We left the Bay Area to care for my mother-in-law in the South of France. The visa was easy — everything else wasn't.

Lin Koh.

Courtesy of Lin Koh

• In 2023, Lin Koh moved to France with her husband and two sons to care for her mother-in-law.
• With Koh's mother-in-law battling Alzheimer's, the family lives under one roof.
• For Koh, living together has reinforced the importance of family.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lin Koh, 55, who relocated from California's Bay Area to France in 2023 with her husband and two children to help care for her mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's.