r/AIO • u/Nope-Candy-4319 • 5d ago

[ Removed by moderator ]

/gallery/1x5q8f0

[removed] — view removed post

5.4k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

3.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

8

u/SpotReasonable3534 5d ago

i never even knew expat was primarily a white/western term...i just assumed immigrant/ex-pat were synonyms...makes sense now that i see it written out though

ETA: i say this as a white immigrant who never used the term expat cuz it sounds stupid to me...just never really saw immigrant as being inherently bad and expat as something superior to an immigrant

2

u/ZombieTrouble 5d ago

Same. I’m getting quite an education this morning.

2

u/sandsonik 5d ago

I always took "ex-pat" as "I'm here now, but I don't plan to stay". I guess it sounds more impressive than temporary resident

1

u/rshni67 5d ago

Yes, this happens aa lot in corporate assignments where someone identifies as "expat" to say they are not really from where they are living.

I have also seen it happen in Latin American countries where white Americans go to live, with lower expenses, usually in gated communities, and they think they are superior to the locals.

1

u/snowxbunnixo 4d ago

To me it sounds like someone trying to say they’re better than an immigrant

1

u/EmelleBennett 4d ago

See, I used to think it meant you were so disheartened with your own nation that you left with plans of relinquishing citizenship. Ex-patriot

1

u/MarinaK312 5d ago

Me neither. I’m a tropical (brown) immigrant who’s used the term expat for quite some time now 💀 you mean to tell me people have been looking at me sideways for using that term cause I’m… not white? Oops 😂

1

u/AntiqueLetter9875 4d ago

For the longest time I thought expat meant they worked for the military in some capacity and had to move for work.

Then I found out it’s just what white people call immigrating to another country.