The Expatriate – Part I
What makes an expatriate?
The Expatriate
When I first heard that term, probably in my teens, I stored it away with negative connotations of someone that had rejected his country. That is far from accurate.
I think it still carries that negativity for a lot of people. Even among some expats. Some people even spell it expatriot and some do it intentionally. If you dislike the land you are originally from, I’m not going to tell you that you are wrong for feeling that way. I am not inclined to tell anyone how they should feel about anything. On the other hand, I do NOT reject my home land. Now that I have spent time in another country, I really appreciate the USA more. I have learned just how awesome the US is, even with all its many imperfections.
Wikipedia defines expatriate as:
An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country, fatherland).
Expat Boat Trip
Wikipedia goes on to say that it is most often applied to westerners living in the east but the term applies to westerners also living in the west but not in their homeland.
While I look forward to a visit back to the US, I don’t look forward to being away from the person that has come to mean so much to me.
Before I got here, many had told me I’d be rich. I thought it would be easy for me to return home when I wished. It isn’t easy, at least not yet. Perhaps it will be someday. Maybe if I hadn’t taken on a complete new family it would have been easier. But, that’s not what I choose to do and I have no regrets about my choice. While I am rich to most Filipino, I’m certainly not over run with cash. Most expats know what I mean and most are not over run with cash. Even the expats that I consider to be rich are not over run with cash. 
I miss going to Wal-Mart or Walgreens at 3am. I’m a night owl so I often went out at night. I jokingly say I’m a vampire as soon as the light of the moon hits me, I seem to find my energy. I find the night peaceful. I miss my car, but someday I’ll be able to get another one here. Most expats that I know don’t have one. I hope to be able to handle such a luxury sometime in the future. I once drive 60,000 miles in a year in my brand new Camero. I was young and just out of college with my first “real” job. I love the USA but being retired on a fixed income, I really can’t afford to live in the USA and have any kind of social life. After rent, utilities, and medications I’d have almost nothing left for any extras at all.
But who is the expatriate? Some famous expats include:
- Ernest Hemingway
- F. Scott Fitzgerald
- T. S. Eliot
- Josephine Baker
- Langston Hughes
- Richard Wright
- James Baldwin
- Memphis Slim
- Miles Davis
- Charlie Parker
- Jim Morrison
- Boy George
- John Lennon
- George Harrison
- Eric Clapton
- Jimi Hendrix
Who is an expat, maybe the best place to get a hint into that is to look at the reasons people become expats. Any time you do something like this you run this risk of being accused of stereotyping and you know what, it is justified. I am stereotyping so the reader should keep in mind that there are as many different “types” of expats as there are reasons to move to another land. And that is endless. I’m not trying to cover all the expats, just the most common.
What Expats are Not
I’m going to start with what expats are not. I get people asking all kinds of questions about why I’m in the Philippines, mostly from Filipinas. They often suspect I’m running from the law. I’m sure there are some people in the Philippines that are here illegally that are running from the law.
If the law was looking for you with any serious interest, the first thing I suspect they would do is put out an alert on your passport. So if you’re running from the law is not a very likely reason to be an expat. An online acquaintance of mine kept repeating to me, you can’t get a passport if there is a warrant for your arrest outstanding. He repeated this over and over. I finally said to him, your friends must be a lot different from my friends. I don’t know anyone that has an outstanding warrant. Most of my friends have never been arrested!
Living as an expat means one has to show up at the Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) every two months until I get an ACR card. Thus, my passport gets checked every two months. The passport gets a stamp to prove that I showed up or an agent on my behalf showed up. I’m also required to keep my receipts to show that I didn’t pay someone with a fake stamp! It’s a pain in the butt but it must be done. Those with an ACR or Resident Visa have to show up once a year and again their passport is going to be checked. If you’re wanted in the US and probably many other countries, you’re going to get busted. Living in another country with a valid passport means I’ve been checked out and there are no significant legal issues out there, certainly no criminal issues.
