Escape to the French Riviera this Fall!

My team and I are busy gearing up for our upcoming Living and Investing in France Conference, September 27th through 29th…right here in Nice on the French Riviera!

The last time we held a conference of this kind was as long ago as 2013. It was so successful then, that we decided a repeat performance was necessary, except that this time, it will even be much better! In the last eight years a lot has happened to contribute to a more robust event—starting with a stronger team on the ground and a whole lot more solidified relationships with key people who can make your dreams to live in France true even easier.

This time around, Opportunity Travel is organizing the event for us and that means that the participants will be very well taken care of. I’ve been working with this group of professionals since 2001 as they are the events coordinators for International Living and a host of other major players. They’ve secured one of Nice’s finest hotels to host our party—the Splendid Hotel & Spa—a four-star hotel with a fabulous rooftop terrace located in the Carré d’Or district, just a short walk to the Promenade des Anglais. It was in this hotel’s spa where John Garland Jones and I had our pedicures at the end of House Hunters International’s “Finding a Voice in Nice, France.” It was at that moment when John makes his decision on which apartment to call home right there at the Splendid.

The Splendid is where the conference takes place on September 27th, but it’s also where our participants can stay, if they choose. Opportunity Travel has arranged for very special rates for our attendees as well as our speakers.

If you have been considering exploring the French Riviera or making a purchase in France, then this is your golden opportunity that we wouldn’t want you to miss. The conference is designed to fully inform you so that you can make the best decisions you can about your future and while we’re at it, have a whole lot of fun. If you don’t already know Nice and the French Riviera, then it’s time to learn why it’s true…Nice is nice!

First off, Nice is the hub of the entire Riviera. It’s a real city with a lot of life, a real heart, and great inner-city transportation so you don’t need a car to enjoy it fully. The Mediterranean Sea is on its doorstep and the weather is mild and very sunny (officials claim 300 days a year of sunshine). Property is half the price of Paris and the lifestyle much more relaxed. All this makes it both a great place to live and a great place to visit.

Of course, if you read our Nouvellettres® regularly, then you know how much I love Nice, as do all of our clients who have chosen to move here, or spend time here in their “pied-à-terres.” As a result, the American community here has grown by leaps and bounds, making it even bigger competition for its rival in the north…Paris!

Nice has a very international community that makes you feel very much at home among the locals. Not knowing the language is less of an issue, thanks to all the non-French speakers and there is no shortage of activities for internationals in Nice and the nearby Côte d’Azur communities. No need to believe me. All you have to do is ask any of our clients and friends who have discovered all of its attributes.

You’ll have your chance to learn all you need to know about the area if you take just three days of your time to attend this very special Living and Investing in France Conference. During our time together in Nice, you’ll get to meet people who have the same desire to enrich their lives with France as you do. We’ll introduce you to our “boots on the ground” contacts and make sure you get the answers to all your questions. You’ll come away with new friends, a host of important resources, and be well informed about living, investing, or retiring in France.

Here’s how it will work…

DAY 1 CONFERENCE

We start out on Day 1 with a full conference day that includes lunch and a cocktail reception. The line-up of speakers is impressive:

 

Denis Zanon, the Director of the Nice Tourist Office, will kick-off the entire event. No one knows Nice better than Denis…except perhaps the Mayor! He is taking time from his busy schedule, just to offer the city’s open arms to all of us…visitors who are likely to become part or full-time residents of his beautiful city.

Then, there’s the formidable Frédéric Latty, the Assistant Director and Pedagogical Advisor of the renowned Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer. You may already be familiar with the school. It’s the country’s premier full language immersion program that has been turning out bona fide French speakers since 1969, all from a magnificent villa in Villefranche-sur-Mer overlooking the million dollar view of the Mediterranean—the port at Villefranche and Cap Ferrat. It’s the most heavenly spot on the planet from which to drill the French language into your brain. And many of the world’s most illustrious people have chosen this particular school…not just for the fabulous location, but because their method really works. “The method used by this French language school can be aptly called Diversified French Immersion.” And now’s your chance to hear Frédéric’s advice on how best to learn French.

