WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.921 --> 00:00:11.361 Guess what? 2 00:00:11.841 --> 00:00:12.842 I'm moving country again. 3 00:00:14.143 --> 00:00:14.564 I don't know, 4 00:00:14.844 --> 00:00:15.504 maybe a year, 5 00:00:15.845 --> 00:00:16.465 maybe more. 6 00:00:17.426 --> 00:00:17.986 Where's the phone? 7 00:00:17.987 --> 00:00:19.147 The phone's everywhere. 8 00:00:19.888 --> 00:00:20.469 I'm an expat. 9 00:00:21.329 --> 00:00:21.589 Hi, 10 00:00:21.850 --> 00:00:29.336 it's Pauline from Meet the Expats and today I am with Joshua Kennedy who is from the Netherlands but moved to France. 11 00:00:29.496 --> 00:00:32.478 the French Riviera in 2018 with his wife, 12 00:00:33.179 --> 00:00:36.041 started life and network from scratch there, 13 00:00:36.141 --> 00:00:38.103 which apparently was quite challenging. 14 00:00:39.324 --> 00:00:41.105 And indeed struggling with that, 15 00:00:42.226 --> 00:00:44.508 the existing channels there, 16 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:51.174 they created Next Locals to bring communities together and make moving abroad more accessible. 17 00:00:51.194 --> 00:00:57.639 So we'll dive into that piece around building your network and making the right friends. 18 00:00:58.900 --> 00:01:02.582 I'll let you introduce yourself before we move to your big move. 19 00:01:03.282 --> 00:01:03.422 Yeah, 20 00:01:04.083 --> 00:01:05.504 well thank you so much for having me Polly, 21 00:01:06.244 --> 00:01:07.204 pleasure speaking with you. 22 00:01:07.985 --> 00:01:08.605 Likewise. 23 00:01:09.866 --> 00:01:11.347 So tell us a bit about you, 24 00:01:11.727 --> 00:01:15.749 yourself and how that big move to the French Riviera came up. 25 00:01:16.610 --> 00:01:16.730 Yes, 26 00:01:16.731 --> 00:01:22.333 so I'm originally from the Netherlands as you said and to be honest and completely frank, 27 00:01:23.533 --> 00:01:28.196 I did like it in many ways but I was always thinking about moving abroad so I 28 00:01:29.476 --> 00:01:54.753 just dreaming you know when you see a movie you see the different type of lifestyle that we were living uh back then and for us the the main reason was essentially a better quality of life and i didn't like how everything was sort of i don't know you you get used to certain things and then you see something different and that looks very interesting but especially the lifestyle that people seem to have uh 29 00:01:54.754 --> 00:01:58.376 what was sunshine involved that was really appealing to me 30 00:01:58.696 --> 00:02:16.410 and okay yeah that was the main motivator back to the main motivator okay lifestyle and so what exactly you talk about all right the sunshine but was there anything else in the current lifestyle that you felt okay this is enough i'm frustrated with this or this 31 00:02:16.490 --> 00:02:27.599 looks appealing i think it was many things but the lifestyle itself was again the main motivator back then definitely changed 32 00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:49.589 made is then your suddenly your horizon widens and your entire life changes and your uh your view on the world as well okay and it was more superficial and um but it's just i mean you pay taxes anyway so you yeah you do have to choice where you do that you can't choose where you grow up but 33 00:02:49.689 --> 00:02:55.132 you do have a choice always in life uh yeah something i believe um 34 00:02:55.492 --> 00:02:59.836 you can always choose how you respond to things and what you do and the decisions that you take. 35 00:02:59.837 --> 00:03:02.158 And that will always have consequences, 36 00:03:02.178 --> 00:03:02.538 of course, 37 00:03:02.539 --> 00:03:04.760 but that will lead to something. 38 00:03:05.420 --> 00:03:05.941 So for us, 39 00:03:05.961 --> 00:03:06.982 it was important that 40 00:03:08.082 --> 00:03:08.303 I mean, 41 00:03:08.323 --> 00:03:09.243 the sunshine does a lot. 42 00:03:09.363 --> 00:03:09.604 I mean, 43 00:03:09.924 --> 00:03:10.064 yeah, 44 00:03:10.464 --> 00:03:11.245 I agree. 45 00:03:13.307 --> 00:03:13.787 For sure. 46 00:03:14.348 --> 00:03:19.192 And so how was this specific destination chosen? 47 00:03:19.272 --> 00:03:20.473 Like why France? 48 00:03:20.673 --> 00:03:22.755 Why the south of France? 49 00:03:22.756 --> 00:03:24.176 I sort of guess for the sunshine. 50 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:28.503 But why specifically France and not maybe Spain or Italy or whatever? 51 00:03:28.964 --> 00:03:29.664 Yeah, 52 00:03:29.665 --> 00:03:31.646 I've been thinking about many countries. 