Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Expat definition

An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently resident in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland).

The community of people living here that are from somewhere else uses expat to differentiate us from the native population. As in "Expat get together Saturday at 7 pm" or great website for expats to get information about living in Chile or where ever.

Apparently some believe it has some negative connotations so I just want to clarify the way I use it. Quick and easy slang, nothing more.