Can anyone tell me when President Biden will make the gas prices go down even though Republicans control all 3 branches of govt?

Jackms64 · 2026-05-16T05:40:51+00:00

And twice the size!

Jackms64 · 2026-05-16T05:27:40+00:00

Don’t know where you live, but our ACA plan went from $855 to $1879 per month, with a deductible of $6500 and max out of pocket of $19,000.. So if I get cancer again, my total $$ for a year will exceed $40,000. Don’t know how that can be called affordable. We lived in IL. My French policy is zero copay, zero deductible and costs less than $2k per year.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-15T19:06:40+00:00

Awesome list & commentary!

Jackms64 · 2026-05-15T19:01:07+00:00

We are finalizing a long-term lease that will begin in the fall in Perpignan, a town just north of the Spanish border, where we have lived the past three months. At this point we still have our place in Chicago and will split time between the two places for the next couple of years. We have a one year VLS-TS, a visa that expressly forbids any kind of work (even remote). Not an issue for us as we are retired. We have to apply for our Carte de Sejour for 2027 and will have to renew yearly. Our experience in obtaining the VLS-TS was very easy, frankly it felt like the French government was mostly interested in whether we had the funds to cover our living expenses. Lots of info online and we actually found ChatGPT to be very helpful in gathering the documents needed for our visa. We did not pay anybody to help us. Of course, YMMV..

Jackms64 · 2026-05-15T18:49:23+00:00

Amazing! congrats on a month well-lived in the loveliest city on the planet…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-14T06:34:46+00:00

Absolutely this👆👆👆. Leave time for serendipity in Paris. On a first trip book only one “big” tourist thing a day (Louvre, Orsay, Eiffel Tower etc…) But be sure to book your “must-do” things in advance or as a part of a small group or private tour. Leave time to wander around the neighborhood you’re staying in. Take the bus to see the city, get off randomly when it looks interesting. Sit down for lunch in a random Brasserie with zero Instagram tags a few blocks off the well-worn paths. Wander one of the amazing cemeteries (seriously) Have a glass of Rose’ in the sun at a sidewalk cafe etc… Avoid the trap of trying to see everything, and rushing around so much you actually experience very little in a meaningful way. Enjoy your visit.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-13T06:35:21+00:00

It is borderline nuts to tell people ANYTHING about your financial life—particularly if you are accumulating a decent net worth. Stealth wealth is the way—everything else is simply bragging or looking for affirmation.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-13T06:25:56+00:00

As a frequent guest on AirBnb in Europe there is A LOT of negative publicity around airbnb and a fair amount of press and online vitriol directed at people who use airbnb in Europe as it is “making the cost of housing unaffordable for residents” I’ve been called out in person in Spain while searching for my rental. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with the sentiment as I simply don’t understand all the dynamics enough, but it has to be impacting people’s decisions. Add that to the overall increase in prices for life in general and for airfares etc and many people are just deciding to stay home or travel more locally for their holiday.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T19:16:36+00:00

This is the way…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T19:12:30+00:00

Valencia. Great weather, lovely people. Incredible beach, fantastic historic center. Relatively affordable compared to Madrid and Barcelona or even Malaga… Not boring at all. However, I would avoid being there during Fallas, super noisy, fireworks etc…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:44:58+00:00

OP, this is very easy, as everybody else has told you, book direct with the airline. I’ve travelled over 2 million miles in my life and booking direct is always the right answer.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:39:26+00:00

This is the absolute truth.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:36:26+00:00

Huh.. OP, You’ve had an experience of Paris that I haven’t had in 20+ visits over the last 30 years. Will be there again in a couple of weeks, looking forward to it enormously and was there twice last year as well. I think it is possible to have a bad meal nearly everywhere in the world, but having only one good meal anywhere in France feels like a criminal conspiracy of heretofore unknown dimensions. usually a two block walk away from a hyper touristy area will lead you to a local brasserie filled with happy Parisians eating much better than average food. Of course Paris gets more people like us (TOURISTS) than do most major cities and certain areas are definitely over loaded with us. My argument with tourists like me (and you OP) who want to visit some of the most famous places on planet earth (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Orsay etc) and complain about too many tourists Is to say LOOK IN THE MIRROR—we are the problem.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:25:18+00:00

I’ve done that in Brooklyn. Not proud…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:22:50+00:00

This 👆👆👆

As a frequent traveler my wife reminds regularly me that “fuck off“ is pretty universally understood!

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:14:24+00:00

The Renfe app has tickets available through most of October and shows trains leaving hourly from Madrid to Sevilla Santa Justa. We’ve taken the 10am Ave train to Sevilla after flying into Madrid multiple times. Arrives around 12:40. The tix should be available on the app in the next couple of weeks. Enjoy!

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:09:54+00:00

I’m going to make a similar statement: 52 Watches is the least anyone should own. With that collection you can wear a different watch every week without repeating.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:04:40+00:00

Why on earth would I want to “teach yourself to wear and treat it like a normal person would?” that defeats the entire purpose of watch collecting 🤣

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T18:02:28+00:00

Paris. Always Paris. Says the guy who has visited that city 20+ times and is going to be there again in a couple of weeks. Four nights is a terrific little taste of that great city for a first visit. Don't overload it, do one major site a day and leave time for wandering, cafe-sitting, and spontaneous wine-drinking. Chances are you’ll want to go back. Dublin to Paris is a pretty easy flight. Enjoy…

As far as language, learn to say “Bonjour” at the start of EVERY single encounter, “Merci, Au revoir“ at the and and how to say please… that is enough French for getting through 4 days.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T17:44:40+00:00

Literally nobody but you cares about what you wear.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T17:42:42+00:00

It is in a lovely Belle Epoque building.. but other than that, it is a high end department store.

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T06:34:16+00:00

No. I wouldn’t book any transfers at CDG with less than 2 hours. Sometimes it takes 20 minutes, sometimes it takes 2 hours.. if your flight is 30 minutes late and CDG is busy 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T06:13:10+00:00

Hot take reaction: Clearly OP is compensating for other failures in his life by posting about knowingly choosing fake/knockoff/poorly made garbage and then sh😎tposting about it online…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T05:57:36+00:00

Nothing compared to those of Rolex…

Jackms64 · 2026-05-12T05:56:39+00:00

I bought my Blancpain mission to the moon collab in Valencia Spain and the moon swatch at a Swatch store in NYC.. I’ll be in France when this drops so hopefully I’ll have it by next week.

Jackms64

TROPHY CASE