The story so far:
Irene, Mrs. Lupin's 83-year-old mom, now alone, shaken by her husband Bob's loss and her clashes with the healthcare system, has bravely decided to expatriate herself and come and live with us in the South of France, proving that, even at her age, one can embark on new adventures. This move is being chronicled in this series of diaries:
Mom is moving to France - Part I
For background diaries Lupin Exodus and Healthcare to Bob, see links below fold.
The story continues...
As told in the previous diary, a month ago, we had gone to Los Angeles to help Irene file her application for a long-term visa with the French Consulate. We had benefited from some help from our local (French) Congressman.
The good news is that, last week, we were advised by the Consulate that Irene's visa had been granted, and that she can now move to France, starting November 1st.
In the meantime, Irene was very lucky to be able to sell her house at a reasonable price (no mean feat in California, these days) to a former colleague of hers, without an agent. The escrow is scheduled to close on October 30th and we are, of course, keeping our fingers crossed.
We are returning to California to help Irene with her move: the moving company is coming on the 29th, and various bits of furniture etc. need to be sold or disposed of before then.
On the French side, we haven't been idle: we are buying Irene a very nice village house only three doors down from our house. She will have the ground floor apartment (about 700 sq ft) for herself -- stairs would be a burden at her age and in her condition -- and we'll rent the other three apartments. Even with the renovation work, local subsidies (which cover about 40% of the budget) and rent support make it an attractive proposal from a purely business standpoint and will help supplement her income.
We expect her to be able to move in late January; in the meantime, she'll stay with us.
Irene is very excited at the thought of embarking on this new chapter of her life. She knows that she can rely on us to make transition very smooth. After three months, she will be eligible to join the French healthcare system, which will mean another saving. Currently her Blue Cross payments are taken directly out of her pension.
The only bad news about all this is the dismal US$ to Euro exchange rate which is "killing" us as a significant portion of our earnings are in $$ -- and so is Irene's pension and SS payments.
We're preparing to return to the States this week, and are keeping our fingers crossed that all will go well. If it does, we'll all be back here by November 2.
The adventure continues.
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Background diaries:
Our "Lupin Exodus" diaries from late 04-early 05 describe how, just after the reelection of the Butcher of Crawford, the Lupins decided that enough was enough and moved from LA to Southern France:
Lupin Exodus - Part I
Lupin Exodus - Part II
Lupin Exodus - Part III
Lupin Exodus - Part IV
More recently, from last June to August, I chronicled how Bob, the 70-year-old husband of Irene, Mrs. Lupin's 83-year-old mom, passed away from liver cancer -- and some of the truly awful experiences generated by the healthcare system.
Healthcare to Bob - Part I
Healthcare to Bob - Part II
Healthcare to Bob - Part III
Blog.