| Living as an expat on the French Riviera may sound a | | | | and even though we only have a hotplate to heat |
| glamorous life, but when funds are low and the | | | | things, no oven or grill, we now are surviving and |
| finances dwindling, how can you keep up the | | | | enjoying our food at home more than the over |
| lifestyle? | | | | priced local tourist restaurants. |
| For me it was simple - I re-arranged my lifestyle | | | | In winter lunches consist of home made veggie soup |
| from trendy London fashionite, living on the edge of | | | | (tomato and basil with cream frais is the favourite) or |
| Primrose Hill, to a new bohemian style of living on the | | | | some kind of egg dish. In summer this would be |
| budget on a student in the "artists ghetto" area of | | | | tomato and basil salad with mozzarella, or a salad |
| Nice Old Town. My French partner and I left the UK | | | | nicoise with hard-boiled egg. We have a few simple |
| and arrived in Southern France in the summer of | | | | pasta dishes, mushroom and bacon, mushroom |
| 2008. | | | | risotto, or chorizo and lentil stew. Summer we would |
| When we first arrived, it was the height of the | | | | have warm chorizo and squid salad. To keep the |
| summer, and it felt like a holiday everyday. On our | | | | carbs at bay we order a demi(half) baguette each |
| doorstep is the famous Cours Saleya Market Square, | | | | day for 0.40euros. |
| which has a wonderful vibe to it - cafe society. We | | | | The few British supplies we buy are Earl Grey tea |
| often would eat out twice a day, maybe have lunch | | | | and the occasional tin of baked beans. As we work |
| on the beach, then dinner out at night. However | | | | at home, one thing we treasure is our daily jaunt to |
| after a couple of exotic months we realised we | | | | the local open-air cafe for an espresso. If its cold, |
| were living way beyond our means and had to take | | | | we'll sometimes have tea and biscuits around 4pm, or |
| stock before our overdrafts and credit cards were | | | | pop round the local boulangerie and splash out on a |
| maxed to the limit. | | | | tasty French gateaux. |
| I overhauled our spending, striping down to the very | | | | All in all we are both much happier here and healthier. |
| basics and worked out we could live of 10 euros a | | | | The air is so clean compared to London, and the |
| day each on food. We are fairly health conscious; so | | | | wonderful relaxed atmosphere makes up for our |
| do not resort to frozen meals or ready-cooked | | | | student-type new way of expat life. |
| supermarket dishes. I' started to cook a lot more, | | | | |