Good mindset for an expat. Never thought of it that way but I am a home body, never having live outside of my home province.

We are in a tourist town and I really feel that pain. As it is, the seasonality of the tourism makes it EXTREMELY challenging to run a business. Too much business and competition in the summer, not enough business in a long winter for certain businesses. Take tourism out of the equation (for a whole year as it will be here) and you will see proportionally more businesses shutter for good. Especially the dis-proportionally high number of restaurants for such a small town.

Back to the point at hand though you have a fantastic perspective on the process and I am glad you are in the position to pay the fee and not harbor any resentment.

Stay safe old friend.