Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacinthe Paré
Hi Jacinthe, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in a small town in Quebec, Canada called Coaticook. I am the youngest of six and my parents, at a very young age, passed on incredible values to us including tight family bounds, working hard and working well, being kind and honest and never forget where we came from.
I always had a strong desire for adventure, and learning about world’s cultures. After obtaining my undergrad in Public Relations and Marketing at Laval University in Quebec City, I got into my small Geo Metro car, with my sister Danielle, and embarked on an adventure where we drove across Canada to explore the beauty my homeland has to offer. We ended in Vancouver, BC where I stayed for a year and got the chance to immerse myself in an English speaking environment. While I went back to Quebec after a year, my heart knew I would eventually come back to the West Coast, which I did… 28 years later!
My communications career started in Drummondville, Quebec where I secured the position of Communications Coordinator for a ten-day folk festival, one of the top ten in the country, which attracted over 20 countries from around the world who shared their food, dance, music and folklore. This was the experience of a lifetime.
In 1994, I met the father of my children while vacationing in Virginia Beach and the little explorer in me decided to leave my country and start a new life in Virginia. I spent over 27 years there and built a new career in advertising and public relations, making my way from Account Executive the partner in an advertising and PR agency that focused heavily on travel and tourism. This was the perfect match for me as Virginia Beach tourism and Virginia is For Lovers were two of my main accounts allowing me to market these beautiful destinations to attract tourists from all over the world with a strong focus on my homeland, Canada.
In 2012 my former husband and I parted ways and we continued to raise our two children, Dominique and Cedrick while adding a furry four-legged Labradoodle name JOLIE, to our family.
In 2013, I then met my current husband and best friend, all around, and we married in 2017. He spent over 27 years in the US Navy, including 25 years as a Navy SEAL and started his career in beautiful and sunny San Diego. He also always wanted to make his way back to the west coast, and together, with our Brady Bunch family, decided to take the plunge in 2020 and make our dream come true. We are living our dream here and while it can be expensive, for us, it is fully worth it.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When moving to Virginia in 1994, I most definitely had to adapt to a new culture, language and being away from my dear friends and family. While I spoke English decently, this second language of mine was not at a level where I could continue my public relations career. I had to be very humble and work really hard to perfect it to the current level while being patient with myself.
When my current husband and I decided to pursue our dream of adventure and move from Virginia Beach, VA to San Diego with our two youngest college level kids in tow, my husband had the great fortune of securing a new government job with the department of defense, but COVID hit and all was put on hold.
We were already knee deep into the preparation for our move and decided to stay the course. I had already planned to transition my sales and marketing career for tourism accounts into real estate, but COVID expedited this process. While most businesses were closed when I moved to San Diego in June, 2020, I took this opportunity to wear my tourism hat and explore all the various areas of San Diego and Riverside Counties to understand their distinctive differences and selling attributes so I could best introduce my clients to the areas that would best suit their desired lifestyle.
Starting a new career during COVID was also quite a challenge, not knowing anyone in San Diego and having limited options to network and meet people. I immediately resorted to what I love the most, I.e. join a wonderful tennis club, Balboa Tennis Club, and played my little heart out while meeting, outdoors, wonderful people I now call friends. I am now into my 5th year of being a lifestyle realtor and this has been nothing short of the perfect new career for me where I feel I truly make a difference in my clients’ lives.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I decided to transfer my sales, marketing and public relations skills to becoming a lifestyle realtor where I help my clients relocated to a new area of California, acquire their first homes, transition to a larger one and / or invest into one so they can start building some real estate wealth.
My extensive business and tourism background enables me to focus on finding them the perfect neighborhood to match their lifestyle with the budget they have.
For me it is not about the houses I sell or list, but rather about helping people and families navigate the ups and downs of life and enable them to move on to the next chapter of their lives, gracefully and happily so they can continue to make memorable life memories.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I am the youngest of six, with four older sisters and one brother. Having been born and raised in Quebec, Canada, I always had the dream to become perfectly bilingual, traveling the world and having more options on where to live and work. I remember watching “The Price is Right” religiously, daily, with my dictionary in hands so I could learn words I didn’t understand. : )
I also grew up surrounded by my older siblings, always trying to be included in their activities. I therefore developed, at a very young age, a little warrior spirit to find and make a sweet spot for myself which later prepared me for my new life in the U.S.A. My childhood memories also involve lovely moments with my mother who always cooked the most amazing meals for our family and going fishing with my dad.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.BonjourCaliforniaRealEstate.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacinthepare/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacinthe.pare.1
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacinthe-pare/