53 00:03:31.726 --> 00:03:32.947 And initially, 54 00:03:32.987 --> 00:03:35.109 I thought about moving to the US. 55 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:36.730 Okay. 56 00:03:36.750 --> 00:03:36.870 Yeah, 57 00:03:37.311 --> 00:03:37.811 I have... 58 00:03:39.192 --> 00:03:39.313 Well, 59 00:03:39.314 --> 00:03:43.496 I've been in business for almost 15 years right now, 60 00:03:43.536 --> 00:03:44.737 and I'm only in my 61 00:03:45.658 --> 00:03:48.540 30s. So I've been doing that since 62 00:03:49.801 --> 00:03:50.502 I was able to work, 63 00:03:50.762 --> 00:03:51.183 essentially. 64 00:03:53.156 --> 00:03:53.756 And the U.S. 65 00:03:53.996 --> 00:03:59.278 seemed like a sort of more obvious choice as it's very much career focused and I was very ambitious. 66 00:03:59.298 --> 00:04:00.458 I'm still very ambitious. 67 00:04:00.878 --> 00:04:02.279 So that sort of felt natural. 68 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:04.959 But the move was also very big, 69 00:04:04.999 --> 00:04:06.140 as in you need visas, 70 00:04:06.200 --> 00:04:07.760 you need to sort out a lot of things. 71 00:04:07.820 --> 00:04:11.441 And so that's 72 00:04:11.941 --> 00:04:13.502 I also thought about Spain, 73 00:04:13.822 --> 00:04:14.202 Italy, 74 00:04:15.022 --> 00:04:15.442 all those 75 00:04:16.022 --> 00:04:17.343 Mediterranean countries, 76 00:04:17.443 --> 00:04:18.963 which all seem very lovely. 77 00:04:19.623 --> 00:04:20.484 Spain specifically. 78 00:04:20.524 --> 00:04:20.984 I love that. 79 00:04:21.808 --> 00:04:37.637 because the food is incredible and people seem to be very friendly and it's always yes and you know that they try to please in a way but they yeah it's very good uh but my girlfriend back then she's now my wife but she wasn't very keen on uh 80 00:04:37.638 --> 00:04:48.863 on taking that step and it's quite an emotional emotional story for her actually but the her father passed away when she was very young so 81 00:04:52.325 --> 00:04:58.662 And so that was the main reason for her not wanting to move anywhere without a month, 82 00:04:58.762 --> 00:04:59.204 essentially. 83 00:04:59.849 --> 00:05:01.290 So if she's not close to her mom, 84 00:05:01.370 --> 00:05:02.350 then it's a no go. 85 00:05:02.351 --> 00:05:02.570 Yeah, 86 00:05:02.610 --> 00:05:03.030 it's harder. 87 00:05:04.351 --> 00:05:05.191 Fortunately for me, 88 00:05:05.771 --> 00:05:11.374 her mom met someone else after years after her husband passed away. 89 00:05:11.974 --> 00:05:15.655 And he has been living in the south of France for over 30 years. 90 00:05:16.456 --> 00:05:16.696 Oh, 91 00:05:16.736 --> 00:05:17.056 right. 92 00:05:18.357 --> 00:05:24.459 And he said there is one non-negotiable and that is that I am going to be moving to the Netherlands. 93 00:05:24.479 --> 00:05:26.200 So I will stay in France. 94 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:29.241 You are very happy to join me and welcome to move. 95 00:05:29.881 --> 00:05:39.267 move in with me but I'm not going to the Netherlands so that is when her mum decided all right I am going to move in with him. 96 00:05:40.427 --> 00:05:43.469 To the South of France. 97 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:46.591 There was a perfect situation for me and I said well 98 00:05:47.792 --> 00:05:49.292 I understand that you want to follow her, 99 00:05:49.472 --> 00:05:51.073 want to stay close with her and and 100 00:05:51.874 --> 00:05:55.616 I absolutely love moving abroad so yeah let's do it, 101 00:05:55.776 --> 00:05:56.356 let's follow you. 102 00:05:57.521 --> 00:05:57.861 All right. 103 00:05:57.862 --> 00:05:59.502 So it was mom's choice in the end. 104 00:06:03.164 --> 00:06:04.505 But I'm very happy with that. 105 00:06:04.605 --> 00:06:05.906 Okay, 106 00:06:05.946 --> 00:06:06.706 it's worked out well. 107 00:06:07.086 --> 00:06:07.246 Well, 108 00:06:07.306 --> 00:06:09.067 tell us about the arrival, 109 00:06:09.307 --> 00:06:11.849 settling in and all the culture shocks, 110 00:06:11.889 --> 00:06:12.189 I guess, 111 00:06:12.989 --> 00:06:14.250 that go with such a move. 112 00:06:14.470 --> 00:06:14.650 Yeah. 113 00:06:15.551 --> 00:06:15.691 Well, 114 00:06:15.711 --> 00:06:15.991 for us, 115 00:06:16.011 --> 00:06:24.756 it was even though we did have that connection with her mom and father-in-law, 116 00:06:27.257 --> 00:06:27.637 of course, 117 00:06:27.638 --> 00:06:29.698 as in I didn't speak any French at all. 118 00:06:30.778 --> 00:06:31.099 So the, 119 00:06:31.579 --> 00:06:31.739 yeah, 120 00:06:31.919 --> 00:06:34.920 it was quite a culture shock in terms of the language, 121 00:06:34.940 --> 00:06:36.841 but also in how they do things. 