Svalbard and Jan Mayen

An archipelago above the Arctic Circle where Longyearbyen is the northernmost settlement with ordinary town life: a school, a shop, cafes and snowmobiles by the door. Prices are high because everything is shipped in, taxes are lower than on the Norwegian mainland, and housing almost always comes from an employer. Polar night runs from November to February and polar day from April to August, and that sets the rhythm of the whole year. The special regime asks for no visa but does require work and means: without them people do not stay, and serious medicine and childbirth happen on the mainland.