In part II, I will write about why people tend to become expats by looking first into what are some of the reasons people find becoming and expat is the best way to go. You can also visit my personal blog to find out more about what makes me tick.
To be continuted….
Last 5 posts by Rusty
- Culture Clash - October 6th, 2009
- Sweet Juliet - September 29th, 2009
- Some Filipino - September 22nd, 2009
- The Ber Months - September 15th, 2009
- Sounds of The Philippines - September 8th, 2009
Hi Rusty,
You know, I had misconceptions about the word “expat” also. For a long time for me it had to do with something “ex-military”. Guess it was because my Dad was in the Canadian military and I heard it there first.
I think you’ve presented a good definition.
Hi Rusty!
Enjoy your contributions. I just recieved a passport for my father so he can join us when we return to the Philippines. I was amazed that the time from filing to reciept of the passport was only eight days. I then realized that with the upcoming election that the immigration services will be geared up for the increased demand for passports. My wife is impressed that here in the US and yes even backwards Arkansas: you can apply for and recieve a laminated drivers license within minutes. In the Philippines it takes many weeks to recieve a drivers license because they come from Manila.
Regards Tom and Marie
Hi John,
My spelling sucks and I thought expatriate was spelled expatriot. I thought it meant no longer a patriot. I looked it up when I got here, I didn’t even know I was an expat. LOL
Makes sense you would have thought it was ex-military, many expats are. I probably should have covered a bit more of that in part II which will be out on Wednesday. Maybe there will be a part three. LOL As of now, I have no idea what the post for my fourth will be. Joking with Bob about writing on a schedule I told him I’m an arteeest. LOL
Sometimes you can’t shut me up and others, getting a word out of me is like taking honey from a grizzly.
Anyway, i had forgot the word was around as I had never left the country, except to Canada and that was pre 9/11. No passport required.
Being an expat is still new to me. Only 9 months, enough time to learn a lot but be confused a lot too. So I think I tend to write more for the newbie. But that’s probably who needs the most help.
I wish I had found the expat communities sooner, before coming here. If I had, I probably would have been here a year sooner. But then I did have to show up for that little matter of the divorce. Glad I got that taken care of before I got here.
I surely am glad I’m here. Hope I don’t do anything to foul it up. I’m tend to worry more than I should. Expecting the worst is one of my weaker traits but it comes in handy sometimes. Fewer surprises.
Things have really turned around for me since i came here. It probably saved my life, in any case, I know it enhanced it.
Hi Tom,
I need to get my DL taken care of. Dang it is hard to believe I’ve been here that long. And if you go the normal route to get your DL there are drug test and several trips to LTO?
I don’t have transportation but my DL expires in Jan and it is easier to get a DL here if you have a valid license or so I’m told.
I guess I need to get that taken care of. Probably have to do it in Jan as house full of kids going to put the brakes on my spending for the next two months.
At least nothing compared to home. Dang I hate being cash poor, puts a real damper on my plans to take scuba diving and joining the beach club that teaches it.
I wont to go traveling all over this country. I sure wish I was as rich as I was told I’d be. Then again, for a Filipina working 60 hours a week and earning P4000 a month the numbers I told her about, I was rich. But now she is learning, it goes fast when trying to keep some resemblance of my former life style.
She rocks though. I got lucky there.
Thanks for the kind words
Hi Tom Ramberg- In larger Philippine cities, laminated driver’s licenses are issued in minutes too. Here in Davao, they print up and laminate your license right on the spot when you apply. Only in smaller towns must they have the license shipped in from Manila.
Rusty: Don’t let your US license expire, if you can at all avoid it. A US license is very useful in car rental in some places and is still valid I’d in the States. Check to see if AR offers renewal by mail, like CA, and have it sent to a local address there and forwarded to you.