122 00:06:36.881 --> 00:06:37.121 I mean, 123 00:06:38.141 --> 00:06:47.185 you mentioned that you live in Paris and from what I know and having been to Paris a few times and having worked with some people from Paris, 124 00:06:47.665 --> 00:06:51.907 their work mentality is completely different in other parts of France than in the 125 00:06:53.167 --> 00:06:53.808 South. Absolutely, 126 00:06:54.048 --> 00:06:54.228 yeah. 127 00:06:54.368 --> 00:06:56.749 The South is really laid back and yeah. 128 00:06:56.949 --> 00:07:20.115 there is basically no speed in the process so everything is very relaxed and a bit too much every now and then yeah it can be a bit of a shocker i but i guess in many countries it can be a bit of that difference of the big city versus you know the smaller cities and the more you get towards the beach and a sunny place i feel the more you have sort of that siesta vibe 129 00:07:20.856 --> 00:07:26.157 in a way but it takes a bit of getting used to an organization in your day-to-day 130 00:07:28.418 --> 00:07:42.506 also they have yeah and i think i i mean ultimately we love it because it's it is very forgiving in a way so you cannot expect that from other people but on the other hand they don't expect it from you as well let's 131 00:07:42.526 --> 00:07:54.032 take the tax office as an example uh you know in the netherlands in the uk all places that we've been it's very strict and it's very uh you know it needs to be 132 00:07:55.593 --> 00:07:55.833 Of course, 133 00:07:55.853 --> 00:07:59.354 it needs to be submitted by a certain date. 134 00:07:59.474 --> 00:08:04.515 But then very often the online software doesn't work. 135 00:08:04.575 --> 00:08:10.397 So it's postponed for a few days and all that. 136 00:08:10.917 --> 00:08:15.118 And when the tax office asked some questions about certain things, 137 00:08:15.158 --> 00:08:16.939 I just bounced the ball back and said, 138 00:08:16.959 --> 00:08:17.119 well, 139 00:08:18.679 --> 00:08:19.960 I think I have done everything. 140 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:23.541 So you tell me what I did wrong and then correct it for me. 141 00:08:23.921 --> 00:08:24.901 And they actually do it. 142 00:08:25.557 --> 00:08:26.917 You just have to get used to, 143 00:08:27.918 --> 00:08:29.198 you need to find your way in, 144 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:30.419 yeah, 145 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.300 basically working that out and making that work for yourself. 146 00:08:35.140 --> 00:08:35.320 Yeah, 147 00:08:35.480 --> 00:08:39.942 I guess there's a bit of this piece of if you show you're of good face, 148 00:08:40.102 --> 00:08:47.504 there will be a little bit more leeway and there might be a bit more helpful around that. 149 00:08:47.804 --> 00:08:47.924 No, 150 00:08:48.004 --> 00:08:48.465 absolutely. 151 00:08:49.885 --> 00:08:52.827 Especially true for these type of processes, 152 00:08:52.987 --> 00:08:53.327 indeed. 153 00:08:53.628 --> 00:08:55.169 But also when it comes to language. 154 00:08:55.189 --> 00:08:55.389 I mean, 155 00:08:55.549 --> 00:08:58.731 that's something I very often hear from people. 156 00:08:58.751 --> 00:08:59.031 You know, 157 00:08:59.191 --> 00:09:00.752 the French people don't speak English. 158 00:09:01.013 --> 00:09:01.153 Well, 159 00:09:01.473 --> 00:09:02.814 that's not really true. 160 00:09:02.854 --> 00:09:03.094 I mean, 161 00:09:05.095 --> 00:09:07.577 try to look at it from the other way around, 162 00:09:07.617 --> 00:09:07.837 right? 163 00:09:07.877 --> 00:09:13.041 If you are in the Netherlands and we've mentioned this example a few times, 164 00:09:13.461 --> 00:09:15.723 we're not going to do it again. 165 00:09:19.165 --> 00:09:37.155 from abroad in the netherlands too if someone walks up to you on the street and they start speaking moroccan to you yeah that's gonna be you are in the netherlands or whatever language uh they i mean what is your first response right so you you think well forget 166 00:09:37.175 --> 00:09:47.600 about it you know i just stick to my own language and again as you say if you show your good faith go show your good 167 00:09:48.897 --> 00:10:02.105 start in French and try to yeah make your way around it yeah make it on a basic dialogue then people suddenly open up and they start speaking English and they start helping you and they're super friendly 168 00:10:02.958 --> 00:10:03.118 Yeah. 169 00:10:04.158 --> 00:10:04.739 What about, 170 00:10:06.859 --> 00:10:07.139 I mean, 171 00:10:07.219 --> 00:10:08.139 let's dive into it, 172 00:10:09.180 --> 00:10:11.880 building your network because the south of France, 173 00:10:11.920 --> 00:10:12.641 so as you said, 174 00:10:12.741 --> 00:10:13.821 it's smaller towns. 175 00:10:14.701 --> 00:10:16.482 The vibe is very different to Paris. 