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thegunnersdaughter t1_j0835se wrote

Reply to comment by masterjon_3 in Don't hate the state, hate the game by VulcanTrekkie45

It's actually mildly more interesting than that - basically, the Svalbard Treaty did recognize Norway's sovereignty over it but there are a few limitations, and unlike mainland Norway, any citizen of a signatory country is permitted to live and conduct business on Svalbard, but nobody (not even Norwegians) are allowed permanent residency.

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masterjon_3 t1_j089aw8 wrote

But I found towns on there. Do they just go there for a few months out of the year? Do people live there in shifts?

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thegunnersdaughter t1_j08ajhq wrote

No, residents do live there year-round, but there's a somewhat famous saying that "it's illegal to die on Svalbard." The truth behind this is that the medical facilities on Svalbard are very, very limited, basically just a clinic. So if you are healthy and capable of caring for yourself, you can stay indefinitely, but otherwise you have to leave. I thought there was also a maximum age, above which you have to leave, but I can't find anything about that now.

Most people stay on average 7 years and tend to be younger. It's a place where a lot of people move during a time in their lives where they're looking for a new start or to escape their old life.

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masterjon_3 t1_j08d4am wrote

Interesting. From the pictures I've seen, the scenery looks beautiful, but I would miss civilization too much.

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Myungbean t1_j08azl7 wrote

The way I understood it is you can effectively live there permanently as long as you can prove you have the means to support yourself. If you have no income for a certain period (I don't recall how long), you can be forcibly evicted from the island.

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