Retire in Style: Why Nice, France is the Ultimate LGBTQ Destination With Jameson Farn

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Welcome to the Where Do Gays Retire.
Podcast where we help you in the.
LGBTQ community find a safeand affordable retirement place.
Join Mark Goldstein as heinterviews others.
Who live in gay friendlyplaces around the globe.
Learn about the climate, costof living, health care, crime and
safety and more.

(00:22):
Now here's your host, Mark Goldstein.
Have you ever wondered whatit's like to retire in Nice, France?
Well, stay tuned and today wewill let you know.
We have our special guest,Jamison Farn.
Jameson is originally fromVancouver, British Columbia and Canada

(00:45):
and has resided over a decadein the Cote d'azur of France, close
to the Principality of Monaco.
Jameson has been writingarticles for European and North American
online magazines for more than13 years.
Currently he's dedicated tohis leisure interest for gay French
Riviera, catering to the LGBTQcommunity residing in.

(01:11):
For those visiting the FrenchRiviera region, fueled by an entrepreneurial
drive, Jameson is the owner,liaison, advisor of a luxury real
estate and villa rental agencyin France catering to UHNWI clients.

(01:31):
What does that stand for?
Ultra High net worth individuals.
There you go.
Welcome, Jameson.
Thank you.
Welcome to the podcast.
It's great to have you today.
So let's talk about Nice, France.
So it's Nice, we're going tocall it the Cote d'azar, which is
the French Riviera.

(01:53):
Correct.
And you can let us know alsoI'll ask you what that entails itself.
So could you introduce us toNice, its role as a central city
in the Cote d'azur, French Riviera.
Nice for, well, especially forthe LGBT community, is considered

(02:15):
the cultural hub of the region.
It is where the pride is heldand everything like that too.
So for anything like bars,restaurants, stuff like that, for
the community, that Nice isthe place for it all.
It's just, it's where most ofthe tourists seem to come to is because
it's got different lifestyleoptions, price ranges, stuff like

(02:38):
that.
It's got.
And everything is very close by.
Cannes is about 30 minutesaway by train down the coast and
Monaco is about a 22 minutetrain ride and Italy's like maybe
a 40 minute train ride away.
Wow.
So everything's close by.
Everything is really close by.
So it's sounds like a verycool place to live.

(03:01):
Yeah.
Because you have everything.
Okay, geographically speaking,where is Nice located in France and
how does its geographycontribute to its appeal for retirees?
Nice is in the southeast partof France, very close to the Italian
border.

(03:23):
It's.
It just has many.
I know of a lot of gay couplesand lesbian Couples that have decided
to live in Nice because it's avery convenient city.
It's got everything close by.
It was voted last year as thefifth most walkable city in France.
So it's got a great transit system.
Even when there's the a trainstrike, which people talk about you,

(03:48):
I barely even notice it.
It'll just mean like one ortwo less trains is running per hour.
But they've actually updatedthat, so now trains are every 15
minutes.
They used to be once onlyevery half hour.
Wow.
Okay, so tell us about the climate.
I'm sure it has a really nice climate.
Yeah.

(04:08):
Year round we get 300 days ofsunshine a year and summers are getting
hotter, it seems to be.
But when you live here, aftera while you.
To me, I just don't evennotice it anymore, so.
And it's more of a humid heat.
It's not a dry heat.
Let's see it.
Can we do get heat waves, likeusually in July, and they do seem

(04:31):
to be lasting longer, butsomehow you just assimilate to it
all.
So it seems easier in the winters.
It gets between.
So I'm thinking American heat,it gets between 52 and 63.
In the winter.
Yeah, in the winter, yeah.
Fahrenheit.
That's pretty nice.

(04:51):
Yeah, I am.
I went to Monaco for ChristmasEve and I wore a T shirt with a light
parka jacket.
And I was thinking, you know,it'd be fine because it seemed like
it would be cold, but I waslike sweating.
Sweating?
Yeah, that's my type of climate.
And how about in the summer,does it get really hot and humid?
Like.

(05:12):
Yeah, like 90s?
Yeah, for sure, definitely.
Or higher.
So.
Okay.
But you know, we've got thebeaches everywhere, everybody's got
pools, that kind of thing.
So there's lots of ways tocool down.
So it's not unusual when youlive here because of the lifestyle.
I will, for myself, I will domy initial answering emails and stuff

(05:35):
first thing in the morning,but then I'll go down to the beach
and I'll go swimming for halfan hour or so, checking my messages,
go back to work, that kind of thing.
So it's not unusual to goswimming like three times a day type
of deal?
Yeah, that's really nice.
It's great.
We can't do that here inPhoenix, Arizona.

(05:55):
No, in the desert.
So.
Okay.
Has climate change made an impact?
Has it changed anything in.
In Nice or the Cote d'azur area?
Is there anything that thegovernment is doing to mitigate that?
I know that over the Pastdecade, they've made a lot more streets

(06:17):
in Nice, more pedestrian friendly.
So they planted more trees,they've put in more bike lanes, stuff
like that.
The tram is going in moredirections now and it's about to
expand again, so people don'teven need cars really.
People drive cars, of course,but I don't drive.
I find it's easier if I reallyneed to get somewhere or if I'm going

(06:40):
with clients.
We'll just take an Uber,something like that.
It's more acceptable, I find.
I will guess clients that areflying here and they will rent a
car and they will spend moretime trying to find a parking space
and getting frustrated by itand then the cost with that too.
So I always advise everyone,just don't even bring a car.

(07:01):
You're fine.
Transit, gas.
And gas is not cheap.
No, it's expensive.
Yeah.
So how much would you think agallon of gas is today?
Well, I honestly, I don't evenknow because I just don't even look
at that kind of thing.
Uber system here.
Yeah, it's high.
It's high, so.

(07:22):
And I think it's always justbeing high from what I can compare
to at least Canada, so.
But Uber is really good here.
People use it even over in thetaxi systems.
Kind of old school.
And that's where you can kindof get ripped off, especially if
you're a tourist, you know, onthe rates and stuff like that.
So I always advise people takean Uber.

(07:44):
Very reliable here.
You know what you're paying and.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Okay.
How long have you lived in Nice?
I've been coming to the southof France.
Nice was my very first place Icame to right off the train in 1990,
and I started to come.

(08:05):
I just kind of fell in lovewith it.
And I had been coming hereevery year since.
And then finally in themid-2000s, I was like ripped off
the band aid and it was likeit was time to come here.
Because over those years hadbuilt a great network of friends
and even possible businessacquaintances at the time.

(08:25):
Networking is huge here,especially if you're an entrepreneur.
It's like perfect.
It's great.
So.
And everybody kind of knowseverybody because it's a small region,
so you get to know who's whoand who not to work with and who
to work with, that kind of thing.
But yeah, I've seen a lot ofchanges since the 90s, you know,
with infrastructure, the costof living and stuff like that.

(08:48):
To me, it's cheaper to live inthe south of France than it is in
Canada.
So that always amazes Canadians.
But yeah, and it probably ischeaper than the US too, at least
on par.
Yeah.
I think for rental rates,like, if somebody's renting, to me,

(09:10):
I think it's very good.
Like, it's.
If you can find a place,because housing.
It's a housing crisis, like everywhere.
But if you can find a place,you can get a pretty good deal, and
sometimes it will include allyour utilities and stuff like that.
There are things to watch out for.
Like, I always advise people,if they're thinking of moving here,
to rent a place first.
Even if it's an Airbnb, if youcan get one for three months, that

(09:33):
helps set up your residencyand it helps you get your mail.
It's important that you havemail in your name to show as part
of your residency and a placeto live.
It helps with your visa andeverything, too.
So.
But yeah, rent first, becauseI've lived all over the region, so.
And like, I've been livingbetween Nice and Monaco for years

(09:55):
now.
And I love it because Nice isconvenient for everything and it's
very close by.
It's 15 minutes by bus for me.
But I also like where I live.
It's very quiet, too, so.
And like, extremely quiet, so.
But if I want to go to Monaco,it's 15 minutes away.
If I want to go to nice, it's15 minutes away.