176 00:10:16.602 --> 00:10:18.242 It's not as international. 177 00:10:18.422 --> 00:10:18.542 So 178 00:10:19.402 --> 00:10:30.345 I can imagine it's extremely different when you arrive as a foreigner and trying to meet new people versus big cities that automatically are a little bit more international. 179 00:10:32.706 --> 00:10:39.608 The French Riviera is a very unique mix of backgrounds and personalities and all that. 180 00:10:40.528 --> 00:10:41.929 It is very international, 181 00:10:42.049 --> 00:10:43.809 but in a different way. 182 00:10:44.569 --> 00:10:46.490 So if you would compare it to Paris, 183 00:10:46.530 --> 00:10:47.130 for example, 184 00:10:47.210 --> 00:10:51.091 I think that is a great example because it's much more career driven, 185 00:10:51.191 --> 00:10:52.451 lots of opportunities, 186 00:10:52.872 --> 00:10:54.772 lots of bigger companies and all that. 187 00:10:55.252 --> 00:11:01.674 That's our base in Paris. 188 00:11:02.658 --> 00:11:03.779 that naturally comes from here. 189 00:11:03.780 --> 00:11:05.679 So there is no big industry, 190 00:11:05.779 --> 00:11:06.419 for example. 191 00:11:06.479 --> 00:11:08.420 So it heavily relies on tourism. 192 00:11:08.980 --> 00:11:11.961 There's very much seasonal work. 193 00:11:12.661 --> 00:11:16.782 So you have lots of people coming in from May, 194 00:11:17.322 --> 00:11:17.862 basically, 195 00:11:18.142 --> 00:11:18.683 until 196 00:11:19.783 --> 00:11:21.183 I'd say end of September, 197 00:11:21.263 --> 00:11:22.224 beginning of October. 198 00:11:22.884 --> 00:11:27.825 And then the region completely transforms and it absolutely changes here. 199 00:11:31.046 --> 00:11:32.426 back and they live, 200 00:11:33.607 --> 00:11:34.467 as we say in Dutch, 201 00:11:34.547 --> 00:11:36.548 with one leg in the other countries. 202 00:11:36.568 --> 00:11:41.169 They still have roots alive in a different country. 203 00:11:41.209 --> 00:11:49.291 So they're very often traveling and up in between countries and trying to see how this region feels and what it does to them. 204 00:11:50.731 --> 00:11:54.833 So that also means that some people find it, 205 00:11:55.053 --> 00:11:59.314 and we personally found it very difficult 206 00:11:59.914 --> 00:12:17.779 it makes sense yeah because if you are not in uh if you're not moving here with the intention okay i'm going to build my life here i'm going to build this my new home um then you're sort of always comparing it to something else right so you're not invested 207 00:12:17.879 --> 00:12:26.462 in in the outcome of making it work here so you always sort of take the easy way out as an all right it's easier in the us for me or it's 208 00:12:27.170 --> 00:12:43.744 in Italy for me or Germany or wherever you're from so then you at least that is my opinion and you're not willing to put in the effort to make the effort absolutely and that makes very often the relationships a bit shallow or distant 209 00:12:45.385 --> 00:12:54.393 yeah and you don't see people as much also I think for the other person if you're here to stay you don't necessarily want to invest that much time 210 00:12:56.558 --> 00:12:59.740 Maybe not even come back the following year. 211 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:00.841 It's also your time, 212 00:13:00.881 --> 00:13:03.443 your energy in the same way. 213 00:13:04.183 --> 00:13:04.864 Absolutely true, 214 00:13:04.904 --> 00:13:05.064 yeah. 215 00:13:06.365 --> 00:13:06.485 No, 216 00:13:06.505 --> 00:13:06.885 that's right. 217 00:13:07.666 --> 00:13:10.127 So how did you actually start meeting people? 218 00:13:11.128 --> 00:13:11.248 Yeah, 219 00:13:11.348 --> 00:13:11.649 for us, 220 00:13:13.370 --> 00:13:14.510 it is a sort of sales pitch, 221 00:13:14.571 --> 00:13:16.932 but it's simply the truth. 222 00:13:17.693 --> 00:13:19.814 So we were here about a year. 223 00:13:19.894 --> 00:13:22.536 So we arrived in 2018. 224 00:13:22.537 --> 00:13:23.236 December it was. 225 00:13:25.438 --> 00:13:28.179 We did all the tourism things like, 226 00:13:28.439 --> 00:13:28.659 you know, 227 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:29.1000 we did the sightseeing. 228 00:13:30.001 --> 00:13:32.901 We went to the beautiful restaurants, 229 00:13:33.282 --> 00:13:33.682 the sea, 230 00:13:33.683 --> 00:13:34.442 the mountains, 231 00:13:34.502 --> 00:13:35.923 all the things in between. 232 00:13:36.823 --> 00:13:44.947 But then even though you are together as in me and my wife and her mom and my father-in-law, 233 00:13:45.767 --> 00:13:49.449 you feel very quickly isolated. 234 00:13:49.789 --> 00:13:51.210 So I don't want to say lonely. 