[kidyankee764]

Hmm, most expensive states = lease happiest. Cheapest = happiest.

Seems the methodology is not all that accurate. I'm in CT, and am very happy - as are most I know.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by NCN

I have a hard time understanding why so much time is spent in the Northern States with people telling other people how to live their lives. Our friends told us about the next door neighbors being up at 3 A. M. cleaning off their walks because of some law saying they had to be clean by 10 A. M. and they had to go to work. A law about how you manage YOUR own property would be enough to stop some happiness for me.

I don't know of any town that has a law like this. I think your friends were wrong. Most do have a requirement that public sidewalks in front of your property must be cleaned within 24 hours. But I do not know any towns that even enforce this. Probably some of the cities do where there are more pedestrians.

To answer your question on why northern states have laws, one only need to look to southern states and see the multitude poorly kept properties. We do not have very many neighborhoods with Home Owner Associations like they do down south. There is no need to have them here because we do have laws and ordinances to require maintenance of properties. Down south, HOA's have rules that you must live by. Too me that is far worse than a town having ordinances because a town will not tell you that you can't paint your house a different color or the you can't have a basketball hoop in your driveway.

As for happiness, well I think most people are very happy here. I do think Connecticut's ranking has to do with people bein gmore vocal about what they don't like. It is also interesting to note that the people in Connecticut feel they have a good "well-being". If you feel you have a good well-being then why are you not happy. I agree with Stratford - "Garbage in - Garbage out". Jay

[Yankeerose00]

A law about how you manage YOUR own property would be enough to stop some happiness for me.

They have that backward. Ct and the rest of New England have far less HOA's than anyplace in the US. Florida is full of HOA's. In fact, it was almost impossible to find a neighborhood that didn't have some type of HOA involved.

[Yankeerose00]

Yes, it was a little joke, at least one poster here frequently discusses Ct. and all it's moldy homes.

Oh okay. That makes more sense, lol. Well the south has it all over the north with regards to mold. I can remember jogging in Florida and you had to be careful of the shady spots on the sidewalks. If there was a spot that had heavy shade, mold would grow and it would be as slippery as ice. I learned the hard way when I first attempted to run over the mold and slipped on my butt like it was a sheet of ice. There is so much humidity there that if the sun is not hitting a spot, it will become moldy. Virginia was also really bad with mold.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by NCN

That list only has less than a ten point spread. Not a lot of difference there.

I don't know about your state right now, but years ago my husband was sent to Florida for his company's first computer training. Our friends were sent to CT. When the second training took place in Colorado our friends told us how lucky we were that my husband was sent to Florida and how miserable it was to live in CT. When they got to Denver they thought they were in a heavenly place.

I have a hard time understanding why so much time is spent in the Northern States with people telling other people how to live their lives. Our friends told us about the next door neighbors being up at 3 A. M. cleaning off their walks because of some law saying they had to be clean by 10 A. M. and they had to go to work. A law about how you manage YOUR own property would be enough to stop some happiness for me.

We agree that Florida would not be the ideal place for us. I found it less a problem than my husband, but he just hated driving there and the rude drivers. I adjusted. I got on the bus and used it so I would not have to deal with the drivers myself. Worked for me.

Where did your "friend" live??

Originally Posted by JayCT

I do think Connecticut's ranking has to do with people bein gmore vocal about what they don't like.

This is so true, Jay. If people in CT don't like it (or you), you'll know it.

[DavieJ89]

Originally Posted by Yankeerose00

I just read that list and the bottom 3 are New York, Ct, and NJ. California was I think 4th to the bottom

Now we studied this in sociology in college like 15 years ago.

States that are close to huge cities where there is a lot of wealth will ALWAYS rank at the bottom. That is because where you have large urban areas with a lot of wealth, you have what breaks down to "haves" and "have nots". So there are a lot of people who grow up seeing the "haves" and feel resentful that they cannot attain it due to cost of living.
2nd, people living in thesee types of areas tend to have the rat race mentality or "climb the ladder" mentality so they will always be craving more and more no matter how much they have.

Now look at places that ranked high. Lousiana ranked #1! And they are right. People who live in the deep south are very happy. They go so far as to write country songs and celebrate being "average Joe" Oddly enough, these happy places rank the highest in things like high school drop outs, teen pregnancies, lowest wages, highest unemployment, worst healthcare, worst school systems. But the people who live in these places don't know better and are happy or willl tell themselves they are happy.

I remember our church group going to the Dominican Republic doing some work there for them. They said people were living in huts and buildings that only had 3 walls. It was absolute filth. But ironically, they were very happy with their life. They weren't to be pitied.

Bottom line is, wealthier areas will rank lower in happiness and poor areas will rank high. It's not just in the US.

