The remote visa-free island at the top of the world - BBC REEL
Vložit
- čas přidán 1. 01. 2020
- Longyearbyen is the northernmost city in the world. It is also a visa-free zone where everyone is welcome to live and work. People from all over the world come to this remote Norwegian archipelago to start a new life at the top of the world.
Video by Will Francome
To see more videos, please visit: www.bbc.com/reel/
#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews
“Maybe if you dont fit in the world out there, then maybe this is your place.”
True words hit home
Charot
Maybe this place is for me?
And me
THAT phrase hit me! Like... I want to move there, right now kinda feeling.
@@NormanVsNorman Until you move there and realise no matter where you go you'll always feel out of place.
This is the introverted dream
@Good Girl Exactly 😍
Such a vast over simplification. By common use today the word introverted is used to define any edgy teenage girl who thinks they're different and don't like people, because they like to spend time in their room watching yt or reading or such. Living on this island, or any isolated place is far far different than that. It is not for introverts nor it is for extroverts (no one is purely both either) it is for people who truly love the lands, nature and harsh lifestyle. Just because you think you're 'introverted' does not mean you will be accustomed to living there.
Quite the opposite really, there's a much more profound connection and sense of community in small places like these where everybody depend and checks on each other
Yes. Correct. Absolutely
I would believe it's much easier to be left alone in a big city than on Svalbard where everybody knows you and wants to know you're ok.
I had the privilege of meeting Chicco Mattos a few years ago when visiting Svalbard during the polar night. A very unassuming guy. He was working behind the bar at the Radisson Blu. We got talking about our mutual love photography and he turned out to be a fantastic videographer as well as a photographer. Top bloke with some mad skills.
Lovely story. Hope I can one day go myself.
I think, for a person like me, sunlight is the most important. It gives so much energy and positive vibes. Hats off to the people who manage to live in their houses without sunlight that too straight away for a period of 3-4 months!
Hi Vanisha. The 24-hour daylight in Svalbard is bizarre. Here is a video of an abandoned mine and the town's campsite. Enjoy!
czcams.com/video/d_bqBBfonqg/video.html
I think I'd be OK with it. Where I live is nowhere near that extreme, but we do have only 8 hours of daylight in the winter, and most of the time in an office that didn't have windows. We have the opposite in the summer where it is only fully dark for about 5 hours.
@@colleenr7268 From November to January there is no daylight at all, just black darkness. November-February/March there is no sunlight.
@@adara4635 I'm aware of that thank you.
@@adara4635 it wouldn't be November to March, it's October to February. March seems like a winter month but has the equinox so it's as light as September
Too bad I’ve learned about this place 30 years too late. I’m too old now, too unhealthy to go anywhere like this but I would have loved it for a while back when I could live and love and travel without the ties of approaching mortality. Beautiful place.
Let's travel with me
awais khan that was such a sweet offer. I hope the person takes it up if their health and circumstances permit.
i've seen you do this under like three videos already, just get out and enjoy what's left already for fucks sake.
take out a loan and go AWOL!
Sad with you, my friend
What you told will make think deeper about going there
Was there in February. Unreal. It has a B movie feel with the disused mines and doomsday vault - I loved it. Saw the aurora for the sixth time too. Svalbard is incredible beyond words.
How do you think it’d be to live there?
How do you get there?? Do you have to go through Norway??
Very lucky 🍀
@@jenlinds1 watch the vlog of Cecilia blomdahl she lives over there. Just discovered her
@@youngforeign8197 he swimming to there and walking lol...
I need a place like this just to ‘detox’ from the current mad world. I need my human senses back.
No, you can't go until you get vaccinated. End of story. Get your vaccines, THEN you can go.
No matter where you go the mad world is still there.
@@cheezheadz3928 True, but you sure seem to be far away from that mad world in Longyearben.
@@le_th_ is everyone vaccinated there? surely you mean tested?
@@mitchellbooth8435 WHAT? Where did I post a statement that suggests that there is a place on this planet where "everyone is vaccinated". No place exists like that as of 1/5/21.
....and no, I do not mean "tested". Testing only helps in diagnostics because you can walk out into the world 3 minutes later and walk right into a cloud of someone else's aerosolized particles (maybe they're jogging without a mask on?) and become infected less than 10 minutes from the very moment you were tested.