(10:15):
So I was in there this morning.
That was the action.
Yeah.
And so if I have, like, there's.
I have an office that I sharein Nice, so I'm rarely there, though.
But if I have to have ameeting in Nice, that's where I'll
go.
But, yeah, it's all great.
So that's great.
And it's so true.
Like when you said renting aplace, because when you first get

(10:37):
to a place, you really don'thave a good feel unless you've lived
there for a while.
So you may find a place andsay, oh, that's a great place, and,
you know, rent it and find outlater on, oh, there's a better place
that I want to go to.
Exactly.
Yeah.
And most leases here are on ayearly basis for a furnished place,

(10:58):
but you can give a month'snotice type of deal, too.
The thing is, for renting aplace is very tricky for foreigners.
So what I would advise is to get.
There's a thing called aguarantee me.
It's an online thing whereit's kind of like somebody's co signing
for you, but you're puttingyour money and stuff It's a backup

(11:19):
because that's the Frenchpeople can be kind of old school
in what they've been taughtabout people renting and stuff.
But also it can be transienthere, so people can just take off.
So they don't want to bewithout their rent.
So it's understandable.
Yeah.
Because you can offer alandlord a year's rent right up front

(11:40):
but then you might not see anyof it and you know, like things can
happen.
So with something likeguarantee me, it kind of is a backup
plan for both parties.
Right.
So it's really good.
Yeah.
So give us an idea.
What's the price of a medianprice 2, 2 bedroom, 2 bath single
family home in Nice or is itmore homes there or is it more condens?

(12:06):
It's more apartments in Niceand even finding a two bedroom can
be very difficult becausefamilies will even pass it down in
succession.
So it can be very hard to finda two bedroom property.
They're more two bedrooms.
They're of course in thecentral of Nice, but they're super

(12:27):
expensive.
So they'd be more so in thenorthern Nice or even in the hills
a bit more that kind of area.
But then you're taking thefurther north you go, the further
you're away from amenities andthe sea and walking most places down,
like in the core of Nice arestudios and one bedroom apartments.

(12:47):
And that seems to suffice fora lot of people because then you
have an excuse not to havevisitors all the time.
Well, and also forget that inEurope people live on a smaller basis
than do in the US the US islike oh, McMansions.
And the bigger the better.
And you know, in Europeeverything is a lot smaller and compact.

(13:11):
So can you give us an idea oflike a one bedroom?
So a one bedroom.
I was, I posted one today.
That partner agency I workwith has renovated and the conversion
is 570 square meters and newly renovated.
Huge balcony in the very center.
Maybe a three minute walk tothe beach.

(13:33):
And it's €628,000.
Okay.
So that's actually expensive.
You can get better deals than that.
The thing is, Nice is behindParis right now for places to buy.
So places are going veryquickly in Nice because there are

(13:54):
a lot of people retiring.
But also it's a second home.
I know so many people here whohave second, third homes.
It's just unreal.
So it's just the way that lifeis here.
So yeah, if you want a holidayhome, you know, there you go.
So.
And they're usually easier to maintain.
I'm trying to think.

(14:14):
You said like 532 squaremeters or 570 square feet.
570 square feet, yeah.
So about 53 meters square.
So.
So to me that's a studio.
Oh, okay.
For 570 square feet.
To me that's a studio.

(14:35):
And 600.
And you said 30 something.
So be what $640,000.
Yeah.
With the exchange.
Yeah.
That's kind of high for.
But it's also.
It's right in the center.
Like it's like, like that'slike living.
In New York City.
It really is.

(14:55):
It would be like that.
My apartment when I leftVancouver was 500 square feet.
It was a one bedroom but itfelt big enough.
But when you're living hereyou kind of get used to smaller.
I initially when I made themove here, I was living in my ex
partner's villa with him.
So that was something to getused to.

(15:15):
So compared to Canada.
So.
But at the same time too, wewould always rent a studio in Nice
in case we were going outclubbing or we didn't want to drink
and drive type of thing.
So.
And then I would use thestudio in Nice as my work studio.
So kind of like this place.

(15:36):
So interesting.
But so people have different homes.
Like even in Monaco peoplewill have a place there, but they'll
have a second home justoutside Monaco.
Yeah, I believe it.
So I'm visiting Americanfriends that have apartments here
and they're maybe here twice ayear and it seems to be fine with

(15:56):
them.
It's a property investment.
So.
Yep.
I have currently vacationingsort of in Palm Springs area in California
and here people have secondhomes because the summer is really
intense.
It's like yes, you know, over120 degrees a lot.

(16:18):
So people tend to go to coolerclimates in the summer.
But I have a friend who infact we just saw the other night
that he summers.
Our summer, he summers in Paris.
So Yeah.
So you can feel the heat therein the summer a lot.

(16:38):
Like it's more intense.
I think it's more intense in Paris.
Yeah.
Because at least in theMediterranean you have the breeze
off the sea, that kind of thing.
So yeah, it's.
Yeah, it's just what it is.
So yeah.
Okay.
And the rental market, a onebedroom, what would you say it costs

(17:04):
for?
I was looking into this tooand for Nice itself.
Studios in Nice before COVIDwere about €600 and now they're on
average €800.
You will see people on groupslike say Facebook groups or whatever.
They'll be like, oh, it's €1200.
And people clap right back atthem and they're like, this isn't

(17:25):
Paris.
What are you trying to do?
And so they get put in their place.
So then they lower their rent.
But I would say a one bedroomin Nice easily starts at a thousand.
And then the more it goes up,the more you know you have in your
home, that's a lot better.
So I always tell people too, Iwill see people from North America

(17:48):
who will post on, say,Facebook groups here saying, oh,
we're going to move there.
We need this and this, likeair conditioning, elevator, sea view.
Like, they just, their listgoes on and it's.
They're not even going to getsomebody responding to them unless
it's somebody trying to scan them.
Because it's just, you've gotto cut that dream in half and then
build from there.

(18:08):
So I hear you, but what'shappening, been happening for a good
10 years too, is that a lot ofthe older apartments, people have
been buying them and thenrenovating them.
So there's a lot fresherapartments, but still have that French
appeal.
So that's good and bad.
So I'm kind of curious, a onebedroom, you said was like 500 and

(18:35):
change.
As far as square foot.
Feet.
Yeah.
What's a studio?
I've seen the smallest online.
16 meters, which is like nothing.
That's like 20 square feet.
Yes.
How could that be?
Where do you live?
They squeeze it all in.
Oh my God.
Squeeze it all in.
But I think the average studiois about 30 square meters, so that's

(18:59):
a little over.
And that seems to be acrossthe board in these.
Wait, so is that 300 square feet?
Yeah, I think it's close to that.
Okay, okay.
But also too like we weretalking about, people tend to live
more outside here.

(19:19):
Your home is just where you goto sleep, eat, shower, and then you're
off again.
Yeah.
Because there's alwayssomething to do.
It's very social here.
I went to an art gallery eventa couple weeks ago and I thought,
oh, it'll be quiet.
It was in Nice and I thought,oh, it'll be quiet.
And all the restaurants were packed.
Everything was like going likeit was summer.

(19:41):
I was really surprised becauseI hadn't been in Nice for a little
bit, so I was like, especiallyat night, so I was like really surprised
to see how many people were out.
But that's the lifestyle.
So, yeah, it's quieter where Ilive, but that's also what I prefer
because my life is Kind ofhectic, so I need the quiet space.
So where and how far from Niceare you?

(20:01):
I'm in Villefranche Mer, soI'm like a 15 minute bus ride away.
So it's like, it's.
It's a small little, like it'sa seaside town, but it's quite beautiful.
But the thing is, it's lackingamenities, so people don't even get
their groceries here.
They go to the next town over,or if they happen to be in Nice,

(20:24):
they'll pick up stuff.
But people in France do theirdaily shops anyway type of thing,
so that's also a way of life.
So yeah, that's because everything.
You walk and the refrigeratorisn't big, so yeah, you buy for like
one day or two days.
It helps with the diets.
If you have a full fridge,you're going to eat everything in

(20:45):
there.
So that's very good.
But also walking is a bigthing here.
So I always tell if somebody'scoming to visit or I'm always like,
get used to walking.
So because it is just normal,I'll have.
I'll even have clients becauseI rent villas and stuff.
And they'll be like, they wantto be right at the beach, they want

(21:05):
to be close to.
They want to be within stepsof everything.
And it's like, you have tohave the budget for that.
And even then it's rare.
You're just going to have to walk.
So.
But not in the U.S.
no.
But the trains run every 15minutes now as of December 15, and
that's working out really well.
The buses run every 15 minutes.

(21:25):
Since COVID we had such aninflux of tourists, it was crazy.
We kept breaking records.
So they finally realized thispast summer, oh, we need more buses,
we need more trains.
It's like, oh, it only took acouple years, but.
Right, but at least they got to.
And everybody seems happy.
And it's very economical, verylike, it's so cheap.

(21:48):
So how about the cost of utilities?
Is that on par, you think, with.
Us, the average electricity isexpensive in France, so the average
monthly cost is about €79.
From what I've been reading,for electric.
Yeah.

(22:08):
And water is 40, gas is 70.
And Internet, well, you haveInternet options, but the average
is about €33amonth.
Still cheaper than us.
But a lot of places, like alot of people that are renting, say
renting a place, whether it'sa studio or whatever, they will also
include all of that and justdo a roundup number type of thing.