235 00:13:51.870 --> 00:13:53.312 You do hear that every now and then, 236 00:13:53.372 --> 00:13:57.015 but I don't think lonely is the right term and description for that. 237 00:13:57.075 --> 00:13:59.977 It's more isolation because you do have friends, 238 00:14:00.017 --> 00:14:01.218 but they're not here. 239 00:14:02.019 --> 00:14:03.360 You want to make this work. 240 00:14:03.380 --> 00:14:04.641 So you want to do things, 241 00:14:04.681 --> 00:14:06.883 but you feel sort of trapped, 242 00:14:07.183 --> 00:14:08.865 closed and isolated, 243 00:14:08.965 --> 00:14:10.346 I think is the right word. 244 00:14:11.647 --> 00:14:15.150 And then obviously COVID came not long after that. 245 00:14:15.170 --> 00:14:16.411 So that wasn't helpful either. 246 00:14:20.214 --> 00:14:24.317 We decided to start organizing some events ourselves. 247 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.261 We noticed that there were lots of communities out there, 248 00:14:28.361 --> 00:14:29.962 literally hundreds of them. 249 00:14:31.123 --> 00:14:35.566 But it wasn't quite what we wanted and also being ambitious myself, 250 00:14:35.626 --> 00:14:41.211 I wanted to use it as an opportunity to find some clients to set up my business here. 251 00:14:41.751 --> 00:14:45.274 So we started organizing very relaxed meetups, 252 00:14:45.755 --> 00:14:46.415 what we called them. 253 00:14:47.276 --> 00:14:49.858 It was at first called a business club. 254 00:14:50.590 --> 00:14:53.512 because I thought it was going to be mainly about business networking. 255 00:14:54.473 --> 00:14:56.814 But then by organizing a few of the meetups, 256 00:14:56.874 --> 00:15:03.178 I realized that it was all about just meeting with like-minded people and just bringing people together. 257 00:15:04.025 --> 00:15:19.357 okay so that's the thing that we've been doing and we created the atmosphere that we personally feel most comfortable with so i'm for example i uh i love dinner i love eating wrong but to me at a first encounter over dinner um 258 00:15:19.517 --> 00:15:29.104 can feel a little bit awkward in my opinion because you know rigid yeah yeah and then i'm start thinking about how i eat and then 259 00:15:30.565 --> 00:15:46.336 a lot of pressure on everyone a lot of pressure on everything so i'd like to have a an easy way out that's why we prefer to meet over drinks and we've just been doing that and and that is the way that we we 260 00:15:46.577 --> 00:15:58.365 basically met anyone that is in our lives right now and we have a very and an active life here as in business wise but also social so how did you first start 261 00:15:58.605 --> 00:16:17.358 promoting these events when it was even before the business and you say okay let's just launch a meetup uh you do have a few platforms where you can list events such as eventbrite which was a platform that we used i looked on meetup um and we 262 00:16:17.418 --> 00:16:26.505 also created a facebook group okay lots of people here in south france use facebook so then we yeah just created it registered the domain name 263 00:16:27.193 --> 00:16:43.042 put up a very simple landing page this is it so it's free to attend you just have to register here and then come and then we'll see um and i think the first one we had about five 264 00:16:43.482 --> 00:16:56.589 five people attending second one about five to ten as well then another time ten and then the fourth meetup was in come and that was the first one that completely sold out so we had about wow 265 00:16:56.989 --> 00:17:12.177 five registrations and more than 50 people showed up so it was a relatively small bar and it was completely back yeah completely full with people that were coming for the uh for the meetup and that is the moment that we knew all right we're onto something yeah 266 00:17:12.738 --> 00:17:21.923 we we really need to continue building this all right so you don't do them only in that in Vals in the town you're in but you also 267 00:17:26.385 --> 00:17:48.642 decided to do uh to alternate between monaco nice calm and antique and then every now and then in the smaller villages now we're expanding um all over the world actually and we are um building the platform so instead of going to meetup.com or to even bright because for 268 00:17:48.742 --> 00:17:52.465 in-person community organizers you need very 269 00:17:52.945 --> 00:17:53.705 specific tools. 270 00:17:53.885 --> 00:17:55.686 You need software to manage the community, 271 00:17:55.806 --> 00:17:56.726 to bring them together, 272 00:17:57.206 --> 00:17:58.947 to have easy communication and all that. 273 00:17:59.067 --> 00:18:02.148 We've built a community over 20,000 people, 274 00:18:02.168 --> 00:18:03.848 so we know how it works. 