That's not really a good definition. If you're a USAian moving to avoid high cost of living, and moving to SE Asia for the low cost, then why can't we say you're moving away from an area (due to high cost of living), and you have the desire to live in a region (SE Asia), and this clearly makes you an immigrant?
Because you don't have a desire to live in Vietnam. Just "somewhere warm and cheap where I can teach English for a living," even simply "not US," or "the farther away from my psycho family, the better." And perhaps Thailand next month, or back home in the summer, or Bali once you save up for a year's lease.
So someone who moves from say Syria, to Cork, Ireland, is looking just for "somewhere politically safe where I won't be shot at", even simply "not Syria", rather than having a desire to live in Cork City? Wouldn't they be an expat then?
Political violence certainly counts as duress, so, like I wrote in the very first sentence, they'd be a refugee.
And, unlike the informal immigrant/expat distinction, that is even recognized by legal systems in modern countries. We treat people seeking asylum differently than those who are just moving because of climate or job opportunities.
I wasn't aware of a specific "expatriate" legal definition for immigration. Refugee/asylum seekers is a category, certainly. "Artist" is another. "Self-employed" is a third. "Because of family connections" a fourth. "Au pair", "athletic coach", and "retired" are three more. Certainly "people who work for temporary periods as a specialist employee of an international company" is a category, but that's not the only way to be an ex-pat.
Consider Arthur C Clark. I believe you would consider him an immigrant. He specifically chose Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) because of its reefs (and likely other reason, but that's his main stated reason). But by all accounts, he was a British ex-pat in Sri Lanka. He was even recognized by the British royalty for his cultural services as a British person.
Since so many people consider him an ex-pat, and your definition doesn't, I suspect your definition isn't all that useful even in your informal sense.
Comments
That's not really a good definition. If you're a USAian moving to avoid high cost of living, and moving to SE Asia for the low cost, then why can't we say you're moving away from an area (due to high cost of living), and you have the desire to live in a region (SE Asia), and this clearly makes you an immigrant?
Because you don't have a desire to live in Vietnam. Just "somewhere warm and cheap where I can teach English for a living," even simply "not US," or "the farther away from my psycho family, the better." And perhaps Thailand next month, or back home in the summer, or Bali once you save up for a year's lease.
So someone who moves from say Syria, to Cork, Ireland, is looking just for "somewhere politically safe where I won't be shot at", even simply "not Syria", rather than having a desire to live in Cork City? Wouldn't they be an expat then?
Political violence certainly counts as duress, so, like I wrote in the very first sentence, they'd be a refugee.
And, unlike the informal immigrant/expat distinction, that is even recognized by legal systems in modern countries. We treat people seeking asylum differently than those who are just moving because of climate or job opportunities.
I wasn't aware of a specific "expatriate" legal definition for immigration. Refugee/asylum seekers is a category, certainly. "Artist" is another. "Self-employed" is a third. "Because of family connections" a fourth. "Au pair", "athletic coach", and "retired" are three more. Certainly "people who work for temporary periods as a specialist employee of an international company" is a category, but that's not the only way to be an ex-pat.
Consider Arthur C Clark. I believe you would consider him an immigrant. He specifically chose Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) because of its reefs (and likely other reason, but that's his main stated reason). But by all accounts, he was a British ex-pat in Sri Lanka. He was even recognized by the British royalty for his cultural services as a British person.
Since so many people consider him an ex-pat, and your definition doesn't, I suspect your definition isn't all that useful even in your informal sense.