As for French health care . . .when I first spent a year in France about a year after college I fell in love with it. I’d spent time uninsured and underinsured in the US and always fearful of having an injury or what not. Here, even though I don’t use it a lot, I know it’s there. And I find that the French doctors look at your health first–they don’t put off tests, exams etc. They don’t send you home with a week’s worth of pain-killers to see if it will just go away, they try to find out what’s wrong pronto. I love it–and it really helps us be frugal. In the US, we knew that no job=no health care. Very precarious.

Jacob–thanks for the writing ‘assignment’ it was a fabulous mental exercise and it’s got DH and I thinking in much more concrete and creative terms about our future–he’s been skeptical, but he’s even getting excited about it now.

As for the adds, why not get paid for your hard and good work? I really like the way they blend into your layout–not too obtrusive at all. I think I’ll click on the ‘global eyelash extension’ add I see. Sounds fascinating

As for online tutoring, a friend of mine just mentioned it to me yesterday too–sounds worth checking out–even as my own business! And yeah, teaching English in France is something I’ve done before–it pays strangely well. The French are great at some things but they are horrible at teaching languages, so I can really rake in here–I just have to get set up.

@AlexK – I was about to agree that it’s hard not to make some money when you have all day off. However, I also think that not everybody do valuable/productive things by default, in fact, it seems that many “retirement” options or spare time activities cost money.

@PC – You’re the second one. The first one was a complaint . So far, the income is “about 8 beers”.

Jacob, please update us the results. I did some clicks and I thought everybody loved the blog ought to. This is the least we can do to help.

Rent the movie “Sicko” to find out more. Here the game is to keep the people scared by the word “socialism”!

P.S. An American friend was hit by a car while walking across a street in the South of France. His care was marvelous and very inexpensive.

“We have the best government money can buy,” Gore Vidal.

What is the French health care system like? In the US the big fear I have about quitting my day job is getting sick. Health insurance is not priced for the frugal minded.