(22:31):
So that can work out well.
Too, so.
Yeah, but it is important to.
If you're thinking ofresidency, try to get like, by law,
a landlord has to let you putthe utilities in your name, so.
And it should be an easyprocess if you have your visa.
So it shouldn't be a hassle at all.
I never found it to be aproblem anyway.

(22:52):
So that's pretty good.
Yeah.
The cost that you mentioned,that's pretty reasonable compared
to us.
Especially here in Phoenix,we, in the summer, we need air conditioning
on 24, 7.
Yeah, they have.
Well, here too, in the summer.
So.
Yeah, that kind of thing.

(23:13):
Okay, let's talk a little bitabout healthcare.
Okay.
So how accessible is healthcare?
I understand healthcare inFrance in general is.
Is great.
It's superb.
How easy is it to get anappointment to get into the system?

(23:33):
How far is the nearest hospital?
Okay, give us an idea.
So if you have, if you'recoming over, say on a long, what's
considered a long stay visa,which is renewable a year visa, you
have to come with your ownprivate health insurance, but you
can get into the system onlyafter three months of residing in

(23:56):
France.
So you basically sign up forlike a healthcare card type of thing
for France.
You'll have to give all yourdocumentation and then it just takes
about three months.
But if you need to go to adoctor, they've just upped the price
to visit a doctor if you don'thave the proper medical, you know,

(24:16):
healthcare or whatever.
So it's €30 a visit and it'slike a general thing and you can,
you know, get a prescription renewed.
And what I find interesting isthey will even do kind of a mini
physical on you, check yourheart rate and your blood pressure
and all of that stuff.
And what I love about thesystem in France is say you cut your

(24:39):
finger, they'll take care ofthat, but they also want to make
sure your mental health isokay surrounding that.
Wow.
So they talk to you about everything.
They'll even ask a bit aboutyour family history and stuff because
it helps lay out the game workfor them as well, to put it on record
for you.
So you can sign up for medicalthrough a website called Dr.

(25:00):
Leap and just sign up on it,show your documentation like you
can send it through or whatever.
And I have found if I wantedto get a doctor's appointment, if
I can't get it that day, I'venever had an issue even getting a
doctor's appointment the next day.
Wow.
So it'll show you the list ofdoctors in your area and if there's

(25:24):
one that you always go to,that's totally fine.
It's actually probably preferred.
But it will show you theirhours, their date of appointments
that are available and you canfilter it so that it can say whether
they speak English or not,that kind of thing.
If they will take a check,because they still take checks in
France, or if you want to payby cash or by credit card, it will

(25:48):
tell you what they accept.
So you know before you go in.
And then they will ask you tobring whatever medical documentation
you have and that too.
And you can do a videoconference if you want as well too.
So if they have it availablein their system.
So let me get this straight.
So you get.
If you're coming into thecountry and you have a visa, you're.

(26:11):
You need to purchase privateinsurance at least for the first
three months until you'reeligible to get on the public system.
I haven't.
My renewable visa has beeneasier because it's been so many
years.
So I'm not sure what it is anymore.
But from what I understand,they're going to want to see that
you can provide private healthcare for yourself for the whole extent

(26:33):
of your visa.
But they will understand.
How much is private healthcare insurance?
Approximately.
I was talking to some expatfriends about this and it's just
a wild comparison.
It depends on your age andwhat your health already is and what
you're coming in with.
So I have a friend that'spaying €50amonth and another friend

(26:57):
that's paying €200amonth.
Depending upon how old theyare and what existing.
Exactly.
So it just, it's all you knowin there.
You'll find out.
But you can always pick yourprivate insurance person too.
So.
So let's say I'm a newresident and I've been there for
over three months.

(27:18):
Yes.
Since I haven't been payinginto the public health system all
my life.
How much does it cost to getinto the public health system?
There must be a monthly fee.
It is a monthly.
So that will be the variableswill be with what your pre existing
conditions are and stuff too.
But also you can go see a doctor.

(27:41):
Day two of coming into Franceif you want.
You just sign into Dr.
Leap and then when you go seethe doctor, you just tell them that
you're waiting for yourmutuelle card, your health card and
excuse me, you'll have to paythe €30 for the visit in whatever
they take, credit card, cash, whatever.
And they will give you areceipt so that you can be reimbursed

(28:04):
for that if you want.
So it depends.
Some people are just like,that's €30, I don't care.
So.
Right.
And prescription drugs, likepharmacies are kind of different
in Europe as well.
They're everywhere here.
Yeah.
And they're independently owned.
So say you live in a small.
Like my.
I live in a small seaside town.

(28:24):
So there's only two or threepharmacies, but one of them has to
be open on a Sunday type of deal.
There can't be any closed anywhere.
So, you know, Nice has a tonof pharmacies everywhere.
Prescription drugs are far,like, really cheap, so.
And they're even talking aboutprescribing some basic ones that

(28:47):
have been around for a gooddecade just through a pharmacy instead
of, you know, taking up adoctor's time.
Doctor, yeah, yeah.
So it works out well.
But the pharmacists are verygood too.
Very good.
I understand France's healthcare system is like top notch.
It really is.
Like, you pay for state ofyour taxes and everything.

(29:09):
But as a Canadian who had freehealth care, I still had to pay every
month.
And from what.
I haven't been to Canada since2019, but everybody I talk to there,
the waiting lists are crazyfor just basic stuff for Canada.
So I just can't imagine.

(29:29):
So even in the public systemyou can get in to see a doctor for
like in a day or so.
Yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
And you can pick your doctor.
Like, because I had to getreading glasses for the first time
in my life in this past year,so I didn't even know.
I was like, oh, how do I goabout it?
Made a appointment with an optometrist.

(29:51):
The treatment was excellent.
Like, I was just so surprisedby how well I was treated.
And then they gave me myprescription and I can go pick where
I want to get my glasses, thatkind of thing.
So it was fantastic service.
Like, I was just stunned by it.
So.
So, Jameson, are you fluent in French?

(30:12):
It comes and it goes.
So I dream in it sometimes.
I can read it very well.
I can write out emails, no problem.
Or text messages.
When I'm speaking thelanguage, if I'm just going shopping,
it just seems innate in me tospeak it.
Like, for some reason I'malways helping old ladies in grocery

(30:32):
stores.
But I love it.
So, you know, if they can'treach something or whatever.
But it's just, I love it.
And because their French willbe a lot older than any new French
I know we seem to know whatwe're talking about, so.
But also I understand that.
So I'm always trying to teachmyself it.
And I tell myself everywinter, you got to get better at

(30:52):
it.
You got to get better at it.
But yet out on the street, I'm okay.
So I don't know.
And how about in the doctor's office?
So, like, if you're at adoctor's office, do they, most of
them speak English.
Do you go to the Englishspeaking one?
They say that in theappointment too.
You can put that in the filterand English speaking.
Or that they do speak English.
But the thing is, too, I don'tknow if it's an urban myth or whatever,

(31:15):
but I had heard in the late90s, you couldn't graduate high school
in France unless you knewEnglish, and then you had to pick
a third language of your choice.
So I always tell visitors fortheir first time that don't know
French, if they're lost orsomething, to aim for somebody in

(31:37):
their 30s, even 40s, becausethey will likely know French.
Millennials might be tooscared to help.
Right.
Or too shocked.
So.
So look for somebody that's intheir 30s or 40s.
So.
But even all the restaurants,hospitality here, you can't work
in it unless you know English.
I'm sure in Nice and Monaco,all over, like throughout the whole

(32:01):
region, that everybody speaks English.
Yes, that's my type of place.
It's fine.
Like, I.
But also too, I love thechallenge of it.
If I have to do something newand I'm not too sure how I'm going
to go about it, because I knowI'm going to have to use a lot of
French, I just tell myself,just try it out.
Like, it.
It can't hurt to try.

(32:21):
And that's part of the adventure.
I meet a lot of people thatwill come here with expected ideas,
but they will try to compare.
Well, in the UK we do it like this.
Or in Canada, we do it like this.
It's like you're in a new country.
This is your new adventure.
Right.
Don't expect it.
Yeah, you can't expect it.

(32:42):
You can't compare it.
So.
And you kind of get past allof that over time, so it's fine.
So, yeah, and that's importantbecause when you're coming from another
country and if you speak onelanguage, you know what you're in
for.
So, yeah, you know, from the beginning.

(33:02):
So, you know, are you going tobe there short term?
Are you going to be there long term?
If you're going to be therelong term, it's a whole different
life, you know, you have tolearn the language to really get
something out of it.
It's also protection foryourself too.
Yeah.
Yes.
In case of circum.
Some kind of circumstance.

