Virginie Van Der Wees lives with her young family near the Mont Sainte Victoire, a short 20-minute drive from Aix-en-Provence. She is a masseuse and a certified French teacher for non-French speakers. Since 2018, Virginie puts together full immersion experiences that include hosting and supporting language learners in her family’s …

France’s second-largest city – Marseille – had an image problem, not helped by its setting for gangster and crime movies. But ask any local this city is pure magic. Situated on the Mediterranean, Marseille residents can swim at their favourite beach before work and watch the sunset at another with …

While living and working in dynamic Hong Kong, Tom and Paul began visiting Antibes and Cote d’Azur and were hooked. Leaving behind Asia’s intense lifestyle and demanding jobs in luxury hotel design (Tom) and financial markets (Paul), they moved to Antibes in 2012. It’s been a decade, and Antibes is …

Shelley and Riccardo are both Americans who have lived in Villefranche-sur-Mer for 21 years. They initially arrived in this charming seaside town to visit a friend, then returned for an extended stay and decided that they never wanted to leave the French Riviera. In 2004, they launched a holiday apartment …

Martine and George Greenlee arrived in Provence for a one-year trial – several years ago! It took time to decide that Reillanne, in the Luberon Valley, was the place that they wanted to live. Reillanne ticked all the boxes, and they bought a home in 2016 – it’s close to …

Helen Bates and her husband, Niall, have been living in the South of France for 15 years after leaving their finance careers in London. They run a small property rental business in the heart of Cannes, offering affordable, stylish properties that offer everything you need for a holiday on the …

Finding work is one of the primary causes of concern for expats. What makes it even more challenging in this region, is that much of that work is given by word-of-mouth. Establishing a few contacts before the move helps enormously unless you have time (and savings) to build up some …

Provence in Autumn Bizarrely we sense and feel the changing seasons more in Provence than we do in Devon. Back in Exeter, the proximity to the sea seems to soften the edges of summer as it shifts into autumn and likewise, autumn into winter. That’s not the case here. Today …

For two decades, Gayle Padgett and her husband Ralph maintained a long-distance relationship with Provence. They often travelled to the South of France during their vacation time from US government jobs in Germany. As their retirement years approached, the “Where are we going to live?” question loomed. The couple chose …

After living in nine countries, Phoebe Thomas considers herself a career expat, “Where I was born doesn’t help clarify anything, it just complicates things! Born in Paris but moved when two weeks old so not exactly a Parisienne! Pure coincidence that I’m now married to a Frenchman and living in …