The term elect does not describe where his readers were exiled from; instead, it describes where his readers were exiled for. From the sum total of the human population, they have been chosen for a new homeland, in the same way as Abraham “was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance” (Hebrews 11:8). As Peter will explain in coming verses, their new homeland is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). God’s action of electing them triggered their being strangers in their community.