So true.
I’ve known folk from all walks of life in several nationalities. From the very rich to the very poor, the Titled and those who felt they were Entitled. 
At each level, some were nice/ordinary folk and some were definitely not
but I did my best to be polite to each and everyone of them, regardless …
I’ve funny memories of some guys I knew from 40 years back, who had worked together (as expats 
) in Uraguay. One of them was Spanish, and he was really cross when a local scientist spoke to him in the familiar rather than honorific (he wanted to be addressed usted IIRC) because he felt as a Spaniard so much more dignified than these colonials.
It’s always a pleasure to find people who aren’t like that.
and it’s lovely to chat with people in a relaxed, friendly fashion… have a good laugh together about this and that… and only later on find out who they were…
John Cleese says:
“I look down on him because I am upper class.”
Ronnie Barker replies:
“I look up to him because he is upper class. But I look down on him because he is lower class. I am middle class.”
Then Ronnie Corbett quietly ends with:
“I know my place.”
Spaniards used to be very much like that, European if you like, and the South American branch much more like America in approach. It was as frowned-upon in Spain to use inappropriately the familiar as it is still in France.
It always seemed to me to be connected to pride rather than to snobbery. I knew several waiters who looked on their job as a profession and not the stopgap job it often is in the UK.
Yes but only if you’re from Barcelona
You’re doing French waiters a disservice, one can’t “just do it”. -
Formation qualifiante Serveur en restauration - Formation professionnelle | Afpa.
We regularly go to our local college for lunch cooked and served by the students and it’s invariably excellent. The training is taken very seriously and this week it was exam week and they took it to another level.
Not at all! Our local lycée specialises in training people for catering, and sells bread made by its boulangers/ères.
You can get a lovely lunch there twice a week, and the quality improves throughout the term, culminating in exam day, where the apéros are included and the wine is at cost price.
I’m sure I’ve told the story before, so stop me if you remember it, but the most mortified I’ve ever seen a 16yo is when one of the trainee waiters accidentally poured my aperitif over me. It wasn’t so much my reaction - which was “don’t worry” - but the bollocking we saw him get from the tutor.
My reply was to @Mark who had quoted you. And I’m very jealous, catering/hospitality courses in many European countries, including the UK, are great value for money places to eat well.
Meanwhile, apropos expats etc: These terms ares very nuanced, both linguistically (in English) and legally in differing respects of countries/societies.
I agree with the informal interpretation of ‘expat’ in a global context, where for me it describes either a foreign temporary resident, often in the country on a work-related visa. There’s also a rightly, or wrongly implied lack of social integration, perhaps today best exemplified by foreign professionals working in the Gulf, who can never become naturalised, even in the unlikely event that they should want to do so.
By contrast ,‘immigrant’ covers a much broader spectrum of positions from illegal immigrant (refugee or aspirant economic migrant) to people like many SFers who are tax paying, permanent residents of France, who want to, but are currently unable to obtain French nationality.
Mention of ‘residents’ also raises the visa aspect, I’m a UK citizen, but have French and South African permanent residence visas, which for me at least, have a reassuringly solid ring to them
As an aside, one common tangible distinction between an expat and both immigrants/long term residents is the acquisition of property locally. In my work experience, employer HRs strongly, albeit informally, discourage expats from buying property locally. It can significantly complicate subsequent relocation(s).Whereas long term residents and immigrants generally want to acquire somewhere to live in permanently, obviously subject to having the means to do so. HR (if there is an employment link) would, and should have no issues with the long term residents or immigrants acquiring property locally.
For what it’s worth, I’ve had 2 expat assignments to France, kept my UK property, and didn’t acquire property in France. Now for a permanent emigration to France, I sold up in the UK and live in our house in Normandy.
At 5am I found myself unable to sleep.. brain churning on myriads of topics… and I turned to my tried and trusted cure: give the brain something different to ponder!
Hmm.. let’s try Expats/Immigrants and Snobs!
Well, I didn’t fall asleep!
Instead I found myself wondering if I was in fact being a bit of a Snob.
Surely not? … well, I hope not!
In my mind, I trundled through yesterdays thread…
My brain churned… surely classing myself as an immigrant is no better than expat and no worse? .. it all depends on the individual and how people choose to live in a foreign country is up to them and nothing to do with me!
I gave myself a good talking-to! 
My brain was in such turmoil that, finally, I gave up trying to sleep and went walking to the Bins with yesterday’s sac-jaune.
Daft bat. 
It was lovely and cool, strolling up the road, a good start to the day!
OH and Tommy are going out around 6am in this hot weather and Tommy is very happy with the temperature early on.
The nouns don’t worry me much, but I’ll go to my grave insisting that there’s only one verb and it is ‘emigrate’.
This is a interesting conversation. Overall, I’d say anyone can refer to themselves as whichever category they choose and what other people call them is really water off a ducks back.
So many English words are loaded with connotations that go beyond the definitions. I think it’s a secret code designed to confuse foreigners 
Well, I seem to be almost constantly confused by modern usage of many English words/phrases, which I had understood from childhood .. but which now mean summat-else… aaargh.
Well, I am definitely an immigrant and will remain here 'till death because I have already bought the plot and if I go to Blighty to die I will be unable to reclaim my half of the 200 odd quid I paid for it. Also, Fran will be looking at the empty space and wondering what the hell I am doing and where I am doing it.
Whoops, shouldn’t have tempted fate in mentioning Hell. 
Depends on the direction I think. 
As I understand it, you emigrate from somewhere but immigrate to somewhere.
Hence why the folks who happily and smilingly greet you on arrival in Nation X are usually called “Immigration and Border Control”.
But I agree that they are often used the wrong way round.