The Brazilian guy literally moved from southern edge of the world to the northern edge.. Must have been a crazy transition ^^
Seriously eh? 😅🇨🇦☘️
Actually, Argentina and Chile is more southern edge than Brazil
Brazil touches the equator almost so it's really not as drastic as you making it sound
The south of Brazil is the coldest region, so...
Please buy an atlas or a map.. 🤦🏻♂️
"It's the animals homes. We're guests"
Carry guns everywhere.
Bears be like, "worst guests ever. Can't take a hint."
james johnston THANKS
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I swear, worst guest ever
👍🏽😁🤡👹👻
humans are animals as well learn sole biology you ignorant dummy
Perhaps it is to scare them off not harm them.
CZcams algorithm showing me remote places to visit while I'm on lockdown because of COVID19.
after this lockdown now we are ready to live in remote place and isolation
@@kz687 svalbard population in 2022: 219,000
You can’t if you’re from u United States. Thx trump
You are not lockdown for covid19, you are lockdown for politicians, dont forget that.
I can feel the positive energy by just watching this video.❤️
"If you don't fit in the world out there, maybe here is your place." 🥺
hi can i contact you
When he says if nature wants, nature keeps you inside your house. So true especially considering what we are living mow.
I thought the same ... ;)
Manmade virus courtesy of Gates and his NWO cronies
This is government keeping people indoors, not nature. No evidence of any kind that it even helps with anything, and plenty of evidence that it severely harms people's mental health and the economy.
*Steel Beam* They want if u belong to useless humans without paying taxes
Nothing natural about this Plandemic and COVID-19.
"We're literally at the edge of the world"
Flat earthers: WRITE THAT DOWN!! WRITE THAT DOWN!!!
😂😂😂
The edge of the flat Earth.
My message to Flat Earthers.. I will give them a World Map and slap them in their faces many times..
@@soniavinluan8979 no no, get a globe lol 😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Svalbard is definitely one of the most venturous and intriguing spots where one can think of living. Even though, one can find out numerous downsides about this place. For me, its upsides seem to outweigh everything else. I consider Svalbard as the ideal place for a getaway or a temporary residence and that too visa-free. Having a peaking interest in photography, I would definitely visit this place at least once in my life. Its stupendous scenic beauty can leave one flabbergasted and its innumerable relief features like the snow mountains and lakes can give you Goosebumps. Well at last, if you don't fit in the world out there, maybe Svalbard is your place.
To reach there you need Norway Visa
Can you buy Oreos?
This is why documenting places like this is important as they won't be here forever
they won't be here forever because they are being documented *paradox activated*
I was thinking the same thing
It’s been there millions of years. Climate has always varied. This video should celebrate the place not be all dooms dayish. A limousine liberals paradise
@@TheRedDevil_NC if anything the place will just be nicer to live in
On arrival in Oslo, visitors will need to go through passport control. While Norwegian authorities do not require a visa for visiting Svalbard, as you will be transiting through Norway, nationals with visa requirements for Norway or the Schengen area will need a valid visa. No visa is required for EU passport holders.
You can also take a boat from Russia and also legally you can sail your own boat from anywhere to Svalbard legally
@@garcsstuff6734 😊🙏
So if I want to immigrate there from Romania I can use my passport and declare to authorities that I want to go to Svalbard and they will let me go and never ask about visa? What about residency?
I am a vet student, 1 year and I finished and I want to work and travel
That was lovely. I'm glad places like this still exist in the world. Thank you for showing us. ❤
I am an engineer and a mathematics teacher. Wish I could have come to this place. Love from Darjeeling, India
Isn't Ladakh same like this in winter though
@@aallearn4927 At least Ladakh has sun in the winter. And the Svalbard temps are a lot lower.
Life, truly: “This is a real community and people check on each other.”
"oh my god, what am i doing here. This is not my place"
-Man of the year
Svalbard is the only place in the world that is completely visa-free...
...except for MasterCard HQ.
I reckon it is not completely visa-free since you first have to go to Norway to go to Svalbard anyways..
Even if you hold a schengen-visa then what happens when it expires?
Are you stuck there?
I have questions.. 😂
@@umitsahin8698 If you have an option to go there without a stop in Norway, you can enter visa-free.
@nishant kumar I know. For a reason.
@nishant kumar Bro what is meant by visa free. How many days we can live there
Most underrated comment..
"If you don't fit in the world out there, maybe here is your place" Ok, I'm coming, then :-)
" I am not sure if I'll be able to show my grandchildren and thats a shame "
I felt that !!!
