I've been to Dutch Harbor but in the summer: sadly only three restaurants none of them Thai. But some good sushi and decent pizza. And apparently they now have a fiber connection to the rest of the world.

https://journal-njmr.org/articles/10.33134/njmr.488 says job opportunities for migrants from Thailand and the Philippines are "limited to the spheres of cleaning, shop assistance, construction works, catering (hotels, restaurants and cafés), massage studios or the Thai store", so no fishing. But "as Norwegian legislation regulating working conditions is only partially valid in Svalbard, people without permanent full-time jobs often accept conditions that are immoral".

> Hmmm... that sounds suspiciously like fisheries-related slavery/indentured servitude. See also: Dutch Harbor.

Well, no. There's two parts to this.

1. Svalbard is rather nice. While years there doesn't count towards Norwegian citizenship, the wages are rather high and Norwegian-like. Building up a good personal economy is certainly appealing to a lot of people. 2. There's boatloads of Norwegians married to Thai women.

However, to get to Svalbard in the first place, you need to show that you can sustain yourself without being a burden on the local society. There's no health care to speak of there (except a regular doctor). There's no social security there. You need to be able to fend for yourself and build your own thing, or have a work contract.

Also the taxes are really low, especially compared to Norway. Low income tax, cheap petrol, cheap alcohol.

> cheap alcohol

Subject to a rationing card, though!