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There is an unimaginable amount of planning, work and expense that goes into an international move.  I mean, moving in general is not an easy feat, but traveling to a new continent takes the move to an entirely different level.

My stomach hurts just thinking about it!

So how did it all get started?

During the summer of 2014, we took a trip to France.  We visited Paris, Bordeaux and Nice to get a taste of the different regions of the Country.   We enjoyed Paris immensely, preferred the quiet area of Saint-Émilion over Bordeaux and absolutely feel in love with Nice.

While in Nice, we just knew we wanted to live there. But how could we make this happen? Could we really move to Europe from the United States? Could we leave our family and friends?

I had always REFUSED to live anywhere but Virginia.  Derrick grew up in California and always wanted go back. “Sorry, you married the wrong women for that” I told him. While I didn’t feel a special connection to the Hampton Roads area of VA itself, it was home. My family lived in Virginia. How could I ever live somewhere without my Mom close by?

The more we talked about it, the more we wanted to make the move. The kids were on board, so it was time to start planning.

First up was to research if we could actually afford to live in Nice.

As it turns out, the prices are quite reasonable. Now, I said reasonable – not cheap.  It is a major tourist destination after all.

We are spending about $700 less per month on a 2 bedroom apartment near the center of town than we spent on a 4 bedroom house in the suburbs. The rent does include all utilities, cable and Wifi so that adds up to a big savings.   Food is also reasonable, if you don’t eat out daily & like to cook with fresh ingredients.

We also sold our home, one of our cars and a majority of our possessions to fund the move. Scary right?

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