Kim Bingham will be with us…she’s our international mortgage broker, securing loans for non-resident buyers purchasing property across France. Kim started out working with us as a property search consultant years ago. She was one of our top agents, but then I lost her when she acquired her broker’s license…not an easy thing to achieve in France, but Kim did it! Now she runs the team of international mortgage brokers at Private-Rate.com and works with clients worldwide, finding financing solutions adapted to each client’s needs and French real estate projects. Kim will explain what it takes to get a mortgage in France…at today’s interest rates of under 1.5 percent!!! (I call this “free money.”)

Tuula Rampont from International Living will be coming to talk about how you can have the right to live and work in France. She’s IL’s France Correspondent originally from Southern California who also manages an English-language school in the city of Toulon. Tuula quickly became a confirmed Francophile and shares her passion for France regularly through blogging and freelance writing for International Living and others. At our conference, Tuula will share her insights into the visa and immigration process…one of the most important sessions of the conference.

We’re thrilled, too, that Moneycorp’s Tanya Uniacke is on the line-up. Moneycorp is a foreign exchange and international currency specialist based in London with an office in Florida that makes it particularly easy for our American clients. For many years, we have chosen to work with them as our Number One resource, as they provide competitive exchange rates (you never want to use your bank to make these conversions because it will cost you three times as much!). They are the professionals who will support you during your property purchase in France to help secure the best rate possible within your given time-frame and this is your chance to learn how to reduce the rate of exchange risk and take more control over your finances.

Our illustrious financial advisor, Brian Dunhill, will be on the agenda and you will want to hear what he has to say. Brian’s firm, Dunhill Financial, are international financial planners specializing in working with American expats such as yourselves. He and his team of advisors have a wide breadth of experience working in multinational firms and will help you feel secure in an environment of trust, discretion, and confidence. They offer independent advice and personalized solutions for each client based on their individual situations through aggregated planning and collaborating and are in a position to help with every aspect of your financial planning. This includes finding a way to fund a purchase in France.

Our local and trusted Interior Designer, Laura Poirier, will spend some time talking about how to renovate and decorate your new Riviera abode. Most properties need at least a refresh if not a complete renovation. I met Laura when she was a real estate agent before she set her full-time sights on the world of design and decor…but aren’t we glad she did!? She’s worked with dozens of our clients here on the Côte d’Azur to update their properties to perfection, much to everyone’s complete satisfaction.

Our Riviera Notaire will be on hand, Carole Vangioni, to talk about the process of purchasing property in France. Carole is not only fluent in French and English, but she lived in the U.S. many years which affords her the advantage of understanding our needs better than most Notaires. She is relatively new to our team, but has already proven herself with our clients as being responsive, efficient and a creative thinker when it comes to the toughest questions. You’re going to hang on to every word she has to say.

Benjamin Pik, of Pik Consulting, has agreed to speak about French and U.S. taxation. He’s a dual French and American Certified Public Accountant admitted to practice public accounting both in France and in the U.S. This is quite a feat—as he knows both sides of the tax coin and that’s rare indeed. Benjamin is bilingual in English and French, holds degrees from both the University Paris Dauphine (France) and from Concordia University (Canada). Prior to opening his own practice, he worked for eight years in international accounting firms across North America, Middle East, and Europe where he coordinated French and foreign financial audits and provided advisory services. Just because he couldn’t be present in Nice in order to observe the Jewish holidays, wasn’t going to stop us from having him there! So, he agreed to pre-record his presentation and allow us to show it on video…consquently, we won’t miss a single important word about this very vital issue.

Let’s not forget that Ella Dyer and Jennifer Parrette will be at my side the entire time to talk about buying property in France. Ella and Jennifer are our Search Consultants on the ground in Nice who can find just about anything you’re looking for.