Good article, Rusty. Many people, including many expats themselves can’t really fathom all the reasons one would chose to live outside the US … and there is certainly no single answer.
A note regarding driver’s licenses. I got mine, the final laminated version in less than one hour and I did not pay any ‘fixers’. As Bob also noted this type service is available in all the major cities now.
I also would not let my US license expire, if possible, somne states do allow renewals without being present, some do not. However I encourage every expat to get a Philippine license, even if you don’t plan to drive here. for two reasos … it’s great for situation here where you need local identification ans second, I know of a few folks going back to the US who were denied car rentals on their exisiting US licenses because their US address was no longer valid or their state DMV’s had marked them as inactive.
They were, however, easily able to rent on their current Philippine license. In most states you techniclaly are o\nly authorized to drive if you are a resident, after a ‘grace period’ … often 90 days … so after you have been outide the US for 90 days it _may_ be a problem in some states or with some rental companies. I hold a Colorado license, for example, but would be hard pressed to prove residency in Colorado.
A US driver’s license, unlike a passport, is not a US document, it’s an individual state’s document and 50 different sets of laws apply … but a Philippine license is a national document, and by US-Philippine treaty, is valid in all 50 states for up to 90 days.
Hi Rusty!
I understand your financial discomfort but I am still envious of your where you live. I hope this is my last winter in the US. I have been teasing Marie that in the future there will be 5 malls in the city near our home in PI so I am afraid that we will be bankrupt because she will visit one for each day of the week. Fortunately we have bought some extra lots by our home to grow vegetables. So even though I will be a lowly kano dirt farmer; I will not be starving. Hmm unless she sells my vegetables for shopping money! I tell Marie that everyone has a perception of things being better elsewhere but it really depends on what you are looking for. I am not sure that we even have more than 5 malls in the whole state of Arkansas but we will in a mid sized city in PI. She now understands what I have been telling my Filipino family when I say we have work hard to be even with Filipinos standard of living. Here in Arkansas there is no public transportation so we have to buy a car and insurance and maintain it just so we can work. Marie has also gained the perspective of some other immigrants where she works. They were told that this is the land of unbelievable riches and they soon discovered you live hand to mouth wherever you are. Maybe someday after we are settled we will visit your area. It would be nice to meet you in person. Thanks Bob for the info. I was just going by Maries experience in Gen-San. Maybe they will catch up in technology soon also. Just thought I would mention to Dave that Marie had to take the driving exams in Arkansas because they would not recognize her Philippine license. I understand that I can just present my US license in PI and will be exempt from testing. This takes some anxiety away that maybe I would not use the horn agressively enough and fail my drivers test! ha ha!
Regards
Tom
John, okay I’ll make an effort to save it but I don’t think I’ll be able too. I started to rent a room from a friend before I left but he wanted cash. LOL Even if I wasn’t going to be there. Grrrr
I’ll see what I can do. Maybe I can get one in another state but I doubt it. i had hoped to return home for a month this month but that’s not going to happen. A month would be hard. I’d probably end up spending most of it online working on articles and talking to Jessie on Skype. LOL
I don’t think I’m going to be able to get one in Tn.
Dave, I’m going to make some calls. Usually by the time I can call from here to the states, I don’t feel like it. Since I hate telephones anyway, I am good at putting it off. I might be able to get one in Tn. or Ms. It renews in Tn. I’m not sure if I can do it at all. I don’t think I can. I will find out.
Tom,
I’ve not heard this about the driver’s license from the US is enough to get a license in the Ph. Can anyone confirm that?
I was told there would be a lot of test but I could by pass them if I went straight to the LTO Chief, that he can bypass the red tape but the price would likely be a little more than the standard, I think 300p for a DL?
I was a bit hesitant to go knocking on the door of LTO chief but I was assured he loved it. I use to have a good source of information about Cebu but I was banned for setting up my own board. Well that’s the real reason. The official reason keeps changing depending on who I talk too.
