A daily walk for coffee from her apartment in the Occitanie region of southern France to Place de l’Herbes, the historic main square of the small town of Uzes, is a daily routine for Julie Ness.
She loves the simple routine of sitting with a cup in hand, with a view of the fountain or arcade. Afterwards, she wanders around the old town, asking for Aperol with friends and browsing the twice-weekly markets.
“Honestly, it feels like magic,” Nace told CNN Travel. “I can’t believe I live here.”
Nace, a Michigan native who grew up in Texas, feels at home in Uzès’ narrow streets and medieval architecture, even though he had never set foot in the city until six months ago.
So how did she end up moving her life there? Simple: She let ChatGPT choose.
“It may sound crazy to let an AI make decisions about your life,” she says today. “But it took me out of that overwhelming feeling. It could just be an adventure.”
Artificial intelligence “has been a good choice,” she says.
Her connection with France began at a young age when she was studying the language at school. Nace completed a year of language study abroad in the country, and then moved to Paris for five years starting in 2004.
“It’s really funny because the decisions[I made]when I was 11 or 12 ended up changing the course of my life,” she says.
After nearly five years, she returned to the United States and threw herself into a career in technology. She eventually built what she calls “a great job, a great salary, and a lot of travel,” but also suffered from “extreme burnout.”
“I think my nervous system went crazy,” she says. She overcame her anxiety, depression, and chronic fatigue, but her symptoms, including anxiety attacks and back pain, began to worsen. She says, “I felt like a shell of a human being.”
Nace knew a change was needed. France, a place she had always loved, drew her closer.
Nace quit her job and returned to Paris in search of fulfillment again, but she felt the city was “overstimulating” her. She wanted to remain in France, but could not decide where to stay.
So she asked ChatGPT.
After inputting her “entire backstory” (her values and wish list, including a slow pace of life, good weather, markets, international society, etc.), the AI chatbot suggested two towns. These are Sarlat-la-Caneda and Uzes in the Dordogne region of southwestern France. Still not sure, she asked ChatGPT to pick one.
“Saarat was a more remote place,” she says. “That meant Uzes might be better.”
Neis also consulted friends and online sources, but appreciated how ChatGPT cut through the noise and provided “concise” answers. She, ChatGPT, called and sprang into action.
She applied for Passport Talent, a residence permit for skilled professionals, investors and entrepreneurs, and her application was approved a few months later.
By this point she had been living a nomadic lifestyle for years, so Nace, who was based in San Francisco at the time, didn’t have many belongings to pack. She quit her job, sold her car and flew to Nice.
She arrived in March with two suitcases and a duffle bag, took a train to Avignon, rented a car and drove to Uzès.
Nace remembers walking into this “adorable” town for the first time and thinking, “Okay, let’s go.”
The AI’s selection was “very accurate,” she says. She loved that she could walk across the Old Town in a few minutes. She was also attracted to the people and the warmth of the climate.
She rented a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment with vaulted ceilings and views of a medieval tower, and began trying to build a community.
She had moved to France on her own before, but was worried she would feel alone this time.
“Friendship is important to me,” she says. “Community is important to me, and I thought I might not be able to do that.”
At first, she jokes, she was probably known as “the always-alone American.” But her YouTube channel helped her meet other expats, mostly retirees.
“When I met the expats, they said, ‘Wow, you really brought us down quite a bit,'” she said, adding that she has since started meeting other residents closer to her age.
Having spent most of her life in a “work-focused” environment, Nace likes the fact that people in France don’t immediately ask her what she does.
“I mean, they might eventually do that, but that’s not the first question they ask,” she added. “That’s not the most important thing…”
Life has gotten cheaper overall, she says, but salaries have fallen and prices have risen.
“I’m hearing from locals that the cost of living and shopping has really gone up,” she says.
Nace said she misses the conveniences of America, especially the grocery stores that are open on Sundays, and sometimes takes the bus to big cities like Nimes and Avignon to visit Asian superstores and buy “delicious things” like soy sauce.
“It basically takes a whole day just to go and do it,” she says. “Because that doesn’t exist here. Being in a small town means you’re really limited.”
Still, Nace has fully embraced life in Uzès and says moving there has helped her recover.
“I feel completely like myself again,” she says. “I can’t even begin to describe how much of a relief that was, because I got to the point where I didn’t think I would ever feel normal again.”
She started a YouTube channel “French Julie Travels” to document her life in France and now hosts week-long retreats and gastronomic tours.
Despite the recent surge in real estate prices, Nace plans to stay in Uzès for the time being and is considering buying an apartment.
She visits the United States once or twice a year and plans to return for Christmas, but says she has no intention of returning permanently, although she is “open to all possibilities.”
“This small town feels like the place I’m meant to be, whether it’s now, for a few years, or maybe forever,” she says.
Neis says letting ChatGPT make decisions may sound risky, but it worked for her.
“It’s scary to quit your full-time salary and not know what’s going to happen,” she says. “But I’m very happy. This is an adventure and I feel very lucky to be here experiencing this new life.”
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