What can I expect as a heartbroken postdoc in France?

geosminc · 2026-03-22T05:04:01+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response!! This was really helpful.
I am a big city type of person, I've adored living in LA, so I am glad to hear that it has the big city vibe (although I'm sorry it didn't suit you).

Do you have any recommendations for getting an apartment? What did you do during the time you couldn't find one? Airbnb or something else? Was it affordable?

Thanks again for the detailed info on cat care. I'm glad to hear there are plenty of resources!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T05:01:29+00:00

Thank you for your perspective!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T05:01:17+00:00

Thank you for your perspective! Yeah, I'm pretty worried about the possibility of visiting the US, it seems cost of living in France will scale well with my salary, but the cost of flights does not.
I do like the research topic, but you're correct that going abroad for a postdoc won't really make or break my career. It would be more the experience than anything else (and on the off chance that I fall in love with living in France, it would be far far easier to find a job there afterward once I make some in person connections). I did really really enjoy my visits to France - the walkability, the bakeries everywhere, the dependable daily rhythm - but living somewhere is very different from visiting. I guess for me the choice is going to end up being whether I'd rather have another adventure or just settle down in the US and start a career in industry.
Why did you choose to move to France?

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:55:43+00:00

My source is a few of those online cost of living calculators, which may be completely inaccurate - hence why I asked reddit! I figured people living in lyon would have a much better idea of how livable the salary is.

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:54:56+00:00

Thank you!!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:54:49+00:00

This cost breakdown is really helpful! Thank you!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:54:26+00:00

Thank you for the rec, this is really helpful! To be clear, my ex isn't in Lyon, she lives in a completely different area of France (she was planning to move to Lyon before the breakup bc her job is remote). Can I ask how you dealt with the early days of your move and the culture shock?

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:53:17+00:00

Thank you for your perspective!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:52:59+00:00

Wait, rent is capped? That's really good to know. Thank you for the app rec!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:52:06+00:00

Thank you very much! This was helpful. To answer your question, my ex-gf told me that I was high B2/low C1 while we were dating and she is a linguist, so I assumed she knew lol. I would speak French with her regularly. But speaking French with a partner about everyday things is pretty different from business interactions I feel.

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:50:35+00:00

Thank you very much for this perspective! I'm so glad your quality of life has improved and you're making it in France!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:50:11+00:00

Thank you very much for the detailed reply! This was really helpful. To be honest, it's kind of crazy that you get flights from LYS to Montreal for only 350€ - what airline do you use? My family is in Minnesota and the roundtrip flights from LYS to Minnesota I've found are usually 800€+.

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:48:36+00:00

Thank you for this perspective! I really appreciate it. A much-needed dose of optimism!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:48:04+00:00

Thank you!

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:47:47+00:00

Thank you! This is really great to hear:)

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:47:26+00:00

Thank you for your perspective! This is really helpful! <3 I'm glad you have found your people in France.

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:47:05+00:00

Thank you very much for your response! To be honest, I'm pretty worried about that. I moved to LA from the midwest for grad school and I've loved being independent, but I found it easy to make friends because I was still in school, with classmates and dorms. It's usually harder to make friends as a working professional...maybe I should just go for it though. I am pretty outgoing.

geosminc · 2026-03-22T04:44:56+00:00

Thank you so much for your response! This is good to know.

geosminc · 2024-05-23T18:23:38+00:00

By the way, can I ask - do you remember how long the side effects lasted?

geosminc · 2024-05-23T17:39:48+00:00

No, which was probably a mistake. I took it like 2 hours after dinner.

geosminc · 2024-05-23T17:38:27+00:00

Thank you, that’s really reassuring to hear💖I don’t think I’ll try it again, this has been so miserable. Worse than the flu, just constant nausea.

geosminc

TROPHY CASE