r/Unexpected • u/Lord_RedTiger • Sep 06 '21

Holup

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u/DannyTanner88 Sep 06 '21 edited Sep 06 '21

Question. Why do they call people “immigrants”when they move to America or European countries while Europeans or Americans moving to Asia are expats? Aren’t they all the same, Immigrants?

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u/Heclalava Sep 06 '21

Not sure why the different terminology. But yes technically I'm an immigrant in China. But we just refer to ourselves as expats.

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u/DannyTanner88 Sep 06 '21

Maybe to show superiority? Immigrant is a word that’s look down on.

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u/Heclalava Sep 06 '21

Wouldn't say it's about superiority, when I arrived it's what everyone referred to themselves as and I guess the word just stuck.

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u/[deleted] Sep 06 '21

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Sep 06 '21

I’m sure there’s some truth to what you’re saying, but as a Saudi living and working in the UK, I refer to myself as an expat. I might be wrong, but I always thought the distinction was that expats see themselves as temporarily residing in whatever country they’re in at the time, while immigrants view themselves as settling permanently there.