What would be the reason for this? (Iowa City: transplants, neighborhoods)

[montanamom]

I recently read an article that rated Iowa as one of the states with the "happiest" residents. Although the South Eastern states, including North Carolina where I am, are getting the greatest growth from out-of-state transplants, NONE of the Southern states were listed as having the happiest residents. ALL of the states where people were perceived to be "happiest" were in the upper mid-west, including Iowa.

I have my own ideas why this might be, although I've never lived in that part of the country.

I just wondered if Iowans, or newer transplants to Iowa, have any perspectives on this. Why do you think this might be, or do you even agree?

[DSMGuy]

Hard to say there. Maybe it is the family closeness. It certainly isn't because of the weather. I've lived in the western US and the weather is much nicer and you can get out and do things in the sunshine. Here it rains about every day in the Spring and its cold, clammy and cloudy much of the time. Uggggh. I don't know how you can be happy about that.

[GraniteStater]

Many younger people leave the smaller towns in the middle part of the country. I think the people who stay are very content and happy with their current situation. Small towns tend to be more resistent to change overall, and the lower cost of living equals less stress for many people. A close knit smaller town also indicates a solid sense of community to many.

[iowegian]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

Many younger people leave the smaller towns in the middle part of the country. I think the people who stay are very content and happy with their current situation. Small towns tend to be more resistent to change overall, and the lower cost of living equals less stress for many people. A close knit smaller town also indicates a solid sense of community to many.

I think this is the best explanation.

I think that is somewhat true even of the larger metros. Here in Iowa City, I've noticed that despite the huge transient population, (People tend to move here for school and move away in a few years.) there are many people who have lived here for their entire lives and never plan to leave. I think Iowa tends to be fairly divisive, you either like it and stay or you hate it and leave.

[mwipp]

As a lifelong Iowan, I am not sure why it's the happiest. For the most part, everyone is friendly. But there is not much to do here. Only restaurant chains can survive it seems..people always seem to avoid the good local owned unique eating spots.

[ghghx]

I'm not sure how to phrase this without sounding antagonisitc -- which is not my goal -- but I think influx of non-regional folks have something to do with it. I grew up in central NC, and it seemed like a blanket of discontent settled over the area about the time there started to be a large influx of people coming in from other regions. Some chalk it up to native-born being "closed" to newcomers, but it's a lot more complicated than that. A lot of families in that region hadn't moved more than ten miles in 200+ years were suddenly priced out of their neighborhoods and their way of life changed drastically in a relatively short time. That can make for some unhappy people. And a lot of the new residents were unhappy because they had some culture shock themselves. I saw the same thing happening in KY, GA, and VA, it's happening in central NV now. That kind of mass influx really hasn't taken place in the midwest...yet. Some people speculate that income level disparity is to blame for the "unhappiness" level, but I really do think it's a lot more complex and far-reaching than that.

[Luke9686]

Actually, most of the time they do these types of studies, it isn't based on asking people questions to determine whether they are happy or not. It's usually based on some study on the amount of people that see a psychologist, and are labelled as depressed, etc.

[Mrs. Quagmire]

The answer is cornfields. People like cornfields. There's something about cornfields that makes people happy. Even the scarecrows have smiles on their faces. Sheryl Crow is saving up most of her money so that she can buy lots of cornfields that will make her and her son happy. That's what her song "If It Makes You Happy" is all about.

Yes, cornfields.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Quagmire

The answer is cornfields. People like cornfields. There's something about cornfields that makes people happy. Even the scarecrows have smiles on their faces. Sheryl Crow is saving up most of her money so that she can buy lots of cornfields that will make her and her son happy. That's what her song "If It Makes You Happy" is all about.

Yes, cornfields.

Farms are very important for feeding the population of the world, but many would rather live near a lake or in the woods. If you have ever lived out on the Plains you would understand how brutal the wind and the cold air is on an open field.

[head_nut]

I am a life long Iowan. I would say it's the closeness to family, relativley cheap cost of living and jobs that are available here. Most people here love what they do that's why they stay here and keep doing it. Weather it be farming, teaching, factory work....most people from Iowa won't stay somewhere that doesn't make them happy.