As a youthful 70 year old, I am keen to make the move to France but am concerned about my ' twilight years'. Does the State provide Care Homes for the elderly as is done in the UK? Would I need to sell my French property in order to fund my stay in one such place?
And advice would be most welcome.
Many thanks.

the french are very much for care in your home!

nurses, daily delivery of little (shops) on wheels

old people dont get shoved in care homes, they get their care in their own homes

home hospitalisation is another big thing in france

Agree with Bourgogne, if you want to stay at home you can get a lot of help if you want to but if you want to move into a home, you will find all standards, there is private and public homes, there is also special appartment complexes for people of a certain age where you can get all sorts of services: canteen, 24 hour concierge, etc... It gives you all the freedom you want as well as security.

Many thanks to both of you. That's very reassuring and keeps my plans on track.
It's great to have such swift and helpful advice.

Pigwiggen - You might still want to do more research: I am not an expert on care homes, but what I know of them here in France is not as rosy a picture as has been expressed above. My 86-year old mother (who is French and has always lived in France) is still living in her flat but might need to go to a home soon. For many years she has done a lot of research to find what would be available to her, given that she is on a very modest income. The kind of high-grade, top of the range places are at least as expensive as in Britain, and there are long waiting lists. If you have a very low income then you can go to the bottom of the range places (provided you go on a waiting list first), but you will still be expected to pay for your care, and if your pension does not cover the whole cost (in my mother's case it does not) then if you were a property owner you would be expected to generate capital by selling your home, AND if this is still not sufficient, then by law, if you have children, THEY have to pay for you.
As for standards of care, they are not necessarily very high - I happen to know several care workers, some working as volunteers in "accompagnement" which is a kind of support/care/counselling work for elderly people, some with Alzheimer's, some with some other terminal ailment, others yet who are perfectly healthy but unable to be cared for at home. There is a terrific shortage of care homes, and just as terrific a shortage of staff - sometimes there is the staff, but not the resources to pay them. Just like in England, I hear terrible stories about the neglect in those care homes, about the living conditions there, and the infantilising treatment for the pensioners. You do see the model care homes on TV programmes, and they look great - but those are few and far between. France is very far behind Britain in those matters, just as it is very far behind concerning the Hospice Care movement. Just as it was very far behind in the treatment of chronic pain management.
This is changing, but not fast enough.
As for my mother, naturally she wants to be able to stay in her own home for as long as possible. True, she can get a home help, she can get a visiting chiropodist at home, a hairdresser, and many other forms of help. But they are all at a cost. The state is far from providing for elderly people. Just remember the heatwave of 2005, and the 15,000 elderly people (most of them living on their own) who perished. Those who lived comfortably through the heatwave were mostly those who had family or a good support system of neighbours, friends to take care of them.
I am sorry if what I say does not quite square with the above postings, but I would not like to think of you jumping into this blindly and finding yourself in a fix later on. Please please do some serious research NOW. Best of luck to you.

Karunia,
I'm very sorry to hear about your mother, it can be very hard. I have gone through that with both my grandmothers in the last few years and I know how bad it can be. We have had both very bad and very good experiences when it comes to care for old people, for one of my grandmothers it was hell, after being in a complex for old people for a few years that was fantastic her health took a turn for the worse and had to go to a home, we chose a place that looked homey that had good references, cut a long sad story short, it finished in court with the most horrible strories I have ever heard of neglect and physical abuse. She is now in a hospital that is understaffed and it's still very far from perfect.
My other grandmother has had however a totally different experience, she stayed at home for a very long time, then went to one of those complexes, had daily homehelp and nurses to look after her and finally went to the local public home where she was really well looked after. There was always a lot of staff to attend to her needs no matter what time of the day I called around, different activities organised everyday, etc...

Homes are rather expensive, wether private or public( I think around 45 euros a day), nursing care was always free for my grandmother, and home help according to her earnings.
Be prepared because there are waiting lists, although it was never a problem for us.

my mother died here in france 3 months ago, sadly at aged only 68

that was not only nasty, but i mean the way i was treated "'TOLD" funeral in 6 days or we do it anyway without you! But also her banks sharing personal details with anyone who asked but me...... i was blocked accounts closed PLUS they put a interdiction banqe on her for 4 years!!!! They BACKDATED a week b4 she died and refused all payments! I almost scragged her bank manager, he was lucky I was too upset to be violent, otherwise who can say?

Now the notaire is sitting on everything doing NOTHING, I ring he's not there, he's on holiday etc etc etc

I'm so sick of france and the attitude which is utterly utterly vile. Shout all you want!!! the french are pig headed ignorant smug bastards! and they have not stopped yet to make me unwelcome. I am expected to pick up the bill for my mums unfinished house (builders never finished) year 3 now!!!!!!! Plus all other parts of her estate to include her CAR i paid for!

I got legal aid to sue the 'rectum' from maison phenix ............ joining the queue as thousands of cases to that groupe are in motion most since 2004.

All the same i'm here alone aged 38, with serious panic attacks (4yrs) no clue cant stop them tested here there everywhere Doctor very nice she'll come out if i call her and cant control one. She was very very shocked at the demise of my mum, as was I!!

However now in motion is some way of trying to get me support, as I am alone, someone needs to contact me daily etc. The panics 'spasmophilia' could be mitral valve prolapse through to epilepsy and or both. Light and tv/pc screens set it off. But i go unconcious inside 10 mins if its a bad one......... some last hours 4am -12pm i have a way to do stuff to be busy but stop and ........... you are in big trouble in seconds.

well we see? but i dont miss the UK and the reason mum left the UK was lack of care towards anyone retired, here she had back-up (me) but no one could predict the ???? no post mortum no clue? Only the doctor demanding MONEY to release the body while standing over my mum ........... utterly french, again should I had been less than shocked he would have left here with a cheque so far up his ass he'd have needed surgery!

i dont like the attitude here, and after all I think I may leave france but not back to UK.

