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One thing I didn't see in here that is absolutely relevant to life (but perhaps considered a foregone conclusion by the Norwegian government) is the concept of

One thing I didn't see in here that is absolutely relevant to life (but perhaps considered a foregone conclusion by the Norwegian government) is the concept of midnight sun and polar night, where the sun is periodically either above or below the horizon for 24 hours a day for months on end. It's a real mind-bender and can be very tough on the spirit in the winter. Quoting the 'time in Svalbard' Wikipedia article: > As Svalbard is located north of the Arctic Circle, it experiences midnight sun during summer and polar night during winter. At the 74° parallel north, the midnight sun lasts 99 days and polar night 84 days, while the respective figures at the 81° parallel north are 141 and 128 days.[11] In Longyearbyen, midnight sun lasts from 20 April until 23 August, and polar night lasts from 26 October until 15 February. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Svalbard#Geography_and_solar_time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_in_Svalbard#Geography_and... If you desire to experience such polar wackiness in a less isolated location, one place I can definitely recommend is the mainland Norwegian city of Tromsø.

sorenjan 4y ago
> It is cold in Svalbard. The average temperature in summer is 5 degrees Celsius. During winter, the temperature can drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius. The polar night lasts from October to February.
- blamazon 4y ago
  Ah, so it is in there, I missed it. (I'm not cut out for life in Svalbard, for this and many other reasons) I love how condensed that statement is.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
Nullabillity 4y ago
People always talk about the winters, but the thing that really messes with you is the summers, if you're light-sensitive then that's a really long period of not getting any proper sleep.
- rippercushions 4y ago
  This is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
  - Nullabillity 4y ago
    I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
    - Schiphol 4y ago
      In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana) installed. They completely block the passage of light and are a perfectly adequate solution to this problem. It's a mystery to me why no other country in Europe seems to know or care. So much so that there's no English version of the above Wikipedia page.
      - jdmoreira 4y ago
        Same in Portugal
        Schiphol 4y ago
        I get how these blinds (or the shutters stavros talks about in a sibling comment) would initially be more popular in Southern countries, but one would think that places with 6 months of always-on daylight would catch up eventually.
      - weinzierl 4y ago
        In Germany every house, except maybe very old ones under historical preservation, has these too. Most often these are centimeter thick plasticky ones on the outside. They are thick and strong enough not only to block out all light but also protect the window glass from hail.
      - cromulent 4y ago
schoen 4y ago
> If you desire to experience such polar wackiness in a less isolated location, one place I can definitely recommend is the mainland Norwegian city of Tromsø. Tromsø is great! I went there on vacation when I aspired to go to Svalbard and then discovered that that's rather difficult and expensive. So I went to Tromsø instead. Tromsø is definitely thoroughly Arctic and life as a tourist there is still reasonably convenient and enjoyable. You can also take a ferry along the coast in either direction (either a short-distance commuter-oriented boat or a long-distance tourist-oriented cruise ferry). There's quite a bit to do in the vicinity!
lost_tourist 4y ago
As someone who has pulled the night shift for a couple years, I could handle it no probs; black out curtains, a white noise box fan, a regular sleep schedule, and soft music are all you need. Just to get to live in a Scandanavian country, i could deal with it. Unfortunately, I'm not rich enough to buy my way in :) .

sorenjan 4y ago

> It is cold in Svalbard. The average temperature in summer is 5 degrees Celsius. During winter, the temperature can drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius. The polar night lasts from October to February.

blamazon 4y ago
Ah, so it is in there, I missed it. (I'm not cut out for life in Svalbard, for this and many other reasons) I love how condensed that statement is.

deleted 4y ago

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Nullabillity 4y ago

People always talk about the winters, but the thing that really messes with you is the summers, if you're light-sensitive then that's a really long period of not getting any proper sleep.

rippercushions 4y ago
This is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
- Nullabillity 4y ago
  I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
  - Schiphol 4y ago
    In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persiana) installed. They completely block the passage of light and are a perfectly adequate solution to this problem. It's a mystery to me why no other country in Europe seems to know or care. So much so that there's no English version of the above Wikipedia page.
    - jdmoreira 4y ago
      Same in Portugal
      - Schiphol 4y ago
        I get how these blinds (or the shutters stavros talks about in a sibling comment) would initially be more popular in Southern countries, but one would think that places with 6 months of always-on daylight would catch up eventually.
    - weinzierl 4y ago
      In Germany every house, except maybe very old ones under historical preservation, has these too. Most often these are centimeter thick plasticky ones on the outside. They are thick and strong enough not only to block out all light but also protect the window glass from hail.
    - cromulent 4y ago

schoen 4y ago

> If you desire to experience such polar wackiness in a less isolated location, one place I can definitely recommend is the mainland Norwegian city of Tromsø. Tromsø is great! I went there on vacation when I aspired to go to Svalbard and then discovered that that's rather difficult and expensive. So I went to Tromsø instead. Tromsø is definitely thoroughly Arctic and life as a tourist there is still reasonably convenient and enjoyable. You can also take a ferry along the coast in either direction (either a short-distance commuter-oriented boat or a long-distance tourist-oriented cruise ferry). There's quite a bit to do in the vicinity!

lost_tourist 4y ago

As someone who has pulled the night shift for a couple years, I could handle it no probs; black out curtains, a white noise box fan, a regular sleep schedule, and soft music are all you need. Just to get to live in a Scandanavian country, i could deal with it. Unfortunately, I'm not rich enough to buy my way in :) .