FUVEAU — Lin Koh moved from Santa Clara, California, to France in 2023 with her husband and two young children to help care for her mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's disease. The family now lives in Fuveau near Aix-en-Provence in a 2,800-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home with Koh's parents-in-law.

The move resulted in substantial cost savings compared to their California expenses. An equivalent home in California would have cost twice as much to buy, and their monthly grocery bill in France is about 30% lower. Their expenses related to their children, such as summer camp, are about 50% lower in France than they were in California.

Property taxes in France are much lower than in California, though gas is more expensive and electricity costs are about the same. The high cost of living in the Bay Area influenced the family's decision to move to France.

Koh and her husband share caregiving responsibilities for her mother-in-law with Koh's father-in-law and a hired caregiver. In California, Koh worked in marketing at a tech company and her husband was an engineer at another tech company.

The couple initially enrolled their children in a private international school and later withdrew them due to their continued use of English. After withdrawing from the private school, the couple enrolled their children in a public French school, where they became fairly fluent in French within six months.

Koh works from home as a brand manager and receives a total of 37 vacation days per year. "People here really focus on life outside work," Koh said. "They don't live to work. They work to live, and I find that refreshing."

Living in a multigenerational household has sometimes put pressure on her marriage but has also brought her family closer together. "The time together has been really good," Koh said.

Building community in France has been difficult for the family due to limited initial contacts and language barriers, and Koh joined several Facebook groups for foreigners to help build connections. Koh is still learning French, and her husband has taken on a larger role at home because she is less fluent.