> I think that’ll hold true until around the 5k people mark.
The towns that are "important regional centers" in Northern Scandinavia are often smaller than that.
The towns that are "important regional centers" in Northern Scandinavia are often smaller than that.
I don’t think it invalidates the point that you can’t expect to find all amenities if you live in a community that cannot support them.
I’d be willing to bet that 95% of people lives in more populated places, and 90% of the remaining 5% lives so out of the way by choice (e.g. if they _wanted_ to move closer to a more populated place it wouldn’t be an undue financial burden).
For a more northerly North American example, High Level Alberta, Canada has a population of 3100 and a service population of 20k. First settlers in 1947, it was incorporated in 1965. There is a paved airstrip long enough for a 747, and a hospital.
It would be the sleepiest of little villages in southern Europe and/or the USA, and would have a service area not much bigger than its population.
The further north you go, the more towns have and require outsized services.