We’ve received a few comments in recent months, suggesting that we must be lying about living in Nice France, the beautiful French Riviera, the Côte d’Azur, primarily on our US Social Security benefits. Are we lying?? How is this possible? People who have vacationed in Nice, France claim it is very expensive to vacation here. How can anyone actually “live” in Nice on just their US Social Security benefits? Can’t be true! OR is it?? Is it in the cards for you too?
SUBSCRIBE TO 0UR CHANNEL:
https://www.youtube.com/@postcardsfromourgoldenyears
JOIN OUR CHANNEL WITH A PAID MEMBERSHIP FOR ADDED VIDEOS & *BONUS PERKS (*some membership levels include personal invites to our monthly private meetups) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC03il00WAeO7CJvKmcdEYdw/join
WE’RE THRILLED TO ANNOUNCE THE PREMIERE OF JEFF’S OWN YOUTUBE CHANNEL! It’s called “Jeff In Nice”. Be sure to check it out and subscribe and help him grow his own channel too. Here’s a link to his channel- www.youtube.com/@JeffInNice
Celebrating the 4th Birthday of our channel! Thanks for your help! Over 668,453 views, over 6465 Subscribers…and growing everyday!
SOME OF OUR MOST RECENT VIDEOS:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC03il00WAeO7CJvKmcdEYdw/videos
IF YOU LIKE OUR VIDEOS, SUPPORT OUR CHANNEL!
BUY US A WINE! https://buymeacoffee.com/postcards (*DON’T FORGET THE “S” ON POSTCARDS, OR YOU’LL BE BUYING SOMEONE ELSE A WINE!)
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Threads: PostcardsFromMyGoldenYears
Twitter @AHSinNaples
Instagram: PostcardsFromMyGoldenYears
Pinterest: PostcardsFromMyGolden Years
Check out An’s Substack “Annie In Nice” – https://annieinnice.substack.com/
****CONTACT US (PostcardsFromMyGoldenYears@Gmail.com) For all personal, business and collaboration inquiries *PLEASE NOTE-For our safety and well being,, we request that if you are contacting us to request a private meeting, here in Nice, France, you provide us with more than just your youtube name. Please provide us with your full name, where you’re from and tell us a little about yourself and your interest in meeting us. We like to know a bit about the people we’re meeting, so we’re not total strangers when we meet. And contact us well in advance of your visit to Nice. We receive lots of requests and are typically booked a few weeks to a month or more, ahead. 🙂
Thanks for your understanding.
JOIN OUR FACEBOOK GROUP AND CHAT WITH OTHER SUBSCRIBERS AND SUPPORTERS: “Postcards From Our Golden Years” – https://www.facebook.com/groups/712424457148800
Hi! We are An and Jeff Scott, two happily retired septuagenarians from the USA, who had a dream. That dream was to retire in France. So, we sold most of our “stuff”, packed and shipped the rest, and with our bossy little Yorkie, Bella, said “goodbye” to the USA. In 2024, we moved from the sunny coast of southwest Florida to the sunny coast of the south of France, to enjoy our “golden years” and embrace the “joie de vivre” available to us, here in beautiful Nice, France.
Moving from the USA to a foreign country was no small “project”. Through our videos, we’ve been taking you through the Long Stay Visa process, the packing, the purging, the moving, searching for an apartment, creating a great Dossier, learning the way things are done administratively in France, and sharing the steps, talking about what we’ve learned and the ups and the downs.
And now, we continue to share our life, our new life, here in Nice, getting settled, adjusting to the “French” way of doing things, dealing with the French “red tape”, reveling in the beauty of the world around us…and all the while, making every wonderful day in Nice, the best day ever…
SUBSCRIBE, FOR FREE, to our channel and come with us!
MUSIC CREDITS: (Most of our music comes from the artists of Epidemic Sound)
Hyperfun by Kevin Macleod
Lemon Squeezy by Martin Landstrom*
Most of our videos are shot with An’s Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Smartphone and a circular ring light, as needed. And, in this video, we’re using our Rode Wireless Go II Microphones, for clear sound.
