Hello and welcome to the South of France. Or, if you're not here yet, welcome in advance. It's lovely.

First, who's talking to you. I'm Jacquie, Canadian-American, married to a Frenchman, and I've made the move to France twice. The first time was years ago, and the second after eight years of living in California.

So I've done the titre de séjour, the préfecture queues and the file-that's-never-quite-complete, not once but twice. The second time came with a teenager, a shipping container and considerably more belongings.

Today, I help people find their place here on the Côte d'Azur, whether they're buying, selling, planning a move or simply trying to understand how things actually work before they arrive. Having lived on both sides of the Atlantic gives me a fairly useful perspective on the questions North Americans tend to ask, and the answers France tends to give.

The team behind these pages is my family. My husband is French and runs our house-clearance and logistics work across the region. He sorts and values what is there, sells the pieces worth selling on the owner's behalf, gives what can be given to charities and makes sure the rest is properly recycled. If belongings need to go elsewhere in France, elsewhere in Europe or overseas, we can arrange the packing and transport as well.

Between us, we see this place from several angles: French and North American, newcomer and local, property and practical life. Every address in this series has been walked to; every administrative step has been survived personally.

Every month there's a new issue: what's actually on in the villages, where to swim before the crowds find it, which vide-greniers are worth the early start, places I think deserve a proper visit, and a short, honest note on what's happening in the property market.

Nothing disappears, so you can read back through the year.

The four guides are the reference shelf underneath it: arriving and settling in, buying property, clearing or emptying a house, and the address book. All free, all PDFs, no email required.