Yes- thanks. So glad you got it ...
So it begins….. Streeting resigns
When a political leader lies on their CV - can you trust them?
British expats (immigrants) in the EU are all going to be massively affected by Brexit- in 100s of ways- healthcare, driving licences, pensions, exchange rate loss, etc, etc. - whether they voted Remain or Leave. It is really going to affect their relationship with those who voted for those changes that will impact daily lives in such a significant way- especially in those ommunities where there are large numbers living in close proximity.
Yes- thanks. So glad you got it ...
And of course, our case is rather different from those in EU. We have many options open to us, and we are very lucky. We will adapt and survive- and truly make the best of it, absolutely.
This post was about those in the EU who won't have those choices, and who have been totally caught in this mess that is not of their making. Especially those whose health has recently deteriorated, and those who had great plans for their future, and find themselves suddenly widowed. I know 3 of them personally, 1 very elderly, 1 young mum with two young kids one who has severe health issues, and 1 who lost her British husband a few years after moving, had a very hard time for many years, found love again with a French man- who suddenly died the other day with no warning at all and has now to deal with all the red tape and incertainties of this + Brexit. Neither have anything to go back to in UK.
Time to move on Jura 2 and start enjoying your life instead of flogging a dead horse and worrying about things that have nothing to do with you!
Do it now before it’s too late........
This bit Mamie ?
We have many friends in France who arrived in last 2 years and are very scared as they still do not have permanent residency- some were counting on being able to have S1 as their partner was older, but now have been widowed - and find themselves distrought by the loss, and scared witless about their future situation
I thought OP was talking of a specific person who had been widowed not a whole slew of expats in a general sense.
In any case, I thought this thread was about OP’s problems with travel insurance living in Switzerland, not expats in France , whose issues you are already aware of.
Not really any further forward.
C’est la vie?
Added to which, doing my sums, within the last two years was since the Referendum result
Why would they be surprised? 
First because they were promised a Great Deal, and that their rights would be garanteed. Secondly because some Préfectures, or Councils, in France- have been inundated with requests. Some have not been able to fit all requests in- some have been very obstructive and refused to issue any Permits, or only temporary ones.
Maw- you really are really quite something ...
I think the thread is basically about people who are coping with the complications of Brexit and have had other major life events to deal with MawB.
I only came on to put straight the confusion about where we are with the S1 form as a result of the Withdrawal Bill passing. I didn't want anyone who might be feeling vulnerable to worry about things that are no longer an issue.
There are undoubtedly people who make bad decisions, but there are also people who have suffered through no fault of their own. I don't think a bit of understanding and compassion hurts.
Everyone makes life choices that sometimes turn out, years later, to have been bad decisions, or that whilst good decisions at the time, later become not so good due to events. This happens throughout life, and in all areas of life. We have to get on with the cards we have been dealt, often due to no fault of our own.
Compassion is normally reserved for those who have really suffered. It’s Holocaust Memorial Day today. Maybe that helps to put our present difficulties into context.
First because they were promised a Great Deal
Well, if we're talking about "broken promises" jura, I'm pretty certain that most of us on GN could write chapter and verse about promises that have been made and then broken. Personally, I'm pissed off that my much promised, and frequently delayed state pension has been delayed for almost 6 years. It's left me in financial hardship. I'm having to continue to work in a job that physically and mentally exhausts me just to keep a roof over my head. I have no private or works pension and so worries about international travel won't affect me because I'll never be able to afford it. But it is what it is. So you, and your friends, will just have to do the same as the rest of us when someone moves the goalposts: suck it up buttercup!
I don't think a bit of understanding and compassion hurts
Mamie
I have ample compassion for genuine hardship but my understanding of what this thread is about is becoming increasingly strained.
On Holocaust Memorial Day in particular I am reminded of the yawning chasm between Holiday Insurance and real hardship.
Aw thanks, Jura - back at you 
Yes, I can assure you that those 3 widows have gone through real, severe hardship. To be widowed twice and now face real uncertainty is hard. To be widowed when young with young childrem, one of whom has severe health issues, and also being made so much worse by recent uncertainties, is too. To be widowed when old and frail, and left to face all these uncertainties and red tape, having previously counted on a life partner who spoke perfect French and dealt with it all- is tough too.
