I've Been Cooking Something Up This Year

And I'd Love You To Be First To Know

By Susie Hollands

I've been thinking about this for a while - how to share what I've learned. How to capture the conversations I have constantly with friends over dinner, the advice I give walking through neighborhoods, the insights that come from actually living between cities rather than just visiting them.

So here it is: Letters From Abroad. A newsletter for those living abroad, those wishing to live abroad, and those who navigate the line between home and away.

If you're receiving this, it's because you're already part of my world somehow - a client, a friend, someone I've connected with about France or property or the life we're all trying to build. I wanted you to be among the first to know what I'm creating.

HOW MY WORK HAS EVOLVED

Many of you know me as the founder of VINGT Paris, the brokerage I built to help people navigate the French property market with the kind of honesty and expertise that's frustratingly rare. Over the years, we helped literally thousands of people move to France - find apartments, understand the bureaucracy, build lives in Paris and beyond.

That work created something unexpected: a community. People who valued the same things I do - authenticity, quality, meaningful connection, a life designed with intention rather than accepted by default.

The pandemic changed things, as it did for everyone. The world became smaller in some ways, larger in others. My clients' needs evolved beyond France alone. They wanted to understand Italy's new tax regime. They were curious about London's new residential models. They needed someone they trusted to help them think through Nice versus Saint-Tropez, or whether Mallorca made more sense than Provence.

So I evolved too. Twenty1 is the natural extension of everything VINGT Paris represents - but broader, more global, focused on serving discerning individuals and their advisers across borders and real estate sectors. From super-prime residential to commercial assets, from Paris to London to the Mediterranean and beyond.

What Letters From Abroad Actually Is

This newsletter is simple: it's the conversation I wish I could have over coffee with everyone who's ever asked me about living abroad, relocating, or building a portfolio that actually enhances life rather than complicates it.

It's the nuggets of wisdom and insight I've gathered on my travels. The insider knowledge about how neighborhoods really work. The truth about tax regimes that sounds too good to be true. The restaurant in Nice you won't find on Instagram but absolutely need to experience. The reality of what London actually offers now versus what people think it offers.

These are stories from the places I've spent time, where I have friends, where I understand not just the market but the life you'd actually be living - whether you're already an ex-pat or just beginning to consider what that might mean for you.

I'm not following any particular order or agenda - I'm simply sharing what's interesting, what's relevant, what I think you should know. Some letters will focus on specific cities. Others might explore broader themes: golden visa programs, the art of integration, why certain property markets are having their moment right now.

What I'm Seeking (And What I Hope You Are Too)

The main thing driving me these days is community. Not networking in the transactional sense, but actual relationships with people who think carefully about how they want to live.

We created that in Paris - a network of ex-pats and locals who helped each other navigate the complexities of building a life abroad. As my work has expanded beyond France, I've discovered the same hunger for this kind of connection everywhere I go.

Letters From Abroad is my way of maintaining that conversation as the geography expands. It's meant to feel like hearing from a friend who happens to have spent years figuring out what actually works - and what absolutely doesn't.

What's Next

Over the coming weeks, I'll be sharing dispatches from Italy (where I'm seriously considering buying property myself), London (which surprised me entirely), Nice (which is having an absolute renaissance), and other places that deserve your attention.

If there's somewhere specific you'd like me to write about, or a question you'd like answered about relocating or investing abroad, just reply to this email. I read everything, and the best letters often come from actual conversations.

I'm excited about this. It feels right - like finally giving structure to something I've been doing informally for years.

Welcome to Letters From Abroad.

With warmth,

Susie Hollands

Founder, VINGT Paris & Twenty1