Living the Dream - Radio Edition Podcast

LIVINGTHEDREAM-RADIOEDITION
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Relocating to the French Riviera sounds idyllic. But how do you actually build a professional life once you arrive? Hosted by Cecile Liconnet, Living the Dream: French Riviera explores women’s professional journeys after relocating to the South of France. Through candid, in-depth conversations, the podcast looks at what it really takes to work, earn a living, and create long-term stability abroad. Each episode shares first-hand experiences of career change, entrepreneurship, adaptation, and reinvention. From navigating visas and local job markets to managing finances, seasonality, and cultural differences. Authentic voices. Grounded stories. A clear look behind the postcard perfect image of life on the Riviera. Living the Dream – Radio Edition features the special 28 minute cuts of my interviews broadcast on WRP. These shorter episodes offer a curated glimpse into the stories of women who have reinvented their professional lives on the French Riviera. Full-length episodes and more on the main podcast page. For photos and extra content about our guests, visit our website: Living the Dream: French Riviera. Please follow, share, and consider supporting the podcast 😊 Merci beaucoup! 

  1. 4d ago

    The Dog Walk That Became a Million-Euro Charity - Juliette Clarkin - 30 min radio cut

    From Marketing Director in Ireland to Charity Co-Founder on the French Riviera: Twelve Years Building Mimosa, Navigating French Bureaucracy, Supporting Cancer Patients, and Redefining Success After Leaving the Boardroom Juliette Clarkin was a marketing director in Dublin, a boardroom seat, red-eye flights, a good life on paper. Then a string of family losses changed the calculation, and she and her husband packed up their two children and moved to the South of France, thinking it was a trial. Thirteen years later, she has co-founded and run one of the Riviera's best-known charities, and rebuilt a professional life from nothing in a country that did not make it easy. This episode follows Juliette from a corporate career she once adored, through the culture shock of French administration, to the accidental beginning of Mimosa: a conversation with a school mum on a dog walk about a friend's brother going through cancer treatment. That conversation became a gala evening. The gala evening became an association. Thirteen years on, Mimosa has raised close to a million euros for cancer support on the Riviera, built a community for women far from their own families, and given Juliette a second career she never planned for. Juliette is honest about what the move actually cost her: a title, a boardroom, a salary she had to significantly rescale. She is equally honest about what running Mimosa taught her, that you can do anything if you put your mind to it, right down to blowing up the balloons herself for a thousand-person event. Twelve years into the presidency, she stepped back, and talks candidly about what it meant to let go of a role that had become part of her identity. This is a Season Two episode of Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad, Stories from the French Riviera. In this episode: – Leaving a marketing director's job, a boardroom seat and a corporate salary in Dublin – The family losses that triggered the move, and the sabbatical that became permanent – Why French bureaucracy nearly stopped the move before it started, and never fully went away – Discovering that a corporate marketing skill set does not fully transfer to the South of France, salary included – The dog walk conversation that became Mimosa, and the gala evening that became an association – Registering a French charity: the accreditation fight and a bureaucracy that could not understand why expat women would give money away – Twelve years running Mimosa, close to a million euros raised, and what it actually taught her about herself – Stepping back as president: losing a title, and redefining what success looks like without one – How the South of France has changed for professional women over thirteen years Help Mimosa: Website: https://www.mimosamatters.org Donate: https://www.mimosamatters.org/donate/ Follow Mimosa on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mimosa_matters/ Follow Mimosa on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mimosamatters This is the condensed 30-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel 🎙️ Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad | Stories from the French Riviera Real stories of women building meaningful, sustainable lives in the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com Please follow, share, and consider supporting the podcast: buymeacoffee.com/livingthedreampodcast Music: Kite by Claire Long Hosted by Cecile Liconnet

  2. Sep 21

    The Other Side of Monaco: The Brave Face Behind the Glamour - Gabrielle Achilleos - Radio Edition

