Generational Divides

Youth Perspectives

Young people face unique challenges:

Limited Opportunities

• Tourism jobs often seasonal, low-paid
• Professional careers require leaving
• Housing impossibly expensive
• Social life tourist-dominated

Identity Questions

• Home doesn't feel like home
• Culture feels performed
• Authenticity questions
• Belonging uncertainty

Young resident Emma in Carcassonne: "I love my medieval city, but it's a museum. My friends work in tourist shops selling plastic swords. We party in the next town where we can be ourselves. Sometimes I feel like a refugee from my birthplace."

Elder Experiences

Older residents witness transformation:

Lost Worlds

• Neighborhoods unrecognizable
• Social networks dispersed
• Traditions abandoned
• Languages disappearing

Adaptation Struggles

• Technology requirements
• English necessity
• Service changes
• Isolation increases

85-year-old Yvette in Nice: "The fishermen are gone, replaced by yacht crews. The market sells souvenirs, not vegetables. My granddaughter lives in Paris—couldn't afford Nice. I'm a stranger in my birthplace."