S01.E08: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

[chediavolo]

On 11/23/2024 at 12:39 PM, iMonrey said:

This got sad. I mean, it was still a wonderful show, but somewhere in the middle around the time Florence died it took a sad turn. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. 

I'm glad most of the residents came around to forgiving Charles. 

Although he didn't end up breaking his promise since she never ended up leaving her house. But I get where he feels that way since it was his intention. 

Also: Emily's kids were awful!

Emily’s kids ARE awful! Some of that is Emily  & husbands fault. They get away with murder. I could not stand the little brats. 

[Shermie]

On 12/4/2024 at 10:07 PM, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Just because I'm a bit of a geek, I was trying to figure out what this investigation would have cost Helen's son.  I'm figuring a minimum of $15,000 per month for the senior residence.  Charles' pay had to be at least $10,000.  Probably something similar for Julie's fees.  So, $35,000 for a month's investigation. 

Those numbers seem high to me. My MIL paid $3000 for her retirement homes that also room, not as nice as this to be sure, but even if this place was twice as much, I can’t imagine how anyone beyond millionaires could afford $15,000 a month for several years. If you have that kind of money, why not pay for in-home care?

And $10,000 for Charles? Also seems high for an inexperienced part-time contracted employee.

The residents here all seemed very capable of still living on their own. I suppose the social part is enticing and this place was very high-end. Not a walker or cane in sight, much less a wheelchair. Around here there are retirement homes with a nursing home wing. The retirement room (like a hotel room) is $3-4000 a month, and the nursing side is no cost since it’s health care (this is in Canada). 

Some are better than others; my father spent the last month of his life in a less than pleasant place, but we’re in a rural area and have to take what’s available. My mother and MIL were in nicer places. 

Ted Danson is a treasure; I really enjoy watching Cheers reruns. If a guy like him actually was in a retirement home, he’d be a god. If he could drive, he’d be a unicorn.

The show was lovely, with such a realistic portrayal of the beginnings of dementia. It’s all fine to say you never want to be “put in a home”, but you’re giving those you say you love an incredible burden. I always say that if someone says they want to die in their house, then I say they must hate their kids.

Quote

Also: Emily's kids were awful!

Ha, my grandson has called me “bruh”, the newer version of “bro”. It’s just silly, but yes, these kids are lazy and respectful. It’s the parents fault for not following through.

Edited Friday at 04:12 AM by Shermie

[chaifan]

13 hours ago, Shermie said:

Those numbers seem high to me.

I was the one who made the original estimate.  (I think that was a quote of my quote in your post.)  I'm in the US, midwest.  My mom's first "independent living" place was just over $5,000/month.  It was nice, but not as upscale as on this show.  Her current place, assisted living, is $7,000/month.  And, the show is set in San Francisco.  Rent for just a regular apartment would easily be 3x as much there as it is here.  My house would probably go for 3-4x what I could sell it for here.  So that's how I got to $15,000 for Charles' rent.

Yes, you're right, it's ridiculously expensive and most people can't afford it.  But 24/7 care in home - if that's what you need - would run over $200,000/year.  And you're still paying for your home and all related costs (taxes, property upkeep, etc.)  You're right - most of the characters we saw looked reasonably healthy and not in need of a lot of care or assistance.  I think I saw a few walkers, but that was about it.  I just had to handwave that away for sake of the show.

As for Charles' pay, he's pretty much on-duty 24/7 for a month.  Even if he only "worked" 8 hours per day, you get to $10,000 with just being paid $40/hour, and that would be incredibly cheap for a PI, or even PI assistant.  The lead PI (Julie) would be billing at least $200/hour, maybe more in SF.  

 

[possibilities]

Who the hell pays out of pocket for home care? Only the obscenely wealthy. Everyone I know who lives independently (i.e. at home, not in an institution) has medicaid funded aides. Yes, you have to spend down your money, but you're going to do that anyway if you pay for some dormatory type institution so might as well choose home.

[Shermie]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

Yes, you have to spend down your money, but you're going to do that anyway if you pay for some dormatory type institution so might as well choose home.

If you’re in an apartment or condo, that might work, but if you live in a house and need home care, I assume you can’t mow lawn, tend gardens, rake leaves, or shovel show. Home care won’t do that. 

Aging in your house sounds nice, but there’s so much more to it. As the child of parents who stubbornly refused to move out of a house they couldn’t manage, I can tell you it’s a selfish choice. When they finally moved to a locally seniors apartment complex (independent living, no dining room), they loved it. I was angry they wasted so much time delaying the move that my very social father only got to enjoy for a year before he died. 

[chitowngirl]

I opened up a Small Talk thread to keep the discussion about the episode…

[Bastet]

On 1/10/2025 at 9:32 AM, chaifan said:

I was the one who made the original estimate.  (I think that was a quote of my quote in your post.)  I'm in the US, midwest.  My mom's first "independent living" place was just over $5,000/month.  It was nice, but not as upscale as on this show.  Her current place, assisted living, is $7,000/month.  And, the show is set in San Francisco.  Rent for just a regular apartment would easily be 3x as much there as it is here.  My house would probably go for 3-4x what I could sell it for here.  So that's how I got to $15,000 for Charles' rent.

I don't know what episode it was in, but the monthly cost was referred to as "thousands".  So in terms of what the writers want to present this fictional place as costing, I think we can rule out anything over $10k/month, as that's how it would generally be phrased -- "over ten thousand dollars" to indicate not just thousands, but double digit thousands.  I'm sure it was deliberately vague; it's obvious enough from the appearance, location, and amenities that this place is for those with big bucks, they're not going to draw the audience's attention to a specific number hardly anybody watching could afford to pay.

As for how much it would cost if real?  I did a brief search of costs in San Francisco, and the average monthly cost for independent living in 2023 (so, obviously higher in 2024, but I only saw projections for that, not official numbers) was about $6100/mo, about $7700/mo for assisted living, and a little over $8500/mo for memory care.  A place like Pacific View would be above those averages.