A TikToker Shares What Life Near The North Pole Is Like & There Are Some Big Differences
This article is part of Narcity’s Remote Living series, which profiles people living in surprising places or situations. Have a story to tell? Get in touch with asymina.kantorowicz@narcity.com.
It's fascinating to see how people live in other parts of the world, especially in remote communities you may have never heard of, such as a tiny place near the North Pole.
TikToker Cecilia Blomdahl shows her followers what it's like to live just outside of Longyearbyen on Svalbard, Norway, and it's stunning to see how she gets by in the world’s northernmost settlement, which is about 1,300 kilometres from the North Pole.
From high-priced grocery shopping to a monthly alcohol quota and wild swings in the amount of sunlight she sees throughout the year, here's what it's like for Blomdahl to live in one of the most remote places on the planet.
People on Svalbard don't see the sun for months
@sejsejlija How is polar night possible?! #svalbard #polarnight #longyearbyen
Winter is Northern Lights season on Svalbard, and Blomdahl says she sees almost no sun for a chunk of the year.
Blomdahl explains that the sun doesn't rise at all for two and a half months, which leaves them in "a very dark polar night where we have no light whatsoever 24/7."
"I personally love it," she says in a TikTok video.
Other times of the year, the island sees no darkness.
That's because Svalbard is inside the Arctic Circle, according to the Visit Norway website. Sun shines on the Arctic Circle day and night in the summer, but it's left entirely in the dark in the winter.
"Here, the sun doesn't set between 20 April and 22 August," the site says.
Cats are banned on Svalbard
@sejsejlija Cats are banned on Svalbard! I've gotten sooo many q's about this lately so here are the facts! #svalbard
Cats have been banned on Svalbard since 1992 and Blomdahl says that seems to shock more people than the fact that they have polar bears.
"This is due to disease concerns and the fact that they [cats] might harm the wildlife, specifically the bird population," she says in a video.
Residents can have others pets like dogs, hamsters, caged birds and rabbits.
Some homes on Svalbard don't have running water
@sejsejlija Replying to @williambraxton007 #svalbard
Blomdahl herself lives in a cabin about 10 minutes outside of the main village Longyearbyen. She describes it as a place where most people just visit on the weekends and says there is no running water.
"It would be very expensive and quite a big hassle to try to get water to the cabin area," she explains. "Since all of Svalbard is covered in glaciers and permafrost, it would cost a lot to draw the water lines."
"Instead we rely on a cabin system where we have a container full of water and then a pump system that goes through the cabin to pump it."
In another video, the TikToker shows how the pump system works.
The toilets burn your business
@sejsejlija Replying to @atsugardump 1 x 💩 = $1 #svalbard #cabinlife #cinderella
With over 2.6 million views, it's safe to say people are definitely intrigued by Blomdahl's TikTok video on how her toilet works.
That's because her toilet "burns her business."
In a video, Blomdahl goes through a step-by-step process showing viewers that she needs to put a paper sheet inside the toilet bowl, which kind of looks like a larger coffee filter.
"Then you just do your business," she explains. "When you're done, you close the lid and then you press this button."
"This whole little bag thingy will go to the bottom of the toilet and then you will hear a mini explosion and that is the burning of your business."
She also puts a price tag on how much a visit to the toilet costs her.
"It's US $1 for one poop," she says.
There is a doomsday vault on Svalbard
@sejsejlija #answer to @barbrawyre Doomsday vault! #svalbard #foryou #norway #globalseedvault
Due to its remote location, Svalbard was chosen as a perfect place for a Global Seed Vault which has been dubbed the "doomsday vault."
A Time article compares it to a "huge safety deposit box" that holds millions of seeds from over 930,000 varieties of food crops.
Blomdahl shows what appears to be the entrance of the vault in a video and says the actual vault is "located a few kilometres into the mountain."
"Since we have permafrost here on Svalbard, the thick rock and the permafrost ensures that the seed samples will remain frozen even without power."
