Expat vs. Immigrant: Understanding the Difference in Costa Rica

I have noticed that any time I use the word expat to describe myself and those from other countries who have chosen to live here, I often get called out by random Ticos. “You are an immigrant here,” they say, taking exception to calling myself an expat. While I do not see the point in arguing word semantics with someone who speaks English as a second language, it does seem fair to explain my use of expat and how I feel it differs from immigrant or migrant, as the best word to describe those of us who have taken up residency here.

The word origins are similar: Expatriate, or expat, comes from the Latin roots “ex-” meaning “away from,” and “patria,” meaning “one’s native country.” It first meant “one who is banished” and later, “one who chooses to live abroad.” An immigrant is defined as a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence.

For me, the distinction is economic. I have known people who arrived here with a container full of tens of thousands of dollars worth of personal items and household goods, ready to pay cash for a half-million-dollar house. It is difficult to consider them in the same category as those who arrived on Ellis Island a century ago, on boats crammed full of people in search of a better life, carrying their worldly possessions in a brown paper bag.

An expat chooses to live in another country for reasons beyond the economic, while immigrants usually move to better their economic status. For example, at the first place I lived in Costa Rica, we employed an entire rural family. Dad was our caretaker and agricultural assistant, his son helped after school, his daughter was our empleada and babysitter for our two young children, and mom did piece work, like sewing the curtains for our house.

You would be hard-pressed to find the opposite: a Costa Rican landing in the US and immediately offering employment opportunities to a local family. Most Central American immigrants, including Costa Ricans, head north for a better economic life and to assist family members back home.

I have known numerous Costa Ricans who go to the US to work for a set period of time. The only reason for their temporary migration is economic. They work long hours, split the rent numerous ways, and save money to use back home. In an interesting twist, I went back to the US on three different occasions to work, in order to help myself financially back in Costa Rica. Was I then an immigrant in my own country? You could argue that I checked most of the boxes.

The word expat has fallen out of favor in certain international and academic circles, derided as representing only the mobile white race, but I disagree. Anyone of any color who has the money to relocate to a different country and culture in search of a new life, and who can be self-sustaining, qualifies as an expat in my view, regardless of race or nationality.

In the end, as with so much of modern life, it’s all about the Benjamins. Use whatever word you like, keeping this in mind: Every expat can be defined as an immigrant, but not every immigrant would be defined as an expat.