Expats Quotes

Alex said. "This is Medina Station under occupation by a bunch of splinter Martian military expats. It's not Baltimore."
Amos' smile was as placid as always. "Everywhere's Baltimore. ~ James S.A. Corey

There is that potential of the expats coming back to the Philippines. But sadly they are no opportunities, no incentive for them to come back home. Successive governments have, in fact, been training them to export them rather than working on the economy to welcome them home. ~ Miguel Syjuco

A less expensive option that expats still trust is Sen Sok University Hospital. ~ Lina Goldberg

Wild Times
Since Mexico accepted communism as a legitimate political party during the 1920's and allowed refugees greater flexibility of thought, it became a haven from persecution. Moreover, living in Mexico was less costly than most countries, the weather was usually sunny and no one objected to the swinging lifestyle that many of the expats engaged in. It was for these reasons that Julio Mella from Cuba, Leon Trotsky from Russia and others sought refuge there. It also attracted many actors, authors and artists from the United States, many of whom were Communist or, at the very least were "Fellow Travelers" and had leftist leanings. Although the stated basic reason for the Communist Party's existence was to improve conditions for the working class, it became a hub for the avant-garde, who felt liberated socially as well as politically. The bohemian enclave of Coyoacán now a part of Mexico City, where Frida Kahlo was born, was located just east of San Angel which at the time was a district of the ever expanding City. It also became the gathering place for personalities such as the American actor Orson Welles, the beautiful actress Dolores del Río, the famous artist Diego Rivera and his soon-to-be-wife, "Frida," who became and is still revered as the illustrious matriarch of Mexico. ~ Hank Bracker

He was just one of those people ... one of a thousand expats who'd dragged their unhappiness to the other side of the world, expecting everything to be different, and never quite got over the fact it felt the same. ~ Jon Courtenay Grimwood

OUr teachers at LT&C had their A levels and the odd teaching certificate. It is astonishing how a black crepe robe worn over a coat or blouse gives a Cockney punter or a Covent Garden flower girl the gravitas of an Oxford don. Accent be damned in Africa, as long as it's foreign and you have the right skin colour. ~ Abraham Verghese

Now you're being sentimental, Marija. You shouldn't waste your pity on machines! If you want to pity someone, pity the poor guestworker who's chucked out of the territory when they build a robot to do his job! Pity the janitors, the nightwatchmen, the dustcart drivers. My God, even the whores have been put out of business now! We live in a country where we even fuck machines! ~ Chris Beckett

Ironically, if only because over the years I've known so many - from college deans to studio executives to European expats - who come to Los Angeles aspiring to nothing other than living in Topanga, I wound up there by accident. ~ Steve Erickson

America is a nation of immigrants, but it is also a nation of people who never emigrate. Notably, Americans living outside the United States are not called emigrants, but 'expats.' ~ Ivan Krastev

September 14, 2001

What killed me, what killed many of us, was the very end: "My home sweet home." Because, whatever else Paris might be, this _is not_ our home, it's just the place where we have our jobs or apartments. How could we have forgotten that? ~ David Sedaris

The loneliness of the arab is a terrible thing; it is all consuming. It is already present like a little shadow under the heart when he lays his head on his mother's lap; it threatens to swallow him whole when he leaves his own country, even though he marries and travels and talks to friends twenty-four hours a day. That is the way Sirine suspects that Arabs feel everything - larger than life, feelings walking in the sky. ~ Diana Abu-Jaber

Sunset at Seminyak
Barefoot, the well heeled expats drift
from the beach into mauve chaise lounges
wearing trendy Thai fisherman pants
and billowing knock-off Armani linens.
They dis the local touts, piss and moan
about the tawdry and 'so yesterday'.
Devout Splenglerians, they spout
the rise and fall of fashion
every fucking fifteen minutes.
Exhaling the outlaw plumes of
Hoyo de Monterrey Churchills,
they drown in their Courvoisier
and Hennessey Privilege
as the unfashionable sun
plunges divinely into the Bali Strait
unnoticed. ~ Beryl Dov

Random acts of kindness show that even amidst the hustle and bustle, Paris inhabitants are more welcoming that their reputation gives them credit for. ~ Vicki Lesage

I was supposed to stay for 3 months. But I think I always knew I would stay a little longer, despite the crazy Frenchies. Or maybe because of them. ~ Vicki Lesage

88. People wonder why so many writers come to live in Paris. I've been living ten years in Paris and the answer seems simple to me: because it's the best place to pick ideas. Just like Italy, Spain.. or Iran are the best places to pick saffron. If you want to pick opium poppies you go to Burma or South-East Asia. And if you want to pick novel ideas, you go to Paris. ~ Roman Payne

A brisk wind spiralled down Camden street kicking up debris, causing Jerry Morgan to retreat further into the doorway of Larkins the Bookmaker. He covered the flame from his lighter with his chapped hand. Inhaled and coughed, a deep rasp, the sort of chesty wheeze that came from forty years of smoking his first drag at thirteen years old. ~ Mark Shearman

A funny thing about living abroad is that what might separate us expats back home brought us closer together in China. We'd listen to their complaints about the food, their legs swelling up with the MSG, and instead of rolling our eyes as we might've thought we would at Americans complaining abroad, we listened and offered advice on where to find more palatable, familiar food. For their part, they seemed to conveniently ignore the fact that we were living together unwed, and when they'd pass by our room, door open, there was no strong feeling of judgment. ~ Megan Rich

For some Chicago expats, food is the medicine that blunts the pain of separation. ~ Mary Schmich

Expats of any country are quick to lose their sense of humour, beaten down by a lifetime of defending the land they no longer live in. ~ Bill Carter