There is a monthly quota on alcohol
@sejsejlija Monthly 🍻🍷🍾 quota! #svalbard #education #boozeinformation #quota #norway
Alcohol is rationed on Svalbard so residents have a monthly quota of how much they can buy.
Anyone who wants to buy booze needs to bring an alcohol card with them to the store so they can keep tabs on what they purchase.
According to the Governor of Svalbard, that monthly quota includes two bottles of liquor, up to half a bottle of fortified wine, up to 24 cans of beer, and light wine for "reasonable consumption."
"If you want to have a party, you're gonna need to get together with a lot of people and their cards," Blomdahl says in one of her videos.
The TikToker explains that the story behind the rule comes from a time when there was mostly coal mining in the village and they wanted to keep alcohol consumption to a low. The rules never changed.
However, this rule does not apply to drinking at a pub or restaurant.
She also notes that anyone over 18 can buy anything with an alocohol content below 22%. Once you reach the age of 20, you can buy liquor with a higher alcohol percentage.
Groceries can get expensive
@sejsejlija Food shopping at the end of the world 🙋♀️🐻❄️💙 #svalbard #polarnight #longyearbyen
Svalbard is remote so it's no surprise that groceries can get expensive.
While certain food prices are comparable to North America, as pointed out by many people who commented on Blomdahl's videos, there are products that seem to be on the steeper end.
For instance, Blomdahl admitted to paying US $19 for a watermelon.
You'll be expected to take your shoes off in certain places
@sejsejlija Replying to @couponingwithkaylyn 🥾🚫 #svalbard
People are required to remove their shoes when entering different places in the village of Longyearbyen. That rule once again goes back to the days when there was mostly coal mining in the village and nobody wanted to have dust get inside.
"For example when you go to the hospital, that's quite common though, you take your shoes off. If you go to cafes or definitely hotels, most hotels you have to take your shoes off."
Don't be surprised if you're even asked to remove your shoes at some restaurants.
People are armed because there are polar bears
There are a lot of polar bears on Svalbard so many locals carry firearms when they leave the settlement.
Blomdahl says she makes sure she's armed when heading outside because she lives in a cabin outside the village.
"Whenever I walk outside my door and to take Grim [her dog] for a walk, I bring my shotgun with me," she explained.
"This does not mean that we can shoot polar bears freely. This is just if we need to save our own lives because polar bears can be so incredibly aggressive."
In order to carry a firearm, residents need to apply at the government office and show they have the appropriate training.
You can't be buried on Svalbard
@sejsejlija Reply to @rushmila2004 Illegal to die here?! #svalbard #tiktoknorway #longyearbyen #educational
While it's not illegal to die on Svalbard, Blomdahl says no one can be buried there because the ground is permanently frozen.
"Any bodies would be sent to the mainland for burial," she says in a video.
You can't give birth on Svalbard
@sejsejlija Reply to @ashleechapman3 #svalbard #dailylife #foryou #viral #educational
Residents who are pregnant are required to leave the island one month before their due date because they can't give birth at the hospital on Svalbard.
As for where you go, that's up to the patient.
"As a Svalbard resident you have to have a mainland address so most people just go to their home countries," Blomdahl explains.
Also, home births are not a thing in this remote part of the world, according to Blomdahl.
There is a Russian ghost town on Svalbard
@sejsejlija Russian Ghost Town! 😶 #svalbard #abandonedplaces #tiktoknorge #fypppp #viral
There is a Russian ghost town on the island called Pyramiden. It's an abandoned Soviet coal mining village that closed in 1998.
Blomdahl says over 1,000 people lived in Pyramiden back in the 1980s and then left in a hurry, leaving some of their belongings behind.
There are still 10 people that live there year-round, running a hotel and restaurant.
Svalbard's official language is Norwegian
@sejsejlija #answer to @anya.simard13 #svalbard #foryou #viral #northernnorway
Norwegian is the official language of Svalbard.
"But there are 40 different nationalities living here in the village so naturally English is very well-spoken and used," Blomdahl says.
Narcity did reach out to Blomdahl for an interview but she declined the request.
