At the beginning of the 20th century, King Leopold II of Belgium described the area of the Alpes-Maritimes as "a paradise on earth" and personally, I don't think he was far wrong. There is something to be said about sunshine and blue skies greeting you every day when you get up or on your way to work. Life changes when the sun shines; you're outside more, people are more relaxed, and you simply feel better too.

But no matter what your day-dreams are when you're here on holiday either lazing by the pool or on the beach, leaving one's home country and moving to foreign climes is far more stressful and upsetting than we think it's going to be. Talking about coming to live here over a few glasses of chilled wine is one thing, to upsticks and make the move is something else - entirely.

I have lived in several different countries throughout my life and each time found the move a little over-whelming, upsetting and yet exciting too. I think one of the things that helped me was the fact that I spoke the country's language and this, more than anything, helped me to make a smooth transition, settle in, sort out administrative matters and find work. To anyone thinking of coming here to live - if you don't know French (and I don't mean school French) then learn it either before you come over or take courses when you do.

While it's always great to bring one's personal belongings along, sometimes storing everything and arriving with just a backpack and a suitcase makes life a little easier in the beginning. When I arrived here in 2001 I got off the plane with one small suitcase and my cat.

Moving to the French Riviera, or for that matter anywhere in the world, needs to be planned and researched. Lots of information can be gleened from the web, in books or by attending trade fairs specializing in your particular country of interest. To start you off you'll find a range of interesting books in our Bookshelf section. Each book comes with a short contents description for you to read and help you decide if it's the publication that suits your particular research.

Alternatively we have an excellent selection of articles about living and working in France which will also help you in your research. Some articles concern the administrative side of things while others give factual accounts of people having made the plunge to come either to work, retire here or establish their own business.  You may also find our own article, entitled Relocating to France, useful as it will certainly help you put together a check-list. Lastly, using our A-Z directory you'll find a selection of companies and associations that you can contact and discuss relocation, property buying or simply just ask advice. And then there's our Forum where you can post questions and if I can't answer them, someone out there will be able to help. 

The more information you have, the better informed you'll be and whether or not you want to relocate here after all. While it's never easy settling into a new place, I think you may find the French Riviera very much to your liking. The downside is that you'll never, ever, get away for summer holidays as you'll be entertaining family and friends instead!