I visited Svalbard in January 2020, in the middle of the polar night. I completely fell in love with the place and the people. I know it sounds mad but I felt very comfortable there. I guess I like cold dark places.
same here it's beautiful
I would like to thank BBC REEL FOR COVERING SUCH A WONDERFUL EPISODE WITH US.....
Rohit Singh Gour you need visa to enter Norway.
@@rohitsinghgour3014 Normally yo do not need a Visa but you have to prove that you can provide for yourself. It is expensive to live there, the welfare system is normally available only if you are a Norwegian citizen or work for a Norwegian company.
Geir Stian Aaslund is there Internet in Svalbard
@@instalocktaka9628 there is Internet. There is a cable from the mainland. There is some research and even some university education. But it is a very small and limited society. A town with 2000 inhabitants, only 40 kilometers with road, you are not allowed to go outside the town without a gun. In the summer there is 24 hours of daylight, in the winter 24 hour of darkness. Fresh food(vegetables) are limited, nothing is grown up there. I have only been there on vacation, but it is different than anything else on this planet.
I really like it ..how can i go there ...im jordanian passport holder ..i will do any job
watched for the 2nd time after few months and love it again,... love the spirit of people.
Thanks for this film! I love learning about other parts of the world and the people!
It's an exceptionally gorgeous place. Sadly, some people don't realize that "getting away from it all" means leaving your bad habits and customs behind also!!!!🙏🏻💝
Exactly
Yes,
And we as humans are polluting with waste and the placewith our products that don’t degrade naturally and can harm others in the habitat
I am another one of those humans even though live in a different place n used consume and so support an economy of this harm
Use this place to meditate how can we be live as a human race that shall be benefit n conflict free for all
They drink a lot there, tbh
I would like to visit this place someday after my master's degree
I especially liked each of the people who were interviewed.. they do seem vastly different from each other and yet have a common thing, a connection with the nature and an aloofness with the mainstream human civilization.
Thank you all you wonderful people for sharing your stories and inspiring me!
I wish I could go someday only to see the northern lights 😍 it’s incredible
You can see the aurora borealis in several northern countries.
The only thing stopping you is you.
Me too. I'm going to research a Northern Lights trip.
@Spud Chuffington jones Good to know. I'm going to look that up. Do you have any recommendations of companies?
@@floralscene McDonald’s
Anyone here after the coronavirus outbreak looking for an escape
If corona doesn't kill you, the bears will
The weather will kill him
Anyone else here posting stupid questions to get useless likes?
Haha
jay1970 Just you you 50 year old clown
I am grateful to know about this place when I'm still young, hope to visit this heavenly earth someday 😊
I don’t say this glibly, I am in love with this place after watching this and I just can’t wait to experience the same wonderment in person one day. We all need to respect the earth and it seems very likely like this is one of the few purest places left, like this gentleman said. It’s a form of life where you depend on each other and take care of your environment because this beautiful land is giving us a chance to live there with nature in control of our daily lives even more so than anywhere else.
Definitely going there. Jotting it down on my bucket list. Yay.
It was quite fun to see a person doing the chit thing to choose a place to live! This completely shows how adventurous that woman is. I congratulate her for having this beautiful place on her chit!
I'm presently living in a little one room cabin in the woods of Alaska. This video has me now interested in moving further north, to Svalbard!! I'm retired, and my newest research project will be the cost of living and whether I can afford to move. 😁
no tax there
Pitcairn
@@user-ue3pl2gf4o Not exactly... Everyone who resides on Svalbard is liable to pay tax to Svalbard on all their capital and income. You are considered a tax resident when you have taken permanent residence on Svalbard.
The Svalbard archipelago is a separate tax zone, but still proper land of the Kingdom of Norway. According to the Svalbard Tax Law of 1996, tax is collected by Norway on all personal income on Svalbard.
Income tax is much lower on Svalbard than on the mainland, however. For annual income up to and including 12G, your income tax will be only 8%. For higher income, i.e. exceeding 12G, there is a 22% tax. (12G in the Norwegian National Insurance scheme equals ca NOK 1,276,500 per year, and below 12G is considered “a normal salary” in the scheme).
Do it!!!
Go even further north than Svalbard. Russia, Canada or Greenland.
Awwww. Such a beautiful place. Seeing the Northern lights before i die is a must.
