So how does a family afford to spend a year in Paris? you might be wondering by now. The rent for our two-bedroom apartment in the 8th arrondissement near the Champs Elysées is double what we pay for a large house in a leafy Vancouver neighbourhood. But everything is relative: we once saw a guy dole out 5 Euros for a bottle of Coke in a café while our wine was 3 Euros...