(33:22):
Right.
But I have found it prettyeasy, I think when you're living
here and you're justingrained, you know, it's all around
you.
It's just what it is.
What I find helps is if youmonitor, like observe the manners
of what other people are doing.
That will help you with yourFrench too.
It's more how you act about stuff.
And if you don't demandthings, like you shouldn't ask for

(33:45):
ice in your drinks, that kindof thing.
Or butter with your croissant.
That's a big note.
So those rules because.
Because croissants are madewith tons of butter.
So it's like.
But why no ice in your drink?
Well, what they'll do is.
Because it's just.
I don't know, it's just a thing.

(34:05):
But what they will do is theywill give you a little bucket of
ice on your table so you canput it in your wine.
Because rose with ice cubes isa big thing.
So because it kind of watersdown the tanginess, but also in the
heat, it just feels a lot better.
Okay.
Like having an aperol spritz without.
Right.

(34:25):
So it's better with ice.
Yeah, got it.
All right, let's talk a littlebit about transportation.
You said it's a very walkable town.
As far as public transport.
Besides the buses, do theyhave high speed rail as well as rail,
the tgv.
Like if you're going from say,Nice to Paris, you can take the fast

(34:48):
train.
It takes eight hours.
It's like butter.
It's like so smooth.
So it's a great way to travel.
Yeah, it's fantastic.
But that's the only area.
And the thing is too, itdoesn't quite speed up until it's
like kind of leaving can andstarting to go up into the country.
So.
But it also doesn't stop atevery stop along the way.

(35:09):
So that's why it's quickerthat way too.
So I much rather travel bytrain that I would fly.
Yeah.
Like it takes I think justover an hour to fly from Paris.
I haven't done it for a while,but I prefer the train too.
It gives you a chance to relax.
Relax.
See the countryside, Such abeautiful countryside.
Yeah.

(35:29):
So.
And it changes even the tonesof the areas change the colors.
But yeah.
So they're.
They installed a brand newtramway, say or before 2010, here
in certain Areas.
But now the tram goes straightfrom the airport all along.
Part of it is underground tothe port in Nice, which is fabulous

(35:52):
because I remember in the 90swhere it was like, it was just the
bus.
It would be a bus that you'dhave to pick up at a hotel and it
would be packed and you haveyour luggage.
Well, now you don't have totake a bus.
It's like you just hop on the trail.
Yeah.
It's quiet.
Very cool.
Yeah.
So public transportation isgood, let's say.

(36:12):
So can you travel by railfrom, like, Nice to Monaco or.
Yeah, so you can take the busor the train.
So the train from nice takesabout 22 minutes and it costs, I
think, €4, maybe.
Wow.
It's a good deal.

(36:33):
The only thing I would adviseis to avoid it at rush hour if you
can, especially in the summer,because 41,000 people go into Monaco
every day for work and 41,000come out.
And the population of Monacois only 37,000.
Wow.
So more of the population goesin and out every day.
Yeah, well, they can't affordto live there.

(36:54):
Right.
So it's the working people, so.
Yeah.
But also a lot of peoplechoose not to live there because
of the size of their property.
So.
And we'll talk about that too,because Monaco is a different kind.
But yeah.
So the train or you can takethe bus.
The bus takes.
I like the bus because it'smore scenic.
It also goes along the sealike the train, but it gives me time

(37:16):
to relax between appointmentswith work and stuff like that.
And so I think the bus fromNice, you can take it from a few
areas.
It will take half an hour,maybe 35 minutes, right into Monaco.
So you said Monaco is adifferent country, right?
Yes.
So how does that work whenyou're traveling and you work in

(37:38):
Monaco and you're actuallygoing into a different country?
Yeah, I mean, you don't haveto show your passport on the train.
They do check for the passportbecause if you're, say you're taking
on the train, they.
Well, on the train they check,but they're more trying to look for
fare evaders.
But if you're taking the busfrom, say, Nice to Monaco, it's its

(37:59):
own type of bus.
It's a 600 bus, it's anelectric bus.
It's a huge long bus.
It costs €2 50 one way, andthey give you a receipt.
So you go in and if somebodycomes on to check for your fare,
you just show your receipt andthat's kind of it.
But yeah, there's a borderline.
Like when you're crossing intoMong, you can see it and all the.

(38:24):
Only if you're kind of walkinginto Monaco, depending on where it
is more so if you're comingfrom Nice, like, I do a lot of hiking,
so sometimes if I'm in cap dyeand I just want to go into Monaco
to pick up something or feellike going for a walk, because you
can walk along the sea intoMonaco sometimes they'll check you,
but they're usually pullingover teenagers in a car, you know,

(38:45):
a little cheap car to see whattheir business is.
So.
But it's nothing.
Monaco's super safe.
And Monaco's small.
It's as big as Central park inNew York.
So that's pretty.
But it's also one of thesafest, richest countries in the
world, so.
And they keep expanding outonto the sea.

(39:08):
So the Matera area districtjust opened near the Fairmont, near
the port.
Took a decade to build.
It's on the water.
They did it all ecologically.
That's why it took so long too.
It's got condos, like everything.
It's got its own little miniport now too.
I think it cost 3 billion tobuild, but it added 3% more land

(39:30):
mass.
There you go.
So they've been doing thissince 1967, so I don't know.
That's very interesting.
So tell us a little.
Oh, bikeability.
Do people bike?
Yeah, because Europe is verybig on bike.
Huge.
And bike.
For bikes, it's like Tour deFrance country.

(39:51):
So, yeah, you'll see,especially on a Sunday, you'll see
a group of like even 10, 16people on bikes, just all going along
the same, you know, route asthe cars.
And the cars are very aware of them.
And they will, like I've seenbuses will wait for a bike bicyclist
to, you know, move over intotheir lane type of thing.

(40:12):
They don't honk or anything.
It's very respectable.
There's accidents.
Yeah.
Not everywhere like in Nice,full of bike lanes.
And you can rent bikes in Nice.
And the promenade along thecity in Nice is 6km long.
All takes you all the way tothe airport.
And it's a pedestrian walkway,but it also is shared with scooters.

(40:33):
And they have their own bikelane, you know, in different directions.
So.
But yeah, you can do that allalong the sea.
Stop off, go swimming.
Interesting.
Interesting.
Absolutely.
So I love that, you know,walkable, bikeable, good transportation.
That's my type of place.
You'll see, you'll Notice herepeople are really in shape.

(40:56):
Like it just.
And it comes naturally.
So in the summer, I swim eastminimum, twice a day.
And I.
Even though, even in thesummer heat, this past summer, I
was surprised I was doing it.
I was hiking.
So it's just because if I wantto cool down, I'm usually hiking
near the sea.
So I'll just stop in, cooloff, keep on hiking.

(41:17):
That's great.
That's great.
And you walk a lot because youwalk to everything.
Yeah, you can walk to themarket, right?
Yeah.
And like, where I live now,everything is close by.
Like, the beach is a block anda half from me.
Let's see, the train and thebuses are a block and a half.
The big, like, there's agrocery store close by and it's not

(41:40):
far away.
Banks are all here, everything.
So.
But even on Christmas Day, forsomething to do, I thought, well,
I'll go for a hike around cat frat.
And it was 10 kilometers, sothat's like almost seven miles.
But it doesn't feel like itbecause it's such beautiful scenery
and you're just out seeingeverything and there's people with
families doing it and stuff.

(42:00):
Like, that's part of how it is here.
So it's fantastic.
We need more of that so we canlose more weight.
Well, here you can.
I find.
Here you can eat what you wantbecause you're usually going to walk
it off anyway.
Right?
Yeah, that's our problem here.
Everything is car centric, so,Yeah, I.

(42:23):
Always advise people too.
You'll see people that arewanting to move here and they want
to bring their car.
Don't, because you have toconvert it to the European system.
That could take a year.
It is just cheaper to buy a car.
If you really need a car thatbad, just buy a car here.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And I probably wouldn't.
I would just do the walkingand Uber and.

(42:47):
Yeah, you name it.
Let's.
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe LGBTQ community.
I understand it's large in Nice.
I think it's fantastic.
It's like, what I love aboutit is there's no attitude.
It's very easy to meet people here.
Well, of any, you know, sexuality.

(43:09):
But the LGBT community, Ithink, is just so welcoming and because
of where, like, when I livedin Vancouver, I noticed, well, this
can sound.
I used to manage bath housesin Vancouver, so there's that.
But also business competition.
Even in the gay communityseemed very like people were trying
to always put the other one under.