So to me these lists are so skewed it's not funny. You can have your happy states. I lived in one. And yes everyone talked about Florida like it was paradise. For some of these people, they couldn't make a living up north so they were forced south. For others, it was the Emperor's New Clothes. They HAD to tell themselves how fantastic this place was because they were stuck there.
I would sum up this survey with the old saying "Ignorance is bliss". Seriously. There are numerous studies to back this up too.
But really, I have NOT found Florida to be a happier place than here. I've found most people here are very happy and friendly.

Im a native of Connecticut now living in Orlando, FL and will soon be moving to Las Vegas. I was not happy at all living in Connecticut, I lived in Waterbury, Meriden, and Naugatuck and a majority of the people I knew were completely miserable. I wouldnt say people in Florida are totally happy, nobody is totally happy, but I've found people to be much friendlier and happier down here in Florida

Im a smart educated young man and Im definitely NOT ignorant, and many people I know here in Orlando aren't ignorant. Don't classify southerners as a bunch of clod hopping pig farmers who don't know any better. Zig Ziglar once said that money wont make you happy but everybody wants to find out for themselves. I have found more often then not, the more money somebody earns, the more in debt they usually are, the more marital and family issues they have. the more likely they are to turn to drinking or drugs. Its just not a good combo. Money is good and is essential for survival. Unless you know how to budget money, having tooo much money is never a good thing. Thats why the Catholic Church made being too rich one of the new deadly sins, I agree with that 100%. More often then not the people who are rich and manage their money correctly are the ones who are self-made. Just look at all the lottery winners who end up broke and miserable and worse off financially then they were before they bought that winning ticket

Just my two cents

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I was not happy at all living in Connecticut, I lived in Waterbury, Meriden, and Naugatuck and a majority of the people I knew were completely miserable.

The majority of people that i've met in New Canaan, Stamford, Westport, Darien, Fairfield, Monroe,.............yada, yada, yada....... I think you get my point.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by DavieJ89

I lived in Waterbury, Meriden, and Naugatuck and a majority of the people I knew were completely miserable.

Really? Shocker! LOL

That's like saying "I lived in Northern Alaska - most people there hated the cold." LOL

If you live in a miserable town, expect miserable people!

[7 Wishes]

I wonder where Florida would rank now after all the hurricanes and foreclosures....

[Yankeerose00]

I lived in Waterbury, Meriden, and Naugatuck and a majority of the people I knew were completely miserable. I wouldnt say people in Florida are totally happy, nobody is totally happy, but I've found people to be much friendlier and happier down here in Florida

Well no offense but there are much nicer towns in CT than the towns you lived in. I'd be miserable in Meriden too (sorry Meriden folks) And sure when you move to FL, everyone is soooo happy to be there and they love to talk about how horrible the place was that they moved away from. For many people, they move down south and they do have a better life. But for others, they don't. But you'll never hear them admit that.

Im a smart educated young man and Im definitely NOT ignorant, and many people I know here in Orlando aren't ignorant.

First of all, you are a native of CT. No matter how long you live in the south, you will never be southern and never be considered southern. Dont' forget that. So I'm not sure why you are taking offense to what I said about the south as though you are southern.

Don't classify southerners as a bunch of clod hopping pig farmers who don't know any better.

I never said that. I said that it's simply a fact that poor areas are often happy because they simply don't know any better. There is nothing to covet. I know it's not the most PC thing to say, but it's true. There are many studies out there that aren't very politically correct, however it doesn't make them true. Studies such as poor people are less educated, more likely to smoke and drink, have children younger, and more likely to be conservative. It's not about putting people down, it's simply true. I'm conservative and Christian btw so I'm not knocking it. I'm simply pointing out that this article is nothing new. You will ALWAYS find people living in lower income areas to be happier or SAY they are happier than those living close to major metroplitan areas.

themselves.

I have found more often then not, the more money somebody earns, the more in debt they usually are, the more marital and family issues they have. the more likely they are to turn to drinking or drugs.

Actually studies will show the opposite. People in lower socioeconomic areas are more likely to smoke or drink and the divorce rate is HIGHER in the south than the north. That has been my experience as well and I have the research to back it up.

Unless you know how to budget money, having tooo much money is never a good thing.

Neither is not having enough. Talk to someone who can't afford to feed their kids and keep their electric turned on. Or someone who just got laid off and has no savings. Or someone who is 65 but can't retire because they can't afford to. I'll take having too much money over not having enough anyday. But you are proving my point about the south celebrating being poor and wearing it like a badge.

Thats why the Catholic Church made being too rich one of the new deadly sins,

Is it having money or the love of money that's a sin? I thought it was greed and the love of money, not your checking account balance that was a sin.

Sorry I don't mean to sound like I'm attacking you. I'm just pointing out how skewed these "studies" often are. Any class in statistics will show you how they will present one side of an issue to make a story sound more interesting. It's typical media.