Originally Posted by
CTMilller
It is true, WanChaiMiller, that the term expat - particularly for British expats - is perceived a bit differently in Asia/Middle East than in North America and possibly Australasia. I think it has a lot to do, as you say, with how recently the location stopped having any kind of colonial status. I felt this most strongly in Hong Kong before the handover in 1997.
It's also a lot to do with the recent history of how expatriate employees were treated by their employers. It's changing now but, until recently the deal in Asia/Middle East often provided, a nice housing allowance, special schooling arrangements, club membership, maid and driver and so on. This conveyed the sense of being privileged and somehow in an elite apart from the local population. This is still the case - though to a lesser extent but it gives rise to exactly what you say. This isn't only for Brits, of course. It's largely the same for other Europeans and Americans.
Expats working in the US and to a great extent in Australasia, on the other hand, are employed on pretty much the same terms as locals. This changes the meaning of the word.