The big question is if this is a visa that opens a path to citizenship.

Web developer here but I’m not making crazy money at all. But I have a very flexible schedule.

What helped me was placing myself in a situation where I had to force myself to find remote jobs and having nothing to fall back onto if I failed. Started way back in 2013.

Those who ENJOY feeling that they don’t quite belong. Not feeling like you belong is a pro! (I belong to this category.)

Yup. This is a requirement. Felt this all my life even in my birth country, and I’ve realized it’s just how I am no matter where I am.

Hey there. I lived in France for about 10 years (with a lot of traveling in between) and lived in Paris for 6 years. I got my “resident du longue duree - UE” card about 2 years ago. I submitted my citizenship application around the same time but it’s still being processed - in the south of France it can take up 4-5 years for citizenship to get processed!

I still have my own place over there, but at the moment am now in the UK, and am planning to just spend my summers in France. I also spend huge chunks of time in the US.

Like you, I realized in my very first year in Paris that I had made a mistake, lol. But I had put in too much effort trying to get my visa, that I decided to stick it out. That’s what I suggest you do: try to at least get permanent residency or citizenship before you move back. That way, you will always be able to work in France and move back if it’s ever needed. You never know what the future holds.

I never really assimilated, and just barely passed my French language test at the B2 level. I spoke no French when I first moved there (aside from knowing how to count from 1 - 10). All my friends in France are foreign and English-speaking (even if they speak French, they’re from somewhere else like Algeria or they’ve lived abroad).

That said, I do like having had all that life experience. I never regret having spent time there. Hopefully you will view your time in France the same way in the future.

I wish I had had more self-confidence in myself to have been able to be more social. I was too bogged down in self-doubt and feeling like an outsider, to really be able to pursue hobbies. It’s like that whole decade was a healing phase for me and I chose one of the most challenging locations to live - I intentionally put myself in the position of being an outsider.

I feel I don’t really fit anywhere. So the best thing for me to do, right now, is to split time between these 3 countries, absorbing the best of each.

Time.