Before I left the U.S. for Singapore, I had never heard of the term expatriate. When I first arrived in Singapore, I never assumed it applied to me, since I had come over on my own. At the time I had taken the term expat to mean “package expats” — those who are sent by their employer and are set up with housing, a car, International School for their kids, among other benefits. This was a “true expat” in my mind… but over time, my perception evolved. I’m not sure if it’s because package deals became less common, or perhaps I just had the wrong idea from the start.
A quick search online turned up this interesting article that attempts to address this notion.
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20 ... d-an-expat
Since this forum is intended for expats, what say you? Who really is an expat?
