katecat

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site

Can anyone suggest some family friendly villages/towns around the Sophia Antipolis business area of the Cot d'Azur?

My French husband has a job opportunity in this area and we are seriously considering the move. We currently live close to Beziers in France but we do not know the Cote d'Azur area at all apart from the fact that property is very expensive.

Ideally we are looking for an affordable area to buy a 3 bed detached house or villa which is less than one hours commute to Sophia. We are also looking for a decent French Primary School for our daughter and the usual village facilities. We have 2 dogs, so we will need some parks/ open spaces within easy reach.

Although we would like to fully intergrate with the French community, I would really appreciate knowing that there were a few English speaking expats groups around. My French is still lacking and needs a lot of work and it would be so nice to be able to have an easy conversation from time to time.

So any advice on the area would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes

Kate

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the Forum from a fellow Héraultaise! (I live in the Hauts-Cantons to the north of Béziers!).
Can't help with Sophia Antipolis, I'm afraid, and I don't think there are all that many BE members in that area. If you don't get much response, try one of the regional forums.
Good luck with your decision!

katecat

Hi dmu and many thanks for your best wishes...

emlaukorfr

Have you found any info about areas with the kinds of place you're? We are in a similar position to you and wondering which areas to conside when we move. We were hoping to move to the Pyrenees from the UK but my boss wants me closer to the office, so we're looking at areas around Sophia Antipolis instead.

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the Forum

katecat

Hi and welcome to the forum

I'm afraid we are still in the research stage. My husband is working in Paris until Feb and we are planning a visit to the Sofia area over the Christmas break. I'm keeping a close watch on property around Valbonne, Biot, Mouans-Sartoux and Roquefort Les Pins, to get a feel for the market. There seems to be very few rental properties available in this area, unless are looking for an apartment or you can aford a luxury villa. Unfortunately we have 2 dogs, so an apartment isn't really an option for us. Mougins is supposed to be very nice but expensive and has a billingual school which looks interesting. There is also the private EBICA in Sophia Antipolis.

I would be interested to keep in touch and share any useful information on the area going forward. When are you planning your move?

Best wishes

Kate

HereinFrance

Hi Kate,
We live in Antibes and yes, the Cote d'Azur is VERY expensive to rent and buy. My French husband works in Sophia (his sister lives in Golfe Juan and drives to work in Sophia too) and catches the 100 Express bus for free. It drops you off in Garbejaire. Valbonne and Biot are nice and more affordable for both renting and buying, though Mouans-Sartoux is very nice AND expensive. Avoid Grasse at all costs is my advice and so do the locals. Some of hubbies French colleagues live in Nice as that area is cheaper too and you can jump on the A8 for 1.40€ toll road. What company is your hubby working for?

Bonne Chance.

katecat

Thank you for the info. We were looking at Grasse as an option but you are not the first person to say 'don't even think about it', so it's definitely a no!

We are now looking around the Canton de Fayence, which takes about 45 mins by car to Sophia. It's a lovely area and more affordable and we are viewing some houses to buy at the end of this month.

My hub is working for Kerensen Consulting but he's on a project in Paris at the moment.

How long have you been living in France?

Best wishes Kate

HereinFrance

Husband left France for UK in 1996, so his English is fluent and my French is bad lol. He's a consultant in mobile technology and Sophia Antipolis is considered/called 'Telecom Valley' of France We have a 15yr old who's looking forward to moving to Toulouse, though loves Antibes too. Hubby came over from UK to Sophia in Feb and we joined him permanently in Oct. We still have our house in the UK which we have just started renting out.
Good luck with the house hunting and you'll find that most working in Sophia will speak either fluent or very good English and their employers expect them to. How good is your French, mines awful and I've had no excuse as hubby is native

oleg88

Hello there,

We're looking to move from Canada and heard that Sophia Antipolis is big in telecom/high tech. My husband is also a telecom consultant. He's not sure where to start off his search for jobs in Sophia Antipolis. He has some french from school but not fluent french by any means.

I noticed your husband is in tececom, would it be possible for my hubby to get in touch with him? He just needs some general tips about how to go about looking for a job there in telecom especially if English is your 1st language.....Maybe we're just dreaming, it's not possible without fluent french....Many thanks!

HereinFrance

Hi there,
Yes, I'm sure my husband would be willing to have a chat with yours. Leave me a private message and we can go from there. When are you looking to move to France by the way?

katecat

Hi

Thanks for the info. it's all helped with our final decision to move to the area. We have found a house in the Canton de Fayence, about a 45 minute commute by car to Sophia. We fell in love with the area and we are really looking forward to moving around May of this year. I feel exactly the same about my French, it's rubbish and will need a lot of work even though I've got a French hubby and family. I'm almost embarrased that it's so bad but I'll treat it as a challenge!

Best wishes

Kate

katecat

Hi

My only advice to you before making the decision to come to France would be to really research everything well beforehand. Nothing is easy when you are trying to set-up a new life in France and my husband is a French citizen. The bureaucracy is tiresome and endless but now we are close to getting settled, I'm sure it will all be worthwhile. If your husband can secure a job in Sophia beforehand, the company will help with the relocation and I'm sure this would be a much easier route. We just decided that after 10 years in the UK, we would pack up, move to France and stay with family until we found a job. I really wouldn't recommend doing this, it was a very expensive mistake. The overall cost of living in France is quite a bit higher than in the UK and as the Cote d'Azur is such a desirable area to live, the house prices are also high.

I'm sure if you manage it properly it will be a great choice for you. I have found the book 'Living and Working in France' by David Hampshire a really useful introduction to life here, I just wish I had read it before we arrived.

Good luck

Kate

HereinFrance

Best of luck with your migration to France, you'll love it here on the Cote d'Azur
Hayley

oleg88

Hi there,

We're sort of flexible in timing when we'd like to move to France. Ideally, for September school year as my daughter is in school now. Thanks for the offer to chat, i'll send you a private message. Cheers