All my condolences, that sounds terrible, all of it. And I understand perfectly why you would want to leave France. I'm french myself and even I can't handle it maybe because I lived in Ireland and saw how it could be done better for so many things and we have really tried hard to make it work here for the last 8 years but it has finally beaten us and we are leaving.
I sincerely hope something good comes out of all your misery, best of luck to you for the future.

Priscilla, thank you so much for your caring reply. But as a matter of fact, my mother is not in any difficulty right now, she has chosen which care home she would go to if needed, and although her mobility is not great, at least she "has all her head" and is very lucid, independent and not wanting to involve anyone in her business (not even me) - we will see.
Thanks for sharing your experience with your grandmothers. I guess it shows the variety of care one can expect, I think perhaps there is a lot of regional variation, as well as the luck of the drawer! Prior to deciding on a care home for later, my mother did go and spent a week in another care home which was supposed to be top of the pops. She hated it so much she went home after just 3 days, as everyone there was severely disabled and there was very little social interaction possible, either with other "guests", or with the staff; she found it immensely depressing. I am only mentioning this because it is a rather familiar picture - not limited to France, but more generally illustrating the way older citizens tend to be treated in some of our civilised world. If money is no object, then no doubt one will always find a good level of care on all fronts. But to come back to the original poster, Pigwiggen, he (she?) asked whether he would have to sell his home in order to fund care - the answer being a definite yes. What I was also stressing was that for those with limited means, the children are legally bound to contribute or foot the bill entirely. Just like the inheritance laws here (napoleonic code again!), where the heirs (children for instance) are responsible for any debts incurred by their deceased parent. I could write volumes about this as it happened to me.

Well, it seems my belated response to Pigwiggen has opened some sort of Pandora's box! I am very sorry for your loss Bourgogne, and for the repercussions it is having on your life. And Priscilla, also very sorry to read that after 8 years you are finally abandoning ship. This is a rather sore point for me: I, too am French, and after speding all my adult and professional life in England, I came here 5 years ago - bringing my anglo-saxon husband, who had always been a convinced francophile with some good language skills.
It has not been a bed of roses. There are times when he particularly, wishes he had never left England, with all his friends, with the language he is most comfortable with, and where at least he knows how all systems work. After all the years away from France, I was struck by how harsh it is here, how harsh the culture and the people. What keeps me (us) here now, are the weather, medical care, and food, and the fact that by leaving England, we have priced ourselves out of the property market and could not go back even if we wanted to. Again, I could write volumes about this. I don't wish to discourage anyone, but I do say to people who somehow imagine that they are moving to a neverneverland, please think carefully, please investigate as best you can so you know what you are getting into. If France is for you a second home and you can retain your primary home in England (or elsewhere), then no problem. If you have to make your move with no possibility of going back, then think long and hard, do your sums, and dig deep into your motivations and your abilities to live in a culture which is fundamentally quite alien, and with a language which is not your first language. All very well to do this in your 20's, much harder in your 50's or 60's or 70's. I see no end of English speakers who can barely manage to buy a baguette (usually by pointing a finger), after 3 or 4 or more years "living" here. And I think that as we get older we do get much more vulnerable, and miss more of what is familiar to us. Some people thrive on this kind of challenge, but many do not.

Sorry to read about your troubles Bourgogne, and priscilias decision to leave France.
I have read closely all the postings on this site since my girlfriend and i decided to buy in France. Ive found some very helpful information here, and its given me an insight into the thoughts and problems that brits have living over there.

We have bought a barn in Correze, and will spend the next 18 months or so converting it, then the plan was to move over within the next two years. My girlfriend is a newly qualified nurse, and i'm a builder, hopefully working and getting a better lifestyle than here in the UK.

Our reason to leave England was the social decline that has been happening here, and the lack of respect that many people have for many things.

On our visits to France, we have always found the french very warm and friendly, that also applies to the British we've met living there.

I can understand the problems with french red tape, and the attitude from some of the authorities, but surely it can't be any worse than in England?

I would like to know (certainly from Priscilia, being French) what has beaten her, and what we should be expecting from the french way of life.

Thanks, and i hope it all works out ok.

Stewart

That thread that I kicked off has certainly exposed a can of worms, hasn't it, and the answers have proved to be most illuminating. My wife and I are certainly rethinking our plans, for life has sufficient challenges each day without one's thinking that better weather itself would prove to be a sufficient reward for a major move like this.
Our sympathies go out to all who wrote in with those very unpleasant memories and we wish those who are planning to go every success.....and especially to you, Priscilla, with your plans to move on. Your input has been most helpful and may everything work out for you too.

sorry i ranted there!

i am not saying to anyone dont come to France. My experiances will not be yours. Unfortunately I seem, by minding my own business to just get their backs up. And I will not back down "because its the law" etc etc That does not impress me or scare me.

eg;
House Insurance company told "its is not my CONTRACT with you, I am a CUSTOMER, it is your CONTRACT to me" They wont change the wording I wont pay it!!

Car insurance for the year came in with (sauf error ou omission) under the price (E&OE) so I sent my cheque and inserted that where am amount should have been. Breach of CONTRACT "nope just a error, as per disclaimer"

Yep dont help myself, but I refuse to be TOLD this is what they will do, and not WHAT would I like? If you can cope with sloppy customer service, no one taking any responcibility. You'll be just fine

However I feel, the healthcare and availability of doctors and specialists will amaze you moving from the UK.

Dont let my rant put anyone off, as perhaps I'm as arrogant as they?