigrants.

        • merc@sh.itjust.works
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          1 month ago

          Emigrant. That’s the kind of migrant who leaves a country. They’d be an immigrant in their new country.

          But, IMO there’s a difference with an expat. An expat is often someone who isn’t moving permanently, and as a result is often not trying to integrate into their new country.

        • faythofdragons@slrpnk.net
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          1 month ago

          I always assumed that ‘expatriate’ meant that you gave up citizenship in the old country to get citizenship in the new country. Like it’s a type of immigration that a lot of people like to pretend they’ve done because it’s pretty hardcore.