Living On The Côte D'Azur: Ab Kuijer's French Riviera Vision

The grey skies of Amsterdam have a way of making the Mediterranean feel like a dream. For Ab Kuijer, that dream became a decision. In 2006, he and his family left the Netherlands behind and relocated to the South of France, drawn by the sea, the sun, and the promise of a healthier, more vibrant life.

What began as a personal pursuit of warmth and light eventually became something far larger: a platform that is quietly redefining how international buyers discover, navigate, and secure luxury property on one of the world's most coveted coastlines.

A Journalist, a Radio Pioneer, and a Marketer Walk Into Real Estate

Ab Kuijer's path to the French Riviera was anything but linear. Born in Amsterdam, he began his career as a journalist and producer, contributing to newspapers, television stations, and magazines across the Netherlands. That early immersion in storytelling and communication shaped everything that followed.

In the 1980s, Ab co-founded WAPS, the first legal dance radio station in the Netherlands, a move that signaled his appetite for disruption and creative risk.

By 1999, he had launched his own marketing agency, AbOriginals, which, over the years, evolved into JuniorSenior, a firm celebrated for blending youthful curiosity with seasoned commercial and communications strategy.

His forward-thinking work in advertising, social media, and database marketing earned him the title of Europe's Best Youth Marketing Expert in 2010, the same year he published "Think Small, Grow Big," a concise guide to modern marketing philosophy that captured his approach in sharp, actionable terms.

These were not detours. They were the foundation.

The French Riviera Needed Something Different

When Ab arrived on the Côte d'Azur, he brought his marketer's eye with him. He became a partner in FR2DAY, a popular local news platform, and later served as president of what was then the British Chamber of Commerce, which he rebranded into the Riviera Business Club, cultivating a genuine professional community in the region.

But it was the real estate market that revealed the most glaring gap. The French Riviera property landscape is, as Ab describes it, blurry. Many of the finest properties are listed with multiple agencies simultaneously, creating confusion and duplication. A significant portion never appears online at all, circulating only through off-market channels invisible to foreign buyers.

And when international clients did engage with the market, they often encountered a service experience that fell well short of their expectations.

"The French Riviera real estate market is blurry," Ab notes. "Most properties are sold with multiple agencies or are not visible at all. That is why an experienced buyer agent is essential to avoid frustration and pitfalls."

The solution he built was Living on the Côte d'Azur, launched in 2006 as a full-service portal designed specifically for Dutch-speaking and international buyers. Two decades later, it has grown into something considerably more expansive.

People First, Properties Second

What separates Living on the Côte d'Azur from every other luxury real estate portal is not technology. It is philosophy.

Most platforms operate on automation. Listings populate databases, buyers browse alone, and human contact arrives late, if at all. In France, where the pace of service can frustrate even patient international clients, this model creates friction at precisely the wrong moment.

Ab built his platform around the opposite principle. The homepage does not lead with property listings. It leads with people. Before a client sees a single home, the team at Living on the Côte d'Azur reaches out directly to understand what the client actually needs: their lifestyle, priorities, timeline, and vision for life on the Riviera.

This human-first approach is not a marketing tactic. It is a cultural commitment rooted in Dutch service standards, where clarity, directness, and genuine responsiveness are not optional extras but baseline expectations.

For buyers navigating an unfamiliar market in a foreign country, that commitment is not just reassuring. It is transformative.

A Network Built for Legacy

The platform has expanded well beyond its original scope. Ab developed the Real Estate Legacy Network, an exclusive alliance of niche international real estate portals, powered by  Living on the Côte d'Azur.

The network specializes in legacy assets: exceptional homes defined by timeless elegance, prime locations, and enduring value. Properties span the South of France, Ibiza, Paris, Portugal, Mauritius, and the UAE, connecting high-net-worth individuals and families with homes that are built to last across generations.

The word "legacy" is deliberate. These are not simply luxury properties. They are assets with depth, with history, and with the kind of intrinsic value that appreciates not just financially but personally.

For buyers who think in decades rather than market cycles, this distinction matters enormously.

Disruption Through Simplicity

Ab Kuijer is not a typical real estate professional, and Living on the Côte d'Azur is not a typical real estate platform.

The combination of media fluency, marketing expertise, and genuine personal investment in the Riviera lifestyle has produced something the market had not seen before: a portal that functions less like a database and more like a trusted advisor.

"With a background in innovative marketing and media, it is nice to see that we can disrupt the highly competitive real estate market with our personal approach," Ab reflects, "to make it more accessible for foreign buyers."

That accessibility is the real product. Not listings. Not algorithms.

A knowledgeable, responsive, and deeply connected guide through one of the world's most beautiful and complex property markets.

Explore More About Living On The Côte D'Azur

Discover exceptional properties and personalized guidance at Living on the Côte d'Azur. Connect with Ab Kuijer on LinkedIn, explore curated Riviera listings on Instagram, join the 38,000+ community on Facebook, and read verified client reviews on Feedback Company.