At present I am in Northern Finland, my plan is as soon as my lad is 18 (another 6 years) I will be looking into Longyearbyen as a very strong possibility as my next place to live...
@Obama Only Fans is that what they call kids nowadays ?
@Obama Only Fans What did I just read
Thank you bbc reel so much
Beautiful place that truly will live in my heart forever
Finally a place where I can established my own ice Kingdom.
Like a sand castle swept away by tides.
Whoa !! I can’t believe that a place with surfeit of environmental constraints can be this captivating and bewitching. I loved the fact that nature is in the control of the place . Well , it hit me really hard when he said that future generations might not be able to witness such a picturesque view first hand. Also, I found it extremely affectionate that even though they are from different nationalities they still check on each other and wholeheartedly welcome the new people who visit or move over there. Being an introvert , I would absolutely love to visit this place one day.
Oh wow. I would love to live there for a couple of years. I love snow and this place looks beautiful!!!!
“If you don’t fit there in the world, maybe here is your place!” I am packing my bags and coming!!!!
@cm. CG no it's cause 70% of the people are so selfish and running behind money and fake relationships..
Guess you are in that 70%
I've been here on work and went on a tour with huskies, it's a beautiful place, and they make great waffles and hot chocolate!
Definitely am going here at least once in my lifetime. Beautiful place.
I guess I should visit before it melts...
OR ices up again. we live in a very young world. climate change is normal not a problem.
Humans Destroy everything 💯
@@itsmyparty4637 That's it! :)
@@dirtysanchez941 oh yeah?
So, why don't you stop destroying things and do something for the good of nature
For example, going there and offering your self as food for a polar bear??
😂😂😂😂😂
Take my money, I’m on my way!!! Once the travel bans are removed 😷🧣
Agree 100%
ya sure go and take more land from the wildlife and buy a gun because hey you want to take selfies of the snow
Same
Big talker!
And that’s when? Don’t see those bans being removed anytime soon ☹️
I learned about the existence of Svalbard from watching the film “Far North”, which was filmed there.
Ever since then, I’ve been wanting to go there.
I had mistakenly thought it was an “Off-Limits” scientific and military outpost.
I’m surprised, and happy to learn that I’ll be able to visit there.
Thanks, BBC Reels!
Wow, I've never heard of this place before and I'm totally intrigued and fascinated.
Svalbard - Love at first sight ❣️
The polar bear who wrecked that tent must've said, "get off my lawn!"
Pure joy to watch my friend! This is what I am striving for in my videos!
Last 3 lines is epic..!!! Thnx BBC .
Y'all can go literally "chill" in that island visa-free. I'll stay nice and warm at home.
You're a different breed. The one that needs to be warmed by its mother's (the sun) womb, untill it's death
The closest I've been to a place remotely like this was WAY UP NORTH in Finnish Lapland, #Kilpisjärvi where Norway, Sweden and Finland met. And it was amazing.
Kilpisjarvi was amazing. So amazing. My heart lies with the finnish lapland.
Seems like the perfect time for this to pop up! 👌💞Can't wait to watch!
"If you don't fit in the world out there, maybe here is your place". that got me
I loved this place wish I could stay there 💕
5:56 - *_Instead of cars, you just hear the wind..._*
Very nice awesome people... real down to earth... no egos... just real
Ohhh my God I am 25 years too late for this place !!!! Wish I knew about this place long time ago !! ....but I can always dream about it! What a beautiful place !!!
Saw you on Cecilia’s channel!!!
So much to learn about Swalbard
"If you don't fit in the world out there, maybe here is your place." This statement just tickled my mind. I have been thinking of leaving and settling somewhere more peaceful. I am not sure yet about this Longyearbyen, but good to know I have a hassle free option.
just do IT... I lived in Italy-Bahrain now visiting alaska
Oh those magical lights!!!! I soooooooo want to be there!
Added to bucket list ☺️, thank you ❤️🙏
I don't have much of a penchant for traveling but I would love to visit Svalbard and probably stay there for a couple of months. True, 4 months day, 4 months night and capricious polar bear attacks may be a bit off-putting at first but the prospect of tranquility, marvelous northern lights, and the community have me sold!
I saw “Svalbard” and immediately thought of His Dark Materials
Also polar bears visit this place. I might find my lost golden compass here 🤫
Exactly ! A polar bear as a companion 🙄
😎👍
The shittest film ever made
Very close to a documentary
Truly Great Informative Video, Many Thanks
God bless that town and these people
Can we appreciate the choice of music used
The place looks very pleasant. Someday I will go there and savor the nature directly :)
Looks so beautiful....almost out of this world, surreal!. I hope it lasts a long time.
