My name is Pierre Guillery. I am the man behind the site: 46-year (b. 1965), US educated (BSBA, MBA), fell in love with Uzès a long time ago.This is the story of how this site came to be.
I discovered Uzès twenty years ago
In 1988, after my parents announced their decision to move to the South of France, I embarked on a tour of Provence. Back from school in Connecticut, I rented a car and bought a map. One morning I crossed the Rhône River to visit the Pont du Gard, and made it to Uzès a few miles north looking for a bite to eat at lunch time. I ended up staying four days to visit (pretty much) all the character houses for sale in the area. I convinced my parents that Uzès was the place – and they bought an old “mas” a few months later.
In the summer of 1999, I made plans to buy my own house in Uzès – as it seemed I was on the path to striking it rich with my Dublin (Ireland)-based startup. Alas, things didn’t go as anticipated. (Given how real estate prices performed since then, I guess I really should have found another way to finance my intended purchase.) In the spring of 2010, I organized my move to Uzès – where I plan to eventually find the house of my dreams (or possibly find a house that I could renovate and turn into the house of my dreams). Update (October 2011) : I have now found a old house to renovate, and I am in the process of negotiating the purchase with the owners.
Real estate focus
I am now involved in real estate myself. For the last seven years I have been involved with a leading developer to transform a few hundred acres that my great grandfather bought in 1932 near Paris as a hunting estate into another piece of suburbia. I also assist foreign buyers interested in purchasing French properties – with a focus on fractional ownership.
Since 2010, I am a buyer's agent here in Uzès - working solely on behalf of prospective buyers of real estate in Uzège who need advice and proper representation in the buying process. Find out more here or here on Facebook.
Why this site?
When I announced to my (mostly foreign) friends and clients my plans to move to Uzès, very few of them had heard of the place. I googled it – and didn’t find much English-speaking content of any value. So I decided to put a site together that would tell the story of Uzès in "my own words" – well, and in English too.
Obviously, as I will shortly be looking to recruit real estate clients in the area, I also thought such an endeavor would come in pretty handy in no time – for English-speakers looking to buy in Uzège or Provence. (So yes, please drop me a line if you’re in the market for a house near me).
However, my main objective is to present quality content not available anywhere else about a unique region – a part of the South of France that has somehow been forgotten by the crowds you can find towards the Riviera or in the Lubéron.
Content
Most of the content I will be offering initially is a collection of articles, blog posts and videos published by others. (I am careful to give credit where it’s due – but please get in touch if you see something you don’t like.)
As I get settled in Uzès (from the summer), I will be producing my own content. I plan on interviewing people, finding unique content about the life in and around Uzès and in the region and/or translating what’s only available in French to date.
If you are an English-speaking resident of the area, please get in touch and tell me what you think I should talk about!
Best,
PS: To find out more about me, visit my LinkedIn profile here. To drop me a line, click here. To speak to me, just pick up your phone and call +33 6 8434 8992 (please take into account any applicable time difference!).
