Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad | Stories from the French Riviera

Living in English on the French Riviera: Mystical Experience and Career Limitations - Kirsti Formoso

Living in English on the French Riviera can feel easy, especially in a region where so many people speak your language.
But what does that ease really cost when it comes to building a career?
In this episode of Living the Dream, Cecile Liconnet explores the professional journey of Kirsti Formoso, whose path has evolved from yoga and massage therapy to a deeper, more complex field shaped by mystical experience and spiritual psychology.
After relocating to the Côte d’Azur from the international yachting world, Kirsti built a life without speaking French. Like many expats, she was able to get by, working with an English-speaking clientele and navigating daily life with relative ease.
But over time, that reality quietly limited her opportunities.
From setting up multiple businesses in France, to navigating administration without the language, to repeatedly reinventing her work in response to both personal evolution and external changes—including the rise of AI—this is an honest look at what it really takes to create a sustainable professional life abroad.
As her work deepened into the exploration of mystical experience, her career became more aligned, but also more niche, raising new challenges around visibility, credibility, and finding clients in a foreign country.
This conversation explores the intersection of:
women, work and relocation
language as both a support and a limitation
building a niche career on the French Riviera
and the reality behind a life that can look idyllic from the outside
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.🎙️ Living the Dream: Women, Work & Relocation on the French RivieraReal stories of women building meaningful, sustainable lives in the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

How 9/11 Redirected a Nicola Horlick-Level Career to Life on the Riviera - Helen Bates

What happens when a high-achieving career no longer aligns with the life you want to build?
In this episode of Living the Dream: Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera, Helen shares her journey from a career in finance to building a new professional life in the South of France.
At the start of her career, she had a clear ambition: to follow in the footsteps of Nicola Horlick and succeed at the highest level in finance.
But a pivotal moment, being in New York during 9/11, shifted her perspective. It wasn’t about leaving finance overnight, but about recognising that the life she was working towards no longer matched what she wanted long term.
Together with her husband, she made a deliberate decision to build a different kind of life on the French Riviera: one that prioritised lifestyle, flexibility, and time.
They created a property rental business in Cannes, combining financial planning with a long-term relocation strategy. On paper, everything worked.
But building a life abroad also meant navigating the realities many expats face:
– The complexity of French administration and business set-up– Cultural differences in customer service and professional expectations– A business model dependent on tourism and seasonal income– And the impact of COVID, when travel stopped and their revenue disappeared overnight
In that moment of uncertainty, Helen adapted once again.
What started as a small opportunity through her children’s school evolved into a new career: tutoring English and maths, bringing a renewed sense of purpose and independence alongside the family business.
This episode explores the professional journey behind relocation:how women adapt their careers abroad, how financial realities shape decisions, and how success can be redefined beyond income and status.
A thoughtful conversation about building a sustainable life on the French Riviera, one that truly fits.
 
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Trailing Spouse in France: Rebuilding a Regulated Architect Career - Nita Sharma

Relocating abroad is challenging for anyone. But what happens when your profession is highly regulated and your qualifications don’t automatically transfer?
When Nita moved as a trailing spouse from London to the French Riviera in 2006, she left behind a prestigious career working on major international architectural projects. What began as a temporary relocation quickly became a long-term life in France. With no French language skills and a young family, she had to rebuild her professional identity step by step.
In this episode, Nita shares how she gradually re-established herself as an architect in France. From freelancing under the umbrella of a local practice, to navigating the complexities of French planning regulations, to eventually registering with the Ordre des Architectes and launching her own practice.
We discuss the realities of transferring a regulated profession across borders, including:
• learning technical French• understanding French planning laws and local mairie regulations• working with French construction teams and builders• adapting architectural methods to the Mediterranean climate• building a client base through word of mouth and international networks
Nita also reflects on the personal side of relocation: learning a new language as an adult, raising children between cultures, and redefining success after leaving a high-pressure London career.
Today she runs her own architectural practice on the Côte d’Azur, working with international clients and designing renovations and homes that blend sustainability, local architecture and modern living.
A candid conversation about resilience, professional reinvention, and proving yourself again in a new country.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Never Retiring: Love and a Tranquil Life on the Riviera - Faye Villalba

