Why You Should Stop Using the Word Expat in Germany

The never-ending debate about the word expat needs to end now. We should all simply stop using the word expat. 

I’ll be honest and admit that I used to use the word a lot when I didn’t know any better. I even called my blog, where I wrote about my world travels and life abroad in Germany, a “travel and expat living blog.”

Then, in 2021, my mind completely changed after I asked The Berlin Life community what the word means to them.

Here are screenshots highlighting the thoughts of our community members (identities have been blurred for obvious privacy reasons):

After learning what the word implies for our community members and how it makes them feel, I didn’t hesitate to stop using it entirely and removed all instances of the word “expat” from The Berlin Life. I’ve made it a habit to avoid using the term “expat” and opt for newbie, immigrant, or foreigner instead.

If you want even more insight into why the term is considered hurtful, this Guardian article does a pretty good job of explaining.

Yet plenty of content creators in Germany – who are almost always white, lecture their followers with dictionary definitions and argue about why using the term is perfectly acceptable from their point of view. Arguing dictionary definitions is condescending, it minimizes other people’s thoughts and feelings, and ultimately, those definitions don’t matter when in reality, the terms are used differently.

Other content creators openly acknowledge the situation, yet still purposely choose to use the word expat (even boldly admitting it publicly) because it gets them more clicks and views.

In either case, it’s their doubling down on the issue that contributes to the problem and even makes it worse. They fail to understand how their online influence can shape people’s beliefs and values or outright hurt and diminish others.

Many other regular folks (who aren’t content creators) stubbornly cling to the word as well, insisting that we can take the terms back and make them mean what they literally mean. While that sounds really nice, it’s not likely ever going to happen. Affluence, race, country of origin, etc. will continue to exert power over people’s word choices.

I was happy to see Exberliner, now The Berliner, share some of the reasons for their name change. Among them was the association with the words expat:

But by far the most common misinterpretation of the name is that it means ‘Expat Berliner’. This is much more problematic and harder to shake. These days, the term ‘expat’ feels inherently exclusive and unrepresentative. The lines between migrant, immigrant and expat are blurry at best, and classist and racist at worst.

Perhaps we need a new way to refer to everyone who moves here from a different country. Something like ‘international people’ or even just ‘internationals’ is much more fitting and catch-all. It’s true that people who move here from different places have different experiences and are treated differently, but labelling people and separating them only foments division.

Why would you continue to use a word that causes harm and hurt? Regardless of your personal opinion, the appropriate response is straighforward – listen to others, consider their feelings, and just stop using the word expat.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about the word expat and it’s usage.

It’s time to make a conscious decision: Stop using the word expat and help build a more welcoming community for everyone.