Growing up in Longyearbyen | A day in the life of a family on Svalbard, an Arctic Island
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 มิ.ย. 2024
- What is it like growing up in the small arctic town of Longyearbyen, where temperatures drop to -30 degrees, and polar bears are a constant threat? We spent two days with Arvydas and his beautiful family to find out! I hope you like the video and thank you so much for being here! 💙☕️
Check out Arvydas Instagram: / arcticarpenter
Agnes Instagram: / agnijiete_so
0:00 78 degrees north
00:41 Longyearbyen 11am
01:11 Weather Trick
01:43 Today's Plan
02:00 Backstory
02:50 Waffles
03:28 Learning the language
04:30 Longyearbyen Nationalities
05:12 Gabby learning Norwegian
05:46 Svalbard Kids Culture
07:47 Dressing a kid for -30°
10:13 Sleeping Outside Set Up
11:11 Saturday
12:03 Svalbard Population
13:25 Arvydas
14:31 Only Lithuanian Family
17:34 Paternity Leave
18:13 Medeina Sleeping Outside
19:26 Coffees and Huskies
20:00 Thank you for watching! ♡
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About Cecilia:
Cecilia Blomdahl is originally from Sweden and moved to Svalbard 7 years ago. She works as a photographer and videographer in Longyearbyen, and with her social media channels. Check her out on tiktok and instagram under her handle @sejsejlija! Here on youtube she posts videos about her daily life in her cabin with her boyfriend Christoffer and her dog Grim, living just outside of Longyearbyen. Subscribe for videos about her daily life as well as adventures on an island close to the North Pole. They have polar bears there!
How many people had never heard of Longyearbyen till the TH-cam algorithm introduced them to Cecilia, Christoffer and Grimm and then you proceeded to binge watch every episode of hers? No one has single handedly done more to put a remote part of the world on the map than Cecilia - The chamber of commerce should recognize her for her contribution. Another banging episode by the best TH-cam content creator in this genre
Love your videos. Great story with the family and how they live in such a cold climate. It is so interesting to watch compared to where I live in Miami, Florida, where the coldest it gets in winter is 35 degrees Farenheit 1.66 Celcious for maybe a day or two. By mid day, the temperature it will go up.
I was randomly wondering a couple years ago what the northern most town was, and Google mentioned Longyearbyen. So I looked up the town on Google, and it brought me to Cecilia's videos, and I've been hooked ever since.
I heard of it prior to watching Cecelia through van life travellers I follow on YT. Love watching what life is actually like through the eyes of those that live there.
I knew about it from the Tom Scott video years ago but a year ago I started seeing Cecilia's videos in the algorithm and started binging it. Then recently she was in a Kara and Nate video which she promoted and I started watching all of their videos.
I definitely hope she gets paid for her PR work. You couldn't ask for a better representative. It's obvious they love their lives. Lol I'm sold. Seriously, I don't think I could do the cold everyday, but I believe I would enjoy a lengthy vacation there.
A lot of people outside of Europe, mostly Americans, are in shock how babies sleep outside. Its totally normal. Also when she said that in her childhood she was playing outside from morning until evening, my childhood was the same. I really loved this video.
Babies sleep outside just in the north Europe not all europe
@@annah4267I’m from Italy, I live in a small town on the Alps, and we leave our babies to sleep outside too. Fresh air is life, and we have nearly the same temperatures of Svalbard, during wintertime. Obviously, we live in a very safe place, no crime here. 😊
I’m American, but grew up on a fruit farm. I would play outside all day unsupervised. But when my daughter was growing up in the suburbs I WOULD NEVER do that!!! Not a safe environment! Just depends on the circumstances.
@AnnaM84 confirming the same from Hungary! We always slept outside, in the summer and in the winter. Back then in the winter it was usually between -10 and -15 celsius.
Thank you for sharing your life’s with us, I’m an American and it’s wonderful to see how safe it is to be able to let your little one sleep outside and trust the people. We lack that here! It’s a wonderful country and I really like the population😃 Thank you again. Sending friendship from Las Vegas, Nevada
I’m a Lithuanian-American who lives in Florida. I’m always looking for videos on TH-cam from very unusual environments. I found your channel recently and I love it. It was lovely to hear my native language on your video.
I’m in Florida too! I can’t imagine that cold!
Vid, me too and if you have any suggestions I would love to hear more.