275 00:18:03.868 --> 00:18:10.030 We have literally organized more than 300 events in the past few years. 276 00:18:10.530 --> 00:18:16.151 So we know the challenges that you have and we know what you need. 277 00:18:17.212 --> 00:18:18.132 And it doesn't exist. 278 00:18:18.912 --> 00:18:21.353 There are partial solutions. 279 00:18:22.525 --> 00:18:25.126 but it's not complete and it's not working well enough. 280 00:18:26.547 --> 00:18:29.568 That's why we decided to start building the platform. 281 00:18:29.608 --> 00:18:31.789 It's going to take a few more months, 282 00:18:32.329 --> 00:18:33.250 lots of investments. 283 00:18:33.410 --> 00:18:36.051 It's an exciting time. 284 00:18:37.151 --> 00:18:38.772 One day what I wish existed. 285 00:18:40.313 --> 00:18:40.693 All right. 286 00:18:41.213 --> 00:18:43.934 And so what is the vibe of the event? 287 00:18:43.954 --> 00:18:46.155 So you're saying don't go for dinners, 288 00:18:46.195 --> 00:18:48.056 but more for drinks. 289 00:18:50.737 --> 00:18:51.618 Eventbrite or whatever, 290 00:18:51.678 --> 00:18:53.239 you do find these type of events. 291 00:18:53.240 --> 00:19:00.065 So what is different and how in the end were you able to attract people that are more like-minded? 292 00:19:01.226 --> 00:19:01.606 Yeah. 293 00:19:02.827 --> 00:19:03.247 For us, 294 00:19:03.467 --> 00:19:04.388 our niche was 295 00:19:04.748 --> 00:19:07.070 English speakers on the French Riviera. 296 00:19:07.170 --> 00:19:08.952 That is how we started. 297 00:19:09.012 --> 00:19:09.372 Started, 298 00:19:09.552 --> 00:19:10.153 yeah. 299 00:19:10.473 --> 00:19:11.234 Nished it down. 300 00:19:12.194 --> 00:19:12.895 So that helped. 301 00:19:13.115 --> 00:19:13.836 And yeah, 302 00:19:13.837 --> 00:19:18.359 I'm not saying that we're unique in that it doesn't exist, 303 00:19:20.601 --> 00:19:22.922 It was sort of unique back then. 304 00:19:23.222 --> 00:19:28.644 And you also want to be part of a group that is very consistent with all kind of meetups and all that. 305 00:19:28.645 --> 00:19:30.785 So not someone does it every now and then, 306 00:19:30.825 --> 00:19:35.387 because the most difficult thing about running these type of events is getting them full every time. 307 00:19:36.207 --> 00:19:38.849 So it's not so difficult to come up with an idea and say, 308 00:19:38.889 --> 00:19:39.209 all right, 309 00:19:39.329 --> 00:19:39.449 well, 310 00:19:39.609 --> 00:19:40.769 we're going to organize this. 311 00:19:41.470 --> 00:19:42.750 But you need to have venues, 312 00:19:42.770 --> 00:19:43.190 you need to... 313 00:19:43.350 --> 00:19:43.771 Consistency. 314 00:19:44.591 --> 00:19:44.731 Yeah, 315 00:19:45.111 --> 00:19:46.212 you need consistency. 316 00:19:46.272 --> 00:19:47.712 You need to reach the right people. 317 00:19:47.713 --> 00:19:49.453 You need to continue doing that over time. 318 00:19:51.126 --> 00:19:51.246 So, 319 00:19:51.306 --> 00:19:51.467 yeah, 320 00:19:51.487 --> 00:19:59.978 I think and it was also an arrogance probably and an ego matter that I wanted for my personal gain. 321 00:19:59.979 --> 00:20:01.240 You know, 322 00:20:01.781 --> 00:20:06.287 it is different if you are attending or if you are the one organizing the event. 323 00:20:06.288 --> 00:20:06.688 Of course. 324 00:20:08.046 --> 00:20:08.606 Obviously, 325 00:20:09.066 --> 00:20:09.326 for me, 326 00:20:09.908 --> 00:20:13.267 it's more appealing to say that I am the organizer of the event. 327 00:20:13.287 --> 00:20:15.448 So I think that was also a thing for me. 328 00:20:15.649 --> 00:20:16.869 And to be honest, 329 00:20:18.570 --> 00:20:27.312 that is also a way where you can mask some of the insecurities that you have because you play a role. 330 00:20:28.032 --> 00:20:28.652 Yeah, 331 00:20:28.753 --> 00:20:29.672 but you're the host. 332 00:20:29.813 --> 00:20:35.833 You know exactly what you have to do and you're less maybe in the, 333 00:20:36.074 --> 00:20:36.354 oh, 334 00:20:36.355 --> 00:20:36.914 I'm here. 335 00:20:37.814 --> 00:20:54.410 point versus an attendee who's going has to sort of work on his pitch a bit more in a way to actually interact with the people he doesn't know versus you come in as the host that you have the picture already true yeah it is true yeah and 336 00:20:54.430 --> 00:21:01.777 so you were saying these people you've have become your friends in the end and that's how you built your network 337 00:21:02.978 --> 00:21:07.341 So do you only see them through those events or are you able also to separate, 338 00:21:07.681 --> 00:21:08.161 in the end, 339 00:21:08.441 --> 00:21:11.744 the friendships and the business side of it? 340 00:21:11.803 --> 00:21:14.064 Or is it completely intertwined? 