Nordregio Summer Map 2022: Empty streets, closed restaurants – where is everyone?
Nordic cities are about to quiet down as millions of people are logging out from work. But where do they go – Mallorca? Some yes, but the Nordic people are known for their nature-loving and private spirit, and most like to unwind in isolation. So, they head to their private paradises – to one of the 1.8 million summer houses around the Nordics, or as they would call them: sommerhus, stuga, hytte, sumarbústaður or mökki. The Nordregio Summer Map 2022 reveals the secret spots.
The Finnish and Norwegians are most likely already packing their cars and leaving the cities: the highest supply of summer houses per inhabitant is found in Finland (92 summer houses per 1000 inhabitants) closely followed by Norway (82). The Swedish (59) Danish (40) and Icelandic (40) people seem to have more varied summer activities.
There are large regional differences in the number of summer houses and the number of potential users – so not enough cabins where people would want them! And this is the dilemma Nordregio Summer Map 2022 shows in detail. Most people live in the larger urban areas while many summer houses are located in more remote and sparsely populated areas.
The largest deficit of summer houses is found in Stockholm: with almost 1 million inhabitants, there is a need for 65,000 summer houses but the municipality has only 2,000 to offer! So, people living in Stockholm need to go elsewhere to find a summer house. The same goes for the other capital municipalities which have large deficits in summer houses: Oslo is missing 44,000, Helsinki 43,000, and Copenhagen 34,000.
Fortunately, there are places that would happily accommodate these second-home searchers. Good news for Stockholm after all as the top-scoring municipality in the Nordic Region is Norrtälje, just north of Stockholm with a surplus of 22,000 summer homes. In Denmark, the people from Copenhagen can travel a little west to Odsherred where they will find a surplus of 21,000 summer homes. In Norway, Trysil has the largest surplus (6,500 summer homes). If you are wondering about Iceland – yes they do have summer as well – and you might want to keep an eye on Grímsnes- og Grafningshreppur which has the largest surplus (2,800 summer homes). In Finland, the promised land for mökki people, Parainen municipality offers the largest surplus (8,600 summer homes) but also worth noticing is nearby Kustavi which has the largest share of summer homes compared to its population. With its 3,269 summer homes and only 956 inhabitants, there is an impressive 3.4 summer homes for each inhabitant. That should fulfil the requirements even for the most demanding needs of solitude.
So, if you are missing someone in the Nordics this summer, start looking in these places!
