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The community I have chosen to talk about is the expat community. The
expat, or “expatriate” community is made up of people who have left their home
countries to live and/or work in another country, often for extended periods of time,
and sometimes indefinitely. There is sometimes a physical sense of community in
some places, but it also exists as something more abstract. All kinds of different
people are expats. Many are older, retired or semi retired people, and others, like
myself for example, are younger language teachers who wanted a job that would
allow them to see the world. A 2013 study by the United Nations estimates that
around 232 million people are expats worldwide. 
There are many good things about the expat community. One good thing is
that, with social media, there are often groups set up on Facebook, for example,
that you can ask questions in. Some people who are  thinking of moving to a
different country join an expat social media group while still in their home country to
ask about all types of things including best cities to live in, cost of/standard of
living, job opportunities, document requirements, and the opinions of expats
already settled in the country on things like feelings of safety, local culture, etc.
People are often very happy to answer questions, share experiences and tips, and
point others in the right direction perhaps because they know how it feels to be the
one needing the information. As mentioned in video I found on YouTube, it can be
very expensive to move yourself to a new country, but another good thing about an
expat community is asking other expats can help you know the true cost of moving
and can help you avoid paying too much for things you shouldn’t. 
Another good thing about the community is you can meet other people that
are like you. According to myexpatworld.com, some of the best reasons to be an
expat include starting over fresh and having the opportunity to create a new life
focused on the things that matter to you most, focusing on experiences and travel
instead of possessions, and of course really getting to know a culture much more
intimately and authentically than just visiting it. Sometimes in the U.S. I felt like I
was the only one around that thought so much about the world outside my own
country, and being even abstractly apart of the expat community has helped me to
see that I’m not weird, and I’m not the only one. 
As with most things, there are some drawbacks of this type of community.
For instance, sometimes you can lean too heavily on what is more familiar, and it
can slow your growth in your new country. In a lot of expat groups or events,
English is the main language, and while meeting new people from your own
country or a culture similar to yours is great, it doesn’t always lead to a better
connection with your new country. 
Some expats are happy to spend most of their time with other expats, but some
want to really feel like they are living outside of their own country. 
A second drawback that I read on inc.com is that you can be in currency
danger. For anyone paying bills back home such as student loans, or anyone
sending money back home to save for when they eventually go back, you can lose
money if the local currency falls. Of course, the opposite could happen and you
could find yourself making money by sending it back. While both inc.com and the
YouTube video spoke about financial pros and cons, the YouTube video talked
about how it can be expensive to move to a new country. However, the expat
community can help lessen some expense as they help give advice on what things
really cost, or what you can’t really get around  spending money on and what you
can’t. 
As for the future of this community, I think in general it will continue to exist
as it is, if not grow larger as the world becomes even more connected and
explorable. People of my generation seem to travel more than previous
generations, valuing experiences over possessions, and in my opinion, when you
travel to a new part of the world and get to know a new culture with new people
and places, it’s quite easy to want to stay awhile. The only thing that I think might
change in the future is where expats are settling, as some places become more
dangerous or more safe, or living conditions become generally less or more
desirable. Climate change could have an impact on where expats are settling as
well. 

References: 

https://www.inc.com/glenn-leibowitz/the-upsides-and-downsides-of-life-as-an-
expat.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expatriate
https://www.myexpatsworld.com/expat-life/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtNRjF0L6TI