3 ms·

Very nice story. One thing I often ask myself in these situations: What do the inhabitants on these islands actually do? There are 259 of them in this case.

Very nice story. One thing I often ask myself in these situations: What do the inhabitants on these islands actually do? There are 259 of them in this case. Are they self-sustaining? How do they pay for stuff the want to import? Do they live off the cruise ships they supply? And do people generally stay there or do young people generally move to mainland? Edit: For economy, it looks like they live off exporting langustas.

forinti 5mo ago
The UK built a crayfish processing facility so that they could have income. They also sell stamps and a few handmade crafts such as knitted socks. There are a few government jobs and they must make some money from tourism. And they all grow potatoes for their own consumption.
- bill38 5mo ago
  Lobsters. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha-the-lobsters-keeping-earths-remotest-town-afloat https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha...
- brazzy 5mo ago
  There's actually Street View images, so you can take a look, also at the agricultural plots southwest of the town (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches ). There's some sheep, cattle and (I think) donkeys as well.
bonsai_spool 5mo ago
There was an AMA by a journalist on the island this year: https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i_currently_live_on_tristan_da_cunha_the_worlds/ https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i...
ramesh31 5mo ago
>Are they self-sustaining? How do they pay for stuff the want to import Generally the modern day population of these types of islands are simply cover for the government to maintain political control of an area of ocean surrounding them. Same deal with the Falklands, Orkney/Shetland, etc. To that end their entire existence is more or less subsidised because of this.
- dboreham 5mo ago
  Orkney is only 20 miles from the UK mainland so I'm not sure that's the reason. People there make fudge which is pretty good. Until recently (1956) it hosted a major Royal Navy base.
  - senordevnyc 5mo ago
    Isn’t the hosting of a naval base a good example of this island being subsidized because the government wants to control the waters around it? And it being close to mainland is another reason, you don’t want another country having an island that close to you.
    - onraglanroad 5mo ago
      No, the island is already within the territorial waters, it doesn't noticeably expand it.
      - senordevnyc 5mo ago
        Uh, doesn't it extend it the entire size of Orkney plus another 12 nm?
        onraglanroad 4mo ago
        Nope, you don't need a naval base to do that. The measurement is not from the closest naval base.
  - ceejayoz 5mo ago
paulgerhardt 5mo ago
This recent article[1] answers a lot of these questions with great photos too. I would go so far to say it’s the most authoritative piece to date. Previously [2]. [1] https://apps.npr.org/life-on-tristan-da-cunha/ https://apps.npr.org/life-on-tristan-da-cunha/ [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47640431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47640431

forinti 5mo ago

The UK built a crayfish processing facility so that they could have income. They also sell stamps and a few handmade crafts such as knitted socks. There are a few government jobs and they must make some money from tourism. And they all grow potatoes for their own consumption.

bill38 5mo ago
Lobsters. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha-the-lobsters-keeping-earths-remotest-town-afloat https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250915-tristan-da-cunha...
brazzy 5mo ago
There's actually Street View images, so you can take a look, also at the agricultural plots southwest of the town (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_Patches ). There's some sheep, cattle and (I think) donkeys as well.

bonsai_spool 5mo ago

There was an AMA by a journalist on the island this year: https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i_currently_live_on_tristan_da_cunha_the_worlds/ https://www.reddit.com/r/howislivingthere/comments/1q06v24/i...

ramesh31 5mo ago

>Are they self-sustaining? How do they pay for stuff the want to import Generally the modern day population of these types of islands are simply cover for the government to maintain political control of an area of ocean surrounding them. Same deal with the Falklands, Orkney/Shetland, etc. To that end their entire existence is more or less subsidised because of this.

dboreham 5mo ago
Orkney is only 20 miles from the UK mainland so I'm not sure that's the reason. People there make fudge which is pretty good. Until recently (1956) it hosted a major Royal Navy base.
- senordevnyc 5mo ago
  Isn’t the hosting of a naval base a good example of this island being subsidized because the government wants to control the waters around it? And it being close to mainland is another reason, you don’t want another country having an island that close to you.
  - onraglanroad 5mo ago
    No, the island is already within the territorial waters, it doesn't noticeably expand it.
    - senordevnyc 5mo ago
      Uh, doesn't it extend it the entire size of Orkney plus another 12 nm?
      - onraglanroad 4mo ago
        Nope, you don't need a naval base to do that. The measurement is not from the closest naval base.
- ceejayoz 5mo ago

paulgerhardt 5mo ago

This recent article[1] answers a lot of these questions with great photos too. I would go so far to say it’s the most authoritative piece to date. Previously [2]. [1] https://apps.npr.org/life-on-tristan-da-cunha/ https://apps.npr.org/life-on-tristan-da-cunha/ [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47640431 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47640431