Kylie and I actually had this discussion a long time ago, but I consider myself to be an immigrant - I'm married to a Frenchman and we have no plans for moving to the US, our children will be raised here, I'm working on a project to improve my job situation, and eventually I'll apply for dual citizenship. As far as I'm concerned, I'm as much an immigrant as my great-grandparents that emigrated to the US.

Vivi makes a good point. However, I think I will consider myself an expat after our imminent move to Italy. I have applied for dual citizenship, and my husband has both Italian and American but I don't think he ever considered himself an immigrant. At this point it seems weird that I would too. But who knows. I think keeping ties with your native country while living in a different one, even if its for most of your lifetime, makes it more of an Expat thing. What do you think?Very interesting conversation. Honestly, marrying a non-American, and delving into the Expat/immigrant world has really brought up some food for thought. And Katia - you are most welcome to come explore Italy by visiting me once we are settled (you too Kylemac, just Katia mentioned it).lol

omg kyliemac, you totally just made me jump when you said my name. it's so crazy sometimes to be listening to someone's conversation, and then all of the sudden hear my name - it's almost like i got caught eavesdropping, LOL!to answer your question (and because i always chime in), i guess i feel like an expat, maybe because i still feel an attachment to the US. but vivi brings up a good point though, with the whole "immigrant or expat" thing. this is all so verrryyyy interesting!

We're recording tomorrow and will answer your question. The episode shouldn't take too long to edit this time. :-)

When I lived in Thailand, we would make the distiction between foreigners who were expats, ie the ones that were sent by their companies, earned good money and had both maids and chaffeurs and played bridge at the embassy while the wives organized various charity events. The other ones who were hired on a local contract, were often married to locals, had a local salary and had to do all the cleaning themselves. The latter were not called expats although they were foreigners living in another country than their own. So according to this definition, neither of you would be considered expats.

i only play uno at the embassy. that explains everything. :)

It's intriguing, your podcast! Okay, so it's the first podcast I've ever listened to (or does one "attend" a podcast?), but I found it terribly interesting. I felt like (I imagine) a French teenager must have felt like listening to the radio libre in the 1960's.* It is a liberating medium!Just after the Expatica "i'm not a tourist" fair, I checked your site every two or three hours for the Expatica episode. Then I got busy with life and forgot about it. Today, while waiting for life to catch up with me, I thought about the two of you. Katia and Kyliemac: Those two chicks with their own show I met at Expatica. So I looked you up and found the show where you talk about your experience at the Expatica fair.*Note that I was never a French teenager nor a teenager of any nationality in the 1960's. Those who were French teenagers might understand the reference (if I got it right).While I listened to the show, I made a few notes. If I could've watched David Letterman while sitting in front of Word Pad when I was a kid, he would've gotten a lot more fan mail. I give you my comments as they came to me.Dutch door: You're not thinking of a French door?Expatica was boring? I had a blast! But I was an exhibitor. Of one of the stands you liked! But I agree with your assessment of the "professional expat" crap. Finding a school, getting a loan, renting an apartment.... That's boring. Did you notice how many businesses there are that offer the priceless service of answering your questions about living in France?I was there to promote Meetup.com which I use to organize a group of people that shares my passion, so maybe it was more enjoyable for me. I had the impression (maybe false) that most people enjoyed our stand more than a lot of the others. But hey, we were selling something that's free! Democrats abroad? (I just like to say "a broad".) They chased us around, too! One of them brought Hilary Clinton Meetup posters for us to put up in our stand. You don't have your own stand? I didn't say that. I try to be a nice guy. In general. I put the posters under the table with the fliers for the guy that prints personal message cards. A cute idea, but I'd rather be playing roleplaying games. Next year I'll be prepared for these people with my best Nancy Reagan: Just say, No.You're talking about renting out your place in Paris now.... That's *boar-dering* on "professional expat" material. You should think twice about making a whole episode out of that.Ah, you're talking about Meetup, yeah... English-speaking Roleplaying Gamefreaks! Hey, that was much too short. Go back to talking about Gamefreaks...!I agree about the whole "i'm not a tourist" thing. Personally, "I'm" not about dropping capital letters either.However, I'm not sure it's such an interesting question: What makes an expat? Look it up in the dictionary. (I did. Just to make sure I'm not talking out of my other hole.) From what I gather, an expatriate used to be someone who was exiled from his own country or someone who renounced his country of his own accord. These days, the term refers to a person of a situation rather less severe, usually to someone "living" outside of their own country. There's where your question lies: "living".I hadn't much thought about it myself. But I follow the Katia model. I came to France gr‰ce ˆ une franaise and I'm here to stay (unless really bad things happen). They say that you're never a tourist in your own home town. My last Stateside home was Charleston, South Carolina. I visited Fort Sumter in the eighth year I was there, and I left the year after that. I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower the third year I was in Paris, an act which required a force of will. Though extremely enjoyable. I recommend it! (On a good clear day in the off-season.) When I first came to France I thought, now I'll get to visit Europe. But I haven't been able to get myself out of the south of France!Erasmus: Yeah, I always thought that was just the name of the ship in Shogun. Or an excellent name for a Dungeons & Dragons character.Thanks for the plug for Meetup.com and for English-speaking Roleplaying Gamefreaks!Okay, so I can't decide. Who's the funny one?