I was born and raised in the US, and have lived in Europe 13+ years. I love how the EU feels more simple, not necessarily convenient. Granted, I don’t live in a big city, and I’ve only lived in big cities in the US. Overall, I feel like the quality of life ( on my small salary) in small town France is above and beyond what I ever had in the US.

I think it ebbs and flows. I’ve been living abroad for 13 years and I was and still am close to my family. But I have a family of my own now, and my siblings do, too, and many of my friends from “back home.” Sometimes I am in touch with them more than others, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Try not to take it too personally if they’re not as responsive as you’d like, tone can be hard to read over text.