French Riviera Property Search Blog

This famous date in French history commemorates the storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789, an uprising, the end of the absolute monarchy, as well as the French Revolution. France still celebrates a national collective spirit on that date, as witnessed by the numerous events planned all across the country. There will be grand military parades, firework displays, balls, music and dance spectacles, children’s plays, concerts – all good reasons to be part of it! The largest parade will be held in Paris, with the military troops of France’s former African colonies on the Champs-Elysees, marking 50 years of independence.

The Côte d’Azur is certainly no exception and there is plenty going on, both for old and young.  The most famous are the firework concerts which take place all along the coast. Read the rest of this entry »

The wonderful FR2Day local news (sign up for it free and it will be delivered to your email address every Friday morning) has these amazing and frightening photos of the terrible floods we are experiencing nearby.

Link:   floods in the Var

I always hate to be the bearer of bad news, but so many of our friends and clients are phoning to know what is happening, that I considered you should see the worst – albeit the first time in 200 years.

The weather has been extraordinary over the last several months and although the beaches are full with people calmly sunbathing and swimming, just yesterday the winds were so high that the waves threatened anyone who dared.

Everywhere in the world there seems to be deep changes in the climate – let’s hope it settles very soon.

The mid-summer day music festivals are in just a couple of days time so we hope for the usual fine beautiful wind-free rain-free weather so that all can enjoy them.

See you here soon.

Jackie Pressman, French Riviera Property Search – at your service

I am delighted to announce I have taken a stand at this exhibition, and will also be giving a free talk on Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm entitled “How to buy a property on the Cote d’Azur”.

www.career-and-lifestyle.com for all information.  Should be a very interesting weekend – see you there.

Apparently 40+ years since the last time something like this happened – all the beach restaurants washed away in 30ft high very powerful waves.  Coast roads all closed and damage to any vehicles parked on the coast roads right along the Cote d’Azur.  Not very “azur” this week!  Have a look at these photos and video:

http://www.fr2day.com/news-info-talk/summer_shocks_on_the_c%C3%B4te_dazur

But, weather scheduled to be great again this weekend in preparation for the Cannes film festival and the arrival of 200,000 show-biz personalities, all associated business people, photographers, and gawkers.   The beach restaurants are racing to complete all their rebuilding, re-equipping and redecorating to be ready for the onslaught.  Great excitement.

I love this version of the Beatles’ classic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llrAemrsKG0&feature=player_embedded#!

With the volcanic ash from Iceland grounding all planes around Europe, and the French rail strike, many of the 20,000+ people in town for the MIPTV convention this week were stuck here – must be a great place to remain on company expenses!  So the restaurants and bars continue to do excellent business whilst the TV executives wait around for possible ways to leave.  We read of many who left by car to travel to far-away destinations in Europe but what of those needing to cross the seas?

Some apartment rental agencies are extending the accommodation free of charge to facilitate those who cannot leave.  We, French Riviera Property Search, do whatever we can to assist our clients and encourage loyalty.

What is MIPTV? Read the rest of this entry »

with thanks to Mike Kalder, www.FR2DAY.com

The advance guard is already here – cruise ship passengers up from Villefranche, Easyjet weekenders, convention stragglers, white trousered couples hiring limos at Nice airport.  Yes, just into April and the tourists are back – great for local businesses, not so good for those who live here and don’t like sharing.  So if you’re one of the latter, here are five chilled things to do on the Cote d’Azur – before the tourist trickle becomes a deluge. Read the rest of this entry »

More and more people in the UK are mimicking the Americans and using a buying agent to find them the perfect property.   Very expensive but considered a wise choice because of local knowledge, ability to negotiate in line with current area prices, and the ability to find properties not usually known to be available.  It is important that these buying agents are independent and not tied to estate agents so that their advice is unbiased.

Here at French Riviera Property Search we are FREE.  We are not tied to any specific estate agency and search the market for you, including private sellers, auctions, Notaries, Managing Agents.  Unlike in the UK there is no register of available properties and so a buyer wastes a lot of time with many agencies and still may not find what he is looking for.   We act specifically for the buyer whilst the estate agencies are all legally instructed by the seller.  We see this as a conflict for the agencies and it is well worthwhile to have your own representative who will search for your specification and budget and act in your best interests at all times.

Importantly, unlike in the UK, WE DO NOT CHARGE A PERCENTAGE TO THE BUYER. We take our fee from the advertised price so you have nothing to lose and much to gain by appointing us.  Read the rest of this entry »

QUALITY OF LIFE

France is considered a pretty healthy place to live – coming in 9th place along with Canada in The Economist’s life expectancy index – with the population reaching an average age of 80 years.  Many analysts claim it’s the lifestyle: healthy eating, easy access to outdoor activities and, importantly, good State health care.

And don’t forget that the health-care is second to none. The WHO (World Health Organization) puts France as number 1 in the world.

Health care when it matters

We can supply information to help you make the most of the health-care and facilities available, with local English-speaking professionals.

There is also information available which explains who qualifies for state health-care and there is information relevant to any foreigner moving to or living in France, whether as a retired, employed, self-employed or unemployed person;  EU citizen or not.

We help all our clients with local information concerning health and social welfare organizations.

Residents of France are entitled to an European Health Insurance Card for use when traveling elsewhere in the EU.   If you’re a holder, this means you are able to receive the same treatment at the same cost as a national of the country you are visiting.

Finally, remember that while it’s your responsibility to make sure you have all the insurance the law demands of you, you can always opt for more cover with private health insurance.  A local English-speaking health insurers list can be provided to our clients.