For international buyers, this portal turns a confusing market into a guided path toward the French Riviera lifestyle.
The move began with a simple hunger for light. In 2006, Ab Kuijer left the gray skies of the Netherlands for the South of France, drawn by the promise of sun, sea, and a healthier rhythm of life. What he found on the French Riviera was beauty, yes, but also a gap. International buyers could admire the coastline, dream about a home there, and still feel lost when it was time to act. The market was fragmented, service was inconsistent, and many of the best opportunities stayed hidden. That tension gave rise to Living on the Côte d’Azur, a platform built not just to list homes, but to guide people.
The Origin of Living On The Côte D’Azur
The story of Living on the Côte d’Azur starts with experience on both sides of the equation. Ab Kuijer was not a traditional real estate founder. Born in Amsterdam, he built his early career as a journalist and producer for newspapers, television stations, and magazines. That background trained him to ask sharper questions, read people well, and understand how stories shape decisions. In the 1990s, he co-founded WAPS, the first legal dance radio station in the Netherlands, an early sign of the entrepreneurial instinct that would define his career.
That same instinct drove him into marketing. In 1997, he launched AbOriginals, the agency that later evolved into Down Under The Creative Tribe and then rebranded as JuniorSenior in 2006. Along the way, he developed a reputation for fresh thinking in advertising, social media, and database marketing. In 2010, he published Think Small, Grow Big, a concise expression of his business philosophy. That same year, he was named Europe’s Best Youth Marketing Expert, recognition that reflected both creativity and commercial skill.
When he relocated to the Riviera, he did not leave that expertise behind. Instead, he applied it to a market that often overwhelmed foreign buyers. Living on the Côte d’Azur was born as a Dutch real estate full-service portal for people who wanted more than listings. They wanted clarity, context, and someone who understood what international service should feel like.
A Better Way Through a Blurry Market
The French Riviera real estate market is famous, but it is not always transparent. Properties are often listed by multiple agencies. Others remain off-market and circulate quietly through private networks. For a buyer arriving from abroad, the process can feel disjointed and slow. What looks glamorous from a distance can become frustrating up close.
This is where Living on the Côte d’Azur has carved out its difference. The company does not follow the standard portal model, where databases fill automatically and buyers wait for an eventual response from an agent. Instead, the team begins with conversation. They speak with prospective buyers first, learn the real brief, and then shape the search around lifestyle, location, and long-term fit.
That choice is visible from the homepage itself. Rather than centering only on properties, the platform puts people first. It reflects a simple belief: a luxury purchase is never just about square meters or sea views. It is about confidence, timing, discretion, and the feeling that someone is genuinely representing your interests. In a market as blurred as the Riviera, an experienced buyer agent can help clients avoid wasted time, missed opportunities, and costly misunderstandings.
From Portal to International Legacy Network
Over time, Living on the Côte d’Azur grew beyond a regional portal into something more ambitious. Its online presence expanded with the launch of The Real Estate Legacy Network, an exclusive alliance of premier international real estate portals focused on exceptional high-end properties across the South of France and beyond. The concept is precise and powerful. Rather than chasing volume, the network curates legacy assets: homes that combine timeless design, prime location, and enduring value.
That positioning matters. High-net-worth individuals and families are not only buying a residence. Often, they are securing a foothold in a place that will shape family life, travel, and inheritance for years to come. A villa on the Côte d’Azur, an apartment in Paris, or a property in Ibiza or Mauritius carries emotional weight as well as financial significance. Living on the Côte d’Azur understands that buyers at this level expect more than access. They expect judgment.
Today, the portfolio extends beyond the French Riviera to include luxury properties in Ibiza, Paris, Portugal, Mauritius, and the UAE. Yet the brand remains anchored in the Mediterranean mindset that inspired it in the first place. The promise is not merely international reach. It is curated access with a personal touch.
The Human Advantage in Luxury Real Estate
[IMAGE: https://bizweekly.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/download-1-57.jpg]
What makes Living on the Côte d’Azur distinctive today is the same quality that set it apart at the beginning: human contact. In an industry increasingly shaped by automation, the company has chosen a more personal route. That is not nostalgia. It is a strategic advantage.
Ab Kuijer’s background in media and marketing gave him a clear view of what many real estate businesses miss. Attention is easy to buy. Trust is not. International clients, especially those navigating a foreign market, want responsiveness, cultural understanding, and intelligent filtering. They do not want to send inquiries into a system and hope for the best. They want a knowledgeable counterpart who can interpret the market, explain the local nuances, and move with purpose.
That approach has helped the brand disrupt a highly competitive sector. It has also shaped Ab’s wider role in the region. He became a partner in FR2DAY, a local news platform, and as president of the British Chamber of Commerce, he rebranded the organization into the Riviera Business Club, helping build a more dynamic business community. These chapters reinforce the same theme found in his real estate work: connect people well, and better opportunities follow.
For buyers, that means access to more than listings. It means insight into a region, a network, and a way of life. For sellers and partners, it means working with a platform that understands positioning, presentation, and the psychology of international demand.
Explore More About Living On The Côte D’Azur
If you are searching for a smarter route into the French Riviera real estate market, Living on the Côte d’Azur offers a rare advantage: personal guidance in a market that often hides its best opportunities. Explore a platform built around service, discretion, and curated access, then connect with the team to discover homes, locations, and possibilities that align with the life you actually want to build.
To further enhance this experience, the official French Riviera Real Estate app is also available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, offering access to premium property listings alongside curated local events, dining spots, attractions, and real estate insights. It delivers a more immersive, real-time view of life on the Côte d’Azur by combining lifestyle discovery with property search in one seamless platform.
Connect with Living on the Côte d’Azur, Ab Kuijer on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and client reviews.
Best Houses Contributor
Covers residential real estate and the agents behind it, from listings and design to the deals that close.
This article features partner, contributor, or branded content from a third party. Members of the Best Houses editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content. All views and opinions are those of the contributor alone.
