Monaco in the 80's was quite fun as a teenager.
The vast majority of those living there were not and still today are not Monegasque. It was truly cosmopolitan, even at school. Way more than today. There were no international schools back then, you had to go to France for a private school if you couldn't speak French.
I don't think people get how tiny Monaco is. Very tiny. Super tiny. Central Park in NY is bigger than Monaco. It feels bigger because it goes up and up. Many roads are underground, you have elevators left and right, but for sure you develop good legs when you live there. Because it is so tiny, you would always know someone working somewhere that would let you sneak into a beach club. Or the Yacht club. Or the tennis club. We would go clubbing in San Remo, no age checks, no ID. The first time I went dancing in a discotheque I was 13. We have beaches , but in Summer, we would go to Cap Ferrat or Nice. I can't remember why we picked the French beaches more vs the Italian beaches.
The only limitation was school work. School was based on the French system which is no joke. Very strict, very intense. And it didn't matter who your dad was or how many zeros were in his bank account. If you failed, you had to repeat the year. That's when kids would be pulled and sent to private schools in France.
Monaco is super safe @Enna0105 @Yousay55 . You don't have to worry about your stuff at the beach or you handbag in a crowded bar, like you have to if you are in France or Italy. Crime is very low and lots of police, even back then.
I live in Australia now and can't believe the amount of posts of people wanting to move so far for the weather or outdoor life. And I am, like, seriously , there is plenty of sunshine (more) and outdoor activities (more) in the Côte d'Azur, Italy or even Spain.
Monaco as dull as dishwasher??? Maybe on a rainy day in March. This is definitely a place where life is very different if you are a local or a tourist.
Because, let's be honest: Monaco is not a holiday destination. Think more of it like the City of London with sea access (and steep hills). It is not your small and charming Mediterranean village featured in a blue zones tv show. It is a buzzing working city/country, with high flat complex and the traffic that comes with it, although the old town is gorgeous.
For pretty girls, it was quite easy to find Summer jobs, especially if you could speak several languages. You work in a club or on a boat and it doesn't feel like a job.
If you were good-ish at any sport, chances were you would make it into the junior national team and compete internationally. We would lose every competition but is was still fun to go!
It is pretty, tiny, safe, by the sea, next to the slopes in Winter, buzzing and cosmopolitan. Your kids will have fun, get a great education and develop friendships that might come very useful decades later. Chances are their classmates will have holiday homes in gorgeous places, a yacht in the harbour and a chalet in Switzerland.
Summer starts in May and goes until late September. Living by the sea is fantastic and the only con I see in moving to Monaco is that once you experience life by the sea, it is very hard to be landlocked. That's was the agreement with DH, I will follow you in your postings but there must be sea and we must live near/in front of it. We did Barcelona and now are in Sydney. One last word, sea temperature is far more pleasant in Monaco than Sydney!!!