Expatriate

An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country), and is sometimes misspelt as ex-patriot, due to its pronunciation.

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The term is often used in the context of Westerners living in non-Western countries, athough there are many instances of Westerners living in other Western countries, such as Australians living in the United Kingdom and Britons people living in Spain.

Related Topics:
Australia - United Kingdom - Spain

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A nickname for such people in the UK is the "When I"s, or "When we"s, as they are accused of starting conversations by saying "When I was in Rhodesia" or "When we were in Singapore". Similarly, they are sometimes even viewed by their fellow citizens as foreigners, particularly their children, whose accents may seem strange to their classmates. The children of expatriates are often considered "Third Culture Kids" (or TCKs) and later in life consider themselves "Adult Third Culture Kids" (or ATCKs). These children often hold passports from multiple countries, speak several different languages, and have a hard time defining where "home" is.

Related Topics:
Nickname - Rhodesia - Singapore

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The difference between an expatriate and an immigrant is that immigrants commit themselves to becoming a part of their country of residence, whereas expatriates are usually only temporarily placed in the host country and most of the time plan on returning to their home country, so they never adopt the culture in the host country. While Europeans or North Americans living in the Middle East and Asia may marry local people and have children, most see no advantage in adopting citizenship of their host countries, usually because they consider their stay only temporary. In countries like Saudi Arabia, expatriates are required to live in segregated compounds, meaning that integration into their host country's society is not an option.

Related Topics:
Immigrant - Europe - North America - Middle East - Asia - Saudi Arabia

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