'Our world is so much bigger & wilder': S'porean woman, 32, who has lived in the Arctic since 2019, starts travel business hosting tours there

32-year-old Low Weisi was born in Singapore, where the heat is relentless and the grind never really stops.

About six years ago, she traded it for Svalbard, an archipelago at 78 degrees north, where temperatures drop below -30°C and the sun doesn't rise at all for four months of the year.

These days, she's based in Norway.

But where she actually call home?

Life unfolds more slowly

For those of you who haven't memorised every dot on the globe, Svalbard sits in the Arctic Ocean, roughly halfway between Norway and the North Pole, and is home to a local population of around 2,400.

Low first visited the Norwegian archipelago in 2017 during a week-long trip that coincided with the Dark Season, when the sun remains below the horizon and Svalbard is enveloped in 24-hour darkness.

"It felt absolutely magical, and it was then I decided I'll have to experience living life here as a local," she said.

The trip planted the seed for her move two years later in 2019.

Compared to Singapore's fast pace, life in Svalbard unfolds more slowly, Low said.

"I wake up, do some work, go for a walk."

Though what that walk looks like changes completely with the seasons, one thing stays constant: she's often greeted by a reindeer along the way, and somehow, that never gets old.

"You don't go looking for wildlife, wildlife finds you."

When Low told me one of her favourite things about Svalbard was how life works there, specifically the locals, I didn't expect "locals" to mean creatures with more than two feet.

"It feels like [the wildlife] are the true locals, they own the place and you’re just a guest," she said.

She recalled a frightening yet eye-opening experience during a snowmobile trip several years ago with her then-boyfriend, now husband.

That day, he was carrying the rifle they had brought for polar bear protection.

Midway through the journey, Low's snowmobile suddenly stalled, and her husband, who was riding ahead, did not notice.

"As he zoomed away, I was left with me and my snowmobile, without any polar bear protection, far far away from any kind of civilisation, no phone reception, deep in the arctic valley with miles and miles of snow covered mountains with no end in sight," she recalled.

Her husband eventually realised she was no longer behind him and turned back.

The experience, however, stayed with her.

Even though they had a rifle between them, Low realised she should have carried her own flare gun as an additional safety measure.

It was a lesson, she said, that only life in Svalbard could teach: no matter how prepared you are, you are never truly in control.

"You truly are a guest in the realm of the wildlife up there," she said.

It's an idea she keeps coming back to, that in Svalbard, humans are not at the top of the hierarchy, wildlife is.

"Wildlife encounters us. It feels like the polar bears, reindeer, foxes, birds, whales — they own the place, and you're just there, feeling so privileged to catch a glimpse into their world."

Much has changed since Low last spoke to Mothership in 2020, when she said she planned to spend only a couple of years in the Arctic before returning to Singapore.

Life simply had different plans for her.

Low married her Norwegian husband in 2025, and the couple decided to spend some time living together in Norway.

"Maybe Singapore for a bit as well later, we'll see," she said.

The Norwegian countryside has the infrastructure, variety, and pace of a regular city.

This is in contrast to Svalbard, which felt almost "untouched" by comparison.

"I like that there's fast food," she quipped. "I really missed McDonald's and Burger King while I lived up in Svalbard."

Always Singaporean at heart

Having lived in Svalbard, and now Norway, for almost seven years, does Low still feel Singaporean? Or had life abroad quietly shifted something in her?

While living abroad has added a new layer to her identity, Low said she remains Singaporean at heart.

"Still obsessed with bubble tea, McSpicy, and being kiasu," she said.

That said, what she values has .

She now craves a slower, more intentional life. One less fixated on the milestones many people feel pressured to chase.

Back in Singapore, she always felt as though she was racing against the clock.

"I have to get from Place A to Place B ASAP. I have to finish my dinner ASAP. I felt like I had to do everything ASAP," she said.

Svalbard, she said, forced her to stop and breathe.

"When you step outside and you're surrounded by nature that's existed for millions of years, indifferent to my 'urgency,' you start to think about what really matters," she said. "I think it's a reminder to me that life can be a lot more basic and essential, a lot more beautiful than what my life was like in Singapore."

These days, home to Low is no longer tied to a single place.

Instead, it is split across three.

"Singapore is where my roots and family are. Svalbard is where something in me changed. Norway is where I live now," she said.

For her, home has now become less a physical location, and more a feeling.

Opened a travel business in Svalbard

Low has since opened a travel business in Svalbard called "The Svalbard Life".

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Weisi Low :) (@qazwsxedcjklow)

True to its name, Low personally hosts each guest, giving them the chance to experience life in the northernmost town on earth.

Despite being based in Norway now, she continues to run tours in Svalbard.

For Low, the distance isn't really a dealbreaker.

"The commute isn't difficult at all, it's just a direct flight from Oslo," she said.

In fact, she believes the arrangement allows for a more personal experience.

She meets guests in Oslo, gives them a quick introduction and travels with them to Svalbard, rather than simply meeting them there.

The idea for the business grew out of her desire to share what she believes makes Svalbard unique.

"In a lot of Arctic destinations like Finland or Tromsø, we go and experience some form of nature, and we potentially encounter some wildlife — like reindeer," she said. "But in Svalbard, it's the other way around. It's a whole other world. Nature up there is so incredibly untouched. We are the visitors."

It's this feeling, she said, that defines Svalbard and ultimately pushed her to start the business.

"I just really wanted to tell the whole world about this magic."

Low also regularly shares glimpses of her life on Instagram, which is what first sparked people's curiosity about Svalbard.

Many have described her as "brave" for moving somewhere so remote and extreme, but she doesn't see it that way.

"Honestly I’m just another Singaporean like them," she said. "So I wanted to be able to hold their hands and take them here and show them how possible it is that they can also experience the Arctic first hand, instead of only living vicariously through me."

Low hosted her first tour group in May this year, welcoming 12 guests from Europe for a week-long trip during the Arctic summer.

"Connecting with the first tour group was amazing! It reaffirmed my passion with working with people and my love for the Arctic. It’s magical to see the way they light up experiencing these place for the first time."

The itinerary included boat rides, hikes and husky sledding, and coincided with bird migration season, when various species nest around the town.

Beyond town, the group spotted beluga whales, minke whales, seals and walruses in the water.

Low believes the tours also offer visitors a respite from the pressures of everyday life.

Having often heard friends talk about the stresses of work culture in Singapore, she said she can almost promise that the moment people step foot on Svalbard, they will find more than just an escape from the fast-paced world back home.

"It's almost like a return to something essential and basic, the way we were meant to live."

Sublime

What Low hopes for, more than anything, is that her guests leave with what she calls "the Arctic bug".

She likens the feeling to a concept in psychology and philosophy known as the sublime — a term associated with the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

"I want my guests to feel the sublime — this overwhelming feeling of awe and smallness in the face of vast, powerful nature," she said.

"That feeling when you're standing in the middle of an Arctic valley, glaciers all around you, complete silence, and you suddenly realise how incredibly small we are."

While she is careful not to impose her worldview on others, she hopes their time in Svalbard leaves a lasting impression.

"Especially when life moves so fast in Singapore, and the pressure to keep up is so real — if their time in Svalbard can remind them, even as they're back at their desk on Monday morning, that our world is so much bigger and wilder and more beautiful than our day-to-day feels like, that would be nice."