Live & Invest Overseas hosted their 10th Retire Overseas Conference from 7-10 September 2019 in Houston, Texas. Renestance was honored to take part in this globally recognized event with world renowned speakers. Of course, presenting the wonderful opportunities for investments and life in France is what we’re all about!
Jen and I were part of the network of experts and expats sharing recommendations and insights into 21 of the world’s best places to enjoy a better quality retirement.
Admission Included
The discounted price of this year’s Retire Overseas Conference was US$895 per person, and only US$1,590 for two. Admission included:
- Complete access to the restricted exhibit area
- Formal and informal Q&A sessions, breakouts, and workshops
- Introductions to reliable real estate sources, business contacts, fellow expats, and professional legal resources
- Coffee breaks and snacks
- Welcome cocktail reception
- Seminar materials, notebooks, and handouts
- Downloads of all conference presentations after the event is over
- A complete set of professionally produced conference recordings
Four days of inspiring information
From general workshops on timing your retirement, visas and residency, healthcare and taxes, to more specific ones about countries and investment opportunities, the conference schedule listed over 66 sessions.
I presented France: the basics (residency, accessibility, cost of living, healthcare), pros and cons of living here, a closer look at life in Paris, Bordeaux, Montpellier, and the Occitanie region, and then a reality check for people seriously considering moving to France. We had good attendance, and the presentation must have been well-received, because we had many people tell us they had not considered retiring in France beforehand. Everyone assumed that the country’s reputation for luxury and its rumored high taxes made France unaffordable. We explained that the salaries in France are much lower than in the US (and UK), so the cost of living is aligned to that level, rather than the budgets of rich tourists. And the high taxes in France are actually social charges, which retirees who don’t work would not pay.
Renestance holds a brokerage license in France, so as a rare house-hunter with a Carte Professionnelle, I also gave a presentation on finding your dream home in France. Attendees learned about different types of housing available, the basic criteria they need to have clear in their heads, and the pros and cons between renting and buying. Then I dove a bit deeper into renting, buying property, and buy-to-let, or buying real estate as a rental investment. I was a bit ambitious to cover a subject so dense in thirty minutes, so there wasn’t time for questions afterward, but attendees were able to come to our Renestance stand to discuss their personal situations.
Exhibition hall
Besides the conference’s enriching sessions, another valuable part of the package was the exhibition hall where the presenters and partners had stands. Jen and I found it very fulfilling to speak to the attendees one-on-one, as each one has an interesting story and dream. We didn’t appreciate the hyper air-conditioned room (it was 100°F/38°C outside in Houston, but 55°F/13°C in the exhibition hall!), but it provided bonding material with the other presenters. Renestance was the only speaker offering relocation assistance, so it was very interesting to meet the other exhibitors and see how their services could improve the lives of our renesters. We have already set up a few partnerships with experts we met at the Retire Overseas Conference.
Renesting in France Seminar – Real Estate & Real Life Tours
Not surprisingly, many of the ROC attendees interested in Europe are keen on attending the Renestance events in April 2020. We are providing the full-day Renesting in France seminar on Saturday, April 25th and adding on a community event the following day on Sunday the 26th. The Real Estate & Real Life tours will take place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the 27-29th. Originally, we had planned these events for the prior week, but we learned that there was a Portugal seminar during those dates. Many of the people we met in Houston who were interested in France were also curious about Portugal, so we decided to move our dates so they would be able to attend the events in both countries. We are confident in France’s ability to impress!
We hope to see you in Montpellier for the Renestance events in April 2020. Click here for more information and to get the Early Bird discount!
Dennelle is the President of Renestance and a bilingual American who’s lived in France since 2000. She loves so many things about France, its language, culture, geography, quality of life... that she started a business to help others realize their dreams of living in this incredible place.
All articles by: Dennelle Taylor Nizoux
