Those villages aren’t just surviving, they are thriving! We went into a little supermarket in a little town a couple of days ago to buy bread, and there were at least 20 different loaves to choose from. Every supermarket we have been to, even in the small towns, are as well-stocked or better, as any of our supermarkets at home. Even the little one in the apartment building we stayed at in Oslo had a freezer full of loose, frozen cooked prawns. Fuel is more expensive in large northern towns, but cheaper in the small ones. And a frozen pizza costs exactly the same up here as it did in Oslo.