Some of you on here know how hard it is to lose your life partner- and surely can imagine how much harder it must be if your rights and future are also in jeopardy because you live abroad.
This thread was never about me- I was asked why I was concerned, and how it affected me - and the thread got deflected. I should not have allowed this to happen.
Why you feel the need to be so unpleasant about it, Maw - is to do with you, and you alone, but is quite sad. Last post.
Last post
Those three widows are undeniably undergoing a difficult time I agree, so is Chewbacca, denied her pension, and the realisation that she’ll never be able to travel abroad. Compared with Holocaust victims, they are lucky, compared with many of us, they’re not so lucky. Everything is comparative.
Blaming those who voted to leave the EU is unreasonable. The population was given a vote, they voted. The result didn’t suit you jura, or those three widows. The result probably doesn’t affect Chewbacca. It affects some people positively, others negatively. That is life, I’m afraid.
I think I've already posted my views about people who have moved to the EU within the last two years.
Some people are risk takers, others not
Some people are risk takers to the point of being foolhardy; one couple I know are like that, moved to Spain and have been bemoaning their 'luck' ever since.
To be widowed twice and now face real uncertainty is hard
It is but I have family members this has happened to, with young children to bring up too.
Sadly, children in Syria have no choice and don't stand a chance when they are being bombed out of their homes, see their families killed before their eyes.
That is heartbreaking.
Maddyone & Callistemon both brilliantly articulated posts. Life is sometimes s*it but the alternative is worse. Count your blessings jura, you have much to be grateful for, as do I.
I’m astounded that this thread has generated just shy of 200 comments about something that hasn’t even happened yet!
Everyone is fine until December - another 11 months - during which time negotiations will be taking part between the U.K. and the E.U.
We will ALL have to await the outcome! It may well not even be what is most feared by ex pats.
My daughter's friend possibly won't be alive by then. His lovely young wife will possibly be widow.
Regardless of Brexit, EHIC, S1 or any blame being laid at an erstwhile 'friend's' door.
If one has friends or neighbours and values that relationship, it seems to me very shallow to blame them for the outcome of the Brexit referendum or to allow their views to alter that relationship. Substitute “friendship” for these famous lines from one of Shakespeare’s loveliest sonnets - No. 116
Love is not love
which alters it when it alteration finds
You cannot blame your friends, neighbours or indeed anybody for the vicissitudes of life, or to put it bluntly when ”shit happens”
So, tout court AYBU? Are they?
Yes.
I am afraid I can't regard the loss of over 20,000 euros from our income (monitored on our financial spreadsheets) since the 2016 vote as a normal fluctuation
I think fluctuations in exchange rates are something that has to be factored in if you decide to relocate overseas and have income originating in the UK.
For those who left to live in some countries eg Australia, their State Pensions remained static at the rate they were on the day they left.
One more point and I'm going to bed.
As far as I know the story about 3 widows was from something I wrote.
jura mentioned a widow early in the thread.
I could tell you the stories of my 3 friends who were widowed, and it's just as hard in France as anywhere else. Probably harder, because of the language and legal differences.
No Fennel. they are people I know personally.
Do you know what?
Being widowed is 100% whatever the circumstances, there are no degrees of bereavement.
There is no easier and no harder.
I found the statement opening this thread curious, so ignored it. However, now seeing so many posts -199 at the time of writing - I’ve had a longer look.
What an earth is it meant to mean? That I should worry about the potential effect on people I’ve never met because they’ve taken a risk by moving abroad in their older years?
That I worry they may become adversely affected by life happening in its usual random unpredictable way?
We all had our own reasons for voting and mine - to leave - was made after much research and consideration. The effect on myself and my family and friends i.e.the people that matter in my world was part of that consideration.
So ... apparently a few of those that took that known risk are having a hard time of it. And should I ever encounter those unknown people, they might be angry. Well, blow me down, someone let me know where I where I’m in the wrong because I can’t see it myself.
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