(43:30):
And you don't see that here,you see that managers here are friends
with each other, they supporteach other.
New businesses are very well supported.
You will see that if a newbusiness opens up, other managers
will come and justcongratulate them, have drinks, whatever,
offer their advice if theycan, if that's asked, you know, that

(43:51):
kind of thing.
So.
And what I've written about ittoo, where it seems like there's
a lot of gay communities wherea lot of, you know, establishments
are closing down.
They seem to be opening up here.
They're willing to take a chance.
I think it's also because wehave a high tourism market and the
seasons are lasting a lot longer.
People are coming here moreyear round now.

(44:13):
But yeah, there's been threebars that have opened up in the past
year here.
So do you have like agayborhood where specifically there
is a gay neighborhood?
There used to be one wherethere it was called Le Petit Marais,
like the small Marais districtof Paris, but the smaller version,

(44:34):
it's still there.
They have, you know, therainbow painted on the pedestrian
walkway of it, but it's just,it's more everything now.
There's only a couple gay barsthere now.
The gay scene in Nice is veryspread out, but that's what makes
it more fun too because whenyou're going to a different part
of the city, you'reexperiencing the vibe of that city

(44:54):
too.
So.
But like in almost every areain central Nice, in the little districts,
there's something gay going on.
There's cruising bars, there'sone big bath house, but there's like
even cabaret type places.
Drag is really big here,especially in the summer.
A lot of the bars have, youknow, drag competitions and stuff.

(45:17):
And these are also people inthe drag world that have been on
Drag Race France, like DragRace race in the US So it's that
kind of thing.
And they're just fantastic.
So.
And they'll put on shows outon the street, not even only in establishments,
but for everybody on the street.
And tourists love it.
So it's just, I don't know.

(45:39):
And it's a super safe community.
It's super safe.
I've been to all kinds ofevents day and night, wearing all
kinds of odd things and I'venever had any trouble at all.
Like nothing.
So.
And that's Cincinnati.
So no one would blink an eyeif I walked down the street holding
my husband's hand.
No, not at all.

(46:00):
That's the way it should be.
So it's like even.
And you see it more often thanyou think.
You would.
So.
And sometimes it will stilleven surprise me.
I'm like, oh, okay.
Well, it's fine.
Yeah, it's fine.
Because even two of my bestfriends have been a couple for 17
years.
And once I was meeting them inOld Town and East outside my office,
because we were going forlunch, and they showed up holding
hands, and it's like, oh,yeah, I forgot.

(46:22):
You can do that.
Right.
So I'm sure there's the oddsnide remarks or whatever, but if
you can't speak the language,you're not going to know.
Right, Exactly.
But also.
So what happened?
I think maybe less than a yearago, the director of the LGBT center
was in the center on a daywhen it was kind of closed, but he

(46:43):
noticed a couple of teenagersoutside, and one of them had written
pedophile on the window whilehe chased them down and got the cops,
and the cops came right away.
So it was two guys.
So one was 17 and one was 18.
I don't know what happened tothe 17 year old, but the 18 within
weeks was.
He had to go to prison foreight months for doing that.

(47:05):
Wow.
And the mayor is very supportive.
The mayor is considered rightwing, but he's massively supportive.
But even the mayor of Ken is abit more left wing.
He's massively like, they're supportive.
They know that we're a part ofthe community, we contribute to the
community, bring life andculture to it.

(47:26):
So that's important.
Yeah, it's really important.
And they have, like, for theCannes Film Festival, they also have
a Queer Palm Festival withqueer movies.
And then there's another film festival.
Well, there's the In N OutFilm Festival.
That's usually at the end ofsummer, but then in the winter, they'll
have Love Festival.
So, like, there's three LGBTqueer film festivals in the region,

(47:52):
so that's quite something.
And also, pride here is alittle bit different too.
I was used to seeing a lot ofsponsored prides with banks sponsoring
and stuff like that.
It's not like that here.
Whatever you can contribute tois great.
You're not watching.
You can watch the parade fromthe sidelines, but it's encouraged
to be in the parade as part of it.

(48:13):
Yeah, it's fantastic.
And it keeps growing everyyear, so that's great.
Yeah, awesome.
Tourists love it.
Everybody loves it.
So.
So it sounds like you have alarge LGBTQ community and it's accepted,
and that's what we look for.

(48:34):
What I should mention, too, iswe have that open two years ago.
Lgbt.
What's called like a health center.
You don't have to be gay to go there.
But they've done it as kind ofa pilot project, and it's really
taken off, so you feel a bitmore secure when you're going there.
And you can talk aboutanything, get a Covid shot, flu shot,
whatever you need done.

(48:55):
So.
And it's all private.
And it's right in the heart ofthe city too.
So it's things like thatthat's great for the community and
the pharmacies.
They've started a thing in theregion where you can get free HIV
testing at a pharmacy.
It's the first region in France.
They're testing it out so thatyou can just walk in and get out
a test done if you want.

(49:16):
Wow, that's big.
That's huge.
I wonder if they do prep in France.
Yeah, they do.
So they have a mobile van thatgoes out mostly in the summer.
They'll sit outside, likenightclubs and stuff like that.
So you can go in and get anHIV test.
You can talk about prep, youcan get whatever you need, that kind
of thing.
They'll help set it up.

(49:37):
They'll even do that on the beach.
Once a year, too.
Once or twice a year, huh?
Awesome.
Sounds better and better.
Arts and culture.
I'm sure there's no shortage.
Tons of art galleries.
Well, it's the land where JeanCocteau, who was one of the first
gay people here, so part ofthe community here.

(49:58):
He had a very interestinghistory here.
Picasso, you know, he was from.
You know, around here, there'slots of Picato.
There's Picasso Museum inAntibes you can visit.
And who else there next to my office.
Oh, so next to my office inOld Town in Nice is where a building
where Matisse lived on the topfloor, when he wasn't staying in

(50:19):
a hotel.
So he would go kayaking andstuff at the port every day, that
kind of thing.
And he had his models come byhis apartment, so.
And he's buried in Nice.
And there's a huge Matissemuseum, actually, in the Samaz area
in kind of northern Nice.
How about live theater?

(50:40):
Yeah, there's lots of that too.
So they like their opera here,but there's English and French.
That's what I was going to ask.
Is there English?
They do both.
It depends on what it is.
But there's a lot of outdoorevent places.
They take place more in thesummer, but there's more outdoor
ones.
And there'll be festivals forit too, even in the gay community.

(51:02):
So there's that kind of thingthat's going on.
And Monaco had its first dragqueen type cabaret show on December
20th.
Oh cool.
With a well known drag queentoo in France.
Really?
Yeah.
That's so cool.
Awesome.
And how about movies?
Do you have the choice to seethem in English with French subtitles

(51:25):
or in Belgium?
French with English subtitles.
But there's a lot of movietheaters in Nice itself and they'll
have like the six cinemas typething like we would be used to in
North America.
It is expensive apparently.
I haven't gone for a while butI'm told it's expensive.
But yeah, some of the theaterswill have movies where they will

(51:47):
have it dubbed in English for you.
You can find out online aboutit too.
But there's also groups.
There's a group that hasoutside of Nice, she has where you
kind of anybody is welcome.
You meet up for a drink firstand then you go see a movie that's
English subtitles.
And it helps bring people inand network together with new people.

(52:08):
So it's all about meetingpeople here?
Oh yeah.
Is there a big expat community?
Tons.
Mostly from the UK.
The numbers are around 300,000but it goes up and down all the time.
So there's.
If you're looking for worriedabout your language and want to be
in an English speaking area,it's totally fine here.

(52:29):
There's English speaking businesses.
There's a new bookstore thatopened up in Nice less than a year
ago called Read the Room andthey have a gay section and stuff
like that.
They carry my book for me andstuff and they'll hold events for
anybody, gay, straight, whatever.
And it's an English speakingbookstore so you can pick up English

(52:50):
books.
So it's that kind of thing.
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
I think a lot of entrepreneurshave picked up on that.
So they just build upon it.
This is their business.
Oh yeah.
So.
And there is a need for it.
It's more of a want but itworks out.
So yeah, very cool.
How about festivals?

(53:12):
Are they big on festivals?
I know Spain is big onfestivals, but I'm not sure about
France.
Well, like they'll be morecentered around the film festivals
type of thing.
Street festivals.
They've slowed down a littlebit since COVID I think they're more
worried about security.
But the gay community washaving what was called white parties

(53:36):
or dolly parties in the PetiteMarais district, the gay district.
But they put a stop to it thissummer just because of security.
It's just so much to take onnow because it's grown so much and
it's just.
I think they're trying to reestablish how they should do it because,
you know, people were sneakingin drugs or booze, but more booze.