Ella’s varied career path has taken her from working at the Playboy Mansion to earning an MBA from The International University of Monaco. Author of Nice in Nice: The day-to-day musings of a middle-aged housewife living ‘part-time’ in the South of France, she discovered her DNA traces back to the French region where she feels totally at home. I recruited Ella, not only because I knew she’d do an amazing job for our clients, but because she is so in love with Nice, that her enthusiasm is quite contagious. Our clients circle her like a moth to a flame, developing a strong community along the way.

Jennifer was a welcome addition this past year, thanks to her experience having launched her own real estate company called Cathar Country Houses, a real estate sales and relocation service for international clients and French natives in the Southwest of France. When we discovered Jennifer and all of her talents, we knew she’d make the perfect partner. Between the two of them, Ella and Jennifer, our clients could not be in better hands.

And all of this is just the FIRST DAY…all of these speakers, all of these topics, lunch and cocktails, too!!! But, that’s just the beginning!

DAY 2 TOUR OF THE RIVIERA

The next day, get ready! We’ll take a full day to explore the Cote d’Azur by motor coach! On Tuesday, September 28th, we’re going to tour the Riviera with a professional guide, starting off from Nice, but spanning the coast from Eze Village to Menton. Along the way, we’re going to see it all and make some key stops—Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer where we have lunch on the port (or wherever you like in this lovely sea-side village), and Menton, the last town before the Italian border that has more Provençal shops than any other. Our guide will talk about everything we are seeing and you’ll be able to ask lots of questions. At the end of the afternoon, we’ll head back to Nice where you’ll get a full tour of this amazing city we have come to love before returning to the Splendid Hotel.

Just to give you a taste of the tour in advance…

The Côte d’Azur, often known in English as the French Riviera, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, including the sovereign state of Monaco.

This coastline was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th-century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid 19th-century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria and King Edward VII, when he was Prince of Wales. In the first half of the 20th-century it was frequented by artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Edith Wharton, Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley. After World War II it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot, have homes in the region. Officially, the Côte d’Azur is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher.

The French Riviera surrounds the principality of Monaco with a total population of over two million. It also contains the seaside resorts of Cap-d’Ail, Beaulieu-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, Cannes, Saint-Raphaël, Fréjus, Sainte Maxime and Saint-Tropez. The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. As a tourist center it benefits from 300 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometers (71 mi) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants. (Wikipedia.org)

Nice, is its largest city, with a population of 347,060. The city is the center of a communauté urbaine – Nice-Côte d’Azur–bringing together 24 communes and over 500,000 inhabitants and 933 080 in the urban area. Despite its size, Nice is an easy city to explore, with most places of interest focused around the central area.

Èze is famous worldwide for the view of the sea from its hilltop. Its Jardin Botanique d’Èze is known for its collection of cacti and succulents, as well as its panoramic views. The oldest building in the village is the Chapelle de la Sainte Croix and dates back to 1306. Members of the lay order of the White Penitents of Èze, in charge of giving assistance to plague victims, would hold their meetings there. The small medieval village is famous for its beauty and charm. Its many shops, art galleries, hotels and restaurants attract a large number of tourists and honeymooners. From Èze there are gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea. The Fragonard perfume factory has a sales outlet here.

Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is considered the “Presqu’île de Rêve” (Peninsula of Dreams), is a perfectly preserved 282-hectare peninsula with more than 300 days sunshine per year. No wonder so many rich and famous have chosen to have villas here. Beaches and paths by the seaside pass luxurious villas and magnificent gardens. The history of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat shows that the town was known to the ancient Greeks as Anao, the site of present days Cap-Ferrat was first settled by Celto-Ligurian tribes, then by the Lombards at the end of the 6th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, King Léopold II of Belgium owned an estate on Cap-Ferrat and built several houses and an artificial lake. The main residence is the Villa des Cèdres, which has been owned by Marnier-Lapostolle (the founder of Grand Marnier) since 1924 and is now in part a botanical garden called the Jardin botanique “Les Cèdres.”