341 00:21:14.564 --> 00:21:14.685 No, 342 00:21:14.745 --> 00:21:14.864 no, 343 00:21:14.865 --> 00:21:14.986 no. 344 00:21:15.005 --> 00:21:19.807 I always recommend to anyone coming to the meetups. 345 00:21:20.849 --> 00:21:22.610 It's sometimes a bit difficult with the community. 346 00:21:22.649 --> 00:21:31.554 That's also why we are becoming the platform instead of the organizer ourselves because the value sometimes is a little bit difficult to explain 347 00:21:32.434 --> 00:21:47.980 push people to organize things outside of so i really see it as a starting point okay yeah where you have an intentional place where you you meet people that want to connect they're all living abroad uh they're all because 348 00:21:48.000 --> 00:22:01.866 of they all live abroad they are more open-minded they have things well they've stepped out of their comfort zone you know you have a language thing in common you have a cultural barrier in common so you have lots of similarities and things in common and the timing 349 00:22:02.902 --> 00:22:04.003 It clicks very quickly. 350 00:22:04.504 --> 00:22:04.643 Yeah, 351 00:22:04.923 --> 00:22:05.343 absolutely. 352 00:22:05.403 --> 00:22:10.064 And it's very easy to quickly find people that you connect with. 353 00:22:10.124 --> 00:22:11.044 And you always do. 354 00:22:12.085 --> 00:22:17.486 But the whole purpose of the meetup is just finding that few connections and that click you have with someone. 355 00:22:17.506 --> 00:22:17.627 Okay, 356 00:22:17.628 --> 00:22:18.947 and then they'll be. 357 00:22:19.527 --> 00:22:19.848 You know, 358 00:22:20.307 --> 00:22:20.928 you follow up. 359 00:22:22.027 --> 00:22:26.109 And you have so many flavors and interests and passions. 360 00:22:26.188 --> 00:22:26.590 So yeah, 361 00:22:26.969 --> 00:22:28.409 I really see that as a starting point. 362 00:22:31.870 --> 00:22:47.782 that is a great place to meet and then afterwards you go on a hike together so i like eating very often then we go out for lunch and then you know to give an example um i met 363 00:22:48.162 --> 00:22:57.428 alex uh at one of our first uh lunches that we organized in es and he came by himself he um he was married already 364 00:22:59.770 --> 00:23:15.256 it clicked immediately even though we only shared a few words uh and he said yeah just just come over for a coffee i live in valbonne um and then we'll see so we came over for a coffee it was about 10 10 30 a.m and 365 00:23:15.797 --> 00:23:28.462 we left that day around 8 p.m because we were just eating drinking and it really took off from that moment and later on they became our best man at our wedding and 366 00:23:28.998 --> 00:23:30.759 Now we both have kids. 367 00:23:30.879 --> 00:23:32.039 They're expecting... 368 00:23:33.939 --> 00:23:34.880 I cannot share. 369 00:23:36.840 --> 00:23:37.820 Spoil that something. 370 00:23:38.761 --> 00:23:39.141 Anyways, 371 00:23:39.181 --> 00:23:40.041 they have two kids. 372 00:23:40.161 --> 00:23:41.001 We have two kids. 373 00:23:41.802 --> 00:23:43.042 And now we have kids' 374 00:23:43.082 --> 00:23:43.762 play dates, 375 00:23:44.282 --> 00:23:45.503 celebrate Christmas together. 376 00:23:45.983 --> 00:23:47.383 That's just one of the many examples. 377 00:23:48.103 --> 00:23:53.545 So it's become the family and the real tribe that you have abroad in the end. 378 00:23:55.685 --> 00:23:57.206 Yeah. 379 00:23:57.986 --> 00:23:59.227 It truly makes you feel home. 380 00:24:00.649 --> 00:24:02.209 You know all the best places in town, 381 00:24:02.250 --> 00:24:03.410 but if you don't have people... 382 00:24:03.411 --> 00:24:03.910 Cash or loan, 383 00:24:04.252 --> 00:24:04.411 yeah. 384 00:24:04.952 --> 00:24:05.252 I mean... 385 00:24:05.253 --> 00:24:06.173 It's very different. 386 00:24:07.034 --> 00:24:07.714 You need people. 387 00:24:08.435 --> 00:24:09.255 Yeah, 388 00:24:09.255 --> 00:24:09.475 great. 389 00:24:09.896 --> 00:24:10.055 Okay, 390 00:24:10.116 --> 00:24:10.255 well, 391 00:24:10.275 --> 00:24:12.177 it seems like you've made a tribe. 392 00:24:12.438 --> 00:24:13.978 You've built it definitely from scratch. 393 00:24:15.479 --> 00:24:18.441 Let's move on to your recommendations then. 394 00:24:18.502 --> 00:24:19.523 You were saying you're a foodie. 395 00:24:19.622 --> 00:24:25.006 So what's a bar or cafe and restaurant that you'd recommend in the area? 396 00:24:26.410 --> 00:24:27.871 If you are in the south of France, 397 00:24:28.512 --> 00:24:31.113 one of our favorite places is La Spiaggia, 398 00:24:32.955 --> 00:24:34.535 which is Italian for the beach. 399 00:24:37.337 --> 00:24:38.338 It's on the seafront. 