(53:59):
Drugs you don't really hearabout a whole lot compared to what
I'm used to in Canada.
But it's just they wantedsafety for everyone because it would
be a free event, so there'd bekids at these events with their parents
or whatever.
Of course, even though it'sput on by gay people, everybody's
welcome, everybody goes.
Yeah, and everybody does gobecause it's part of like the summer

(54:20):
vibe.
So yeah, I think they'refiguring it out for next summer.
But yeah, you don't reallyhear a whole lot about festivals
themselves.
There'll be food typefestivals, that kind.
Of thing that I like to.
But I need to walk it off.
So.
Okay, Safety.

(54:43):
We were talking about, youknow, crime and.
Yeah, how about crime andsafety number one?
Well, I don't think guns are allowed.
You don't hear of any gunthings here.
I think there's a small partof northern Nice that has that issue
apparently.
But I think the police havereally been on it.
But that area has always beena gangster area.

(55:06):
But what would be gangster to you?
And I here would look like nothing.
In the US or Canada.
And so I will even tell myfriends will tell me like horror
stories of what they, youknow, see on the streets and have
to deal with daily in Vancouver.
And it is like night and dayliving here.
It's like you see homelesspeople, but just not a whole lot,

(55:29):
I think because there are alot of services for them.
But also know it's just not aplace you come to.
Like, I know the climate isgood, but I don't know, it's just,
I know that there are issues.
It's just not as bad as whatwe would see in North America.
You really just don't see itunless you're out looking for it
almost.
So.

(55:49):
And also I've noticed that inEurope, I know it's true for Spain,
people are very family oriented.
So yes, if, if they had afamily member that was down and out,
they wouldn't let them out onthe street.
They would take them in.
Exactly.
Take care of them like, likepeople should.

(56:11):
But there was something that happened.
Some teenagers were doingsomething about a year ago, I think
it was in the winter.
They were just kind of causingsome trouble using their phones.
But they were in the.
Coming down to the core of thecity to try to cause trouble at night.
Well, when the parents gotwind of this, it was shown on the
news.
The parents were coming down,picking up their kids.

(56:33):
And it's like you're cominghome right now.
It's like they were notputting up with it.
So it's like.
Yeah, because reputation isalso everything here too.
So if your kid is out of line,everybody's going to know and they're
going to also look at theparent and what is the parent doing
about this?
So some people blow it off.
But if you really want to dowell in the community, you just keep

(56:55):
your nose clean type of thing.
But yeah, so that's whytugboat nose clean.
You don't hear much about druguse here.
I will sometimes smell pot onif I'm at a beach and because I'm
from Vancouver, it's like,that's not pot, that's tobacco.
Right.
So it's like a person,wherever I am, I smell it.

(57:17):
Yeah.
And it's like you can't like.
I think in the gay communitythere was issues, I think with Chemsex,
but that's really come to theforefront and it's really talked
about a lot right now andpeople are not judging them.
But how can we help what'sgoing on to make this better?

(57:37):
Because it just affects peopleafter a while.
So.
Sure.
Do you feel comfortable, likeif you're coming home from a social
event like at midnight orafter midnight, like from Monaco
or Nice or anywhere on theFrench Riviera, Cote d'azura, Do
you feel comfortable walking?
Yeah, totally.

(57:58):
I've never had any trouble andback in the day used to wear the
Daisy Dukes and all that kindof thing and you know, the high tops
and stuff.
And it's never been an issue.
Like I've.
And I actually like to go meetfriends at places.
I don't like to hang out witha gang of friends and going from
here to here.
I'd rather meet new friends atother areas and stuff.

(58:21):
So I like venturing out on myown and the nightclubs don't get
going here till 1am So I don'thit them up like I used to.
But you just don't go out till1am and it's never been a problem.
Like I think because it's suchan international destination.
There's so many differentkinds of people and you have to have
acceptance.
You have to just have an openeye because there's just you.

(58:45):
Otherwise you're going to getstuck on yourself.
So.
But yeah, I've never had an issue.
I'm also surprised by that too.
So it's very comforting.
And you know, people arelooking for that because, you know,
wherever they wanted to live.
Of course my number one thingis, okay, is it safe?

(59:06):
Well, besides cost of living,is it safe?
Yeah, like I don't want tolive in a place where I hear somebody
got shot a mile away or youknow, or there were a mass shooting
somewhere.
I want to feel comfortable.
I don't hear that at all here.
And even the week I wasleaving Vancouver that last week

(59:28):
I saw three big incidentsright around my apartment building.
I lived in the west end ofdowntown Vancouver near Stanley Park,
a quiet, good area.
And it was just like, yep, I'mmaking the right decision.
So you are.
I mean, anywhere in the USwe're going to find it usually anywhere.
Like especially in big cities,like we live in Phoenix.

(59:50):
It's huge.
I mean millions and millionsof people.
It's almost like a less coast thing.
Yeah.
So you're gonna find homeless,you're gonna find, you know, you're
gonna hear stories of peoplegetting shot.
Yeah, I've never, I don'tknow, I haven't encountered that.

(01:00:12):
I haven't had anybody try tosell me drugs or even ask for change
really.
So.
Yeah.
So let's talk about food anddining as I'm sure there are a good
amount of restaurants.
Michelin star.
Yeah, there's like every kindof culture has a restaurant in Nice.

(01:00:36):
Lebanese, Italian, like everything.
And it can all even be on thesame street.
It's so amazing.
So any restaurant that isn'tany good word gets out, they're shut
down right away because it'sFrance and food.
It doesn't matter what kind of food.
It's France and food.
So.
And I find that it's very, theprices are very good.

(01:00:56):
There's Michelin star restaurants.
You know, it changes with theMichelin star so you kind of have
to look it up.
But there's a gay ownedrestaurant called Yan in the Port
and it's a Michelin starrestaurant in Nice.
It's very good.
The guy is really into his food.
Let's see.
But there's where celebritiesgo to is Le Petit Maison in the summer.

(01:01:20):
It's Elton John's favorite andI've seen Shirley Bassey come out
of there a couple of times andone time I was walking by because
they have an outdoor patio,but it's kind of fenced off with
blinders.
But I could hear a voicesinging and it was singing Happy
Birthday and it was singing Sting.
Wow.
So that's just how life isthough here.
And nobody loves them.

(01:01:41):
They just everybody leaveseverybody else like, yeah, let them
have their summer, let themhave their life.
Because I have some celebrityclients that come and go too.
They've always been prettygood and it's just.
There's been the odd one butyou know, with their demands.
But it's like it's not aFrench demand, it's a demand with
how they've come in from wherethey're living.
So.

(01:02:02):
Right.
That's awesome.
That's fine.
And you would expect that.
So what time do people tend toeat dinner in France, in Nice?
Is it like the like on parwith Spain?
Like 9, 10?
Yeah, it can be.
It depends, I think what'sgoing on with them socially.
Lunch is for sure.
Everything kind of stops atnoon till 2 o'clock for a lot of

(01:02:25):
people.
So.
But also they will take thattime in the summer.
They'll have lunch, butthey'll also go swimming, they'll
do their errands, whatever.
And then.
But then they'll work tillseven o'clock at night.
So, you know.
So it's sort of like Spain too.
Yeah.
So I have lunch siesta type.
Yeah, relax.

(01:02:46):
I still have the NorthAmerican way where I'm just go.
So I have to force myself toslow down.
I.
To me, I can't imagine doing atwo hour lunch because my days are
very long anyway.
Like they're usually in thesummer, they're easily until midnight.
So it's like I don't need toadd to it.
So.
Yeah.
So while in my work you're just.

(01:03:07):
You're always on the go in the summer.
So.
But yeah, so the restaurants,a lot of them don't even open up
until 7:00.
So it depends on what kind offood you want and stuff.
But it's.
They don't rush you at anything.
Just take your time.
It's always really good foodand this very healthy food too.

(01:03:27):
Like you'll get a lot of it.
It really depends on whatyou're looking for.
Italian food I love becauseItaly's so close by.
They will bring in the foodfrom Italy.
Even my main grocery storethat I go to brings in food from
Italy every morning becauseit's just there.
So close too.
Yeah.
Do they have lunch set up likein restaurants?

(01:03:48):
Is that some places like inSpain, make it your main meal, like
the.
Plate of the day type of thing?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
They have an option.
Yeah.
And I would go for it.
So usually because that'ssomething that they've worked on,
it's not something that's left over.
So it's fresh.

