The other day it was suggested to me that I shouldn’t allow locals to join the Expats in Adelaide group. I hesitate to even post this, to be honest, as I don’t want to risk anyone not joining on this basis. It was a one off and to me, bizarre complaint, which ended in my apologising to the person that the group was too inclusive for her, at which point she removed her membership and advised me she’d be letting people know how awful I am.
Then this morning, I got an email from an expat web site that stated that it was too restrictive to call themselves an expat site any longer, citing that these days, there was a need to be more inclusive, and that expats need to integrate into the wider culture, hence they would now be focusing on the greater community as an audience.
Aussies who return home from overseas, and even those who move states within Australia often join up to the expat group. They’ve been away and come home to find that they’ve changed and they need a little something more than their high school friends, they miss the international atmosphere, or they come to Adelaide from Melbourne or Sydney and just want to meet more people, Aussie or not. We even have some Adelaidians who’ve always been here but are keen to try something new. One of the most difficult things for expats here can be meeting locals, so I encourage them, and am pleased when I see an Australian join up. The more the merrier I say!
"Whereas the tourist generally hurries back home at the end of a few weeks or months, the traveler, belonging no more to one place than the next, moves slowly, over periods of years from one part of the earth to another." -Paul Bowles
5 comments:
Hey Suzer, I'm staggered by your post! I think it's great that the group is open to everyone. Also interesting to hear about the expat group who now wish to be a ... group! The meditation on expat identity is interesting, too - discussion for another day.
Hey Suzer, maybe you can call your group an "Expats & Repats group" - ?
;)
Cheers!
Australians In The USA
http://www.AustraliansInTheUSA.org
Thanks for your input. I'll have a think on it:)
Yes, I really think it's good if locals are allowed to join the groups. Only because I think there needs to be more interaction between expats and locals. Personally I find Aussies a little difficult to know, so this could be a way to bridge the gap.
BTW, thank you for creating the FB page!
I think locals should be allowed to join this kind of groups. This will increase the community spirit and increase the interaction between people with different opinions.
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