    Financial struggle, hidden loneliness and the courage to ask for help. Monaco is one of the wealthiest places on earth. It is also one of the loneliest places to run out of money. Gabrielle Achilleos knows both sides of that truth and she is talking about it here for the first time. Born in Grasse, Gabrielle returned to the French Riviera at seventeen, with no plan and no contacts, in a caravan with chickens and a wolfhound. She built a property business, lost it in the 2009 crash, met her husband Russell at the Monaco Yacht Show, and moved to Monaco. For years, life was full. She co-founded a charity that has supported fifty orphan children in Uganda for over a decade. She went through five rounds of IVF. She ran fundraising events, built a network, and devoted herself entirely to work that mattered. Then her husband lost his job. COVID arrived. And Gabrielle found herself struggling to make ends meet in one of the most expensive postcodes in the world -while fifty children in Uganda were still counting on her to pay their medical bills. Gabrielle then worked five jobs at the same time: tutoring French, doing admin, managing a villa renovation, childcare, running the charity. She kept the banknotes in an old glass jar on the kitchen counter. She walked barefoot on the sand at Larvotto beach because it was free. She dealt with shame and guilt and the particular loneliness of struggling in a place where nobody admits to struggling. She then rebuilt. A discovery during COVID lockdown led her to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York. She trained as a certified integrative health coach, specialising in emotional eating, nutrition and holistic stress management. She launched Gabrielle's Zest 4 Life. She found work she loves. Her nervous system, she says, has been allowed to relax. This conversation is one of the most honest I have recorded on this podcast. Gabrielle does not perform resilience. She just tells you what happened. In this episode: Growing up between Grasse and London and arriving in France at seventeen with a caravan, chickens, and no running water Building a property business on the Riviera, the 2009 crash, and walking away with 400 euros and a suitcase Monaco, the golden years, the charity, and the financial crisis nobody around her could see Fifty children in Uganda, five jobs in Monaco, and a glass jar filling with banknotes The shame of struggling in Tinseltown and why most women there never admit it Walking in circles during COVID lockdown and finding the Institute for Integrative Nutrition Launching Gabrielle's Zest 4 Life, health coaching, emotional eating, and the four pillars of wellness The International Professional Women of Monaco: building a safe space for women who are simmering underneath the surface What it actually costs to rebuild a life on the French Riviera and what barefoot on the sand taught her about starting over   Find Gabrielle: Instagram: @gabrielle_zest_4_life Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/106256138760498 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/gabriellezest4life Chances 4 Children: https://c4c.mc/   This is the condensed 30-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel 🎙️ Living the Dream: Women, Work and Relocation | Stories from the French Riviera   Real stories of women building meaningful, sustainable lives in the South of France.   https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  3. Mar 30

    Living in English on the French Riviera: Mystical Experience and Career Limitations - 28 min Radio Cut - Kirsti Formoso

    Living in English on the French Riviera can feel easy, especially in a region where so many people speak your language. But what does that ease really cost when it comes to building a career? In this episode of Living the Dream, Cecile Liconnet explores the professional journey of Kirsti, whose path has evolved from yoga and massage therapy to a deeper, more complex field shaped by mystical experience and spiritual psychology. After relocating to the Côte d’Azur from the international yachting world, Kirsti built a life without speaking French. Like many expats, she was able to get by, working with an English-speaking clientele and navigating daily life with relative ease. But over time, that reality quietly limited her opportunities. From setting up multiple businesses in France, to navigating administration without the language, to repeatedly reinventing her work in response to both personal evolution and external changes—including the rise of AI—this is an honest look at what it really takes to create a sustainable professional life abroad. As her work deepened into the exploration of mystical experience, her career became more aligned, but also more niche, raising new challenges around visibility, credibility, and finding clients in a foreign country. This conversation explores the intersection of: women, work and relocation language as both a support and a limitation building a niche career on the French Riviera and the reality behind a life that can look idyllic from the outside 🎙️ Living the Dream: Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera Real stories of women building meaningful, sustainable lives in the South of France. This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  4. Mar 23

    How 9/11 Redirected a Nicola Horlick-Level Career to Life on the Riviera - 28 min Radio Cut - Helen Bates

