Antarctica

Do people live in Antarctica?

Chris says: Yes — there are towns. There is a port in Antarctica and people live there…I saw it on TV! On a special!

Sam says: No way. There is no one out there but scientists or people living there temporarily for research. Are you trying to tell me that someone’s address actually has “Antarctica” in it?

No one “lives” in Antarctica in the traditional sense. According to South Pole Questions and Answers (hosted by the University of Chicago):

There are no cities or towns where people live. Most of the people in Antarctica stay for short time periods during the summer months. A few winter over, which means they stay all year.

CoolAntarctica.com states that:

No-one lives in Antarctica permanently or even for a long period of time. Most people do a “summer only” that’s about November to April, with a lesser number staying over the Antarctic winter (when any chance of transport in or out is virtually impossible), some stay for two winters and three summers, this is the longest time any one stays there. The only “settlements” are scientific bases. These vary in size, but typically have 50 people there in the summer and 15-20 in the winter. There is a US base at McMurdo sound that has up to 1000 personnel at the peak time, this is the nearest there is to a town. With such rapid turn-over of people, Antarctic bases are more like oil-rigs or military bases than towns.