FINALLY LIVING IN FRANCE! OUR JOURNEY FROM THE USA TO NICE 

We are already used to the wonderful fruits and vegetables here, from all of our travels to France in past years... It is quite wonderful having them every day!

Actually we have a full size refrigerator. But fresh food with no preservatives or GMO is really wonderful!

U can do it! Research, research, and more and take that leap!

We hope! 😊

Moi aussi! Tears of joy for them and strengthens our resolve to do the same thing! We hope to add An and Jeff as friends when when we get to France. I see Jeff and my Larry as so similar I think they will really resonate with each other! In the meantime, I am writing down everything they did while still in the USA, noting the stumbling blocks and pitfalls so that we can avoid them if possible. These videos are a treasure trove of what to do and what not to do when getting ready to immigrate to France. Perhaps we will meet you, @worldwanderingwoman, as well. As my Larry says "Oh, what fun!" À bientôt! We can hope....

@@gloriagreen1123 Of course Gloria, we will, we all are likeminded people with the same dream. And the fortune to meet and exchange wishes and accomplishments that fill our souls, there can’t be anything better than that! If you are in the same journey with your hobby, I wish you the best just like I wish for An an Jeff! Keep in touch, I hope we will get together with these ladies of adventure and commitment I love so much. They are a great example of a life well lived.

Thank you and best wishes to you on your "journey" as well!

Fortunately for Bella, her carrier was put away after we arrived and she hasn't used it since. Perhaps when we start traveling outside of Nice with her we'll pull it out again. Nowadays she just travels on a leash.

Congratulations! Wishing you all the best in your new life in France!!

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears ty, An! We are searching for a house in Brittany and living in hotels. AirBnb was awful, so gave up on it. Can't wait to be settled like you. Bella is so pretty! We traveled with our 2 Maltese from RDU to ATL then ATL to DUB and used the family bathroom and put down a pee pad. They hated the pee station at ATL. We also used the vet meds and they slept through most of the flight from ATL to DUB and DUB to CDG. It would have been awful for them without it. So glad you are doing well! Hugs :)

@wendywebster9166 I WISH our dog would have used pee pads. She would never use them, even as a puppy. She'd drag them all over our house, like a "toy", instead. We are far from settled. We still have around 60 boxes at a port somewhere in NJ getting ready to sail, hopefully this week. They aren't due to arrive here until early June, at the earliest. Once those boxes arrive and everything is put away, THEN, we will tell you we are settled. 😉

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears wow, u did double the load, we have 32. Very nerve wracking having them in storage and waiting. Yeah, it's a long road, but you are past the hardest ones.

Hi, we'll definitely do a full apartment tour after all of our stuff arrives from the US and we're all unpacked and settled. We still have around 60 boxes at a port in NJ waiting to board a ship, that we probably won't see till early June. We live in "Nice Centre". Lots of shops and restaurants. Close to trams, the train station and of course, by way of the tram, not far from the airport. Nice is actually not that large. There are many nice areas to consider living in. If you follow Adrian Leeds, she did a video some time ago where she described all of the different regions of Nice. We watched that video to get an idea of the different neighborhoods, so we could then tell her people where we wanted to concentrate our search. I actually suggest you work with her and her staff. They are all so knowledgeable of Nice and have lived here for many years. We're still learning---and definitely not experts, yet. For our privacy and peace of mind and safety and security, we prefer not to share exactly where we live. WE don't feel comfortable publishing our address. We've heard stories of other RU-vid creators sharing their exact address or location and they have had unwelcome intruders/visitors, etc, a few were negative situations that went bad fast. I hope you can understand. Nice Centre in general is a nice area. Bear in mind, however, that there's a shortage of apartment rentals here in Nice. So, in our case, when it came time to start looking, we had to be ready to sign a lease, have a guarantor in place (we used garantme.com), our dossier had to be impressive and submitted in advance and there were only 2 apartments that fit our qualifications...and neither was perfect. So we had to compromise and grabbed the best of the two. We preferred unfurnished. This was furnished and we didn't love the furniture. We figured, it's only a 1 year lease and if we don't like it, in 30 days, we can give notice and leave. if we said "show us more" first, we probably would have lost this apartment by the time we waited and attempted to circle back. And then, it's the landlord who chooses you. They may have 6-10+ people after the same apartment. They will read cover letters, compare dossiers and make the decision on who they "feel" good about renting to. My advice is not to start looking for an apartment unless everything is in place, Visa applied for and in process, and you're ready to sign a lease. If you have the time, I'd say move here and rent an airbnb first, to give yourself time to find exactly what you're looking for. Good luck to you...and thanks for watching our videos!