Welcome to Florida and welcome to some of the greatest content on YT! I’m like you in loving unique places. I am blown away seeing such a stunning environment in the cold, since I have lived in the Florida heat forever. 😂
@@braves9652 heyyy I also lived in FL for years but am originally from ATL so I'm curious if that's what your username is referencing lol. I also love the videos from people in extreme climates! I loved the videos from Life in Yakutia (Siberia) but Maria and her family have had to relocate to Kazakhstan in the past few months. I learned a lot from her videos!
@Emma hi there. My name sort of is in reference to the city of Atlanta. It's actually in reference to the city's Major League Baseball team and I love both! I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta and still live here. We aren't as warm as Florida but our winters are mild and our summers are very hot. My dad lived in Palm Beach for 50 years I believe, and South Florida is amazing.
The way Medeina looked at Agne at the table almost made my heart burst. What incredibly sweet girls they have. I loved this peak into their life. Big thank you to Arvydas and Agne for letting us get to know them!
I couldn’t believe how little Medina sat so still while her mom put on the warm layers of clothing! We live in a place that snows not as cold as Svalbard of course but our son moves constantly he has never been still more than a second or two! It’s always such a struggle to dress him.
but why did Mom grab the snow shoes away from Cecilia so quickl? 😅 she even started Cecilia 😂.
I thought the exact same thing. I was so shocked how cooperative she was! She’s so cute
*Medeina. It is one of our pagan goddess name
I'm seriously just blown away at the differences between what we'd do here in America vs. what y'all do there in such a beautiful, peaceful country. You'd never think to leave your child alone outdoors in many parts of the US, so this is beyond fascinating & just so lovely to see. It makes me want to live there even more! And truly, what a lovely family! Please extend my thanks for having you video them for 2 days. This was beyond educational & it showed us what family life is like there. Can't wait for more Meet the Locals videos! :)
Marianna
To be fair, the issue with leaving a child outside to nap in most of the US isn’t because of any real safety concerns, it’s that in the past few decades we’ve been socially conditioned to be helicopter parents. And even if you prefer to be more “free range” in rearing your children, it’s seen as so outside the norm in many areas that you run the risk of having CPS show up on your doorstep because some neurotic adult called to report you for endangering your 8-year-old by allowing her to walk a block home from the park by herself. (Sorry for the run-on sentence!)
I’ve read that the children that are left to take naps in the outdoors- suffer less sickness. Amazing the differences in their children and children in the U.S. - could be that’s why our kids stay sick with various viruses/bugs
I believe this is true. I think it started with the internet. Everyone reading all these stories that make it seem like it’s common. I walked to school in kindergarten but he eighties. Everyone did
Sorry, I meant to say in the eighties.
I am rural, we kept a tent set up year round and the kids had sleeping bags and books to read. They spent many nights sleeping in the tent even when it first got cold.
Cecilia, you’re an amazing story teller and equally amazing at getting the best shots to support your narrative. You’re a credit to Svalbard; I hope they know how valuable you are to the community. Always showing the good in the townspeople and the place. You’re one of the only content creators that I hit 👍🏼 before I watch the video. Please thank the beautiful family for letting us into their lives.
Agreed. She's very talented at this.
I do the same. 😂👍🏻
Strongly agree aswell !!
Totally agree!!
@@AngelLuluBlu WOW 😲
You can definitely tell the baby is used to being bundled up. She just sits there and get your layers on. ❤
I was amazed. I don't have children but I do have 5 nieces and nephews and various other children throughout my life and dressing them in simple American spring clothing has always felt like trying to put the same clothes on a wild cat! ☺️😂
I was thinking of that, any other child would throw at least one tantrum per layer of clothing☺️ Not these girls, they even allow their mom to put that oily cream on their faces without any fuss.
@@minime7375 I'm thinking they probably did both kids like that since birth, so it's second nature.
When I was a baby (in the 60s) my mom would walk to the grocery store and leave me sleeping in the pram outside, along with all the other sleeping babies whose mothers were shopping. This was in a major US city, Seattle! I still live near there and would never even consider going to that same store, alone, in broad daylight. What a blessing to raise that beautiful family in a safe place like Longyearbeyen. Cherish that, and stay forever if you can!
Amazing series - it's been a real insight into family life on Svalbard. I loved seeing the 5 year old on ski's, taking a tumble and getting right back up. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how Arvydas and his wife cope with the children during midnight sun. UK summertime was always a struggle for me when daughters were young children (many years ago) They just didn't want to go to bed as it was still daytime - still light outside.
My husband is Russian and he has the same philosophy about being outside. We live in Minnesota (US) where it can be as cold (or colder) than Svalbard in the winter, and we take our baby outside everyday up to -15C! We also notice that she sleeps better and is happier when she gets fresh air. It’s a lot of effort to get her outside, but it’s so worth it. I really appreciate this glimpse into this lovely family’s life!