(01:04:08):
And they're trying to almosttreat the customer, hey, try this,
we're trying this out type of thing.
So.
Yeah.
But a lot of restaurants, evenin Villefranche, where I live, the
port, there's a fishrestaurant, there's like a burger
type restaurant.
There's like a.
Like every restaurant isdifferent to each other.
And they will have the priceboards out front so that you know

(01:04:30):
what you want to spend and itwill show you the menu so that you
can decide, oh yeah, let's eathere tonight.
Because they have this menutype of thing, so.
And it's all verycompetitively priced, especially
in Nice, because there's somuch competition.
They have to have very goodservice, food, everything.
So.
So is it like if you'resitting having a meal, do you have

(01:04:54):
to ask the waiter to give youa check like in some other countries?
And at the end, you kind oflike at the end when you're done,
like, they will sometimes notice.
They don't want to rush you.
So you just ask for le petit,you know, additional, like the receipt
type of things.
You just kind of wave yourfingers and a lot of things are motions
here, so.
And then they'll bring youyour bill.

(01:05:15):
So is everything plasticbased, like credit card, debit card
or.
It seems.
Yeah, it's getting more andmore like that now.
So do they have those machinesthat they bring over to you?
Yeah.
And you just tap.
Yeah.
Okay.
I think there's a few cards.
I think American Express isone that they're still working on.
But if you have a regular bankcard, it's easier, that kind of thing.

(01:05:38):
They also don't use creditcards in France.
Really?
So.
Yeah, it's all like bank cardsthat act as a debit card.
So there's not a lot of creditcard debt here.
You don't see people freakingout about credit card debt.
I like that.
It's really good.
It's really.
So it comes.
And it was hard to adjust to it.

(01:05:59):
It wasn't hard to adjust to.
The only reason why I use acredit card is for the points that
I earned.
Yeah.
For travel and stuff like that.
So.
But every kind of.
I've seen every, you know,clients that I've had from the US
with their credit cards andit's never been declined or anything,
so.

(01:06:19):
So interesting.
We should talk about banking too.
In France, how easy ordifficult is it to set Up a bank
account.
I think if you're purchasing ahome, it's going to be a lot easier.
If you're only on a year longVisa, you can get online bank card,

(01:06:40):
excuse me, like a revolt cardor N26 that are called for online
banking.
I know a lot of expats usethose just because it's easier to
get.
Yeah, yeah, because it'seasier to get than it is to go into
a bank.
But there are a couple ofreally good banks like Bank Popular
and Credit Agricole Credit.

(01:07:02):
They will, they're used to UKresidents coming in, so.
And I think because of so manyAmericans coming here, the past few
years especially, they'veopened up their mind to a lot of
it all.
So you might have limits set,but you can ask for that limit to
be like in North America to beexpanded upon.
Right.
They, they'll want to test you out.

(01:07:23):
But if, if you just tell them,listen, I just need this for utility
stuff, they'll understand.
And they're like, oh, that'sno problem.
So.
Okay, you know, Interesting.
All right.
I think if you're sendingmoney because you're buying something,
that's where they're gonna watch.
Because if you're, even ifyou're buying something, say in an
Apple Store that costs morethan a thousand euros, you can put

(01:07:46):
it on your credit card or yourbank card.
But if you're paying withcash, they might want to want you
to fill out a form.
They're very aware of moneylaundering here.
Yeah, many countries are.
So.
But I know that you have toreally be careful if you're a resident
from North America or UK orwhatever, because if you're juggling

(01:08:06):
around a lot of money inthrough your accounts, they will
just freeze your account.
And you have to convince themto because they think you're money
laundering.
So don't be putting in hugeamounts all the time.
Yeah.
And if you're buying a place,a notary will help you with that
process.
So it's good.
Okay, let's talk a little bitabout visas and residency and the

(01:08:33):
process.
So if I were to come from the U.S.
do I start at an embassy, aFrench embassy in the US to start
the process?
Yeah.
You can go online and do itfrom your home country.
You can't get a visa, youcan't be in France and then try to
get a visa.
You have to do it from yourhome country.
There's a ton of differentvisas to choose from.

(01:08:56):
So I always just tell people,don't overthink it.
There's a lot of information.
Just go by how you live andwhat you think you're going to need.
The easiest visa visa you canget is a 90 day tourist visa.
So you just go for 90 days.
I know a lot of peopleactually own properties here and
they just use their 90 day thing.

(01:09:16):
So they have.
They can be here for 90 dayswhich is practically your whole summer
and then you have to be out ofthe country for 180 days and then
you can come back in foranother 90 days type of thing and
it works out.
And the airports, you know,they know it works and how it goes
on.
They just make sure your daysare in line and stuff like that is.
I actually did that my firstfew years before moving here because

(01:09:40):
I just.
It seemed easier to.
Just because I was also comingas a tourist.
So you can get a lot of.
The Schengen Zone, right?
Yeah, it is okay.
But you can get a lot of stuffdone in 90 days.
Oh yeah, you can.
It will help you figure outwhere you want to live, how you want
to live, the whole thing.
So do they have retirement visas?

(01:10:03):
I think I haven't had to deal with.
I think most people I knowthat are even retired have just done
the year long, what isconsidered a long stay visa, which
for a year and it's renewableat the end of that year.
So you just reapply for keepon renewing.
Yeah.
And after a certain amount oftime you can apply for a five year

(01:10:24):
card, after that a ten yearcard and you can do your residency.
Your French language skillshave to be right up there to get
your French language like or residency.
But when you're living hereand you're just on your visa, you
don't realize that stuff youjust go about your daily.
It's just one thing you haveto take care of.
But it's.
What type of visa did you come on?

(01:10:45):
I came because it was likeover 10 years ago.
I came on an entrepreneurialvisa but that also only limited me
to making 30,000 a year.
So I did well right away.
Well, my first couple yearswere a bit tricky but then after
that I was doing well.
So I've just had to up it.
So I.
It's more so upping mybusiness model and my business numbers,

(01:11:10):
my references so that theymake sure they get all their taxes.
It really has nothing to do somuch with the visa that I have.
So my visa is just my right to live.
But my working thing is atotally separate entity so.
Right.
They want their money.
Yeah.
How long does it take you toget a visa?

(01:11:31):
Is it a long process?
Is it.
I'm hearing it's a lot quickercompared because there's a backlog
with COVID but I'm hearingit's super quick.
Now, I know for Canadians,it's very quick.
They want to see that you haveyour funds, that you can support
yourself.
It's usually, I think, ifyou're single, it's been a while
for me, but I think if you'resingle, you've got to make sure that

(01:11:55):
you have at least €2,000amonthto live on.
If you're a couple, it's 3,500.
So I could be wrong on that.
But those amounts alwayschange everywhere they.
Do, and they want to see thatyou have a solid savings account.
They're going to want to seebank statements.
They're going to want to seethat you have a plan in place and
that you have a residence thatyou're going to.

(01:12:16):
Which.
That's the tricky part.
So that's why people will rentan Airbnb and just make an agreement
with that owner.
Hey, can I rent there forthree months?
So.
Right.
Yeah.
The hardest part is renting here.
Right.
So have you ever thought about citizenship?
Yeah, I get asked.

(01:12:37):
That's my big thing, my French language.
I'm so worried I'll get nervous.
The history part in that, Ican take care of.
I love history.
But the language part, that'swhy I'm, like, kicking my butt.
It's like, come on.
Like.
But also sometimes, too, oncein a while, I have a longing to go
back to Canada, but then Ijust have to read a bit of the news
online.
I'm like, no, I'm good.

(01:12:59):
Can you be dual citizens?
Yeah, you can?
So I have American friendsthat are dual citizens, so.
Okay.
Yeah.
And they never had any issues, so.
Yeah, I don't know.
It was more of a debate, ifthey debate for them, whether they
should even bother.
Right.
So.
But they like having it oncethey have it, so it does make life

(01:13:20):
easier.
I don't know if my friends arecitizens that come to Paris every
year, but they've been comingto Paris for, I think, over 10 years
at least, so.
Yeah.
Very good.
So do they.
Do you know if they have agolden visa?
What?
A golden.

(01:13:40):
No, they don't have that.
No.
Okay.
You know what that is?
I don't think.
I don't even know if it's ever been.
It might have been talkedabout, but.
No, you certainly can't.
So.
No.
Okay.
But also A misconception, too,is a lot of.
I've had a lot of Americanclients that will just assume, oh,
if we buy a house, they mighteven be here on holiday and contact
me and they will want to buy a villa.

(01:14:01):
And it's like they think thatgives them automatic citizenship.
It's like, oh, no, you gottahave a visa.
Like, so I tell them to figureout their visa first or how often
they plan on being here andthen build from there.
So.
Because when the Euro went atpar with America a couple summers
ago, oh, my God, I was havingso many Americans just flying in.
They weren't even planning.

(01:14:21):
They were just flying in.
And also because the Russiastuff was going on at the same time,
they thought that they couldget a villa for half the price because
the Russians needed money.
It's like, oh, no, no.
So one thing too is if youreally make a low ball offer that
is such an offense, like, theywill just.
They won't want to talk to youor have anything to do with you.

