Your local guide from Nice to Menton
Settle into the French Riviera the easy way
Bonjour! I'm Nathalie. I moved here from abroad, and now I want to help you so your move to the coast feels like the beginning of something, not a battle with a new system in a new language.
How Riviera Arrival can help
A little help with the big things — and all the little things in between.
Finding Your Home
Finding the right apartment in France can feel like a job in itself. Riviera Arrival will help you understand the rental market, narrow down the right areas and find a home that genuinely fits your life.
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Apartment Search & Viewings
From understanding listings to shortlisting properties and arranging viewings, personal support to make the apartment search feel a little less overwhelming.
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Utilities & Home Setup
Electricity, internet, home insurance and all the practical details that turn a new apartment into a home.
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Settling In
The little things that suddenly become big things when you've just arrived — practical help with getting settled and finding your way around everyday life in France.
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Banking, Phone & Essentials
Getting connected, setting up everyday services and figuring out the practical basics of life in France.
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Local Life & Recommendations
Neighborhoods, useful local businesses, everyday essentials and the places that make Nice start to feel like home.
Explore the guides →
Everything else you'll need in the first month
Short guides written from experience, not from a government website.
I'll find your place
House-hunting handled — I search, visit, and negotiate so you arrive to keys, not a spreadsheet of listings.
Bank & phone
Opening an account without a French address.
Healthcare
Carte Vitale, mutuelle, English-speaking doctors.
Getting around
Trains, the €1.70 bus, and when to skip the car.
Neighborhoods
Where to live in Nice, Antibes, Cannes, Menton.
Local businesses
The baker, the plumber, the tailor — vetted by Nathalie.
People & events
Meet-ups for newcomers, week by week.
Not sure which town is yours?
Nice for a city with an airport. Antibes for a harbour and a school run. Menton for quiet and lemons. Villefranche for the water. Cannes for the work. Answer six questions and we'll point you somewhere to start looking.
Take the neighborhood quiz
Nathalie's journal
Daily, from Nice
She moved here last spring and has been walking the city ever since — one small business, one street, one bakery at a time.
Read the journal