This babies sleeping outside thing blows my mind every time I see or hear about it.
I loved the two videos with this wonderful family so much. You all gave us such a good feel for what it’s like to raise children in this place and climate. I wish we had more of a focus on outside time for children (and adults) in the United States again. I grew up playing outside in Minnesota every single day of my childhood in the 1970s and 80s, and I think it’s made me a very hardy adult. Nowadays parents have to send their children to private schools with a focus on nature time in order to get that, and most can’t afford it. I hope the pendulum swings back to more outside play again!
My childhood was similar growing up in northern New England. Cold exposure-while playing/exercising as well as sleeping-is very healthy. I still like to leave my bedroom window partially open at night, especially in the winter. I never sleep so soundly as when I’m in a chilly room under a down comforter.
Hello from Fargo! My neighborhood went from us playing outside most of the year to no kids playing, but now with people from Africa living here, we now have kids playing outside again.
@@lorainefleeman6011 I’ve seen exactly the same in St. Cloud! Our new Somali neighbors’ kids are outside all the time and having so much fun, and I ask myself, where are the white kids? Only because it’s a shame that white families no longer let their kids go outside without adults. We need to change perceptions so all families feel it’s safe and necessary to get kids playing outside again.
@@WellEditedCo I know. White kids don't play outside here, either, but I'm just enjoying seeing the African kids play.
Long time watcher here - thank you for these family videos. Your friends are lovely! The little girls are precious. The parents are doing a great job, which is a hard thing even in the perfect climate :)
My mother was from the Netherlands and I remember her telling me, back in 1977 when I was pregnant with my first baby, that babies need to be "aired". That means put outside for periods of time no matter what the weather. I did this with my boys and they rarely had colds!
I love sleeping in the cold, buried in blankets. I think I sleep better. I bet the baby sleeps so well. She’s sure bundled up and ready. And look at that little skier! She’s doing a great job! I appreciate seeing how this beautiful family handles life in such extreme circumstances. Thank you for allowing a glimpse into your life. ❤
I love how much fresh air they get! They are definitely going to grow up loving nature in Svalbard. ❤
i mean they have to, to stay healthy since how little light they get! but yes it’s refreshing to see :)
I extend my thanks to this lovely family for opening up their lives and visiting with us. It does my cold black 🖤 good to hear parents believe in raising kids outside! Unfortunately in many places in the US, if you left your child alone like that, your kid would either be taken or you'd be arrested for abandonment; very sad. Thx for bring us the good vibes from Svalbard and give Grim a big kiss for me. ✌️❤️🐕
As an Italian I have always been attracted to the Scandinavian countries and in particular the Svalbard Islands and your channel is perfect for getting to know them better. This family with their children is just wounderful. Thank you very much. Great video❤
This is why Scandinavia - from Svalbard to Iceland to Denmark in the south - is such a success in almost every area of human endeavour. Reasonable people, produce reasonable governments and their policies. Thank you, Cecilia!
As a Finn, the way they work with weather and kids is very relatable! I highly enjoy watching this!
Lived in Finland for 10 years and as you say normal to leave kids outside in winter to sleep.
Yep same in Sweden! At least on the countryside! The best way for kids to sleep in the cold and be outside in every weather 😍
I can’t even imagine leaving my baby outside like that. With no worries. That’s awesome though. That they can do that ❤
No way ever would I park my baby in the states.
Yeah, that's completely normal in Norway, even on the mainland where there's way more people.
We can’t do that in the USA with how unsafe it is. I wonder if kids there are more resilient to illness since their respiratory system has such a strong foundation from such an early age? I absolutely love the idea of this. We would take our son on 2 mile walks in winter in his stroller every day. Best sleep of his life, but our winter is like summer where they are. 😂
It's like another world!! Just wow
I feel exactly the same. Could never do that.
Such a nice family to share their lives with us, thank you. You can see how happy the little girl is living there.
I remember growing up in the mid 70's in the UK, and we were always outside playing with friends (although it didn't get as cold as Longyearbyen in the winter). Someone once said to me there's no such thing as bad weather if you wear the right clothes 😄
Me too. I was always out whatever the weather. That's the only way to build up any resistance to the cold and to build up immunity. Greetings to you from Cheshire UK.
