Growing up in the Southeast, France was a faraway love affair for Kevin Phillips and Todd Skelton.
Raised in Atlanta and Tennessee respectively, the two Francophiles studied the language throughout school and into their college years in Athens. After marrying and moving to Atlanta about 25 years ago, the couple dreamed of some day retiring to Nice along the French Rivera.
But it turns out they didn’t have to wait that long to live abroad, at least part time.
Atlanta’s status as an international travel hub — coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic making it easier to work remotely — led them to buy property in France and split their time between countries.
“There’s never a homesickness feeling,” Phillips said. “It’s literally going from one home to another home where we have a whole different set of friends. We’re the same people, but we have different lives there.”
Credit: Courtesy Kevin Phillips
Credit: Courtesy Kevin Phillips
France has long been a travel destination for Americans, but now more are buying property there, according to Adrian Leeds, a real estate agent in France known for her TV appearances on “House Hunters International.”
Credit: Courtesy Adrian Leeds Group
Credit: Courtesy Adrian Leeds Group
Leeds, a New Orleans native who moved to Paris three decades ago, said it’s easier than ever to live a cross-Atlantic lifestyle because technology and increased travel options have reduced barriers. She said Atlanta has emerged as a convenient launching pad for Americans looking to live abroad.
“The city is so much more cosmopolitan than it ever was, so we have a huge contingency from Atlanta,” she said.
Atlanta’s Office of International Affairs doesn’t track how many residents own property overseas, although the Capital of the South is sister cities with Toulouse in France.
American expats aren’t an abnormality, and after every presidential election cycle Google search traffic shows a spike in Americans who are seeking information on a potential international relocation.
In 2022, an estimated 4.4 million U.S. citizens lived abroad and more than half were of voting age, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program. Mexico and Canada had the most U.S. citizens living abroad, the U.K. ranked third and France came in fourth.
To Hartsfield-Jackson, say ‘merci’
Just as the City of Light is inseparable from the Eiffel Tower, Atlanta’s reputation runs through the world’s busiest airport.
Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Delta Air Lines’ largest hub, has several daily flights between Atlanta and Paris and recently began offering direct flights to Nice during the summer months.
Credit: Courtesy Al Stewart
Credit: Courtesy Al Stewart
Al Stewart, a native of Cedartown, about 60 miles northwest of Atlanta, worked at AT&T in downtown for years and now splits his time between the U.S. and France. He said the convenience of those direct flights can’t be overstated.
“What a difference that makes,” he said.
Stewart, a self-employed executive coach, lived in Atlanta for decades before relocating his U.S. home to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He said many of his trips to France still route through Atlanta.
Ella Dyer, an agent at Leeds’ firm, said a piece of American travel infrastructure most expats don’t miss is the sprawling roads. Dyer, a Los Angeles native, married her North Georgia husband and they own property on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, but American traffic is something she never looks forward to.
“Having grown up in Los Angeles, I feel like I spent the first 25 years of my life in a car,” Dyer said. “We don’t have that here (in France).”
A different lifestyle
Like much of urban Europe, French cities are dense, walkable and filled with architecture that is centuries old.
The character and beauty of those buildings, which often attract foreigners, also require adjustments from Americans used to large single-family homes. Apartments sometime only span a few hundred square feet and lack the storage space and modern bath fixtures expected in America.
“The process, the product, everything will be different than what it is in the U.S.,” Dyer said.
Billy Linville, a longtime public relations and lobbying specialist in Atlanta, bought a home in Nice this fall after he and his wife fell in love with the “joie de vivre” lifestyle, a French saying that means “joy of life.”
Credit: Courtesy Billy Linville
Credit: Courtesy Billy Linville
“We plan to move there permanently during the latter part of 2026,” he said. “Although I will miss Atlanta and my friends, I’m looking forward to the lifestyle the French Riviera offers.”
He said he’s focused on becoming fluent in French, aiming to avoid living effectively as an American tourist among a community of expats.
Credit: Courtesy Billy Linville
Credit: Courtesy Billy Linville
Phillips said language isn’t as big of a barrier as culture, which can befuddle Americans. Many customs Americans see as rude are viewed as polite in France, and vice versa.
“Before beginning any business transaction or any conversation, you say, ‘Bonjour.’ You acknowledge their personhood, you acknowledge their presence and then you start the transaction,” he said. “Knowing that makes things smooth, because if you don’t do that, you’re seen as rude.”
Stewart, the Cedartown native, said international travel has led many Americans, himself included, to find a new home away from home.
“For the first few years when the plane would land in Paris, I would go, ‘Oh wow, I’m in Paris,’” he said. “Now when the plane lands, I go, ‘Oh, I’m home.’”
About the Author