    What happens when a high-achieving career no longer aligns with the life you want to build? In this episode of Living the Dream: Women, Work & Relocation on the French Riviera, Helen shares her journey from a career in finance to building a new professional life in the South of France. At the start of her career, she had a clear ambition: to follow in the footsteps of Nicola Horlick and succeed at the highest level in finance. But a pivotal moment, being in New York during 9/11, shifted her perspective. It wasn’t about leaving finance overnight, but about recognising that the life she was working towards no longer matched what she wanted long term. Together with her husband, she made a deliberate decision to build a different kind of life on the French Riviera: one that prioritised lifestyle, flexibility, and time. They created a property rental business in Cannes, combining financial planning with a long-term relocation strategy. On paper, everything worked. But building a life abroad also meant navigating the realities many expats face: – The complexity of French administration and business set-up – Cultural differences in customer service and professional expectations – A business model dependent on tourism and seasonal income – And the impact of COVID, when travel stopped and their revenue disappeared overnight In that moment of uncertainty, Helen adapted once again. What started as a small opportunity through her children’s school evolved into a new career: tutoring English and maths, bringing a renewed sense of purpose and independence alongside the family business. This episode explores the professional journey behind relocation: how women adapt their careers abroad, how financial realities shape decisions, and how success can be redefined beyond income and status. A thoughtful conversation about building a sustainable life on the French Riviera, one that truly fits.   This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  5. Mar 16

    Trailing Spouse in France: Rebuilding a Regulated Architect Career - 28 min Radio Cut - Nita Sharma

    Relocating abroad is challenging for anyone. But what happens when your profession is highly regulated and your qualifications don’t automatically transfer? When Nita moved as a trailing spouse from London to the French Riviera in 2006, she left behind a prestigious career working on major international architectural projects. What began as a temporary relocation quickly became a long-term life in France. With no French language skills and a young family, she had to rebuild her professional identity step by step. In this episode, Nita shares how she gradually re-established herself as an architect in France. From freelancing under the umbrella of a local practice, to navigating the complexities of French planning regulations, to eventually registering with the Ordre des Architectes and launching her own practice. We discuss the realities of transferring a regulated profession across borders, including: • learning technical French • understanding French planning laws and local mairie regulations • working with French construction teams and builders • adapting architectural methods to the Mediterranean climate • building a client base through word of mouth and international networks Nita also reflects on the personal side of relocation: learning a new language as an adult, raising children between cultures, and redefining success after leaving a high-pressure London career. Today she runs her own architectural practice on the Côte d’Azur, working with international clients and designing renovations and homes that blend sustainability, local architecture and modern living. A candid conversation about resilience, professional reinvention, and proving yourself again in a new country. This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  6. Mar 9

    Never Retiring: Love and a Tranquil Life on the Riviera - 28min Radio Cut - Faye Villalba

    Faye arrived on the Côte d’Azur in the late 1990s after a decade in Madrid and a career in film production that had taken her across Europe. Monaco was glamorous. The Riviera was quieter than she expected. The beaches were pebbled, not white sand. Life looked different here. What she could not foresee was how profoundly her professional life would change. After years working in film, alongside IVF treatments and a four-year adoption journey, Faye found herself at a crossroads. A painful moment at an airport made her realise she could no longer live out of a suitcase. She had waited 44 years to become a mother. Something had to shift. Yoga, which had supported her through infertility and uncertainty, slowly became more than a personal practice. It became a vocation. What began as one informal exchange — yoga lessons for pottery classes — evolved into a fully fledged business built through entrepreneurial networks, word of mouth, strategic pricing decisions and a bold “one-month intensive” model that worked perfectly in the transient Riviera environment. In this episode, we talk about: – Leaving a well-paid but unstable film career – Navigating the French freelance system and auto-entrepreneur status – Building a yoga business in an area saturated with wellness professionals – The reality of financial pressure during the 2009 crisis – Balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship without external childcare – Charging fairly in a profession often expected to be “spiritual” and free – Why Riviera glamour is mostly a myth – And what it really means to nurture a business like you would a child This is a candid conversation about reinvention, resilience, financial simplicity, women supporting women, and building a sustainable life in the South of France not through glamour, but through passion and persistence. This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  7. Mar 2

