It’s a cold, early September morning as Lucie Bouchon sets out for work. She takes the country roads to avoid traffic but ends up stuck behind a tractor. Arriving an hour late, she and her colleague, Hans Pendler, seriously consider moving to Luxembourg.
When they began their careers in the ’90s, they didn’t mind the commute; they could live where they grew up and enjoy great living standards. Over the years, however, the benefits of living near the border have been gradually eroded—and are now disappearing.
Lucie remembers when she was just a five-minute walk from several bakeries, while Hans recalls having a good choice of beer gardens to frequent in the evenings. But as Luxembourg has grown, their regions have been hollowed out.
Alienation
Since Hans purchased an apartment in Trier, its market value has grown rapidly, and he’s also been able to buy a new home for his parents. He’s not alone—many cross-border workers in Trier have done the same.
While this may seem successful, Hans has increasingly felt ostracized by his local community and even by some family members. They blame cross-border workers for driving up real estate prices, negatively impacting local businesses and low-wage workers.
Taxes
Climbing the wage ladder, Lucie’s hard work allowed her to buy a house with a pool and invest in a few apartments in Thionville. Local governments once valued the property taxes paid by people like Lucie, but now that sentiment is souring.
She explains to Hans that the authorities are also eyeing her salary now. The French government wants to raise more taxes from cross-border workers like her. She had long expected this; ‘frontaliers’ are regularly accused of not paying enough tax.
Culture
In her free time, Lucie loves to visit museums, concerts, and cinemas with friends, while Hans is an avid swimmer who enjoys fine dining and music festivals. But usually, their only option for entertainment is to go to Luxembourg City.
While their hometowns were never cultural hubs, they could always find something to do. Over time, however, establishments have closed, never to reopen. Unfortunately, the urban spillover from Luxembourg has turned their cities into commuter towns devoid of culture.
Commute
Each year, Lucie and Hans face ever-longer traffic jams, and even taking country roads no longer saves time. With each passing year, they question whether the time they spend in traffic is worth it at all.
They never thought they’d come to this conclusion, but living in Luxembourg now seems like the only way to maintain their quality of life, which has been eroded by long commutes, increasing taxes, social prejudice, and the lack of activities in their hometowns.
Gregory Kennedy is a columnist for Investment Officer Luxembourg. His columns appear every other week. He also works as a business development manager at Finsoft Luxembourg.