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Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

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Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#21

Post by os2warpman »

q3k wrote: post #8
elros wrote: post #2

What do you mean with expat? You'd like to get an employer in the US that sends you to work in the EU on their behalf?

"expat" means "immigrant" but it's used by people who believe they are somehow above others

Lol downvoted because you're right.

An "expat" is just a white economic migrant.

They'll try to spin it. They'll whip out irrelevant definitions. They'll invent arbitrary distinctions.

They are wrong.

"Economic migrant" has always, does now, and will always include "seek higher standard of living" in its context and definition and "well I just, you know, kinda vibe with the culture" and/or "I like, you know, just consider myself a global citizen and want to see the world" is "seek higher standard of living".

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#22

Post by jltsiren »

rkomorn wrote: post #13
dachworker wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No expat means expat and immigrant means immigrant. Immigrant implies that the intention is to settle in the host country, whereas expat implies that the reason for staying is temporary and hence the intention is not to stay permanently. For example, if I am doing a PhD in France, with no intention of staying in France afterwards, wouldn't it be rather inaccurate to call myself an immigrant to France?

You are not an expat in the country you are currently in. You are an expat in the country you left. If you're in a foreign country, you're either an immigrant (as a generic term) or, if you want to get pedantic, you can use whatever more apt definition they have (visitor, migrant worker, non-immigrant, etc).

You are an emigrant in the country you left.

Immigrants and expats are overlapping terms, but there are some differences in common usage. An immigrant may intend to stay in the host country permanently and make it their new home, while an expat just happens to live there for the moment, often for a specific purpose. Expats are often more privileged than immigrants. An immigrant may seek to integrate into the society and the culture, while expats are more likely to have a purely transactional relationship with the host country.

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#24

Post by lipowitz »

This doesn't make much sense to me.. A company generally doesn't want an employee who is going to go to grad school in 18 months unless there is a lot of invested value or connection. Are US companies interested in talking to you after you state this goal?

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#25

Post by Gothmog69 »

q3k wrote: post #8
elros wrote: post #2

What do you mean with expat? You'd like to get an employer in the US that sends you to work in the EU on their behalf?

"expat" means "immigrant" but it's used by people who believe they are somehow above others

That's just not true. They mean different things.

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#28

Post by tempmigrant »

tkiolp4 wrote: post #23

Immigrant. That’s the term. I’m also an immigrant. There’s no shame on using the term.

In English, immigrant means “a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country,” while expatriate means “a person who lives outside their native country.”

You might dislike how rich British bankers in Hong Kong are called expats, while poor Eritrean refugees in Britain are called immigrants. But technically, those usages are accurate.

Still, expatriate often carries the connotation of a higher-status person living in a lower- or similar-status country—like a British banker in Hong Kong. It doesn’t quite fit when someone of middle status moves laterally—say, an American recent graduate relocating to Europe. Migrant is denotatively correct, but the connotation doesn't quite match because in practice it used for low status or irregular immigrants.

In many such cases, it may be best to avoid using any of these terms at all. Temporary residence might be the term we’re looking for and it likely reflects the legal status as well.

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#29

Post by tempmigrant »

greenavocado wrote: post #18
dachworker wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No expat means expat and immigrant means immigrant. Immigrant implies that the intention is to settle in the host country, whereas expat implies that the reason for staying is temporary and hence the intention is not to stay permanently. For example, if I am doing a PhD in France, with no intention of staying in France afterwards, wouldn't it be rather inaccurate to call myself an immigrant to France?

This is the distinction between permanent resident and temporary immigrant. An immigrant is someone who moves to a country other than their own with the intention of residing there for a significant period (usually at least one year), regardless of their ultimate intention to stay permanently or leave later.

You can just look up the definition of the word immigrant.

Re: Ask HN: What was your path toward expat?

#30

Post by Bnjoroge »

dnissley wrote: post #26
tkiolp4 wrote: post #23

Immigrant. That’s the term. I’m also an immigrant. There’s no shame on using the term.

Expat has a more specific connotation than immigrant. It is not a synonym.

He's looking to gain permanent residency, that's an immigrant. Nothing different lmao
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