> It's like going to a new place and identifying yourself as an "emigrant" instead of an "immigrant."
All immigrants are emigrants, and vice versa. You have to emigrate from someplace in order to immigrate somewhere.
All immigrants are emigrants, and vice versa. You have to emigrate from someplace in order to immigrate somewhere.
I'm attempting to pin down why some people might feel that someone calling themselves an "expat" has some negative connotations for the expat. It doesn't have anything to do with the correctness of any of the terms involved.
To say it a different way, I think people find it distasteful because it focuses on the political shapes you no longer are bound to, rather than who you are "now." It's normal to celebrate your cultural heritage, but it's kind of odd to focus on your status as a non-member of your former state.