Riviera
"Scumbria, Nice sounds as good as it gets in Europe. The Mediterranean, close to Italy and can get over to Spain. Cost of living might be high? Sounds like a good place to be subsidized. "
I lived for a year when I was a kid, just outside of Nice, in a coastal town called Villefranche sur Mer. East of Nice. And I've been back a couple of times, most recently for a conference in Monte Carlo in 1995.
Several points:
-- the traffic is horrendous, as bad as Silicon Valley, at least in the Promenade des Anglais main coastal route area.
-- I don't know the situation in the high tech park, which is, IIRC, northwest of Nice proper.
-- climate is, of course, Mediterranean. Very comparabe to coastal California.
-- don't expect sandy beaches. Beaches are made of small pebbles. And expect great crowding in the spring-summer months.
-- I don't know the cost of living issues.
-- Lots of interesting Roman ruins (La Turbie, the "trophy of the Alps," old aqueducts, etc.). Again, expect terrible crowding during the tourist season.
Most companies with facilities near Nice are established companies. Meaning, start up opportunities (large stock options) are probably not readily available.
Just my two francs.
--Tim May |
