Yes, we’re moving our family life to the arctic… and the kids are still (mostly) warm

Yannick Vanhex
Jun 3
3 min read

The countdown has officially started ❄️

We didn’t wake up one morning and decide, “Let’s move to the Arctic, that sounds relaxing.”

Well… actually, we kind of did. But it took a few cups of coffee, a lot of “are we really doing this?” conversations, and a growing feeling that life should probably include more snow, more silence, and fewer traffic jams.

Now it’s real.

On July 1st, 2026, we leave Belgium and start our new life in Northern Norway.

Yes. That’s a one-way kind of sentence.

And yes… the kids are coming too.

The big question everyone asks us

“Are you crazy?”

Sometimes yes.

But mostly: curious, excited, and slightly underprepared for Arctic wind.

We’re not moving for escape. We’re moving for something we’ve been dreaming about for a long time:

A slower life. A wilder life. A life where the sky sometimes dances at night.

The countdown feels very real now

Right now our house is slowly turning into a mix of:

half-packed boxes
winter gear we didn’t know we owned
lists that keep multiplying
and one very confused cat watching everything

Every day gets a little more real.

Every suitcase gets a little heavier.

And every “should we really do this?” gets answered with: yes… we probably should.

The Arctic is not just a destination anymore

It’s becoming our everyday life.

We already imagine:

stepping outside into snow instead of rain
teaching the kids how to live with winter instead of hiding from it
watching the Northern Lights like it’s a normal Tuesday night

(We’re told it won’t always feel magical. We’re choosing to ignore that information for now.)

🎉 A very important date: James turns 7

In the middle of all the packing chaos, there’s one day we refuse to treat “normally”.

On July 14th, 2026, our son James turns 7.

And no this will not be a traditional birthday party.

We are doing it our way.

Think:

a fritkot-style snack stand (because we are Belgian, after all 🍟)
a drink bar for the adults (because moving to the Arctic deserves a toast)
a bouncy castle for the kids
and probably a few emotional speeches nobody planned in advance

It’s not just a birthday.

It’s also a farewell party, a goodbye Belgium moment, and a slightly chaotic celebration of the fact that we are actually doing this Arctic move.

Somewhere between fries, balloons, and packing boxes, it will probably hit us:

“This is the last summer here.”

And then we’ll eat another fry and carry on.

What we’re really doing

We’re not just moving to Norway.

We’re building something.

A place where families can come and experience:

Arctic nature
Northern Lights
cosy cabin life
and a bit of adventure mixed with imagination

And yes… there will probably be trolls involved somewhere soon. (More on that later.)

Why we’re sharing this

Because this isn’t just a business story for us.

It’s a life story.

And we’ve learned that the best adventures start somewhere between excitement and mild panic.

We are definitely somewhere in that middle right now.

What comes next

Over the next weeks we’ll be sharing:

packing disasters
emotional moments we didn’t expect
behind-the-scenes of the move
and the reality of preparing a family for Arctic life

Spoiler: it involves a lot of thermal underwear.

If you want to follow along…

We’re just getting started.

From Belgium to Northern Norway with kids, dreams, and way too many boxes.

And if everything goes well… we might even stay warm.

Mostly.