Juliana and Martijn

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The concept of stress-free holidays that allow families to immerse themselves as home-owning locals can be challenging to achieve. Knowing where to buy the best properties, having to deal with home renovations, ensuring the home is designed to suit your family's needs and the on-going supported management is where August can help.

We appreciate holidays should be as convenient as packing your bags and as being whisked away smoothly. So when we welcomed our latest August Signature Collection family to their Valbonne home, that was exactly all they had to do - pack their bags, invite their extended family, fill up the car, make sure everyone was on board including their dogs and off they went!

We're so delighted that Juliana, Martijn and their family can now call their August home in the French Riviera their new holiday base. With the help of August, they have been able to comfortably settle as true locals through a better way of holidaying.

August is proud to welcome Juliana, Martijn and their family to their Signature Collection home in Valbonne...

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"We're a family of 6 including our dogs and we've been looking forward to our first holiday in our August home since we joined last year. For our summer holiday, my wife and I invited our extended family (our sisters and brothers and their family) to join us on holiday as the August homes are big enough to accommodate.

With everything taken care of, it makes our holiday experience very easy so we're looking forward to more holidays in the August homes. They will be a place for our families to gather more often because before relocating back to Europe from Latin America, we only saw them once a year during Christmas.

Excited at the thought of starting the holiday as a road trip, we packed the car with the girls, our dogs and our duffel bags in the boot. Because of the limited car space, we were mindful of packing lightly (and to a checklist!) but because the August home has everything it meant we didn't have to worry about the big things like towels and bedding.

We drove from Porto, Portugal and our family met us there so it was a nice group of us. We wanted to settle in and didn't want to bother with the food shop, so we pre-arranged an essentials food shop with August for our arrival. It took our mind off the hassle of food shopping and allowed us to unwind immediately.

It's so nice to just arrive home and know you don't have to worry about anything - everything is taken care of.

Emmanuelle, the house manager, welcomed us when we first arrived and reassured us that should there be any questions with the home, we would be looked after. This was very helpful.

The architecture and style of the home are lovely with beautiful windows. The garden is just so impressive, the way that it is landscaped creates a pure and chilled atmosphere. The house is very large with different areas.

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As a group, we spent a lot of time together and independently. When we were at home, we usually congregated on the main terrace for most of the day. Having the outdoor space with shade was great. It meant we could watch the children when they enjoyed the pool as the water was the perfect temperature.

The children enjoyed having their own space, spending time in the comfortable TV room and their own rooms, just like they would if they were back at home.

We are thrilled with the home as it's completely exceeded our expectations! It's everything like the photos and more!

It was clear that the garden had been well looked after in which the children and dogs used and enjoyed very much. There are plants everywhere!  Every part of the home is very photogenic. We even had visits from the neighbourhood cats and foxes, which the girls adored.

There were also spectacular views from the kitchen, side terrace and garden of the surrounding hills.

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It was great we were able to bring the dogs with us too, the Yorkie trio especially made themselves feel at home. The house was very accommodating for the dogs, and they were living their best life in our new home as much as we were.

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The location of the house is close to the Valbonne town centre, alongside neighbouring villages which we’ll still need to discover more of next time. The town is so close, within five minutes you can park and there are nearby stores.

It was great that the neighbourhood had so much to offer. We met locals who helped confirmed Augusts' expert choice of Valbonne really is the best place in the region. We're slowly becoming accustomed to the French Riviera way of life and started to feel like locals ourselves.

So much so, we registered the family with the local medical facilities, vets and the car wash! As recommended by August, Cafe des Arcades is a restaurant within the Valbonne town centre that has become one of our favourites. We became regulars for lunch and dinner but we’re still working out the French dining timetable! Some of our favourite dishes include the Pizzas, Filet de Boeuf with Roquefort and crepes!

The French Riviera region offers a range of scenery from mountains, lakes, hills to lavender fields, and we knew it was the height of the season to see and smell the Lavender, and it was beautiful!

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To break up the days at the house, we also went out for day trips to nearby villages, lavender fields and the highly August recommended Lac de Sainte-Croix.

Through 'August Recommends’, we were able to rent bikes hassle-free, and discovered what Valbonne had to offer.

‍As avid cyclists, we knew the French Riviera offers excellent cycling routes, making the location of the home just perfect for us. We explored on our own and also joined cycling tours to find other locations we may not have found on our own; through this, we met locals who confirmed Valbonne is the best place to live!

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We can't wait to come back and spend some quality time in Chamonix.‍

As we had the car, it meant we were able to get around and was able to drive to Chamonix, giving us a glimpse of the great outdoors and what Chamonix- Mont Blanc has to offer, including hiking trails and what to expect and how to better prepare for next time!

‍The whole August experience has been very easy. We appreciate that everything is taken care of and August doesn't cut corners. The process has been so carefully thought through whilst remaining transparent.  

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From finding the best homes in great locations; the renovation process to our arrival and during our stay, the team have supported us all the way. As a result, our holiday experience has been transformed; we now have many homes in Europe and can finally experience the areas like a local. It’s a great way to move back to Europe from Latin America. Overall, our first stay at our home has been wonderful and seamless, we knew it’d be just as easy leaving home as we found it. We look forward to visiting the other homes in Tuscany, Mallorca next year when they are ready.
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Join Juliana, Martijn and other August families to discover how you can co-own an August Collection today.
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The Signature Collection will be closing soon, if you're interested and want to gain early access to the next collections, get in touch info@augustcollection.co.uk or attend our next webinar.

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