Villefranche-sur-Mer is a town and seaside resort, just a short distance east of Nice and close to the French border with Italy. On a site occupied since roman times, it was in 1295 that ‘modern’ Villefranche was founded by Charles II of Anjou, at that time Count of Provence. The town soon fell into the hands of the Dukes of Savoy and remained in Italian ownership until 1860, when the region was transferred back to France. The town is built on terraces up a steep hill that overlooks the azure blue sea and beautiful bay of the Mediterranean below. it is small enough that exploring is easy and all principal attractions can easily be reached from the center.

Menton is a coastal town and resort close to the French border with Italy. The combination of the sea and port, the old town, and the magnificent gardens and villas make Menton one of the most popular and vibrant destinations on the Riviera. Due to the mountains behind the town that protect it from the cold northerly weather, Menton has a fine climate even compared with the rest of the French Riviera — which explains the many attractive gardens that you will see as you explore and for which the town is well known.

Isn’t that enough to get your juices flowing!? The breathtaking beauty of the blue jeweled coastline is sure make you want to return. And we will…because the next day, Wednesday, September 29th, we have a couple of special treats for our attendees!

DAY 3 OPEN HOUSE

In the afternoon, we will venture out to see multiple properties in the Nice area during a special Open House American style. Dozens of properties on the market will be open for your visiting and viewing, thanks to our Search Consultants and trusted real estate agents in the area. This will be your chance to leisurely wander from property to property to see what’s on the market today…and see some recently purchased by our clients, too!

BONUS ON DAY 3!!

But before you do that, my team and I will be available for round-table discussions that morning at the Splendid—a BONUS opportunity to sit with us and some of our other professionals to ask the questions that perhaps didn’t get answered the previous days. This wasn’t on the original schedule, but we added it because we don’t want your three days to end without you getting every drop of information you want!

And then when the day is done, this is your moment to have fun with your new-found friends at our farewell cocktail reception!

REGISTER NOW!

These three days with us in Nice are limited to 100 participants and we’re more than half booked, so don’t wait a single minute more…Register Today!

Day 1: Monday, September 27, 2021
Conference Day!

Day 2: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Tour of the Côte d’Azur!

Day 3: Wednesday, September 29, 2021
Round Table Discussion, Open House and Closing Cocktail!

Living & Investing in France Conference
Conference Dates: September 27-29, 2021
Pricing for conference ONLY per person: €997 euros*
Price for your guest attending the conference: €797 euros*

(Prices are shown in euros, on July 27, 2021 we will convert to US Dollars for final payment.)

To secure your seat and registration, we require a $300.00 USD deposit per traveler at the time of booking and balance is due July 27, 2021. On July 26, we will email you a final invoice in USD for the balance due (less any applicable discount) based on the rate of exchange as published by XE—Foreign Exchange Charges Calculator.

*Hotel accommodations are not included in conference pricing.

Please see cancellation policy under Terms & Conditions for information.

Conference Pricing Includes:

• Monday, September 27: Full-day of conference sessions at our host hotel in Nice—Splendid Hotel & Spa—including lunch, coffee breaks and an evening reception with hors d’oeuvres.
• Tuesday, September 28: Full-day tour of the French Riviera
• Wednesday, September 29: Morning bonus round table discussion with experts + afternoon visit to real estate properties for rent and for sale and an evening farewell reception with hors d’oeuvres at Splendid Hotel & Spa
• All taxes for bullets above
• Service by our experts, Adrian Leeds Group with you during the conference
• Assistance from the staff of Opportunity Travel & Events throughout the program

Conference Pricing Does NOT Include:

• Any Costs associated with Covid vaccines or testing.
• Hotel accommodations. However, we have negotiated a special discounted room rate with our host hotel—Splendid Hotel & Spa. Rates per night are €140 euros for a single room and €155 euros for double occupancy. We will include a booking link in your confirmation email once registered for the conference. Recommended hotel nights for booking—September 26-30, 2021. (4 nights), but our group rates will be applicable 3 days pre and post based on availability.

For more information and to register, visit Opportunity Travel’s site or contact them directly: USA, Toll Free: (800) 926-6575; Local: (561) 243-6276; Fax: (561) 278-8765 or by email.

A la prochaine…