37 Comments
❤❤❤❤
Glad you’re enjoying your life that you’ve worked so hard for to acquire.
Thank you Ann and Jeff for excellent and detailed video!!! Enjoy your life in Nice…I hope one day me and my husband will relocate in Nice. ❤❤❤
Thank you for a great video!🙏❤️❤️❤️
MERCI BEAUCOUP AN , JEFF AND BELLA!!!!
Wow Ann how well and thorough explanation!!
The person who said probably 😂needed wake up call
Ann you are a very intelligent person ❤
Not to despise Jeff, he perfectly compliments you ❤
Thank you guys. My husband and I are trying to figure out where we want to live. You two have influenced us to move to nice. We have our extended visa and have been in Bordeaux, France for 34 days and have decided it is not for us. We are heading there on December 3 rd. Would love to buy you guys a drink.
Excellent presentation, thanks Ann & Jeff for doing the reality check with your candid, personal facts and figures of your life in Nice , uhm except when you came to Nice with just a (lotta) clothes and shoes, you made us laugh along with Jeff 😅. Americans enjoy French life, its culture, and respect the French laws and would comply with the changes and will gladly contribute their share to the system whenever the amendment comes through.
Great video! Having lived in Europe in the past, I have always said that the US is all about quantity and Europe is all about quality. Hoping to retire to Nice in the next year or two, fingers crossed! Thanks for setting the doubters straight!
Thank you both for all you do. I always watch you with all the pertinent info from the start of your journey. It has helped me with a tremendous positive outlook of France living. I am also in my 70's and hope to visit and or retire in France. Just maybe will meet you in Nice with my grandfurry baby. Again, I always appreciate your taking the time to explain the when, what and how you got to Nice. It really is the best info I have ever gotten and please, continue on what you both are doing as a lot of us seniors dreaming of retiring to France could use this kind of info and help. I like your style, Ann. Stay safe and a little chin chin rub to gorgeous Bella🐕
Vous ne devez pas vous justifier.
C’est votre vie…
Je ne comprends pas les reflexions des gens.
Soyez heureux à Nice et je suis contente pour vous.
Michèle
I am confused – Does An get 2 SS – your own SS and also your ex-husband's SS, so with Jeff's SS, you both have a grand total of 3 SS?
♥
I feel the same way about the cleaning! My place in Nice is about 600 sq ft, and I hate cleaning that much! My former home in the US was considerably larger, and my current smaller US home is still 3X that. But I spend much more time outdoors in Nice than when I am in the US, and get much more exercise.
I eat breakfast out every day – café and croissant for 2.50€. My grocereries in Nice are much less than when I am in the US. I think I waste less food because I am not buying a bunch of stuff at once, I am buying what I plan to eat in the next couple of days. Also, whatever I buy, I must carry up 44 steps to my apartment!
My husband was on social security disability the last 16 years of his life and had the minimum amount. We could not have afforded to live in France if we both had that! But I have higher SS plus pension.
I am in Nice for two months in spring and two months in fall, so I cannot compare utility costs. And I still have the expense of a car in the US since it is essential for the time I am there. But with siblings, an adult child, and grandchildren in the US, I can't live full-time in France.
I did the same. I had to provide certified copies of marriage certificate and divorce decree. It supported me while I went to grad school until I was 70
Merci An and Jeff for your open discussion of costs. At this time I am carefully looking at how I will budget for this move and for continued living expenses there. Where can I find your moving expenses please? I know I am much further away from mainland US where you moved from however it all helps. Mahalo, Merci, Thank You <3
All the other Youtubers that are, this is their subject and retiring France say that niece in Paris is very expensive. Language dock nearby is more reasonable and in the town of FREJUS is doable.
You look beautiful in your pink top and Chanel? Scarf
Thanks for all the info. I am also a widow, so need to look into that soc sec.
@postcardsfromourgoldenyears
It’s nobody’s business to know how you are able to live in Nice. You were quite transparent to share the details.
Hope to meet you both in the summer 2026!
