Visa requirements

There isn't a question of how is the best way to stay for 6 or 7 months at a time. If you have been wading through the websites, then you know the answer. There is one answer and it is very simple -- Obtain the proper visa OR only stay in Schengen zone countries for 90 days of each 180 days. What part of this do you not understand or you find confusing?

Obtaining a visa is difficult unless you are a student, married to a national, or have a job secured in the country. This is true of Schengen and non-Schengen countries. If you are able to prove you are self employed and will be able to support yourself, you can also get a visa in some countries. But it sounds like you just want to travel. Extended travel visas don't exist. So, like Frank said, this means alternating Schengen and non Schengen zones every 90 days.

Extended travel visa do not existed but you can obtain an extend stay visa for a certain country. I think from what I have read - no experience - France is a possibility. I looked into Spain once and it was complicated include a criminal background check conducted by the national police. Our son obtain a student visa for Spain and it required a bunch of hoops including copies of checking accounts and health insurance policies. Then once he had it, he had to check in with the local police every three months.

The easy way is to simply move between the Schengen zone and non-Schengen countries. But there are few non-Schengen western European countries and you might not want to spend half your time in them.

So your alternative is to get a resident visa for some other country. I don't know which ones are easiest, you'll have to search the internet to find out. And most would expect you to spend a decent amount of time actually in their country (otherwise, why would they bother to give you a visa?). Most seem to have a fair amount or more of bureaucratic hoops and paperwork to jump through.

If you choose option A, be sure to keep good records of your stays (like hotel bills, train tickets etc.). You never know when a border agent might start asking questions...

You need an extended stay visa.

I had one for Spain but France looked equally easy and I'm not sure why I picked one over the other.

It took me a half hour to fill out the forms, about the same to get some stuff notarized, and a couple of more minutes to run it to the post office.

I'm pretty well self-supporting and there's probably something in the International Butthead Data Base that days I'm harmless, but beats me. Everything went through on the first shot and was back in way less than a month.

I'm thinking I entered the Schengen Zone at Paris. I didn't spend that much time in Spain and was in and out if the Zone from all over the place as well as wandering throughout the Schengen nations.

There's no need to keep scraps of paper. Every entry/exit gets recorded in that common data base whose name I've disremembered

Ed - thanks for the info. How long did it take to receive the Visa from when you posted your documents? Thanks.

Beats me. I mailed the junk and went off on a different trip. Two or three weeks? Less than a month, I'm sure.

It looks like you now have a good understanding of the issues, but (re)visit http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/schengen-fact-sheet.html, if you need another overview.