About Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad | Stories from the French Riviera
Relocating to the French Riviera sounds idyllic. But how do you actually build a professional life once you arrive?
Hosted by Cecile Liconnet, Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad | Stories from the French Riviera, explores the professional journeys of women who have relocated to the South of France.
Through candid, in-depth conversations, the podcast looks at what it really takes to move abroad, build a career, and create financial stability as an expat.
Each episode shares first-hand experiences of career change, entrepreneurship, relocation, and professional reinvention — from navigating visas and local job markets to managing finances, seasonality, and cultural differences.
These are honest stories of expat life in France, revealing what it truly means to live and work abroad and build a sustainable life after relocation.
Authentic voices. Grounded stories. A clear look behind the postcard-perfect image of life on the Riviera.
For photos and extra content about our guests, visit our website: Living the Dream: French Riviera (https://livingthedreampodcast.com). Please follow, share, and consider supporting (http://buymeacoffee.com/livingthedreampodcast) the podcast 😊
Merci beaucoup!
Publisher
Cecile Liconnet | Expat Life, Career Change, Women Abroad, Life in France
One-Way Ticket to Cannes: Pinstripe Suits on the Beach - Liz Ackland
She set up a corporate events company in Manchester, moved to Cannes on a one-way ticket and a giant suitcase, and rebuilt her business through congresses, a new French company and two years without live events. This is Liz Ackland’s story.
From a business that was doing well but always felt as though something was missing, to a work trip that made her fall for Cannes immediately, Liz Ackland’s move took her through MIPIM, a French pace of business she had to learn to live with, and two years in which live events stopped altogether. What she found: ”the business is more here now than the business I started with.”
In this episode of Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad, Liz talks about leaving Manchester, why a city of congresses and festivals made sense for an events business, her first winter and MIPIM, winning over suppliers who wondered whether she would stay, setting up Right Riviera and registering as an auto-entrepreneur, renting as a self-employed woman, COVID, and what she would tell anyone considering the move.
A Season Two episode, hosted by Cecile Liconnet.
Find Liz: https://www.rightriviera.com/
Find the podcast: www.livingthedreampodcast.com | @livingthedream.podcast
Support: buymeacoffee.com/livingthedreampodcast
Music: Kite by Claire Long
5 Oct 2026
The Dog Walk That Became a Million-Euro Charity - Juliette Clarkin
She left a marketing director’s career in Dublin and a boardroom seat, then spent twelve years building Mimosa, a cancer charity and community on the French Riviera that has raised close to a million euros. This is Juliette’s story.
From a corporate career she adored to a dog walk that turned into an association, Juliette Clarkin’s move to the South of France took her through French bureaucracy, a salary she had to rescale, and the loss of a title she had spent years earning. What she found instead was Mimosa, a community that became family for women living far from their own.
In this episode of Living the Dream: Women Reinventing Their Careers Abroad, Juliette talks about leaving Dublin, why her marketing skills did not transfer the way she expected, registering a charity in France, twelve years running Mimosa, stepping back as president, and how the South of France has changed for professional women over thirteen years.
A Season Two episode, hosted by Cecile Liconnet.
Help Mimosa: www.mimosamatters.org | www.mimosamatters.org/donate/
Follow Mimosa: @mimosa_matters on Instagram | facebook.com/mimosamatters
Find the podcast: www.livingthedreampodcast.com | @livingthedream.podcast
Support: buymeacoffee.com/livingthedreampodcast
Music: Kite by Claire Long
21 Sept 2026
The Other Side of Monaco: The Brave Face Behind the Glamour - Gabrielle Achilleos
She was living in Monaco, working five jobs, and keeping the banknotes in a glass jar on her kitchen counter. Nobody around her knew. This is Gabrielle’s story.
Gabrielle Achilleos spent years building a life in Monaco -- co-founding a charity supporting fifty orphan children in Uganda, going through five rounds of IVF, and running fundraising events across the Principality. When her husband lost his job and COVID arrived at the same time, she found herself struggling to make ends meet in one of the wealthiest places on earth, while still responsible for the children in Uganda.
In this episode of Living the Dream: Women, Work and Relocation, Gabrielle talks about the financial crash, the five jobs, the glass jar, the shame of struggling in a place where nobody admits to it, how a chance conversation during COVID lockdown led her to retrain as a certified integrative health coach, and what it actually took to rebuild a life on the French Riviera from scratch.
She calls this chapter of her life Barefoot in Tinseltown. It is the most honest conversation I have recorded on this podcast.
Season Two of Living the Dream: Women, Work and Relocation. Hosted by Cecile Liconnet.
Find Gabrielle: @gabrielle_zest_4_life | https://linktr.ee/gabriellezest4life
Find the podcast: www.livingthedreampodcast.com | @livingthedream.podcast
Support: buymeacoffee.com/livingthedreampodcast
Music: Kite by Claire Long
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2 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
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