UK emigration leads to Côte influx

Suzanne Robson and Miranda Pitt moved from London to Nice in search of employment

Over the past year there has been an influx of 20-30 year olds who have come to the Côte d'Azur as a direct result of redundancy. Although many touch down without plans to settle here, some are finding that being on the Riviera is taking them in new, exciting career directions.

In May, Miranda Pitt and Suzanne Robson, both 26, packed their possessions into the car boot and left London. Miranda had lost her job, leading a team of publicists at PR firm Borkowski, in December 2008. Around the same time, Suzanne, who had just qualified as a lawyer, was let go by the law firm Lovells.

Coming from prestigious companies, both girls quickly became despondent with the situation in London. "Looking back I can see I was naïve," admits Suzanne. "Because I'd been with a top firm I thought I wouldn't have a problem finding another job but I soon realised there just weren't any out there." Miranda too was struggling to find a position: "London PR is a small world, few agencies have a reputation to match Borkowski's.”

The friends decided to take time out. Suzanne wanted to spend the summer improving her French in the South of France, and suggested Miranda came too. One month later they were roadtripping, Thelma and Louise style, Dover to Nice.

More than just a time out

Miranda says that, initially, she didn’t have an agenda: “I didn’t know if I would stay a week or a year.” It was only after she found a temporary marketing job in Nice that her expectations started to change. "The longer I was here the more I wanted to stay. I was meeting English-speaking people my age who were doing well, many working for international companies that didn't require fluent French."

Miranda now works in a sales role for an American owned company in Nice. She feels that the skills she's acquiring strengthen her CV.

Unexpected opportunities

To begin with, Suzanne took a position as an au pair. However, the week before she was due to start she received an email with a job offer that changed everything. "Before I left London an old colleague put me in touch with his lawyer friend in Monaco. It turns out that she was leaving and she gave her boss my CV. As this other woman had been qualified for four years I didn't think I'd be experienced enough to actually get it."

Now working as a lawyer for a Monaco-based entrepreneur, she has leapfrogged up the career ladder: "I know people who have stayed in London and are struggling to find good roles. I've come here and been given an opportunity I would never have got at home. There's no doubt being in France already was a major factor in being hired. I guess the risk paid off."

Carey Secrett, 26, is another young Brit rebounding from redundancy. She moved to Antibes with her boyfriend, Richard, after she lost her job as a management consultant. Unlike Suzanne and Miranda, Carey didn’t look for another position in London; Richard works in yachting and they had plans to move to the area before her redundancy was announced. "I wanted to get out of the rat race and was relieved when severance pay gave me the financial security to relocate." Carey also had no real plans, she only knew that she wanted to pursue her passions. Using networking websites she found two jobs working with things she loves: food and boats.

Now, she works part time for a yacht broker and the rest of the time managing and building a business strategy for a gourmet catering firm. "In London you feel pressure to follow the crowd and build your CV. Here, I’m doing things I actually enjoy."

Using community contacts

Johnny's recession story is a little different because he had already been here a year when he lost his job, working for UK estate agents Savills on a development project in Cap d'Antibes. In charge of selling high-end apartments to foreign investors, Johnny felt the full force of the recession. Always doubting the project’s stability, he wasn't surprised when they let him go in July.

Returning to London wasn’t an option: he had an English girlfriend who lived here and a lifestyle that he loved. As is often the way when living abroad, it was thanks to contacts in the anglophone community that Johnny managed to find another job. He met the directors of a yacht company at a friend's wedding and a few days later they called him up and asked if he'd be interested in joining the sales team as a broker. Like Suzanne, Johnny knows he would never have got this opportunity if he hadn't already been living in the region and a member of a thriving expat community.

A better work-life balance

Of course, relocating to the Riviera isn't always sunny and worry-free. Yet, for many, the pros outweigh the cons. "The train journey from Nice to Monaco is one of the most beautiful commutes in the world," Suzanne says. "When I think of the tube in London, I have to pinch myself."

With the euro getting stronger, Miranda feels there’s never been a better time to work in France. “I get the impression that salaries here are far more competitive than they used to be.” The French also have a better work-life balance. Johnny has enough time outside of office hours to coach tennis to private clients. Carey goes sailing every weekend. And Miranda has started writing a novel, which she’s wanted to do for years.

"When I'm here, I take what I've done for granted because I'm surrounded by people like me. It's my London friends who remind me that I've been quite courageous and enterprising. My mum jokes that I threw all my things in a handkerchief, tied it to a stick and went off to find my fortune. Actually, it’s not that far from the truth. This month I'm going back to the UK for the first time, not with my tail between my legs but with a job and my head held high.”

HM