3/10/23: Are You Dreaming of a Life in France? Better Get to Know Adrian Leeds....
Back in July of 2007, I was planning a big trip to France later that summer and I had already booked a place to stay for a couple of weeks in Paris. But shortly before my departure for Europe, I discovered a lady named Adrian Leeds, who happened to be giving a weekend seminar in San Francisco in early July. I attended her event and—to my good fortune—learned that she owned a rental apartment in Paris that would still be available for the time that I was planning to be there. So I cancelled my previous reservation and, later in August, was enjoying a two-week stay at her delightful studio apartment (in a classic, centuries-old building in the Marais district) which she had christened Le Provençal because of the bright, colorful, cheerful décor with which it was designed. As I later commented in a review of my stay: “It is impossible to feel depressed in this place!”
Since that time, I have been following Adrian’s activities in France with great interest (particularly through her 3-times-per-week blog, which you can subscribe to at AdrianLeeds.com). Over the past twenty plus years, she has made quite a name for herself by building a very successful business in which she assists Americans who have a dream of living either full-time or part-time in France. She had that dream herself back in the 1990s, made it come true, and has never looked back! Actually, if you are a fan of the House Hunters International show, you may already be familiar with Adrian, as she has starred in many episodes advising buyers who are looking for their dream homes in various regions of France. [Please continue reading below…]
Besides residing in her own Paris apartment in Le Marais, she has a second home in the most desirable part of Nice, which (with its magnificent Côte d’Azur scenery, brilliant blue sea, and 300+ days of sun per year) now has—largely thanks to Adrian—an ever-growing community of American expats. How’s that for a very cool lifestyle….dividing your time between the high culture of Paris (the most-visited city in the world) and the laid-back atmosphere of the French Riviera?! By the way, one thing I especially like about the Nice area is that you can easily take day trips along the coast (by train, or by car) to Monaco, San Remo (Italy), Cannes, and other nearby points of interest.
Adrian and her team have specialized in finding and purchasing homes (especially apartments in Paris and the Nice area) which are in the most desirable locations and are good candidates for top-to-bottom renovations. When the makeovers (designed with the amenities that American buyers would want most) are completed, they are then offered as either single-owner or fractional-ownership properties. For me, the fractional-ownership option (four weeks per year, and—unlike a timeshare—you are actually a co-owner of the real estate) seems very appealing.
One thing I have always appreciated about Adrian’s blog is that in her stories about the various aspects of living in France, she doesn’t try to “sugar coat” anything. Along with all the positive aspects of the French culture, she is also quite honest about the problems that can and do arise when trying to deal with locals who don’t always do things the way Americans would prefer. And having lived in France for many years, she has become quite an expert on what to watch out for…and how to deal with it!
So….am I interested in spending more time in France myself? Well, in keeping with the theme of this blog—A Land Beyond Lies—I’ll be truthful and admit that I must be interested, since the language I’ve spent the most time trying to learn for the past few months is French! And I further confess that I have my eye on one of Adrian’s fractional ownership properties in particular (Le Jardin de la Promenade, which is on the ground floor, has its own large sunny patio, and is directly across the street from the beach in Nice). Will it ever happen? Stay tuned:-)….
Comments or Questions? Please email me at robmann@substack.com.