    Investing in France as an Expat: Financial Confidence & Wealth Management - 28 min Radio Cut - Vicky Kirby

    Vicky moved from Manchester to the French Riviera with a plan, savings in place, jobs secured, and a dream built years earlier on a beach in the South of France. But building a long-term professional life abroad is never as simple as the dream. In this episode, we go deep into what it really takes to build a financial advisory practice in France as a British expat: from navigating French bureaucracy and cultural differences in the workplace, to understanding social charges, licensing requirements, and the realities of entrepreneurship on the Côte d’Azur. After nearly two decades working in corporate finance, including at AXA UK and AXA France, Vicky made the bold decision to leave salaried employment, complete a French master’s degree in financial engineering, obtain AMF certification, and build her own wealth management company focused on expats and women. We discuss: The shock of French social charges and what they actually fund The cultural differences between UK and French working life The complexity of French investment products and inheritance rules Why financial confidence is not about having a million euros Pricing your services ethically as a female entrepreneur The reality behind Riviera glamour And how to build credibility in a country that isn’t your own This is a candid conversation about relocation, financial literacy, resilience, and what it really means to build a sustainable career abroad. A must-listen for anyone considering moving to France, starting a business here, or trying to understand the French financial system. This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com

  8. Feb 23

    Yacht Crew to Global Brand: Luxury Crewwear from the French Riviera - 28 min Radio Cut - Lu Kenhard

    At 18, Lu arrived on the French Riviera with a plane ticket, a job on a yacht in Golfe Juan, and no idea that the industry would shape her entire life. The job lasted 24 hours. The career lasted decades. After years working as a yacht chef and travelling the world, yachting eventually brought her back to the South of France this time as a mother of twins and unable to return to life on board. What began as casually walking the docks with a suitcase of samples turned into a shop in Antibes, partnerships with international suppliers, and eventually her own uniform designs worn by crew across Europe. In this episode, we explore what it really takes to build a specialised business in the yachting capital of Europe. Lu shares how she set up a company in France without ever having run a shop before, navigated banks and bureaucracy with limited French, and built her client base from scratch by networking dock by dock. We talk about: – the realities of launching a business in France – the three-year runway every entrepreneur should prepare for – French social charges and why hiring can stall growth – the 3–6–9 commercial lease system – the difference between selling products and understanding an industry from the inside Lu also opens up about a turning point that forced her to pause and rebuild her company on her own terms, this time slower, more strategic, and entirely her own. This is a conversation about industry knowledge, patience, reinvention, and why nothing in business happens overnight especially not on the French Riviera. This is the condensed 28-minute episode. If you would like to listen to the full-length version, it is available on Living the Dream: French Riviera  main Podcast channel Living the Dream: French Riviera Podcast Women and their professional journey while relocating to the South of France. https://livingthedreampodcast.com

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Relocating to the French Riviera sounds idyllic. But how do you actually build a professional life once you arrive? Hosted by Cecile Liconnet, Living the Dream: French Riviera explores women’s professional journeys after relocating to the South of France. Through candid, in-depth conversations, the podcast looks at what it really takes to work, earn a living, and create long-term stability abroad. Each episode shares first-hand experiences of career change, entrepreneurship, adaptation, and reinvention. From navigating visas and local job markets to managing finances, seasonality, and cultural differences. Authentic voices. Grounded stories. A clear look behind the postcard perfect image of life on the Riviera. Living the Dream – Radio Edition features the special 28 minute cuts of my interviews broadcast on WRP. These shorter episodes offer a curated glimpse into the stories of women who have reinvented their professional lives on the French Riviera. Full-length episodes and more on the main podcast page. For photos and extra content about our guests, visit our website: Living the Dream: French Riviera. Please follow, share, and consider supporting the podcast 😊 Merci beaucoup! 

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