In Longyearbyen, the world’s northernmost town, our social calendar is defined by the moveable feasts of welcomes and goodbyes. No one comes to Svalbard to settle permanently; the Norwegian archipelago is visa-free and the average stay for permanent residents is seven years. Very few babies have been born here — pregnant women are sent to a hospital on the mainland ahead of their due dates — and once people can no longer support themselves (because of unemployment or age, for example) they are legally required to leave. That gives the connections that are made here a precious quality, as ephemeral as the ice caves that form and disintegrate in the glaciers each year.
To strengthen those ties — to debut newcomers, bid farewell to old friends — we hold dinner parties.
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