I would find this annoying if I were not professionally and intellectually interested in the rhetoric of definitions. “Expat,” informal for expatriate, is a contested term. The standard dictionary denotation is “a person who lives outside their native country.” By this definition, a refugee escaping crisis and a rich retired person holding a “golden visa” are both expats.
An immigrant is, by dictionary denotation, an expat.
But it is never that simple because words have connotations — the denotation plus all the baggage we heap onto it. Connotations are sites of political, economic, and social struggle (i.e. the baggage).
While preparing to move to Portugal three years ago, I made a documentary series about my experiences for YouTube. Here’s the one about the term “expat.”
I ended the series shortly after arriving. Perhaps I should have kept going. When I re-watch these today I feel the cringe. I knew a lot. But I also knew very little. The me three years in has more interesting things to say about all of this now.
But I’m busy actually making documentary films in Portugal about Portuguese topics. So I will let that work speak for me. You may follow my progress on YouTube.