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears Thank you An & Jeff for your rapid response. You are correct on ALL accounts...my curiosity on location is answered with "Nice Centre"...would never ask your address; that in this public forum it's understandable (how) that mayhem could occur!! Also, Yes! we meet with the formidable Adrian Leeds in May - very exciting! Again, we are wishing y'all great happiness and good fortune for all your new endeavors. A la prochaine.... Your "pupils"😁

Welcome! 😊

It's a shame us Floridians have to feel like we "escaped", however.... we felt that way, as well. There are a lot of us either here in France now or planning an "escape" from the USA, for a better life on numerous levels. (and the strawberries, are a great incentive!)

It is our pleasure! Thank you! That is so nice of you! ❤

We happen to like our intro. The beauty of RU-vid is that you can fast forward through anything you don't like or want to watch. We have no firm plans on where and when we'll be filming. These days we're still trying to get settled and make our apartment feel like home. We have filmed some things over the last few weeks and I'll be sharing them in videos in the near future. As far as shopping, what types of shopping are you interested in? We haven't done any interesting shopping so far. We are waiting for the rest of our stuff to be shipped from the USA.After all of our stuff arrives and is unpacked and we see what we still need, if time and language challenges permit we may share a shopping trip or 2.

We will show more of the inside of our apartment once all of our stuff arrives and everything is put away. We have around 60 boxes still sitting at a port in NJ waiting to ship and don't expect to see that stuff till around early June. That's where most of our stuff is. One day, after we're all done shopping, unpacking and making the apartment "ours", for sure we'll do the full apartment tour. As for showing our neighborhood, I understand that you and others want to see Nice and we will be showing you Nice as we go out and about. For our privacy (and security and peace of mind, to be honest) we prefer not to show everyone exactly where we live and exactly what's around us. We live in Nice Centre, which is the center of Nice. It's a nice area, lots of shops and restaurants around. On occasion, nearby places may end up in a video, but we'll never say, this is our building. This is our street, etc. Being recognized out in the world is a fun surprise, when it happens, as we're learning--just recently. It's a bit flattering and we consider the people we have met, "new friends". On the other hand, we've heard a few bad stories, over the years, about people on RU-vid who shared where they live on their videos or in notes under their videos, and received unwanted visits from people, some that were very negative experiences that turned bad fast. Not something we want to risk happening to us. I hope you understand. Thanks for taking the time to write us a nice note.

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears Thank you for your reply! I didn’t realize that about safety but it makes perfect sense. I look forward to your continued progress and will stay tuned😊

No, she is almost 8 yrs old, "middle aged" 😅

Amazingly Bella did not pee in her crate, the entire time, and I was giving her water every now and then so she didn't get dehydrated. She peed out in the taxi waiting line, on the road, at the Nice Airport. I took her out of her carrier as soon as we got off the plane. She didn't even pee on the floor in the airport. She was a little trooper! Bella, also, was a strictly grass dog. It only took her a few hours to realize she is allowed to pee or poop anywhere she pleases now. She got over the lack of grass fast. She does still enjoy putting her paws in fresh grass if we happen to go past any in our travels, but she's a "city dog" now. I worried about her making the trip too, before we left, but she was a really good dog, in spite of being stuck in the carrier for so long. One issue we have noticed is that she seems to be very worried that we're going to "leave her" for some reason. She follows us around the apartment, doesn't want to be alone and is very disappointed if we go out and don't take her. She was never a clingy dog but she has become one. I think she may still not understand that we "live" here now and isn't sure of what's going on. We try to take her out with us on Sundays when we like to go to the Promenade, and the market and she gets to experience sitting on a chair at a restaurant for lunch. She has become a fan of pancakes with berries on them on Sunday mornings and even bits of baguette. (we didn't give her much table food back in the US). Now she gets a little bit of what I'm eating sort of as a bribe to be a "good girl". All in all, I think she has become a better behaved dog since we got here. So there's that plus. LOL.

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears That is outstanding news that our little dogs can adapt. You are so generous to reply so thoroughly. I will be following your adventures.

