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3 stories · Prices, pay and the cost of everything.
A growing number of restaurants are adding paid seat selection, with window tables and quiet corners carrying a surcharge in the same way airlines sell extra legroom. Operators argue that demand for prime spots was already creating unfairness and that pricing simply makes it transparent. Diners on social media are calling it the end of the free view.
Analysis of grocery prices shows the average packed school lunch now costs twice what it did five years ago, with fruit, yoghurt and bread rising fastest. Parents describe swapping name brands for store brands and quietly shrinking portions. Nutritionists warn the cheapest options are also the least filling.
A shrinking rural town is offering remote workers a cash grant, a year of free rent and a bicycle to relocate, and has received thousands of applications from cities around the world. The first arrivals say the deal was fine but the welcome was the reason they stayed. Neighbouring towns are now copying the scheme.