(01:14:41):
So you can make a reasonable offer.
Right, But.
But not a low ball.
Interesting.
Okay, tell us a little bitabout Monaco.
Well, Monaco's super safe,very expensive.
Well, to live day by day thereI think is very reasonable.
But to buy there is crazy.

(01:15:03):
But it's really.
It's got a lot of people alsoassume that it's all Russians that
live there.
And it's like, no, it's like.
It's five nationalities.
The Swiss is made up of theSwiss, uk, Italy, France, and people
that were actually born in Monaco.
So when you're in the systemthere, you are set for life, like

(01:15:23):
for health care, everything.
It is even better than France.
Like, it's crazy.
Like, wow.
So.
But you also can't just.
You have to show if you planon living there to get your paperwork
going, from what I heard, andhave friends that live there, you
have to have at least 500,000in your bank account that you will

(01:15:45):
put into a bank account there.
Wow.
Get you going.
So.
Yeah, but it does move thingsalong quickly.
No, but for the LGBTcommunity, it's really important.
We've been working on this for.
I belong to an association.
We've been working for thepast few years on this.
They've only just had theirfirst pride three years ago, and
it was at a hotel type thing.

(01:16:06):
It was very, like, quiet.
And so was the last one.
But it built a lot of interestbecause what we were fighting for,
like, two decades ago, or adeck, you know, in North America,
that's what they're fightingfor now is basic, you know.
So they don't have, they don'thave same sex marriage.
You can have a partner, youcan have a legal partner, but you

(01:16:30):
don't get all the rights.
You know, it's kind of like surprised.
Yeah.
So that's what's surprising toeven people in Monaco too.
And so with the association,we've had the backing of the royals,
you know, that are like, yeah,we're for this, there's no problem.
And even a couple of peoplefrom the boards, like the mayor's
board and stuff, have been,you know, with us, and they're like,

(01:16:51):
yeah, this is great.
So we just have to keepworking on it.
But it's a very strong groupof professionals that are doing this,
you know, business wise, youknow, they're not protesting and
stuff like that.
That would be unheard of.
That would work against you.
So.
But they just want basic rights.
It's like, because there's alesbian couple that I know of where

(01:17:14):
you pick up your kids afterschool and one of the partners wasn't
able to pick up her daughterfrom school and had to go through
all this paperwork because,like, well, you don't count.
You're not real.
Right.
So it's that kind ofgroundwork thing.
So I really advocate a lot forthem there.
The problem is too is when youtry to get public attention for people

(01:17:37):
assume everybody in Montgo'srich, it's not a problem.
But the thing is they're stillentitled to their basic gay rights.
So that's what we're working on.
Human rights.
Yeah, it's the human rights part.
And Princess Stephanie has a 20.
Has a charity that I volunteerwith called Fight Aids Monaco.
So she's very open about itand stuff like that.

(01:17:59):
So her charity is fantastic,has been around for 20 years, so
she doesn't hold back on anything.
She's fantastic.
So.
And Prince Albert is so open minded.
He's great.
So you get to meet the royalsonce in a while at certain events.
That's.
That's really cool.
And they're very down to earth.
So it's just.
I think they're amazing.
Like, I know it's a royalthing, but they work harder than

(01:18:22):
people think.
Their lives are scheduled for them.
So, you know, it's.
I don't know, it sounds really nice.
A nice area to live in, youknow, besides Monaco, I'm.
The whole region is very good.
Yeah.
So nice.
If you're not into nice,there's lots of other parts to live
in France.
So Everything is close by,everything's accessible.

(01:18:44):
You know, it's very good,great life.
So if you had some advice, youcan give some advice to our listeners,
our retirees, if, if anyone isconsidering moving to the, you know,
south of France, Denise, whatadvice would you give them to help
them make the move?

(01:19:06):
Don't overthink and don't overplan everything.
What I would do is also comeon a couple of vacations first.
Check out different areas oneach vacation too, like where you're
going and see what reallysuits your lifestyle.
I would also advise visitingin the winter because that's when
you see the locals.
It's more of the locals hereand you see how they live and what's

(01:19:29):
going on in the community andstuff like that.
There's winter carnivals and stuff.
We have a queer naval inNovember or, no, February.
That's massive now.
Started off with a couplehundred people and that was thousands.
And it's free and it's gay, so.
But yeah, take your time,don't overthink and don't think you
have to bring everything withyou because whatever you have in

(01:19:51):
America, we also have here at hand.
Right.
And sometimes cheaper,sometimes it works better, sometimes
not.
It depends on what.
And you can come here with alot less than you think you're going
to need.
If you're starting a new life,rip off that Band Aid.
Start fresh, new adventures.
So I find it's.
There's so many more positiveshere than there are negatives.

(01:20:14):
You'll hear the negative stufffrom people, but maybe that's just
their experience.
So.
But I also find any negativestuff I've had happen in my life
here, it has really built mycharacter and strength and it just
shows that, you know, you'reopen to a challenge and you're, you
know, if you love it hereenough, you'll just deal with it,

(01:20:36):
so.
And maybe it's a new way ofliving and thinking.
So, you know, you got it.
Great advice.
And again, for me at least,you know, you have stuff back in
the United States and it.
It's stuff.
We could always get rid of stuff.
Yeah, and start new.
That's.
It's a part of the adventure,in my opinion.

(01:20:58):
I find as I get older, I wantto live a lot simpler.
So do I.
And literally over the pasteven five years, I've been getting
rid of stuff.
Because it's stuff.
Yeah, it's stuff.
Yeah.
And.
Yeah, and I deal with villasand everything like that too.
And I've lived in a villa forfive years.
Or something.
And it was at the end, it waslike, this is too much.

(01:21:19):
It was just your whole life isthe villa like taking care of it
and.
Yeah, so I love selling them, but.
Right.
But that's about it.
Yeah.
Every time we move somewhereand we've moved a lot, but every
time we get rid of more stuffand it's just.
And we kind of like probablydownsize in size too.

(01:21:41):
Yeah.
I don't even remember half ofwhat I had in Canada, literally,
because it was just stuff.
So great.
Jamison, tell us a little bitabout your business, what you do
and where can our listenersand viewers find you on social media.

(01:22:01):
I started off in villarentals, just friends that had a
couple of villas.
And I was promoting that areawhen Facebook was still kind of new,
just as a place to travel theregion because I loved it so much.
So they're like, can you putour villas onto your network?
And so I did that and ended uprenting them out and they told their
friends and so on the shampoo commercial.

(01:22:22):
And so I am obsessed withproperties here and the history and
the architecture.
And I will know so much aboutour property.
Like some people know about cars.
But anyway, so it went from that.
So I've been.
And then I worked into real estate.
I got a lot more real estateopportunities coming my way or people
that own villas that wanted tosell them.

(01:22:43):
So then I would set them upwith agencies I knew of and then
I became partners with agencies.
So.
But I only work with peoplethat have proven themselves that
are proactive and everythingbecause I've still got that North
American attitude where it'swork type thing.
And I want them to be veryhonest and save people time and money

(01:23:04):
because I just.
It's our time and money too.
So.
Sure.
I'm just straight up.
Yes, I work in real estatethat way.
But also for years for.
Since 2011, I've had the GayFrench Riviera website.
I've pushed it over toSubstack now.
So weekly I post articles onthere on everything from nightclubs
to beaches, real estate, youname it.

(01:23:26):
What's going on locally tokeep people up to date.
So where could our listenersfind that on.
Yeah, gayfrench rivierasubstack.com and then if people are
interested in real estate invillas on Instagram, I'm experience

(01:23:46):
the French Riviera.
That's probably the easiest.
Or Facebook, experience theFrench Riviera.
So, okay, lots of news items.
We'll get all those links andput that in the show.
Notes for our listeners.
Yep.
So they can.
They can contact you insteadof looking to.
Yeah.
And tell them that you've metme through the podcast, because then

(01:24:10):
I can line it up and thatmakes it a lot easier, too.
I'm happy to share.
Whatever.
Definitely will.
Some people write me messages,in fact, on my website when they
visitwww.wheretogatesretire.com and they're
saying, oh, how do I get intouch with so and so.
Yeah, I'm happy to help anyoneand I know what it's like coming

(01:24:32):
from North America.
So, yeah, that's great.
All right.
Well, Jameson, thank you somuch for speaking with us and educating
us about Nice and the Coted'azur and French Riviera, whatever
you want to call it.
Thank you so much.
I appreciate it.
Thank you so much, Mark.

(01:24:52):
My pleasure.
You take care.
Bye.
Bye.
Bye.
Thank you for listening to theWhere Do Gays Retire?
Podcast.
If you enjoyed today'sepisode, please subscribe to our
podcast and consider making adonation by clicking the coffee cup
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(01:25:14):
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