Agreed it is a fantastic hospital and they try very hard to keep it clean, My niece despite her problems runs cleaning teams.
But doesn’t the same apply anywhere? And sometimes one has no choice because of factors outside our control. BIL would have said no way to any move, and is now tucked up in a dementia home.
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I am so sorry I did not realise that it was necessary to take a spelling test, if that’s the best you can do trying scrolling through the many subjects on this site you will find plenty of spelling mistakes.
And always remember “our day will come”
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It was simply a real life example of an octogenarian’s point of view. Her best friend’s husband is in the same position as your BIL but his home is in the nearby town here.
This is a thought provoking, sobering and valuable thread. Picking up on some of the points made above…
We absolutely love it here in Normandy, and wild horses wouldn’t drag us away (back to the UK) under any circumstance we can possibly imagine. We’re not worried about either language, or inheritance issues (eg not having any children & everything is being left to charity).
Physical frailty in future is a concern…We intentionally downsized significantly when moving here from our UK property, to about 10% of the size of garden and house, It’s low maintenance…
We have to acknowledge that we don’t have any real support network (not even a doctor in my case) if and when we might need it…So my ever practical wife drew up a spreadsheet recently, looking forwards over the next 25 years (both in early sixties), thinking through what we might need to provide for. We have tried to factor in the costs of paid carers, and EHPADs as a fall back. We think we probably have enough to get by, and are reasonably prepared, but are aware of Mike Tyson’s great quote about everybody thinking they have a fully formed plan, until they’re hit in the face for the first time.
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I admire your determination to hold an opinion, but as someone still living in England, frankly it’s a bizarre opinion, and not based in fact.
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If one posits something that seems to be challenging general opinion and want ones alternative point of view to be taken seriously, it’s worth citing some supporting sources.
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A good friend went to bed Tuesday last & didn’t wake up.
Jean-Yves, being a very active person, not being seen the next day & not answering the door the following, the pompiers were called & they found him dead.
Death can come a calling when you don’t expect.
R.I.P. Mon pote, Jean-Yves.
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Maybe the best way.
My mother-in-law died in her sleep, whereas my mother had to go on hunger strike before they’d put her on palliative care.
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Yes I agree, but one hell of a shock!
Full of life one day & gone the next.
R.I.P. J-Y. 
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Today we resumed our Sunday walks to the Auberge in the next village, that are normally documented on the randos’ thread, but half way there we met a couple from the other end of our village who we see most mornings if walking Gigi along the Lot.
His voice seemed much huskier than normal so we asked if he had a cold and were told it’s due to a large inoperable tumour in his throat. Doubly sad if only because for many years this couple have been doing all the right things to age healthily -good diet, lots of exercise, but…
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Sorry, but you’re talking absolute bollocks . I come from SE England and visit (too) frequently and English is the only language ever heardm
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Says you. and you are not the sole source of wisdom.
So do I .
Toutes mes condoléances, @Wozza, how upsetting.
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Rather presumptuous, to imagine you know all about people you have never met, and rude to denigrate their life and experience.
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hoping we can all take a deep breath and be glad we woke up this morning… 
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Moving away from the non helpful and frankly rude segue, this is a thoughtful and subjective topic for many members. May be linked to the ‘making end of life instructions’ topic?
My husband and I, in our mid sixties, have sadly lost several dear friends over the past year, all in our age group, two to cancer. Makes us think we really should plan, albeit providing the gods with a good laugh.
Probably wise to decide on any plan involving a home move to be while we are still physically and mentally able to endure the stress of moving and settling somewhere different. Also, speaking as housekeeper, smaller! Even house hunting requires stamina.
Although it is horrid to contemplate, a very pertinent aspect is what will be the best situation if one of us is left on our own.
Gravitating towards family and relationships is natural and sensible. However, we are short of family and increasingly short of old friends. So, seems best to establish soon where we will spend our end of days while we still have time and energy to make new friends and fit in.
Gosh! We’ve already been in this house for three years and have a long history of moving every four years. The urge to procrastinate meets the urgency to prepare. Makes me feel a bit unwell.
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I was wondering. With English not being spoken any more (I have that on good authority), what language are all these translators translating into?
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Pleased to report we’re both alive & kicking this morning.
Here’s our situation in a nutshell. We were happy in the UK and came to France nearly 30 years ago for work. Specifically, for my job. We’ve been happy in France too.
Even after all this time my husband’s understanding of written French is appalling and he’s incapable of dealing with anything involving French admin. Beyond possibly booking the van in for a service.
So think I better take him back to the UK at some point because, from a purely practical standpoint, he couldn’t cope here if I keeled over.
He’s Russian and came to the UK as a young man where he took to English and British humour, etc. like a duck to water. He appreciates the excellent healthcare, decent weather and access to nature we have here in France but I think it’s safe to say he hasn’t had the same love affair with the language and culture. There’s a lot of crap behaviour here in the city and it feels like it’s getting worse but that could just be us getting old and curmudgeonly. It’s little things, like people not stepping aside on the pavement to let others past. Even if they see you’re carrying something bulky. Or riding two-a-breast in their cycle lane even when they see you coming for miles in the other lane. And I’m not talking about “oiks” to borrow a term used earlier in this thread. These are prosperous middle-class French people. Maybe England’s like that too now. I don’t know. It didn’t use to be. Certainly I’m always struck by how chivalrous people are when I visit my old ma in NI. We’ll find out soon.
Our plan is to visit the UK for 6 weeks next year, with a view to possibly moving. We need lively cities with plenty of quiet lanes nearby for cycling and not too much rain. So far we’ve narrowed the choice down to York and Norwich.
If we don’t like it - and I have the same reservations as everyone else about healthcare and weather and, I dunno, a lack a romance maybe - the plan would be to stay on in Strasbourg until our early 70s and then move to our little house by the sea in N. Ireland. Where hopefully some family will still be up the road.
I don’t want to leave it too late, having known quite a few people, mostly parents of colleagues, who moved to France in retirement and then in their 80s wanted to go back but by that time the whole palaver of organising a move was just too daunting.
There’s no point in getting depressed about any of this. As someone already suggested (Sue I think), the way to approach it is to treat it as another adventure.
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