City requires residents to take away appendix earlier than transferring

Thought it would be hard to leave your heart in San Francisco? Try your appendix.

Everyone figuratively leaves a part of themselves behind when they move, but one Antarctic city requires prospective residents to have their appendix literally removed before settling there.

That’s right, an appendectomy is one of the requirements for anyone – including children – to live in Villas Las Estrellas, one of two civilian settlements on the frozen continent where people can live for years instead of weeks or months, the BBC reported.

The outpost is located in the Chilean Frei base on King George Island and has a maximum of 100 residents, mostly researchers and military personnel. Those on longer-term contracts, however, often bring their entire family — excluding dependents — to the spartan settlement, which consists of a post office, small school, bank, and other rudimentary facilities.

The preventive appendectomy may sound like a sadistic initiation ritual, but it was performed for good reason, the Mirror reported. The nearest hospital is 625 miles from the island’s northernmost tip, which could mean bad news for anyone suffering from appendicitis – a condition that requires immediate surgery to prevent it from becoming life-threatening. The limited health care options are also the reason why people are discouraged from getting pregnant during their stay.

And these are not the only precautions people take when staying at Villas Las Estrellas. As temperatures can drop below -100 degrees Fahrenheit, citizens must remain indoors or risk freezing to death.

“We couldn’t leave our homes for weeks this winter,” said Sergio Cubillos, the Chilean commander of the local air base.

Because of this, most people only reside in the colony during the summer, when the mercury reaches a “bald” 36 degrees Fahrenheit.

And don’t forget to bring your pooch to keep warm: dogs are banned on the island to prevent them from spreading disease to local wildlife.

Despite the austere environment, Villas Las Estrellas offers many tourist-friendly attractions, most notably its penguins, known for their flocks due to their protected status.

Tourists are also invited to take part in ski and snowmobile expeditions, as well as travel to nearby Bellingshausen to learn more about the aurora and glaciology, Atlas Obscura reported. The base even has Internet access, although it is reserved for the school’s three computers.