
Abandoned Cities from Around the World - crypto-jeronimo
http://web.archive.org/web/20180221100932/www.dailycognition.com/index.php/2008/08/30/20-abandoned-cities-from-around-the-world.html
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gurrone
If you ever get to the southern Alps of Italy you'll find a lot more lost
places barely accessible by foot, if at all. Also a lot of old mines,
contraband trails and houses can be found in the area around Iselle close to
the Swiss border. It's sometimes amazing what you see there, some of those
abandoned areas will have 100+ houses (build by hand).

Just one stunning object among many: [http://www.amici-del-
leader.it/Home/Montagna/Le%20escursioni...](http://www.amici-del-
leader.it/Home/Montagna/Le%20escursioni/2008/16-%20Alpe%20Selle%20\(Val%20Anzasca,%201824\)%2029%20Giu/selle%209g.JPG)
(Villa Lancia, Valle Olocchia)

Edit: Maybe also entertaining for some, old stone pits where the Italian left
everything behind in the mountain, including cars [https://alpi-
ticinesi.ch/foto/gallerie_foto.php?id=190&foto=...](https://alpi-
ticinesi.ch/foto/gallerie_foto.php?id=190&foto=19)

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rmason
Gary, Indiana is not a ghost town. It's downtown area may be pretty abandoned
but it's got a population of 76,000.

[http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/gary-in-
populatio...](http://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/gary-in-population/)

There are a huge number of abandoned cities in Northern Michigan, especially
in the Upper Peninsula.

[http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/mi/mi.html](http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/mi/mi.html)

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reaperducer
Gary, Indiana may not be the best town on Lake Michigan, but its 80,000
residents will probably be surprised to know that, according to this blog
post, it's abandoned.

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cozzyd
They even put in fake cars with fake shops to make it look like people live
there!
[https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6004176,-87.2675441,3a,75y,1...](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6004176,-87.2675441,3a,75y,123.43h,80.33t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st5XKr43iQgCRIib2Wiwomw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)

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reaperducer
And I guess all those people I saw on the commuter train that goes through
there were fake, too. Probably actors paid by NASA!

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benj111
I've been to Orador Sur Glane. The 'ambiance' is strange, like visiting some
of the bigger war memorials in northern France, but with rusted prams still
lying about etc.

This differs from what I heard, and the wikipedia article. The women and
children burned to death in the church. The men in the barns.

Edit: [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradour-sur-
Glane_massacre](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oradour-sur-Glane_massacre)

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arcticbull
I went to Pyramiden a couple of years ago, and I'd recommend the visit to
anyone. It's very interesting, an hour long boat ride from the main
settlement, Longyearbyen. The population there is 2500ish people of which 500
are college students. Being in the arctic circle, it gets 24 hours of daylight
in the summer and 24 hours of darkness in the winter. Part of Norway, the
whole Svalbard archipelago is one of the only places in the world you don't
need a visa to live -- if you show up, you can stay, so long as you don't
commit a crime or go broke in the process, in which case the governor sends
you back to Oslo.

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crypto-jeronimo
> Part of Norway, the whole Svalbard archipelago is one of the only places in
> the world you don't need a visa to live -- if you show up, you can stay, so
> long as you don't commit a crime or go broke in the process, in which case
> the governor sends you back to Oslo.

My understanding is that Norway owns all the land there, and that the
accommodation situation is quite tricky - there are few rental properties,
operated by private landlords, while most of the properties exist solely for
the purpose of accommodating local workers (researchers, miners, etc.).

Is that indeed the case? Could you, please, shed some light on this?

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dagw
The vast majority of accommodation in Svalbard is owned by companies and
reserved for their employees. The few private apartments that are there tend
make more money as short term holiday rentals and on sites like AirBnB so very
few become available for 'normal' long term rental. The easiest way to get a
place to live is to get a job there that comes with an apartment.

That being said there are a fair few private houses on the island and there is
almost always something for sale. Here you can see what's currently available:
[https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/search.html?q=longyearb...](https://www.finn.no/realestate/homes/search.html?q=longyearbyen)

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crypto-jeronimo
Extremely useful - thank you!

Out of curiosity: in a few online sources, I've read the same interview, and
I'm particularly interested in the following excerpt: > "You can't be born in
Longyearbyen," says Hella. "When a woman has three weeks left of her
pregnancy, she must go back to the mainland to have her baby." I ask Hella
what happens if a baby is born prematurely. "Paperwork," is her deadpan
answer.

What does "Paperwork" exactly comprise of, in such cases?

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dagw
I have no particular insight, but since Svalbard isn't part of the Norwegian
health system and kind of in a weird place, jurisdiction wise, I'm guessing
it's in effect as if the kid was born abroad. The main problem is that the
medical facilities on the island are tiny and primarily geared towards dealing
with accidents and emergencies. Any medical procedure that can be either
predicted or easily scheduled tends to get done on the mainland, and if you
have too many medical problems you get kicked off the island.

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crypto-jeronimo
Yes, it does make sense. Thanks again for the informative response!

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mlthoughts2018
Another notable ghost town is Centralia, Pennsylvania:

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania)