As a Brazilian, I don’t think that phrase applies to the hot weather tho so that’s why I prefer Winter, bc you’re absolutely right! I personally find it unbearable to withstand our hot temperatures here 😅 you can be in a bikini and still uncomfortable lol
@@bestnarryever Lol, I was thinking of the cold and wet English winter when I made the bad weather comment. We had a hot (for us) summer last year, and I was here in a pair of shorts and it was too much for me 😄
@@dragonmac1234 it’s ok though, no worries! I found it actually really funny to see the opposite perspective 😂
What a lovely way to raise children! I also was fascinated by the journalist who chronicled his expulsion from Longyearbyen. I read his article and was struck by how wonderfully he was treated. It seems you Northern folks have the key to a happy life. Thanks for sharing!
Having gone to university in southern CA with many Scandinavians - I’m now understanding more about their upbringing and I love it! Thank you for sharing!
I gasped and said “wow!” Out loud when he said how much he gets for paternity leave. That would of been wonderful to have here in the states.
lots of Americans wants it but are you willing to pay up to 60% total in taxes to pay for it?
I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see more of this lovely little family. How much better the world would be if more had the attitude of these parents-wanting the kids to spend time playing outside, feeling satisfied with what they’re small town offered. Their sweet children and adorable dog at the end. Just a perfect video! Thank you to Cecilia & this family! 💕
Hello Cecilia, how are you doing today ?
Thank you for this very interesting video and thank you to Arvydas and his family for these shared moments.
Here, in France, in Paris, your life always seems so exceptional and unique to me. A child here could never sleep peacefully outside alone in his stroller without a certain danger. You have the cold, the bears maybe, but your quality of life is undeniably better, healthier, more secure. It's quite magical!
Hey Cecilia~ This two-parter was absolutely fabulous! Fascinating in so many ways. May I say a big Thank You! to Arvydas, Agnè, Gabija, Medeina, and Aila for sharing themselves with you so you could share with us! Their kind generosity and openness was very much appreciated. I am so looking forward to the next visit you have planned with them. I am loving this series of Longyearbyen. Brilliant.
In a perfect world, every place on our globe would be as safe and idyllic as Svalbard! What a WONDERFUL place to grow up and live!🌎 🌍🌼🌈💙
What a lovely family! I'm from the US, so it's nice to learn about how different cultures raise their children
Between you, Christopher & this family, I wish I was living there too! Those kids were simply wonderful, they’re going to have such great , stable lives . To me, this is exactly what raising children and your own little family is what it should be about for everyone, but sadly too many people lose sight of what’s good & right. It seems like such a great place for kids to grow up and have adventures….
Loved this and love seeing how active and healthy children grow up, being outside is the norm, not the exception. I had also heard that having children sleep outside started in the 20's in Iceland during an epidemic, of flu I think. A doctor recommended the children nap outdoors for health and it still goes on. There is a lot of common sense behind that idea, I think.
I’ve loved seeing what it’s like to raise young children there on Svalbard! It’s refreshing to see no matter what the climate, the language, or culture, all of us parents are trying to do right by our kids to bring them the best upbringing we can give them ❤️ Thank you for this two part series, Cecelia!
I would love to know more about the other 2 villages on Svalbard! They sound so interesting especially the one with 10 people living there!!
Not gonna lie, I was so surprised to see that the baby was left outside.Being from the U.S. and knowing how easy it is to have your child taken, is a huge culture shock. Thank goodness there is no crime where you live. I don't think I would be able to do that if just moving there from the U.S. Love your videos. Thank you and Arvydas and his family for sharing a little piece of their life!
I love this family. Thank you for showing us this part of life there. What an amazing childhood for those precious girls. Can’t wait to see more of them and life with kids there.
We visited Iceland with my then 8 months old and could feel the warm culture around kids and family (and eye opening leaving babies nap outside in the cold on its own in its pram). Coming from tropical place it's almost out of the world. As a mom, I just loved the sense of safety and in a way also respect and openness for kids I felt in Iceland. One day we'll visit Longyearbyen....
Another brilliant video! Really like the ‘Meet The Locals’ idea. Fascinating to hear everyone’s story of how they arrived in Svalbard. Something I also love in a lot of your videos is showing places I went to when I visited Svalbard last May, like the high street…. and the husky cafe! Loved that place, and I remember that white dog too! 😊
What a fantastic series! Thank you so much!
What a lovely family - thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you for showing us! ❤
Cecilia, I can’t believe how fast your channel is growing, your videos are wonderful and fascinating.
Agreed!!!!
What a lovely family. Thank you and them for sharing.
These 2 videos came together so well. Great content as usual.
Absolutely loved the videos on family life - thank you for a great share into your family life ❤️🇨🇦
Such a lovely family. Thank you for sharing!