Sure was nice to hear from Bob and see his thinking is far more helpful for both he and myself.
I will try to go see the LTO next month and my doctor. Perhaps that will end all my speculation about LTO. It may be different from province to province. And I can talk more to my doctor about doing some of the test outside the hospital and cut a day or two out of my in hospital time.
Arkansas isn’t all that bad man, yea its backwoods and we poke fun at the inbreeding but one of my best friends is from Ark. LOL I’m playing on that old line from the 60’s and 70’s people use to say to prove they were not racist.
My finances are in MUCH better shape here than they would be in the US. My past Internet businesses dried up so now I’m doing it in a more predictable but slower start. The get rich quick tricks might work for a little while if you get lucky but they wont last and then you end up chasing it and loosing what you made. LOL If I had took the approach I’m taking now, 4 years ago, I’d be doing very well but when the house payment is due, you’ll do what you have too to make it Well short of going to jail.
When I first go here the exhange rate was at its lowest point in about 20 years from my looking over the history of the exchange rate. Since that time, my income has gone up 15,000p just from the increase in the value of the dollar. As long as the dollar stays in short supply, that is limited loans, that will continue. I’m looking for the dollar to increase by another 10p per 1D. I think it will approach a total of 60 to 1. Now I am no expert on this but I do have some background in finance. So I wouldn’t bet the farm on my numbers.
But the peso is expected to fall and the dollar is expected to rise. I think that will push it close to but probably just under 60 to 1. I need to look more at the historical and see where it has gone in the past. Finding the time to study it as I need it may be impossible.
Also the longer I’m here, I have a better idea of what things are going to cost me so I’m better able to budget.
I think probably the US is a land of unbelievable riches to a Filipino and I think it is justified. On my disability retirement, I’m making more than the president of the country makes from her salary. That’s pretty staggering. Many Filipino do not have running water or aircon, most don’t. Even fewer have hot water in the shower if they have a shower. And almost no one has hot water at the tap here. Sewage often runs out to the ditch! The US is a land of unbelievable riches when compared of the stand of living here.
But yes, the expenses are much higher there. When I told my GF what my mortgage payment a month was she couldn’t really comprehend it. There’s very little public transportation in Memphis too. A taxi to down town was about 50 bucks one way! I once took a bus to work when my car broke down, took me 3 hours to make a 30 minute drive as I had to go all over town to get there. Was crazy! Yea, car and insurance for it and then medical cost. My medications were over $1100 a month if I didn’t have insurance. Doctor visit, lucky to get out for less than $150.00 plus lab work and here doctor visit is $12.00. The cost of services in the US are through the roof but they are on the floor here.
So in the end, you’re 100% correct, getting by pay check to pay check is usually the way it is any place. Even if one is able to live off their savings they usually budget to have the best standard of living they can afford. Only makes sense to me.
One expat offered to take my budget and fix it. He said he was certain he could find areas where I could cut back. Well duh, of course, as I could take his budget and do the same for him. Cutting his extra’s doesn’t cause me any hardships. LOL Heck I have some fat in my budget. A lot of fat now compared to my first month here.
But as I learn, I’m able to cut more corners, I know what to expect now, I need less and less from the US. I’m settling in now. I was looking at such a bleak existence in the US that I was able to through all caution to the wind. Even then it took me about a year and a half to do it.
I was trying to hold on to a home though.
But finally things fell into place and off I went. I think once your path is such that you can make it here, you’ll love it. Women and malls seem to be a dangerous combination no matter were you go. Jessie is going to Cebu without me tomorrow, malls every were you look. LOL Two big ones, one of which is huge!
Heck, on learning, I just found out a way to cut my expenses by another P2300
a month! I can go out to eat 9 times on that here!
I do want to make it clear that I’m in FAR better shape here with a household of 6 people than I would be supporting just myself in the states. It is awesome that you will have your own land here. I’m envious of that. I’ll get there.