I really enjoyed reading this. Your definition of an expat makes a lot of sense. I've always seen it as a temporary relocation. A situationship with out the commitment involved in immigrating. When I lived in London I guess I fell into a grey area between the two. We didn't refer to ourselves as expats or immagrants, we were just on our O.E.'s (Overseas Experience) for as long as the visa or in some cases money lasted.
Italy is probably one of the best choices. People will make you smile. One thing that surprised me, Italy tends to be colder in winter than Northern Europe. There are numerous apartments, especially in the south, that have no heating - which would be unheard of in, say, Germany. So in January you end up freezing. But the problem only says for a few weeks, so you will survive ;)
For sure! We live in the north of the country though where they value heating. That said, even up here a lot of buildings turn off the central heating in spring and don't turn it back on until late fall. Those shoulder seasons definitely feel colder indoors than outdoors most days!
Even in the early years of living in the UK, anytime anyone called me an expat I always corrected them to immigrant.
I like your delineation between the two, and it definitely applied in my case, but for me it was about asking people (almost invariably native citizen British people) to rethink what they believe an immigrant is (and looks like).
My husband and I moved to Portugal last year and stayed for 11 months before deciding to travel around Europe more nomadically. I definitely view us as expats now, since we’re not in a certain place for more than a couple of weeks and ultimately know we’ll be back in the States for good at the end of this year, but I really struggled with my “identity” during our time in Portugal.
Loved reading this and wishing you the best of luck in Italy!
I really enjoyed reading this. Your definition of an expat makes a lot of sense. I've always seen it as a temporary relocation. A situationship with out the commitment involved in immigrating. When I lived in London I guess I fell into a grey area between the two. We didn't refer to ourselves as expats or immagrants, we were just on our O.E.'s (Overseas Experience) for as long as the visa or in some cases money lasted.
I like the "situationship" analogy 😂 exactly right!
This immigrant totally agrees with you!
Italy is probably one of the best choices. People will make you smile. One thing that surprised me, Italy tends to be colder in winter than Northern Europe. There are numerous apartments, especially in the south, that have no heating - which would be unheard of in, say, Germany. So in January you end up freezing. But the problem only says for a few weeks, so you will survive ;)
For sure! We live in the north of the country though where they value heating. That said, even up here a lot of buildings turn off the central heating in spring and don't turn it back on until late fall. Those shoulder seasons definitely feel colder indoors than outdoors most days!
Even in the early years of living in the UK, anytime anyone called me an expat I always corrected them to immigrant.
I like your delineation between the two, and it definitely applied in my case, but for me it was about asking people (almost invariably native citizen British people) to rethink what they believe an immigrant is (and looks like).
Good luck with the immigration process!
100% agree - ignorance is usually always at the root of it. & thank you!!
My husband and I moved to Portugal last year and stayed for 11 months before deciding to travel around Europe more nomadically. I definitely view us as expats now, since we’re not in a certain place for more than a couple of weeks and ultimately know we’ll be back in the States for good at the end of this year, but I really struggled with my “identity” during our time in Portugal.
Loved reading this and wishing you the best of luck in Italy!
It can definitely be an interesting shift transitioning to a new home. I'm sure you guys are enjoying the nomadic life - it's definitely a lot of fun!
Loved reading this, Kat. Sx