Living the Dream: French Riviera

Not Love at First Sight: When Moving to France Doesn’t Work the First Time - Valentina Gargano

Moving to France is often described as a dream. But what happens when it doesn’t feel like one?
In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile Liconnet speaks with Valentina Gargano, an independent educational consultant, who first moved to the South of France in her mid-forties full of hope, only to realise that life there was far more complex than expected. The excitement faded, professional stability was hard to find, and eventually, she made the difficult decision to leave and return home.
Later, something pulled her back. This time, without illusions, but with experience, clarity, and a deeper understanding of what it really takes to live and work in France.
What followed was not an overnight success story, but a slow, thoughtful professional shift. Drawing on years of teaching and personal experience, Valentina gradually built an independent practice helping families navigate university choices across Europe. A niche role shaped by trust, word of mouth, and real expertise.
This conversation explores disappointment, resilience, and the courage it takes to try again. It speaks honestly about failed relocations, rebuilding confidence, finding legitimacy in a new country, and creating a professional life that finally feels sustainable.
🎧 This is the full-length episode.A condensed 28-minute radio edition is available on the Living the Dream – Radio Edition channel.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

From Air Crew to Cake Maker: Reinvention Never Stops When Building a Life in France - Suzanne Shields

Suzanne’s story is a powerful illustration that building a life abroad rarely follows a straight line.
In this episode, Cecile Liconnet sits down with Suzanne Shields, who first arrived in the South of France in 2000 after a career as a British Airways stewardess. What followed were multiple relocations and a series of professional reinventions, from villa management to running a creative ceramic café in Biot, and eventually creating her own bespoke cake business, Les Gâteaux Sucrés.
Together, they explore what it really takes to make relocation work long term: resilience, adaptability, strong work ethics, and the willingness to learn the language and adjust to local culture. Suzanne shares honest insights into working in France as a foreigner, navigating administration, adapting to the French palate, dealing with seasonality, and why effort and integration matter when settling into a local community.
This episode also touches on the realities of entrepreneurship in France, the importance of evolving your offer, and how community, word of mouth, and consistency quietly build a sustainable business over time.
A grounded, inspiring conversation about relocation, work, and finding your place in France without shortcuts.Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Learning French as an Expat: Immersion, Culture, Confidence & Real Life in France - Patricia Pedditzi

What does learning French really look like when you are living in France and trying to find your place there?
In this episode, Cecile Liconnet speaks with Patricia Pedditzi a Riviera-based French teacher whose approach is built around immersion, everyday situations, and cultural understanding. Drawing on her own experience living abroad and years spent working with expats, she explains why real-life practice matters far more than textbook exercises.
The conversation also touches on career transitions and the practical support available in France when you want to change direction professionally. From business incubators to guidance on starting something new, this episode offers a realistic look at how people build confidence, work, and stability over time on the French Riviera.
A thoughtful conversation about language, integration, and finding a professional rhythm that fits real life in France.Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

France as a Non-EU Expat: Visas, Income Survival & Real Stability – Roberta Jubram

What does it really take to build a business in France when you’re not European, don’t speak the language fluently, and have no safety net?
In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile speaks with a Brazilian entrepreneur who rebuilt her professional life from scratch after leaving the yachting industry and settling in the South of France.
After years working at sea, she made the decision to step ashore, only to discover the realities many expats face: low local salaries, language barriers, long commutes, seasonality, and the pressure of securing legal residency as a non-EU national. Faced with limited options, she chose entrepreneurship as a way to survive and eventually build stability.
This conversation offers grounded, first-hand insight into:
Navigating visas and residency as a non-EU entrepreneur in France
Why salaried work doesn’t always add up financially on the Riviera
Launching a business without capital, a showroom, or connections
Managing seasonal income and off-season stress
Building clients through trust, word-of-mouth and reputation
The unspoken social and emotional cost of relocation
Why Riviera life is far less glamorous than it appears
Honest, practical and deeply relatable, this episode cuts through the fantasy of expat life and focuses on what actually sustains a professional life abroad.Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

From Expat Side Jobs to a Global Business: Scaling a Tech Company from the French Riviera - Catherine Hemingray

What does it really take to build and scale a serious business after relocating abroad?
In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile speaks with a former UK nurse who rebuilt her professional life in France and went on to co-found a global communications and technology business headquartered in Cannes.
Starting with the typical expat mix of side jobs, she shares how necessity, adaptability, and a solutions-driven mindset led to unexpected opportunities: from serving individual expats to working with major international companies across Europe, North America, Asia and beyond.
This conversation offers grounded, first-hand insight into:
Reinventing your career after relocation
Scaling a business from France while serving global clients
Navigating French bureaucracy, employment law, and URSSAF
Building multicultural, multilingual teams
Maintaining strong company culture while growing internationally
Why Cannes can work as a serious business base — not just a lifestyle choice
Practical, honest and deeply informative, this episode is a must-listen for anyone considering entrepreneurship or career reinvention abroad.
https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Pilates, Barre & Nutrition: Reinventing a Wellness Career Abroad - Christine Kjeldbjerg