Loved this video and can’t wait for more!
Thank you for sharing this-such a lovely family!!!
Interesting! Thank you Arvydas and family!
That's amazing....thank you for sharing their story
Simply a beautiful story. Thank you for sharing. 😊
Love these videos highlighting a family with children. ❤
I loved to see family life there 😍 Thank you for these daily life videos!
That was incredible to watch! Thank you so much for sharing
So wonderful- beautiful family beautiful life. Thanks to all for sharing.
This was really interesting! Thanks to all involved for sharing with us.
Really have enjoyed "Meeting" this lovely family,through your wonderful video!Thank you so very much!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful videos with us!!
Love this content Cecelia. Thank you for your beautiful videos.
Thank you for this and please thank the family, it was so interesting!
LOVE this!! Thank you to this beautiful family for sharing their lives with us. Thank you Thank you!! Your daughters are so cute. ❤️ 😊 This was very educational and fun!
This was so enjoyable. Please tell this beautiful family many thanks for sharing their story with us.
Fabulous episode,
Thank you for sharing your lives
🫶☮️💟✝️🫶
I really rally rally love this series!!! So interesting and I can’t wait to see more!😍
I'm a fairly new subscriber and it's been so fun seeing what life is like there. I hope you do more of these!
Love these series. Really interesting to see how locals are living there! Thanks Cecilia! 🤩
Thank you so much for giving a glimpse of such a different life. The world is truly an amazing place🥰
Awesome video !! Was so cool to see how they manage the kids in such extreme weather
What a lovely family and so kind to share their lives. :) Wonderful!
Loving this series!!
Wow, this was educational. Cold weather and children. Neat. Thanks for another great TH-cam episode. Glad to see everyone happy and healthy.
What a wonderful family. Everyone seems so kind and friendly.
Please thank this wonderful family for sharing their lives with us. I enjoyed hearing their story very much
Great video as always! Thank you to your friends for helping you show us how family life works on Svalbard. Cheers from Canada!
Thanks to the beautiful family to let you share. Gabby was so impressive on her skis with pup pulling her and on her own!! Thanks Cecilia for another awesome video! I only wish you could post more often!!!
What a lovely video. The little girl on her skis is just precious.
I really enjoyed this series and hope you do more. It was so interesting to learn about them leaving their children outside to nap. Here in the states you'd be thrown in jail if you left your kids alone and went for coffee. By the way, just found out this week that they filmed part of the newest Mission Impossible movie on Svalbard. They showed Tom Cruise meeting some of the locals. Svalbard is really going global!
I think you had under 100k subscribers when I started watching it’s amazing to see your growth the recent vlogs have been amazing. Cannot wait to see you celebrate seeing the sun again!
You are a great storyteller! Love the meet the locals series.
Great to see Part 2 of your time with this lovely local family 😊 I appreciate their generosity in participating. Yes, will be interesting to see how they calm the kids down during the months of constant daylight!!
Great video to show a families life♥️
What an absolutely lovely family. It was so kind of them to open their home and show us their lives. We always learn a little something from others. ❤
This was such an interesting video! I’ve learned so much about Longyearbyen from watching your channel.
So interesting! Thanks for sharing this with us.
I am a new subscriber to your channel. I love it! You Christoffer and Grim are wonderful to watch! Thank you for this channel, I enjoy it completely!
Enjoyed this episode a lot. They are a lovely family.
What a lovely family and adorable kids!!!! They are all so welcoming and relaxed, I can feel it from the video ❤️ hugs to you all!!
Thank you for sharing 😊 nice to see different way of life have a great week
Loved it! Gaby reminded me of Cecilia with her skis and how she was showing the dogs some love at the end ♥️
I found this so fascinating! Thank you so much for sharing and please tell your friends thank you for sharing their life. I live in Michigan in the USA. We have long cold winters here and you have motivated me to get outside more!
Cecilia I'm so happy I found your channel, I am so intrigued to how you and families live on Svalsbard. Really enjoyed Gabby and her family. Thanks for sharing this!🥰
I look forward to having my Sunday morning coffee with Cecilias videos. ❤
I really adore these family live videos, thank you for sharing
OMG, Gabby and being pulled by her doggo on skis - my heart! Lovely family and beautiful video.
This series is so intriguing & by far my favorite on this channel. ❤
Loved getting to see what family life with small children is like. Looking forward to more of the meet the locals series!
Cecilia, I always enjoy your videos. I found this one extremely interesting. You did exceptional work here.
Gabby on those skis!!! Loving it, she is so coordinated. Skijoring with the family dog, how great.