Your Survival Guy is happy to be home after a 10-day trip to Paris, one of the many we’ve taken over the past dozen or so years. Saturday night was an eye-opener as we saw smoke from burning debris on our way to our highly recommended and favorite dinner of the trip at Le Bon Georges (not the easiest reservation, so plan ahead).
To borrow some phrasing from Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: Riots make one late for dinner. But when we arrived, we were met with a “nice to see you, sorry it took so long,” business-as-usual greeting. Bon appétit!
That’s the thing about Paris. Protesting is nothing new. Protests are a way of life. But at what point is Paris—or France, for that matter—going to look in the mirror and do a little self-help work? Yes, this is a France problem, but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s here too.
Go to any favorite summer or winter vacation haunt, such as Nantucket, Edgartown, Newport, Aspen, Key West, Palm Beach, or Paris, and what do you see?
Answer: Locals counting the hours until the bastard tourists go home.
Why?
Because the days when you could be a worker in a tourist destination—waiting tables at night and surfing, fishing, or skiing by day—are gone. Being a ski bum costs a fortune today, and the soul-sucking commute by bus, train, or ferry from a home a world away from work is no longer worth the aggravation.
Oh, the cost of living is so expensive.
Check. I hear you.
But when there is so much money being thrown in the air, it’s an inflationary act, making money less valuable and everything more expensive. There’s never enough to make everybody happy, no matter how much money technocrats throw at the problem.
And so here we are. Hard decisions will be made. That’s a fact. The landscape is changing. Plan accordingly.
Action Line: Go to Paris. Do your research. Be prepared to take a detour or two on your way to dinner. And understand this: You need to spend your money somewhat foolishly to make sure you’re safe, and you need to save ‘til it hurts. Easy to write. Harder to do.
Make it a good trip,
You got this.
Read more about Your Survival Guy in Paris here:
- Paris Burning: What Will Become of Paris and France?
- Paris: Watch Your Back and Margin of Safety
- Your Survival Guy Escapes Violence in Paris
- RIOTS: Your Survival Guy on the Ground in Paris
- Happy Friday from Paris: Set Adventure Mode to “On”
- Greetings from Paris: Take the Time
- Do You Love Oysters and Crêpes?
- Your Survival Guy: Happy Monday from Paris
Originally posted on Your Survival Guy.
