The Aelos Journal is practical, unhurried writing for Americans planning the move — and those already living it. Visas, healthcare, money, and the day-to-day.
Yes, Americans can buy property in France, including as non-residents. What the purchase actually involves, the costs, mortgages, taxes, and why owning a home is not the same as the right to live there.
Can an American retire in France, and would you qualify? A plain answer to the income, age, housing, health-insurance, and status questions, with the execution left to specialist guides.
A practical guide to retiring in France as an American, including visas, taxes, healthcare, housing, banking, driving, and what to do after you arrive.
Can you bring a six-month supply to France? Will a French pharmacy fill your US prescription? A practical guide for Americans on medication, controlled drugs, costs, and the transition to French prescriptions.
France, Portugal, Spain, or Italy for retirement? An evidence-based comparison for Americans: taxes, healthcare, visas, cost of living, and estate planning, with the numbers.
Why French banks are wary of Americans, which accounts to keep in the US, how to move money without losing thousands, and the reporting rules that catch people.
The first French visa gets you in. What comes after decides whether you can stay: annual renewals, the 10-year card, and citizenship. A guide for American retirees.
The right place in France isn't the one that dazzled you in June. It's the one that still works on an ordinary Tuesday in February. A decision framework for retirees.
The French long-stay visa for American retirees: the paperwork that has to be exact, the deadlines that don't forgive, and the order it all has to happen in.
Medicare doesn't cover you in France. Whether to keep paying for Part B is the real decision: the 10% lifetime penalty, the Medigap risk, and who should keep it.
Can you drive in France on a US license? Whether you can exchange it depends heavily on your state. A chronological guide to licenses, the one-year window, and the road rules that surprise Americans.
A straight cost comparison of retiring in Florida versus France: everyday living, healthcare, home insurance, and taxes, with a look at what France costs you that Florida doesn't.
Will France tax your Social Security, pension, IRA, or investments? How the US-France treaty actually works for American retirees, plus residency, wealth tax, and what you still owe the US.
Most Americans should rent before they buy in France. A joint Aelos and Ibanista guide to the rent-vs-buy decision: costs, financing, liquidity, and when each one makes sense.
How French healthcare really works for American retirees: when you qualify for PUMa, the Carte Vitale, what the public system covers and why you'll want a mutuelle, what it costs, and why Medicare won't help.
Retiring abroad is a couple's decision, and one of you is usually ready while the other is anxious. The 5 conversations that get you to a choice you both own.
Why we built Aelos, why we started with France, and what we think the next decade of cross-border living looks like.
A free newsletter with occasional, useful notes on retiring in France — visas, healthcare, money, and the day-to-day. No spam.
