Longyearbyen has about 2500 inhabitants. Its main economic activities are tourism and scientific research.

Among other things, you will find: UNIS, a hospital, schools, a library, a sports centre (climbing wall, gym, weights room, 25-metre pool), museums, one main grocery store and a corner shop, outdoor equipment shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, cafés, a port, an airport, a ski lift, a student residence, kennels for sled dogs, cars in summer and snowmobiles in winter, a performance venue…

A small, well-organised life, but completely different from the one I had in Montréal!

Another thing to get used to: in August the sun never sets. For example, people put aluminium foil on their windows to block out the light. Before coming, I had bought a sleep mask, which turned out to be very useful.

All in all, the town is very pretty and human-sized. The mountains around it make it feel like living in a ski resort, while the colourful houses remind you of mainland Norway.

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