Faye arrived on the Côte d’Azur in the late 1990s after a decade in Madrid and a career in film production that had taken her across Europe. Monaco was glamorous. The Riviera was quieter than she expected. The beaches were pebbled, not white sand. Life looked different here.
What she could not foresee was how profoundly her professional life would change.
After years working in film, alongside IVF treatments and a four-year adoption journey, Faye found herself at a crossroads. A painful moment at an airport made her realise she could no longer live out of a suitcase. She had waited 44 years to become a mother. Something had to shift.
Yoga, which had supported her through infertility and uncertainty, slowly became more than a personal practice. It became a vocation. What began as one informal exchange — yoga lessons for pottery classes — evolved into a fully fledged business built through entrepreneurial networks, word of mouth, strategic pricing decisions and a bold “one-month intensive” model that worked perfectly in the transient Riviera environment.
In this episode, we talk about:
– Leaving a well-paid but unstable film career– Navigating the French freelance system and auto-entrepreneur status– Building a yoga business in an area saturated with wellness professionals– The reality of financial pressure during the 2009 crisis– Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship without external childcare– Charging fairly in a profession often expected to be “spiritual” and free– Why Riviera glamour is mostly a myth– And what it really means to nurture a business like you would a child
This is a candid conversation about reinvention, resilience, financial simplicity, women supporting women, and building a sustainable life in the South of France not through glamour, but through passion and persistence.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Investing in France as an Expat: Financial Confidence & Wealth Management - Vicky Kirby

Vicky moved from Manchester to the French Riviera with a plan, savings in place, jobs secured, and a dream built years earlier on a beach in the South of France.
But building a long-term professional life abroad is never as simple as the dream.
In this episode, we go deep into what it really takes to build a financial advisory practice in France as a British expat: from navigating French bureaucracy and cultural differences in the workplace, to understanding social charges, licensing requirements, and the realities of entrepreneurship on the Côte d’Azur.
After nearly two decades working in corporate finance, including at AXA UK and AXA France, Vicky made the bold decision to leave salaried employment, complete a French master’s degree in financial engineering, obtain AMF certification, and build her own wealth management company focused on expats and women.
We discuss:
The shock of French social charges and what they actually fund
The cultural differences between UK and French working life
The complexity of French investment products and inheritance rules
Why financial confidence is not about having a million euros
Pricing your services ethically as a female entrepreneur
The reality behind Riviera glamour
And how to build credibility in a country that isn’t your own
This is a candid conversation about relocation, financial literacy, resilience, and what it really means to build a sustainable career abroad.
A must-listen for anyone considering moving to France, starting a business here, or trying to understand the French financial system.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Yacht Crew to Global Brand: Luxury Crewwear from the French Riviera - Lu Kenhard

At 18, Lu arrived on the French Riviera with a plane ticket, a job on a yacht in Golfe Juan, and no idea that the industry would shape her entire life. The job lasted 24 hours. The career lasted decades.
After years working as a yacht chef and travelling the world, yachting eventually brought her back to the South of France this time as a mother of twins and unable to return to life on board. What began as casually walking the docks with a suitcase of samples turned into a shop in Antibes, partnerships with international suppliers, and eventually her own uniform designs worn by crew across Europe.
In this episode, we explore what it really takes to build a specialised business in the yachting capital of Europe. Lou shares how she set up a company in France without ever having run a shop before, navigated banks and bureaucracy with limited French, and built her client base from scratch by networking dock by dock.
We talk about:
the realities of launching a business in France
the three-year runway every entrepreneur should prepare for
French social charges and why hiring can stall growth
the 3–6–9 commercial lease system
the difference between selling products and understanding an industry from the inside
Lu also opens up about a turning point that forced her to pause and rebuild her company on her own terms, this time slower, more strategic, and entirely her own.
This is a conversation about industry knowledge, patience, reinvention, and why nothing in business happens overnight especially not on the French Riviera.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

No Job, No French, No Investor: How a Collapsed Plan Led to Freedom on the French Riviera - Bogdana (Dana) Verbytska

