Tech executive ditches the American grind for a different 'pace of life' in France. Says, 'It's chaotic, but incredibly clarifying'

Jason Nellis, a 41-year-old tech executive, didn’t just switch jobs or zip codes—he changed continents. This summer, the Washington D.C.-based father of two packed up his life and moved with his family to a town just outside Cannes, France, in search of something increasingly rare in American work culture: balance. His goal wasn’t to escape the rat race, but to reimagine what it could look like altogether.

In an interview with CNBC Make It, Nellis shared how the move—eight years in the making—took shape through spreadsheets, shared goals, and a very personal promise made at his wedding.

A Vow to Go Abroad
It all started with a half-joking commitment. When Nellis first began dating his wife Jennifer, she had plans to relocate to Berlin for work. She stayed in San Francisco to give their relationship a chance, and in return, Nellis vowed to take her abroad for at least three to five years someday. That promise made it into their wedding vows.

Years later, after the birth of their first son, Kit, the couple began seriously considering the move. They ruled out Southeast Asia and Australia in favor of Europe—mainly to stay within reach of U.S. business hours and family ties.

“France was just the right combination of standard of living, quality of education available to us, and access to places like Cannes,” Nellis told CNBC.

$20,000, Two Kids, One Leap of Faith
With Jennifer now on a long-stay talent visa to build a hospitality business and Nellis retaining his fully remote role as Chief Product Officer at a U.S.-based digital rights company, the family began the process of moving. Between visas, flights, and international shipping, they spent around $20,000. They sold their car and most of their furniture, funding the dream one Marketplace post at a time.

Since landing in France in May, they’ve been living a nomadic European summer—traveling through Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany. Their budget? $12,000 to $14,000 a month, roughly what they lived on in the U.S., but now with more scenery and less stress.

Bringing the Office to Europe
Nellis still clocks in—just later than before. His workday now begins at 3 p.m. and ends around 11 p.m. Central European Time, allowing him to overlap with colleagues back home. The trade-off? Unhurried breakfasts, hands-on parenting, and dinners with his sons, Kit and Ace.

“It’s forced me to be much more judicious with my time,” he says, adding that their secret as working parents is a weekly sync meeting where they reassign responsibilities and rework schedules with total transparency.

Redefining Success
In a LinkedIn post, Nellis reflected, “Relocation didn’t shrink my ambitions—it expanded them.” He’s now driven by a new definition of success: not just upward movement, but global impact.

The family's life in France isn’t just about postcards and pastries. It's about exposing their children to new languages, cultures, and ways of thinking. "My older son will be fluent in French probably within a few months," he told CNBC Make It. "The younger one will probably grow up with it as a natural language."

Why the Slow Lane Feels Right
While many Americans dream of lower costs abroad, Nellis is more interested in a slower, richer rhythm of life.

“The U.S. is an economic powerhouse,” he says, “but I don’t know if it’s always healthy for boundaries—or for family relationships.”

What he hopes his sons will gain is not a better life, necessarily, but a broader one. One where career doesn’t automatically dominate identity, and where culture is not an occasional supplement but a daily experience.

In his own words, “We moved to Europe—not for a vacation, but to change our lives.”