I would suggest Sarreguemines and surroundings. It had that dying old industry and rising unemployment vibe when I was there some years ago, and the weather was shit but that might have just been a coincidence.

If you’re really feeling lucky: certain suburbs of Paris or Marseille might be exactly what you’re looking for.

They’re very comfortable but plan your transfers with plenty of spare time

Pi also wins in size, if space really is limited. But yes you’re right, in many use cases an old normal computer makes more sense. Bit fewer e-trash also…

They’re not there to assist you. They are there to monitor you so you wouldn’t steal more € than the self-checkout is cheaper than the staff it replaces.

In one of my local supermarkets there were 4 normal checkouts but never more than 2 of them were open because they’re understaffed. They recently replaced 1 of them by 4 self checkout machines, it’s soooo much faster now and lines are a lot shorter when it’s shopping rush hour!

But it’s easier to get a Bomberman in the middle of a crowded place undetected until too late