Dana relocated from London to the French Riviera with the promise of a position at a high-end fitness club that was still in development, where she would continue her successful career in wellness. Shortly after arriving, the investor pulled out.
Suddenly, she was unemployed in France with no French language skills, no guaranteed income, and a family depending on her.
In this episode, we explore what it really takes to build a sustainable yoga business after relocation. From navigating French bureaucracy and tax systems to finding an international clientele and creating retreats that actually sell, Dana shares how her background as a professional athlete shaped her resilience. She explains how she identified a niche for English-speaking clients on the Côte d’Azur, and why community is essential when building a career abroad.
We also talk honestly about financial pressure, competition in the wellness industry, finding freedom, and redefining success beyond the glamour of the French Riviera.
A candid conversation about women, relocation, career reinvention, and making a living in the South of France when the original plan falls apart.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Third Culture Child: Feeling Alien on Return, Language and Identity - Emilie Gauthronet

Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera:Emilie grew up between France, the UK, and Belgium. A third culture childhood that shaped her language, identity, and sense of belonging long before she realised it. Returning to France as a young adult felt both familiar and unsettling: home, yet foreign.
In this episode, we explore what it means to grow up internationally and come back to your country of birth feeling slightly out of place. Emilie reflects on studying and working in a language that once felt secondary, building confidence in French professional settings, and creating a career rooted in care, wellbeing, and human connection.
We also talk about retraining later in life, navigating French systems, finding visibility as a self-employed practitioner, and why international environments can feel essential long after relocation ends.
A thoughtful conversation about third culture identity, language, career reinvention, and what “home” really means for women who have lived between cultures.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Why Career Transitions Abroad Are Harder Than Expected and How to Navigate Them - Flavia Wahnfried

Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera:Flavia has lived and worked across five countries, but what sets her apart is not the number of moves, it’s what she has learned by staying long enough to be changed by them.
In this episode, host Cecile Liconnet speaks with Flavia Wahnfried, a career and transition strategist whose own journey from Brazil to New Zealand, the UK, Portugal and finally the French Riviera has shaped a deep understanding of what relocation really does to identity, ambition and professional direction.
They explore why career transitions abroad are rarely just about jobs or skills, but about invisible rules, cultural adjustment, language, pace, and the quiet inner work of redefining who you are when familiar reference points disappear. Flavia shares how copying your old professional self into a new country often backfires, why learning how people relate to work matters as much as expertise, and how patience becomes a strategic skill.
The conversation also touches on loss, resilience, and the unexpected support networks that can emerge far from home; experiences that led Flavia to create Terra8, a platform designed to connect people navigating life and work abroad.
This episode is a thoughtful, grounded exploration of professional transitions, identity shifts, and what it really takes to build a meaningful life and career outside your country of origin.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Timing, Regulation and Strategy: A Move to France Planned to Perfection - Rachael Dickens

Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera:Rachael Dickens arrived on the French Riviera just days after osteopathy became legal in France: a move that could have been risky, but she treated it like a masterclass in strategy. In this episode, hosted by Cecile Liconnet, Rachael shares how meticulous planning, foresight, and sheer determination allowed her to turn a bold relocation into a thriving, high-end practice serving an international clientele.
From carefully orchestrating her move and navigating French bureaucracy, to finding her first clients through clever networking and free advertising, Rachael demonstrates how to build a career abroad with precision and creativity. She opens up about the early months of emotional autopilot, the challenge of forging a professional identity from the ground up, and the lessons learned managing collaborators, contracts, and high-stakes situations, all while staying true to her values.
Beyond business, she explores the nuances of integration, friendship, and connection, sharing how charity work expanded her network and led to unexpected opportunities. Rachael also reflects on the Riviera life, blending hard work with glamour, light, and the freedom that drew her here in the first place.
This episode is more than a story of relocation, it’s a step-by-step blueprint for turning courage into sustainable professional success, packed with insights that anyone looking to start over or elevate their career will find invaluable.
This is the full-length episode.If you would like to listen to a condensed 28-minute version, it is available on Living the Dream – Radio Edition.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com