Here in Nice, I can't remember the last time I saw a younger person with a cart. I don't ever recall seeing any young people in Paris, but... the carts definitely make it easy for us to shop without worrying about how we're going to get everything home. And when the carts are full, that means we have to stop shopping! LOL

We are in Nice Centre. We are aware of the expat groups and keep up with their activities. So far we haven't had a lot of time to attend many activities other than the Apres Midi's Adrian Leeds has every other month, with interesting speakers. We are also thinking while expat groups are nice, we'd like to join social groups that will allow us to get to know more French people in our community.

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears Yes most expats say the same thing at first but the French, certainly Nicoise, are less likely to socialise outside of their family and close set of friends ;)

Thanks for your note, So far, our "projects" are really just tasks to continue to get things in order and we're handling them one step at a time. 😊 We're always up for meeting and making "new friends" as our time permits.

Thanks for venturing over. We love Janice!

Merci. Les pommes de terre dont je parlais n'étaient qu'un sac de pommes de terre que j'avais récupéré au Monoprix. Aucun vendeur à qui parler. Nous achèterons simplement des pommes de terre individuellement selon nos besoins.

I give up. How? We didn't actually start our lives in Florida. We were both transplants.

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears HI The tile floors and the outside lawns flat and dry and the palm trees. Seen too many standardized Florida interiors in my life and Florida...Hot, Flat and Humid! . I would also say you lived West of i-95. Now you need to unlock the secrets of how I've seen so many

@@rivierarocket I would guess you're in or were in one of the building trades. My husband is a retired architect and he can tell where something is, in most cases, just by looking at a few photos.

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears Not at all in the building trade I just know FLA like the back of my hand

I think it was just called Centre Dentale. It's in a clinic near Jean Medecin and Boulevard Dubouchage. I don't remember the dentist's name and we have since learned that when you go there, at least without an appointment, you can't "request" a particular dentist. You get whoever is available. The last time we went it was for Jeff to replace a filling he lost and I described the dentist I had seen and the receptionist told me he wasn't there that day. If you're in Nice and you you go on Doctolib, online, where I found this place, you can see details on each dental clinic and whether or not they speak English.

We contracted with the Adrian Leeds Group to find us the apartment and get the electric put in our name. There is such a shortage of rentals here, it's the only way. Adrian is best known for helping people find places to buy or rent, on the US television show, "House Hunters International". And she is an expert at assisting expats in finding apartments or houses and getting settled in France.

Thank you for answering my question. I subscribe to her channel as well and we may reach out to her when the time comes.

Yes, if you opt for Adrian's company to arrange for the setup of utilities and Internet, they most definitely will do that for you. It's an optional service and we didn't opt for that service. I don't think it would have made a difference if they had made the arrangements. They also would have discovered, when the installer arrived, as we did, that wires had to be run from the equipment room to our apartment, and that the management company and the landlord needed to sign a form before the installer was allowed to run the wires. Everyone in our building has Internet. The apartment we are renting used to be part of another apartment on the floor. It was one big apartment that took up the entire floor of our building. Our landlord split the apartment into 2 apartments when her parents (who previously owned the apartment) passed away and this is the first time she has rented this apartment. She has Internet on her side of the hallway in the other half of the original apartment. It was simply overlooked on this side. Not a huge problem. We didn't think to ask about it ahead of time. I preferred to do most of the things necessary for our move, myself, so we used Adrian Leeds company for just the most important things that we didn't think we could do ourselves. We wanted Adrian's people to help us find an apartment and give us advice, in the upfront consult. Adrian is the consummate expert in becoming an expat, particularly here in Nice and we learned lots from talking to her. Her agent did a fabulous job finding us an apartment very quickly and the entire staff continues to be there if we ever need any additional assistance in the future.

Yes, I'm aware of that. However, I inadvertently packed my good earbuds in a box that is part of our move, which we still haven't received. It's a moot point now. I used my cellphone as a Hotspot and edited at home. Worked fine. 😊

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears Lol! Well, your show is lovely. Could you possibly speak about how a single woman might do in Nice? I know you aren't single, but thought you may know some women who have come over alone. I retire in 2 years. Thank you!