400 00:24:38.418 --> 00:24:39.318 It's in Caen-sur-Mer. 401 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:43.880 And they just have an incredible menu. 402 00:24:45.221 --> 00:24:47.763 It changes throughout the year multiple times, 403 00:24:47.803 --> 00:24:49.063 but it's always incredibly good. 404 00:24:49.224 --> 00:24:50.764 It's run by a Belgian couple. 405 00:24:52.225 --> 00:24:53.245 We absolutely love it there. 406 00:24:53.265 --> 00:24:54.265 It's relaxed. 407 00:24:54.346 --> 00:24:55.387 It's very good. 408 00:24:57.394 --> 00:24:58.614 If you want a more traditional, 409 00:24:58.655 --> 00:25:06.686 if you are staying in Caen-sur-Mer then we've recently been to Le Bistro de la Marine which is a very... 410 00:25:07.692 --> 00:25:25.584 very good spot it's relatively small but it's more french traditional cuisine which is very good because you do have lots of french dishes here on the on the french riviera but this region was also occupied by italy 411 00:25:25.664 --> 00:25:37.092 for a very long time so you have lots of in italian influencers so most menus are relatively simple with uh with a burger and a pizza and those type of things 412 00:25:37.496 --> 00:25:39.858 But if you want something a bit more authentic, 413 00:25:39.918 --> 00:25:41.639 that is a very good place to go. 414 00:25:42.580 --> 00:25:42.780 Okay. 415 00:25:43.080 --> 00:25:43.240 Well, 416 00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:44.501 we'll put it in the comments. 417 00:25:44.521 --> 00:25:45.442 All right. 418 00:25:45.662 --> 00:25:47.903 And last is what is your expat song? 419 00:25:49.224 --> 00:25:50.025 That changes as well. 420 00:25:50.026 --> 00:25:51.426 But there was one song. 421 00:25:53.287 --> 00:25:54.268 It's from Bob Dylan. 422 00:25:54.988 --> 00:25:55.228 Right. 423 00:25:55.769 --> 00:26:05.936 This specific version is a song that my dad played when we were in France and we were somewhere on the south. 424 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:28.280 coast we were riding there with he had he owns a um a jeep grand cherokee back then which is one of the cars i have right now and riding that together and it was sort of a cliff type situation so it was not directly on the seafront but you you had a an amazing view and that song was playing and 425 00:26:28.300 --> 00:26:33.124 it's from bob dylan tell all bill tell all bill all right 426 00:26:34.092 --> 00:26:35.873 And then you have a very specific version. 427 00:26:36.533 --> 00:26:43.495 That always plays in my head when I'm just riding here and when I'm seeing it. 428 00:26:44.055 --> 00:26:44.835 So it resonates. 429 00:26:47.056 --> 00:26:48.616 The car and the song at the same time. 430 00:26:50.057 --> 00:26:50.577 Tell old Bill, 431 00:26:50.837 --> 00:26:51.697 alternate version. 432 00:26:52.497 --> 00:26:52.797 Okay. 433 00:26:53.377 --> 00:26:56.758 I'll link it in the comments with the restaurants for sure. 434 00:26:56.958 --> 00:26:57.839 All right. 435 00:26:57.919 --> 00:26:58.059 Well, 436 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:00.459 thank you so much for sharing, 437 00:27:00.699 --> 00:27:02.480 for telling us about Next Locals. 438 00:27:03.780 --> 00:27:10.162 is there anywhere we can find you and what are the next destinations for Next Locals? 439 00:27:10.282 --> 00:27:10.402 Yes, 440 00:27:10.422 --> 00:27:13.643 so you can go to nextlocals.com. 441 00:27:13.823 --> 00:27:17.764 That's where you can find the current offering and what we currently do. 442 00:27:17.924 --> 00:27:20.605 So now we really operate as an organizer. 443 00:27:20.785 --> 00:27:22.085 So that is how we started it. 444 00:27:22.325 --> 00:27:27.147 So we continue to organize weekly meetups in all the cities that were active. 445 00:27:29.307 --> 00:27:30.648 We are building a platform. 446 00:27:32.120 --> 00:27:48.491 transforming to becoming the platform and basically powering all the in-person communities because the ultimate mission that we're on is to get people off their screens and bring them together in person again so basically stay tuned for that just keep 447 00:27:48.531 --> 00:28:00.360 watching the websites and hope we are able to launch in about six months about july 2026 all right so that's coming up 448 00:28:01.276 --> 00:28:01.516 Well, 449 00:28:01.697 --> 00:28:01.977 guys, 450 00:28:01.978 --> 00:28:03.238 I hope you enjoyed the episode. 451 00:28:03.358 --> 00:28:03.859 As usual, 452 00:28:03.879 --> 00:28:10.406 you can put a rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and follow all the updates on Instagram, 453 00:28:10.466 --> 00:28:10.927 YouTube, 454 00:28:11.087 --> 00:28:11.888 and TikTok. 455 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:14.130 Thank you so much for your time, 456 00:28:14.170 --> 00:28:15.452 Pauline.