What I learned shocked me:
Spending every weekend alone or forcing yourself to attend exhausting meet-ups with people you'll never see again
Lying awake at night wondering if you've wasted years of your life on this move
Feeling like a glorified tourist who's overstayed their welcome
Constantly planning your "escape route" home because you can't imagine actually building a life here
Socially burnt out from trying to be someone you're not just to make friends
The background anxiety never going away no matter how long you've been there
Having 3-5 people you can genuinely count on and actually want to spend time with
Sleeping through the night because you've built real security and support systems
Feeling like you have a place here - not "home" exactly, but somewhere you genuinely belong
Making long-term plans with confidence instead of constant visa panic
Building friendships that energize you instead of drain you
That background anxiety finally, finally fading into manageable awareness