61–70 of 92 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' ( 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.
Related: Svalbard – where the sun don’t shine (for 5 months) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33577717 - Nov 2022 (1 comment) Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago that anyone can call home - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29865861 - Jan 2022 (5 comments) Bearing Witness to Svalbard’s Fragile Splendor - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29463405 - Dec 2021 (3 comments) Editor of world's northernmost Engl…
"The trouble with local community in Longyearbyen, Svalbard: How big politics and lack of fellesskap hinder a not-yet-decided future"
[0] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/polar-record/article...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
This is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
Never used blackout curtains in Oslo or Trondheim, absolutely needed them in Finnmark. I wouldn't say that blackout curtains are the norm in the Nordic countries, especially not Denmark.
But if you're in a place where there's midnight sun, I suggest getting some.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' ( 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.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
This is why virtually all Nordic households have blackout curtains.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://www.spitsbergen-svalbard.com/2021/04/20/victims-of-d...
This is an incredibly deceptive article. It makes it sound like DV victims are singled out. All it says is DV victims have to follow the same rule as other immigrants on Svalbard -- i.e. they may be deported when they can't support themselves.
It is. But just because it's illegal doesn't mean it doesn't happen.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I lived in Norrbotten for 10 years. Blackout curtains help, but it's not the same thing.
In Spain every house comes with 'Persian blinds' ( 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.
What's the typical cloud coverage in Svalbard? Is it typically cloudy? I've always been interested in the polar night strictly from an astronomy viewing perspective. Does the convenience of 24 hour night sky become moot from near constant cloud cover?
This might seem almost libertarian in design, but it's important to remember that Svalbard is not meant to be a self-sufficient place where people can live their entire lives. You literally are not allowed to die there, and I assume the solution to unemployment is to simply return where you came from. No normal place has this luxury.