Comments on: Which expat are you?

By: Diva

Diva — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 00:47:57 +0000

Hi Nathan. This post is great. I do know a lot of “Corporate Transfer” expats, and they are just like you describe them.
David from new york, andate a la c….. de la lora

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:28:51 +0000

David,

Thanks for the comment. You raise a lot of interesting points.

I’m really interested to know how the expats you know in New York are different than expats here. However, be careful not to confuse immigrants with expats. An immigrant is someone moving to a new place, taking on the identity of the place. An expat is someone living in a place with which they do not identify. Immigrants to Argentina feel very differently than expats.

I’m also interested in why you were reading blogs like mine and why you feel like I’m unfulfilled. I think the most interesting part of your comment is how you used the word “just” as in “just enjoy yourselves” or “just stay” or “just be where you are.”

As far as feeling semi-complete, I dunno. It’s tough to take you seriously. Why were you considering writing your own blog? Why are you reading other people’s blogs? Why don’t you “just enjoy” the summer in New York instead of surfing the internet looking at what unfulfilled people write? Personally, I can’t think of any expat blogs that seem unfulfilled. Mine is overanalytical, nostalgic, angsty, self absorbed and supersensitive but unfulfilled? I don’t think so.

By: david

david — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:36:49 +0000

im in ny reading blogs for the hell of it or maybe with a slight thought (after reading so many, i think i will give up on that idea) of writing my own….. and wondering why all of you worry and think so much about being expats why dont you just enjoy yourselves live or stay or be where you are for how ever long it is

is it because all of you had an unfulled lives before ? now that the ten minute, im in a new place, im so excited phase has worn off, you find you are somewhere else - still unfulled? and now searching the expats blogs of other semi’s (slang term for semi-completes) for an answer to your incompleteness or emptiness? hmm get out, get off

now im wondering if people here who move to another place inside the usa think of themselves as expats and carry on so much …….hmm think i ll call my friends who moved to brooklyn and see oh expats in brooklyn are you …….?

By: Expat Meme « Avoiding Crisis: 210 Days of Self-Exploration

Expat Meme « Avoiding Crisis: 210 Days of Self-Exploration — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 00:21:36 +0000

[...] given much thought to the whole diplomat/expat thing until today when I came across this posting and noticed that I didn’t fit in to any of the categories. Maybe that’s [...]

By: El Taller | Buenos Aires Argentina Guide

El Taller | Buenos Aires Argentina Guide — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 18:15:39 +0000

[...] offered by El Taller are probably going to appeal more to long-term visitors to Buenos Aires, expats, or [...]

By: exnat

exnat — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 06:36:23 +0000

Hey Editor,

Thanks for saying hi. I’m really glad to have an editor. Finally someone can be held accountable for some of this stuff I write

By: Editor

Editor — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 01:10:37 +0000

Nice classifications… Me n the wife are hybrids, I guess… keep up the good work.

By: Madison Who’s Who - Peer Networking and Expat Types

Madison Who’s Who - Peer Networking and Expat Types — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 01:11:39 +0000

[...] These expats save up enough to live in the former colonies without working so they can use their time to finally write that book, that masterpiece, that itch that they’ve been meaning to scratch.” (Source) [...]

By: exnat

exnat — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 13:48:43 +0000

Well, Frank, that’s a really great point. That’s actually something I want to explore. I’m going to start conducting interviews of different types of expats to get their points of view. Next week I have an interview with an immigrant lined up.

My definition of expat is someone who is living in a country which is not the one they primarily identify with. If you live in Argentina for a significant amount of time and do not call yourself Argentine you are an expat.

By: Frank Almeida

Frank Almeida — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:52:47 +0000

Nathan,

Very well put. I started reading your list and realized that I see in myself a mix of those. Also, at what point do you leave your expat label behind and decide to become an immigrant. Or actually you might not decide it but you end up being one. Some of the people commenting on this list came with the intention of visiting and ended up staying and some of them might even eventually be classified as immigrants. Can you put a date on your wishes to return? Do you still have those wishes?

Although I love my home city and feel like home every time I go back I don´t feel like I currently have a place there. I for one do not have planned a return to the States. I guess I am an immigrant.