@@Kayla11113 A good RU-vid channel to watch for the "single" woman's point of view on moving to France, in general, would be "Janice In France". Janice is around our same age and she made the move a few years ago, alone, to Fontainebleau, outside of Paris. She has done several videos over the months and years about being single in France, how she gets along, how she survives, why she moved, etc. etc. She'd be a good one to chat with too. We have met and become friends. I'm sure she'd love to chat with you about it. Just comment on one of her videos and/or find her email address under the video and drop her a note, as you did with me, Tell her I sent you! As far as Nice, so far, I haven't met anyone here who is single. I do have a number of single subscribers who are planning to make the move in the fall, to Nice. So I can't speak to the "single" experience, personally, but at least one of my single subscribers making the move, I think, is planning to do her own channel on moving over as a single woman. So that should be coming, probably late fall, early next year. She hasn't shared her info on this with me. I think Nice in general would be very easy for a single woman to get around. If you come to Nice, make a point of going to one of Adrian Leeds "Apres Midi" gatherings of expats, every other month, here in Nice, I think you'll meet many other single people there. And there are quite a few networking/social groups for women here in Nice, happening pretty much weekly, You'll be fine! In fact, if you're a confident woman, you'll be great. You'll be happy you made the move, and amazed that you can live here in Nice, for less money, compared to many parts of the US

I do keep them in a cool dark place. Unfortunately, they start "growing" sprouts, within a week. At 2 wks, they are covered with them. We only buy things we're planning to eat that week, for sure. 😏

All these guns? 2? No, I never lived in a very bad neighborhood. I took firearms training back in the 90's and was quite good, even competing on occasion. The first gun, my husband purchased for me because I had a restaurant in a tourist area, that was open later in the evening on week nights and I was often alone. My ex-husband traveled a lot for business and he wanted to make sure that if he was away on business I could defend myself. I also worked in an office building, in downtown Philadelphia, for many years, and often left the office late at night, alone and had to walk a few blocks to the parking lot where I parked my car. I had a few occasions where I felt I was being followed. I am a small woman and when I was younger, I was pretty little thing and I often attracted attention, occasionally the bad kind and it was annoying. I didn't look like a "tough woman". I felt safer with the gun in my purse that I knew very well how to handle if anyone dared to bother me. The second gun was purchased, coincidentally by a former boyfriend, a former NYC Police sergeant, who bought it for me, as a gift, because he believed that because I was a single woman at the time, I should have a gun for security (I didn't like living alone). He didn't believe anyone should assume if you don't live in a bad neighborhood, you have nothing to worry about. Crime happens in nice neighborhoods too---particularly since the former President and his folks stoked up all kinds of lies, violence and conspiracy theories. I had a permit to carry the guns, I was very accurate when shooting them, and they gave me a sense of security. I think, as women, we have to do the things we feel give us a sense of safety and security and support other women who want to be able to take care of themselves, without a man. I don't judge any woman who feels she wants to carry a firearm and I don't believe anyone has the right to judge me until you walked a mile in my shoes, over the years. As far as France insisting that guns are locked up....I agree. I'm sure that's why there are no school shootings in France and people who want to shoot can own guns and do that but they can't keep their guns at home. So far, I haven't felt unsafe here in France. But I'm not wandering around late a night in deserted neighborhoods. Thanks for your good wishes.

​@@postcardsfromourgoldenyearsyou can have your guns or rifle at home but you have to have a specific license for it. There are several types of licences for the firearms in France even for hunting. You should find an official french site with English translation. It's not common here to have firearms to protect ourselves, except for special professional. But there are hunter, people who shoot at range shoot, they should have licence for keeping, transport the weapons in their cars, wearing a gun legally is very rare here and reserved to certain jobs.

I would have done that had I not inadverdently packed my good earbuds in a box with everything else coming by ship. It is no longer an issue. We got our Internet hooked up soon after.

If you contact us privately in advance, tell us a little about yourself so we know who you are, and our schedule allows, we would definitely consider doing so! 😛

@@postcardsfromourgoldenyears of course, privately. Can I do that on Facebook? Or, do you have a business email for your channel?

@@desertdweller8520 the email address is in the details under all of my videos

How did you decide what to keep and ship to France?

I’m trying to decide how worth it is to ship things vs buying there. Did you ship some furniture also?

LOL. So how do you really feel? Most people prefer the "wordiness" you apparently wish wasn't there. Well, the video is published. I can't make everyone happy. That was posted months ago. Maybe you'll find another of our videos that isn't too wordy for you. Try the one we did one Sunday morning as we walked home from old Nice. Barely ANY words at all. Here's a link - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Npjz2RWS6g8.html