Wow, sounds like a place one goes to find oneself....and to heal
Never in my wildest dreams did I know that such a place existed.
Me too 😭
Truee. It's like Mars or something
They didn't go into the whole no trees and the ground being in permafrost part. I've been watching a CZcamsr who lives on Svalbard and makes vlogs and it's truly beautiful there. But she doesn't live in town, she actually lives in a cabin near the ocean.
Cecilia Blomdahl👍🏻
I wanna for once feel the positive energy of world’s purest place😉
Svalbard is such a beautiful place. I'm lucky enough to be able to visit it in January and it will be spectacular
I would like to live there. I think it is a perfect place for me.
I was there last November and fell in love with the island. I wanna go there again
Will u go with me❤️
Lucky u
So lucky human
Stunning. I'd Love to live there.
I think this may have to be on my bucket
If you don't fit in the World out there, maybe here is your place! I felt that!
It just hit a different chord in my heart when he said that his grandchildren might not be able to see this place because of the climate change.
bs
I really want to see this place. A few months spent here would be amazing and it looks so beautiful and peaceful. I like quiet
Peace. Silence. Solitude
I like this place already
I'm sad for the polar bears. They are slowly getting displaced as humans start to encroach in their habitat
also because of a warming planet the brown bears are race mixing the polar bears out of existence.
Even where your house current accomodation stands, used to be wildlife habitat oo.
@Lipton Teabag you are stoopid, humans don't need to be there, but they want to feel special and disturb the wildlife even though they say that they are only guests
@@niceguy9790 did you know about svalsat? most of Google maps photograph captured from there. we need svalbard.
@@muzakkifuad WHAT ARE U ON ABOUT MATE????
If I’m tired of everything else in this world, I’ll go there.
@Norm Macdonald Ruminations how much money one needs to go there..rough estimate?
@Norm Macdonald Ruminations i live in Pakistan.. and i am health care provider so i think i might find some work there
@Norm Macdonald Ruminations haha yeah... may be...
@Norm Macdonald Ruminations haha...all who??? just me...after i finish some going work here... how about you...well this is just a thought... if we go there, we need a back up plan just in case we can't survive there
I've been to Norway in 1990. I wouldn't mind visiting some day.
Absolutely stunning 🤩
Such great respect for the arctic wildlife.
I feel the seclusion, sadness, and liberation all at the same time.
I wish to lived there
The last part is so true.The world down here is a reel we are living in.And the world up there is a real life.
Just beautiful!!
I was lucky enough to go there last year.. what an amazing place, with lovely people. I would love to go back.👌🏿
Are you black? If so how did they treat you? And how long did you stay there? Did you work? If so what did you do?
@ cegb... so how do you get there?
@@SoRaw514 Why on earth would they treat a black person any different than a white person up there?
@@bjrnjensen7074 you're kidding right? Where have you been living under a rock???
@@SoRaw514 Nobody said racism doesn`t exist-however Norway is a fairly open and tolerant society. I my self have friends of all colours, and none of these have ever experienced discrimination. Doesn`t mean it never happens, of course. I can hardly imagine that he would face discrimination up there, as there are quite a few nationalities living up there already. However, we should fight discrimination based on ethnicity wherever and whenever it happens.
Beautiful but I wouldn’t recommend anyone to live there. Jobs are limited and cost of living very expensive. There is no guarantee for the future of Svalbard as the mine industry is closed and living there for a while doesn’t award you the right to live in Norway. Do it for hell of savage beauty and only.
Good advice. It was stated that the primary industry is tourism. Are there many hotels?
Why'd someone want the right to live in norway?? I mean the whole norway is like this with empty snow desserts
@@floralscene I believe there are some hotels but not many. It must be expensive too.
@@Sharon-vs8go Norway is a beautiful place and it has one the best quality of life in the world.
@@FelipeCavalcanteBJJ 👍❤
If you don't fit in the world out there may be here is ur place❤️❤️
Loved it
I've come to love lying in my bed, reading and then watching documentary after documentary.
When it gets dark and colder outside in the late evenings once autumn kicks in, that's what I'm looking forward to do every day.
This island here... I'm sure I couldn't live there (I like the sun, I like it warm), but it seems fascinating that these people are happy.