Burning Out in the City of Light
People imagine that living in Paris means slowing down; morning coffee instead of a rushed latte, late dinners that stretch into laughter and long walks that help you feel grounded. But the reality for many students studying here is more complicated. For all its beauty, Paris can be a place where we burn out faster, not because of overwork, but because we never really log off from the lives we left behind.
Always Connected, Never Away
When I first arrived, I thought studying abroad would give me space, a pause between who I was and who I was becoming. I imagined myself disconnected from routine, immersed in new experiences and fully present in the moment. But even an ocean away, the constant stream of messages, calls and updates keeps me tethered to home. I start my mornings in Paris but end my nights in another time zone, replying because it makes me feel close to everyone, but still somehow drained. It’s as if our generation has found a way to be everywhere and nowhere at once. AUP Student, Amber Watt, told me, “It’s interesting living in two countries that are so different, sometimes I feel like I’m living two different lives”.
The expectation of distance no longer exists. In another era, studying abroad meant real separation; writing letters that took days to arrive or calling home only on special occasions. Today, we’re expected to be reachable always. There’s comfort in that connection, but also a cost. We rarely give ourselves permission to disappear for a while, to let life unfold without needing to explain or post it.
The Pressure to Make It Count
That constant connection also feeds a new kind of pressure: the idea that every moment abroad should be meaningful. Living in Paris feels like a privilege that has to be justified. If you’re not exploring, posting or checking off every cultural box, you feel like you are wasting the experience. There’s an unspoken belief that rest equals missed opportunity. When every day has to be a story, even joy starts to feel like work.
That pressure is not just social, but it’s internal. Many of us came here searching for growth, clarity and independence. But personal transformation does not follow a schedule. The city’s endless beauty can start to feel like a test: Am I appreciating this enough or doing Paris “right”? It is an impossible standard that quietly wears you down.
@itsbetulg Truths about studying abroad😔 #studyabroadlife ♬ originalljud - user9283848281934
@itsbetulg Truths about studying abroad😔 #studyabroadlife ♬ originalljud - user9283848281934
A Different Kind of Burnout
What makes this kind of burnout so sneaky is that it looks nothing like the kind we talk about. It’s not all-nighters in the library or collapsing under deadlines. It’s subtle: a steady fatigue from constant stimulation. There’s always something to see, somewhere to go, someone to update. The city’s energy, intoxicating at first, becomes relentless when you don’t slow down to breathe.
I have caught myself confusing motion with meaning. The faster I move, the more I think I am accomplishing something, that by filling every hour, I am fully living. But there is a difference between being alive and being constantly occupied. Sometimes the most meaningful moments here are the quiet ones: reading alone in a cafe, walking without music, or sitting by the Seine and not reaching for your phone.
@lovealwaysannika It’s so normal to have struggles while living abroad!!!! I’m still so thankful for this experience and will cherish it throughout my life 🫶🏻🇦🇺 ##studyabroadaustralia##australia##australiastudent##studyabroad##semesterabroad##exchangestudent##travelstory##travelstorytime##studyabroadstruggles ♬ original sound - Annika | Big Sister Advice💛
Behind the Picture-Perfect Life
What makes burnout abroad particularly hard is that it feels wrong to admit. We are told this experience is supposed to be the highlight of our youth, that any exhaustion or homesickness should be overshadowed by gratitude. So, we push through. “Sometimes it feels like if you’re not constantly out doing something amazing, you’re wasting your time abroad”, said Anna Sverchevsky, a senior at AUP. “But that mindset is exactly what makes people burn out.” We post smiling photos, attend one more dinner, one more trip, one more “unmissable” event, until suddenly we don’t feel much at all.
That numbness is the final stage of being overstimulated, the point where even beautiful things stop moving you. It is a strange feeling to look at the Eiffel Tower glittering at night and realize we’re too tired to care.
What helps, I have learned, is giving yourself permission to be unremarkable. To skip a night out. To not document everything. To exist here without performing it for anyone, not your friends, not your followers, not even yourself. The best parts of Paris often are the ones no one's watching.
@beccacutler4 some days u just want to be back home and there’s nothing anyone can say or do to help and that’s okay and so normal to experience so don’t be too hard on yourself💕#studyingabroad #semesterabroad #internationalstudent #mentalhealthmatters #advice #normalising #movingabroad #homesickness ♬ Home - Matthew Hall
Learning to Arrive
Paris rewards presence, but it does not demand perfection. The more I learn to slow down, the more I notice small things, like the sound of a street musician or the warmth of a bakery at nine in the morning. Those details remind me why I came here in the first place. Not to prove that I am living a dream, but to actually live it.
Maybe the real challenge of living abroad today isn’t not adapting to a new culture but learning to exist in just one world at a time. We do not need to cut off home completely, but we do need to let ourselves settle fully in the place we are in.