Staying True to Your Path: Christine’s Wellness Journey from Denmark to the French Riviera.
In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile welcomes Christine Kjeldberg, a wellness expert who has built a thriving career in Pilates, barre, and nutrition since relocating from Denmark nearly 20 years ago.
Christine shares how she turned a lifetime of movement, holistic health, and personal resilience into a meaningful profession on the French Riviera; beginning with teaching Pilates to her elderly neighbours and growing into a respected international wellness practitioner. From early challenges with the French language and navigating local administration to developing a niche as one of the very first Pilates instructors in the region, Christine opens up about the realities of rebuilding a career abroad.
We explore:• How she transitioned from dancer to personal trainer to Pilates and barre specialist• Why balance, between nutrition, movement and enjoyment, is at the core of her philosophy• Her return to full-time studies as a mother of two, completing both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s• The growth of her online and international clientele, including luxury wellness retreats• Her signature kombucha flavour that became a bestseller• The importance of trusting your intuition through every stage of relocation and reinvention
Christine’s story is a powerful reminder that passion and consistency can create a fulfilling life, no matter where you land.
This is the full-length episode. If you prefer the 28-minute condensed radio edition, you’ll find it on the Living the Dream – Radio Edition channel.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

How to Rebuild Your Professional Life Abroad: Best Coach Insights from 30 Years on the Riviera - Luus Keser

If you’re considering a move to the French Riviera, or already here and feeling stuck, this episode is a goldmine.
In this conversation, Cecile speaks with Luus, an engineer who went through extensive professional retraining to become a therapist and coach, and who has spent years observing how women adapt, reinvent their careers, and rebuild their identities after relocating abroad.
Luus offers a rare, expert perspective:she has watched many of women arrive in France, struggle with language and confidence, lose their professional identity and eventually find a path that fits.
Drawing from years of therapeutic work with individuals and couples, she shares her most powerful insights on:• why relocation destabilises your career identity• the predictable phases women go through after moving to France• the emotional and psychological blocks that appear during reinvention• the smartest way to handle career change on the Riviera• navigating fear, uncertainty, and the loss of professional confidence• how to rebuild purpose and meaning in a new culture• the role of community, language, partners, and inner work• what she has seen work consistently for long-term success
Grounded, intelligent and deeply experienced, Luus offers some of the most valuable, honest guidance you will hear about career reinvention abroad.
Living the Dream: French Riviera Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Turning a Passion for Food into a Riviera Business: The Story Behind a Homemade Granola Brand - Ariana Shahbazi

When Ariana moved back to the French Riviera in 2020, she knew one thing for certain: she was ready to leave her corporate marketing career behind. What she didn’t know was what would come next.
In this inspiring episode, Ariana shares how an unexpected conversation at a local market pushed her to explore a completely different path; one that led from colourful hummus to the artisanal granola business she runs today.
As a French Canadian, Arianna arrived fluent in French but eager for a fresh start. After years in Dubai working in HR marketing and questioning whether office life truly suited her, she reached a point where she simply couldn’t return to the corporate world. Instead, she gave herself permission to explore her passions: food, wellness, creativity, and see where they might lead.
Her journey into entrepreneurship was anything but planned. It grew one small decision at a time: signing up for micro-entrepreneur training, trying her first market stall, navigating French hygiene regulations, and eventually discovering that her homemade granola, once “just a family favourite”, was the product people truly wanted.
Ariana’s story is about reinvention, cultural integration, overcoming imposter syndrome, and learning to trust the process. It’s a reminder that sometimes the most meaningful chapters begin with a single conversation and a willingness to try.
If you’ve ever wondered what it takes to build a small food business in France, shift careers mid-life, or rediscover yourself in a new country, this episode will speak straight to your heart.Living the Dream: French Riviera Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

From Corporate Life to Pilates Studio: Finding Purpose and Clients in a New Country - Mel Morcom

What does it really take to rebuild your career (and your life) on the French Riviera?
In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile speaks with Mel, who first arrived in the South of France as a young newlywed with a corporate career in London. Years later, life took an unexpected turn, bringing her back to the Riviera as a single mother ready to start again.
Mel shares how she went from organising events at Goldman Sachs to opening her own Pilates studio in Valbonne. We dive into the realities behind the glossy postcard image, from language barriers and re-qualifying in France, to building a business from scratch and managing moments when no clients showed up.
Her story explores resilience, reinvention, and finding purpose after a major life shift. It’s also a candid look at the administrative challenges, cultural adjustments, and financial decisions involved in building a sustainable career far from home.
If you’re dreaming of relocating, navigating a transition, or curious about building a meaningful professional life on the French Riviera, Mel’s journey offers both inspiration and honesty.Living the Dream: French Riviera Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com

Creating a Language School from Scratch: Building Confidence and a Business on the French Riviera - Catherine Aygen

What does it really take to build a sustainable career in France as a foreigner?In this episode of Living the Dream: French Riviera, Cecile sits down with Cat, an English teacher who transformed her freelance work into a fully accredited training centre, now helping hundreds of professionals in France gain confidence in English.
Cat shares her remarkable professional evolution:• arriving in France with no job and navigating the shock of French administration• piecing together freelance work in Paris’ top universities• relocating to the Riviera only to discover a very different job market• deciding to launch her own training company and later a full Qualiopi certified training centre• mastering the complexities of France’s adult-training ecosystem, including the Compte Personnel de Formation (CPF)• strategically using lockdown and an office location to scale her business
Her story is a masterclass in career reinvention, entrepreneurship, and cultural integration.If you're dreaming of moving to France, or already here and seeking a sustainable professional path, Cat’s journey offers rare, expert insight into the real steps required to build a business and thrive.Living the Dream: French Riviera Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France.https://livingthedreampodcast.com