Preparing for Living and Investing in Nice, the Riviera, Paris and anywhere in France…for that matter!

As I write I am headed to Nice, my second home in France that going to from time to time is like a New Yorker headed to Miami for sun, sand, surf and palm trees…although Nice is famous for its pebble beach rather than sand. Several reasons for the trip include a respite in celebration of the Easter holidays, warmer temperatures and bluer skies than Paris, visits with old friends and most important, meetings with colleagues in preparation for the upcoming Living in France Conference we will be hosting this coming September 27-29.

On the agenda this weekend are meetings with our coordinator and search consultant, Millie Brown, a transplanted Australian who’s in love with the Riviera; Beverley Holt, another Australian who is the Expat community’s ‘mover and shaker’ integral in all the important organizations; Daniele Easton, Philadelphia’s past Consult General to France who is now spending part of the year in Nice; Jacqui Berben, Director of France-Etats-Unis and our best real estate agents at Attika International who will be leading a property tour one of the three conference days. Hopefully this trip we will confirm the hotel that will host the event and we can discuss the topics on which our presenters will be asked to cover.

In addition, we have properties lined up to visit on Friday afternoon for possible purchase — yes, I’m working on another one to add to our portfolio of great rental properties. We’re hoping to find something in Vieux Nice, but it’s unlikely given the parameters — not too high without an elevator, with balcony or terrace and of course, views. Vieux Nice is a tough search because of the ‘nature of the beast’ where the streets are narrow and dark, the buildings are old and in need of repair, much fewer have elevators and where the bars and cafés on the ground level can create unwanted noise for light sleepers.

Other areas of the city worth considering for rental purposes more than for everyday living, are the Carré d’Or where our two Parler Nice Apartments are located near Place Masséna, “Le Matisse” and “La Côte du Paradis;” around the Vieux Port off Place Garibaldi and along the Promenade des Anglais on the water’s edge. We are open-minded in our quest for the ‘almost perfect’ Nice apartment — as there is no such thing as the ‘perfect Nice apartment’ as much as we’d like to think so.

New found American friends who live in Nice half the year will be joining us for dinner one night and old friends from the U.S. are trekking by bus from Aix-en-Provence to spend a couple of nights with us and have a fun-filled and relaxing Easter weekend. As you have heard from me before, Nice is nice for feeling like one is on vacation all the time — the atmosphere is relaxed, friendly, sunny, colorful and warmer than Paris. I’ve gotten addicted to the regular jaunts to Nice, by plane or train, whichever is cheaper and/or better timed.

This trip we are flying down thanks to Air France’s flights virtually every 30 minutes from Orly Airport into Nice Airport that is just outside of city center and easy to reach via the 98 bus for 4€. Amazingly, with your ticket printed out, you enter the departure gates via a turnstile like in the Métro by scanning the encrypted code, and believe it or not, never showing an ID of any sort! I swear this is true. The security is less vigilant than in most airports and the terminal is simple with all the hubs for all the flights in one small circular space at Orly Ouest. One doesn’t need to be at the gate more than 45 minutes in advance of the flight. It’s du gateau (a piece of cake) and the flight is a mere 1 hour 15 minutes.

Of course, I still love taking the TGV from Gare de Lyon — arriving only 20 minutes ahead, stepping on the train with as much luggage as you want, plugging in to work on a laptop and relaxing for five hours 40 minutes while you watch the beautiful French countryside pass you by. It’s all a matter of time, money and inclination as to which I chose.

The conference we’re organizing is the first we’ve done since 2009 and it’s the first ever to take place on the Riviera. The team is as excited as I am about the line-up of presenters, who one by one have agreed to come on their own accord and be present for such an event. Our long-standing Notaire, Maître Stéphane Adler, will be there to explain the legal aspects of a purchase; Mary Fort from Banque Patrimoine et Immobilier who has issued loans to many of our clients and who has presented at several conferences in the past will be there to discuss how to obtain financing; Fréderic Latty, Director of the Institut de Français is coming to talk about the best ways to learn French; Beverley Holt, mentioned above who will be talking about the Expat community in Nice and other adjacent cities; Martine di Mattéo, our Interior Architect who knows better than anyone how to decorate a successful rental apartment; Carole Jaskarzec of Moneycorp Currency Specialists who will explain how to reduce the risk of currency transfers and Peter Zipper, President of Caye International Bank who will enlighten us all on the benefits of offshore banking.

Naturally, I’ll be speaking about finding the ‘almost perfect’ Riviera property and filling in the gaps so that every aspect of property investment is covered, whether interested in investing in the Riviera, Paris or anywhere in France, for that matter. We’ll all be there to answer questions so that nothing is left to wonder.

The second day of the conference we hope to be able to tour some available properties (easier said than done) and on the third day, take a guided bus tour from one end of the Riviera, starting in Cannes to the other, ending in Menton, with stops in key spots: Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Monaco and Eze. (Both tours are entirely optional.)

By next week we should have a confirmation of location, cost of the conference and more of the details, so stay tuned to our formal announcement. Meanwhile, if you are interested and would like to be among the first to know about it, be sure to email [email protected].

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Director of The Adrian Leeds Group, LLC

Respond to Adrian: [email protected]

P.S. William Jordan, who will be speaking at the next Parler Paris Après Midi on April 9th, brought to my attention an NPR broadcast yesterday on the Diane Rehm Show focused on international tax havens. You might find the show very interesting, particularly to those who live outside of the U.S. or who own property and hold other assets offshore. You can find the pod cast on the Web site.