We are so grateful to both of you and appreciate you for sharing your experiences that eventually saved us a lot of headache, frustration, time and money. The resources you provide is very valuable, especially to those who are looking into it while still working and raising a family. You’ve done most of the hard work for your viewers. Because of that we have our basic tools in our belt to move forward with confidence. Transition is not always easy for most people, especially during retirement years, but you help make the process easier. Running into your channel is a blessing and I hope your viewers will find your channel as a means of support like we did. Our first year in Nice has been enjoyable and we are adapting well into our new environment. We knew what to expect thanks to you. You are great people and deserve what you have. Keep on smiling 😊
Social Security does not take your best 5 years of income to determine your benefit. Some older pension plans do that. SS takes your highest 35 years of earnings. To pick the highest, they first adjust everything from your age 60 and earlier by an inflation factor. Then they determine your monthly average, apply the bend point formula, and that's what you get if you wait until 67. By the way, the average SS payment for all beneficiaries who are taking it now is about $1900. I would not move to Europe with SS alone–meaning no cash savings, no IRA, no home equity, etc. But if you are a couple, two can live more cheaply than one. If you have two SS payments, I still wouldn't do it w/ no extra cash. You need emergency funds to travel back home, extra money for travel and niceties, etc. But if you adjust to the EU lifestyle–apartment, not house; no car; public transportation w/ senior discounts; find the free day at the museum, travel off season, own less stuff. Less space and less stuff means less space to heat and cool and less stuff to insure. I can see where it would be comfortable for a couple on SS. But do make sure that if something happens to one of you, the other can continue your lifestyle. (That's a problem in the US, too; it is why so many widows have so little.)
You've mentioned that the two of you were both working professionals with decent salaries and long careers in the US, so your viewers should understand that your social security incomes would go further in most countries.
Your coming to France has been well thought through. It is very generous of you to share this information. No need to spend time justifying your way of life. Let doubters in their negativity. Enjoy your happiness.
merci, gives me a defined target to shoot at
Thanks for clarifying! When I saw the restaurant bill I was shocked and thought Nice is probably too expensive for me! Now I know it was a splurge! and for anyone reading this, I am not the commenter that sparked this vlog!
Thanks y’all. Great information. I’m planning my move to France toward end of 2026. 🎉❤
Great video!! Very helpful !
Awesome discussion as always-thank you, and never mind for those awful who sends an moments, it’s part American blood.
Well done. Great video.
320 € a night! Are you serious ? I knew Nice area was not cheap but that s os expensive.
There’s a difference between living there and vacationing there. I have friends who live in SW France and they live on a lot less than they did when they were in the US, and they have 2 kids. I believe you. It can be done.
Je tiens à partager une préoccupation qui me semble importante concernant l’accueil des étrangers en France, notamment ceux issus de pays anglophones (États-Unis, Canada, Royaume-Uni, etc.).
Il est évident que la France est un pays accueillant, fier de sa culture, de sa langue et de son système social. Cependant, je constate de plus en plus de cas où des ressortissants anglophones s’installent en France sans faire l’effort d’apprendre le français, ni de s’intégrer pleinement à la société. Pire encore, certains profitent de notre système de santé et de protection sociale sans jamais y avoir cotisé, alors qu’ils pourraient tout à fait vivre dans des pays où leur langue maternelle est parlée.
Je ne remets pas en cause l’accueil des étrangers, qui est une valeur fondamentale de notre pays, mais je pense qu’il est légitime de demander un effort d’intégration et de réciprocité. Apprendre la langue, respecter les coutumes locales et contribuer au système social sont des gestes de respect envers le pays qui nous accueille.
Je me demande pourquoi certains choisissent de s’installer en France plutôt que dans un pays anglophone, où ils n’auraient pas besoin de faire ces efforts. Est-ce simplement pour profiter des avantages sociaux sans en assumer les devoirs ?
An is always a 31:46 star, but Jeff really shone and spoke so genuinely and knowledgeably in this video. Appreciate both of you for what you bring to the table. You make a great couple off-camera, clearly, but also on camera, you're a dynamic duo! As a solo senior, I think Nice is beyond my reach in which to settle, but I'd like to visit and meet the both of you (and Bella) after a lovely Mediterranean swim.
Hello would you reccommend any particular web sites to find rental properties in France. TY