Yes, I am an Expat!

It was about two and a half years ago that Andrew and I started talking about him trying to get a job overseas. At the time I was still working as a 911 dispatcher and I was still going through treatment for a brain injury I had endured in August 2010. When I started talking about it with my family and friends there was a mix of feelings and opinions. Some thought we were nuts to even consider it and others thought it could be the opportunity of a lifetime.

After months of discussion we decided that Andrew should apply for a position and see what happened, and we would take it from there. It went back and forth for a few months with his company and finally everything seemed to fall into place for us to move to The Netherlands.

During that time, one of my coworkers asked me if I would be considered an 'expat'. I, having never heard that term before, replied that I had no idea!  So, I looked it up!

Via Wikipedia:

EXPAT:
An expatriate (sometimes shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person's upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex ("out of") and patria ("country, fatherland").

In common usage, the term is often used in the context of professionals or skilled workers sent abroad by their companies,^[1] rather than for all 'immigrants' or 'migrant workers'. The differentiation found in common usage usually comes down to socio-economic factors, so skilledprofessionals working in another country are described as expatriates, whereas a manual labourer who has moved to another country to earn more money might be labelled an 'immigrant' or 'migrant worker'.

There is no set definition and usage varies with context, for example the same person may be seen as an "expatriate" by his home country and a "migrant worker" where he works. Retirement abroad, in contrast, usually makes one an "expatriate".

By definition, I am an expat. As my friend has told me, I have been blessed to now be able to call two countries "home"!!!