@jonathanhogg how does Python fit in?

If you are interested in a language that does not require using more than one language to get the job done then Julia might work for you. It is not compiled but it is almost as fast as C.

It really depends on what you are using Python for.

@jarrodu @jonathanhogg Julia *is* compiled - in the technical sense, because it JIT compiles code in the REPL, and in the not-just-technical-sense that there's also a (beta) juliac target to generate actually-compiled-ahead-of-time binaries (coming in v 1.12, this year). But yes, probably not in the senses that Jonathan is meaning, maybe? (Julia also does have good Python interop, in both directions.)