Antibes - French Riviera - Any Good?

[claret73]

Has anybody been or spent any time in Antibes, or down on the Med, South of France? I may have an opportunity to go and do some ad-hoc work through a contact I have made through Restoration of bikes. Bit of everything, labouring, bike building etc...whatever he needs doing & pays. (& I don't mean That!!! :roll: ) I don't have any Sparks work on here at the moment & maybe might be worth a punt to see if I can find any long term employment beyond that.
Looks to be plenty of lifestyle options, Italian border, Alps North etc

 

[suburbanreuben]

You got anything keeping you here?
No?
Then go for it, it's nearly springtime!

 

[cchris2lou]

Antibes is very nice . the whole of the french riviera is near the perfect place to live . sea in the summer and only one hour away from the ski slopes in the winter .

Antibe harbour is packed with massive yatchs .

but cost is living is very high . accomodation in particular is very very expensive .

you need to earn a very good wage to afford a good standard of life down there .

 

[orange71]

seem to remember Antibes being very english, perversely, incl. 2nd hand english bookshops etc

 

[claret73]

You got anything keeping you here?

No...except a Very close tie to my Parents, my Sister & her 2 Kids whom are both young, so that's the wrench. But, No Mortgage, No OH, No Kids, No Major Finance...I've got a couple of weeks to mull it over, so I'm going to try some of the English Sparks down there to see if I can pick up anything. Being 38, kind of feel I should be doing something a bit more stable and sensible but that doesn't seem to have got me anywhere...

Yeah, I can see Antibes being very expensive, but imagine if you move further inland or away from the Med it gets cheaper. Part of the work deal is free digs in return for a portion of free work for a couple of days per week. That'd be a Massive pressure off initially. I have been told it does have a high ex-pat locality. Which is spurred by the Yachting community, lots of Aussies, South Africans & Brits so I'm told.

I lived in France about 9 years ago & for me I'd want to integrate...looks like a few good clubs in the area. I bought my Gios off the guy in question & he restores Vintage & Retro for sell on. Should be a No Brainer, but...

 

[cchris2lou]

The whole area is expensive . But it is worth it .
I have familly in Nice and went overthere 3 weeks ago . I also used to spend a lot of time down there when I was a kid .

Last summer I took my wife there for the first time and she was amazed at how beautiful it is .

A lot of cyclist in that part of the world too . Many pro cyclists live on the riviera as weather is good and lot of mountains to train . At christmas I saw the Astana team on a training ride .

Go for it .

 

[dbmtb]

Don't know quite how close by it is, but my friend Sandra lives near St. Maxime.

Was there a couple of years ago and there is some great riding in that part of France.

She's starting up a guiding business. More here:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ride-Mor ... 9211504754

 

[pavement]

I'm sure they used to run a downhill event at Cap D'ail. Fantastic rail system all along the coast. I was a big fan of Beaulieu sur mer.

 

[cchris2lou]

I'm sure they used to run a downhill event at Cap D'ail. Fantastic rail system all along the coast. I was a big fan of Beaulieu sur mer.

yep , the world cup used to go there . Cap d ail is the town where Nicolas Vouilloz live .

 

[Rich34]

I live near Montpellier but have a brother-in-law in Cogolin (near St Tropez). It's a great area, great roads, great weather, and it can be pricey but then again if you're single with basic requirements a very small flat (studio) can be found for reasonable money. The prices will go up towards July and August but it's hellish busy around there in the summer anyway so you might want to try to be away by then... You're bang on about integrating, those who don't miss out on a lot.

Go for it.