What? Washington, DC is Ranked The 37th Happiest City In The US?
December 19, 2009 14 Comments
What the hell! We are down the list as 37th happiest State/City?
A new study I just read on Live Science ranks Washington, DC as the 37th happiest city in America and Alaska is #7? I wonder what type of criteria they used to make such conclusion.
They claim the results are based on an examination of two data sets, one that included personal reports of happiness for 1.3 million Americans and the other that included objective measures, such as how crowded that state is, air quality, home prices and other factors known to impact quality of life.
Interestingly, the states with the highest educational standards and mandatory regulations like DC and NY, are at the bottom of the happiness scale. Perhaps “ignorance” knows something more than the rest of academia suspects. So, I guess, it does make sense to be happy when you accept life, rather than added stress in fighting for a living, or stress of big city living.
Other thing I don’t get, how the heck Louisiana became #1? Last time I checked, Louisiana is an economically depressed state with a lacking education system.
Anyway, here are their complete ranking of 50 U.S. states and our DC in order of their well-being:
1. Louisiana
2. Hawaii
3. Florida
4. Tennessee
5. Arizona
6. Mississippi
7. Montana
8. South Carolina
9. Alabama
10. Maine
11. Alaska
12. North Carolina
13. Wyoming
14. Idaho
15. South Dakota
16. Texas
17. Arkansas
18. Vermont
19. Georgia
20. Oklahoma
21. Colorado
22. Delaware
23. Utah
24. New Mexico
25. North Dakota
26. Minnesota
27. New Hampshire
28. Virginia
29. Wisconsin
30. Oregon
31. Iowa
32. Kansas
33. Nebraska
34. West Virginia
35. Kentucky
36. Washington
37. District of Columbia
38. Missouri
39. Nevada
40. Maryland
41. Pennsylvania
42. Rhode Island
43. Massachusetts
44. Ohio
45. Illinois
46. California
47. Indiana
48. Michigan
49. New Jersey
50. Connecticut
51. New York
About Elias Shams
Elias Shams
Kamran Abdi
Leila Nouri
oh mine, CA ranking at 46…. no wonder i have been cranky lately…
Seems like it should be quality of life, and not happiness. All of the cities at or near the top are in warm climates, with many more recreational opportunities. Bottom line, happiness is what you make of it; not what someone else says it is.
As I mentioned in the article, the states with the highest educational standards and mandatory regulations like DC and NY, are at the bottom of the happiness scale. Perhaps “ignorance” knows something more than the rest of academia suspects. So, I guess, it does make sense to be happy when you accept life, rather than added stress in fighting for a living, or stress of big city living.
As a native to the DC Metro area, I look forward to following your discussions!
The article is a list of states and is not about the happiest cities. Being the 37th happiest state is not particularly notable.
As a long time resident I love the area. I consider myself pretty happy. What gives me heartburn in this area is the traffic which has gotten much worse with no serious plans to make it any better.
I agree with Anton. 37th is 14th from the bottom of 50 states and 1 district – bottom 27%. I wonder if it’s got to do with the fact that the DC Metro area is also populated by many transient residents – going solo on events and holidays is not such an unusual occurence.
who cares what they think…as long as you are happy
The traffic and the cost of living. I enjoy it here, but sometimes wish i was somewhere with less traffic.
This city has evolved, its a completly different town than when I grew up in it. It’s like the tale of two cities. Now its geared toward the young, hightech/biotech, and home to jobs and government. Not a bad mix. Still, its 3 hours to a beach…..other than that..
This is a lovely place to be.. even with the snow. Other-than the ultra-conservatives now running the place.
How about them Aints, Will?
I love DC, I went to school there and then moved on to other places such as Europe and South America. After Rome perhaps, DC is the city I enjoy the most. I’m now in Bentonville, Arkansas (ideal for those who consider living somewhere with less traffic) and can’t wait to get back to DC. I’m planning my relocation as I post.
Elias, let me know if there are any networking events you recommend for next week, thanks for your site and input. DC is awesome!
Thanks everyone for sharing similar passion as mine about DC. our own daily post, We recently added a new category called DC Tales where people like you send us their fun memories of DC,VA or MD and we post it on Awesome DC. Something like this from another Washingtonian: http://awesomedc.com/2010/02/02/the-arlington-rap
who currently lives in Arlington. As you can see from her story, we can also provide a link back to your Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook account (or all three or even your blog).
If interested, feel free to send us your Tales to http://awesomedc.com/dc-tales/
Meanwhile, from the right hand side of the site, feel free to join us either here on LinkedIn or Twitter or Facebook.
Cheers
Elias
Have to say I like the DC and Metro DC area better than I did living in the Boston area. That’s not to say I didn’t like Boston but being in DC is more friendlier and there seems to be more international groups to connect with especially being an expat.