10 Happiest U.S. Cities
 

Using positive psychology research, WalletHub examined 182 US cities with at least two in each state to find the happiest of all in 2023. Three key dimensions were used to base these rankings. 1. Income and employment. 2. Emotional and physical well-being. 3. Community and the environment. The results:
10: Burlington, Vermont
9: South Burlington, Vermont
8: Sioux Falls, South Dakota
7: Columbia, Maryland
6: Irvine, California
5: San Francisco, California
4: Overland Park, Kansas
3: Madison, Wisconsin
2: San Jose, California
1: Fremont, California
Well, how about Florida, Arizona or Texas where large population of retirees have moved? 16: Scottsdale, Az
29: Plano, Tx and 37: Pembroke Pines, FL Cape Coral, FL 52 and Fort Lauderdale, FL 53.
Reliable valid research? Of course not! Amazing what you can find (supposedly as facts) on the internet. However, even more amazing what people will believe.

Quite true. And the reason is simple: most people want validation more than information.

Not even close.

182 cities out of 100,000.
So the sample size is .2%. of the population.
Then they select the top ~5%.

Just wait until next week......................there will be a new article.

:ohdear::ohdear::ohdear:

Nobody in California is happy.

:22yikes:

Interesting the research looks a bit different when viewed by happiest States in the U.S.
1: Utah
2: Hawaii
3: Maryland
4: Minnesota
5: New Jersey
6: Connecticut
7: California
8: Florida
9: Idaho
10:Nebraska

California finished just north of Florida. Hmm…. I have friends from New Jersey. They were happy to get out. However, that could depend on where you lived in New Jersey. Go figure.

If the #1 criteria is income and employment - that’s not important in a retirement community
Physical wellbeing - again, as we age, our physical well being wont match up to a Comunity with an average age of 35

Ya, and especially not in San Francisco. Hard to believe those rankings aren't anything more than standard fake news.

& isn't California with the most people exiting??.....or second or third.

where Florida has the largest inflow.

:wave:

The criminals are very happy.

And, in my opinion, they’re looking to stop the flow of people out of California. It’s unbelievable they would think fooling people is going to work better than eliminating some of their policies.

The latest AARP flyer stated Portland Oregon was 1 of their top cities to move to? I used to live there. The city that is all boarded up, had something like 400 days of rioting (which was stated as peaceful with looting, fires, destroying the government buildings), the starting place of the homeless problem (it is legal for the homeless to put up their tent in front of your house on the strip of lawn between the sidewalk and the street and the homeowner can’t do anything about it (we had a friend trying to sell his house with a homeless family in his front yard using his outdoor water and outdoor electric plug)), Portland has the highest unemployed teenagers squatting and begging for money in the downtown because portland has the most teenager programs that give them money.
I dare anybody to walk in the downtown San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, NYC at night.

Each were lovely cities................now they are cities without laws.
Would add Seattle to the list.
(been to each of them lately)

What a silly thing to get worked up over. :sad:

Considering the responses to this thread so far, it's not hard to see why The Villages didn't make the list.

All you hear about is that San Francisco is deteriorating and overrun wit homeless.

& maybe due to the fact the villages is NOT a city.

:loco::loco::loco:

San Francisco?

Happy People
 

"People are happy" is one of the most common statistical lies. Happiness is not measurable. For instance, the common report "Finland is the happiest country". If you look into it, they decided this by asking people to rate how happy they were. Nordic countries have more social pressure for people to say they are happy. - You also can't rate happiness by "community" or "the environment" or "emotional and physical well being" because the survey makers decide what constitutes a happy community, happy physical well being (e.g., what can and cannot be done to children) etc. It is just propaganda and it makes me sad to see the number of people who believe whatever any survey says. You'd think we would learn this when election surveys are almost always way off, but we don't learn.

huh
 

San Francisco, California??? watching tv & internet say how it's turned into a run down slum with crime everybody moving the heck out of there

Poor California! They're all moving to Florida and Texas. I know why. Wish everyone did!

I laughed out loud when I saw (what was once the beautiful city of) San Francisco on the list.

Perhaps this is a Very, VERY Old Article.

A few years ago the mayors of the big cities had an online conference that was supposed to address these issues. They came out with a joint statement that said that just because they have a high crime rate, doesn't mean we're not a good place to live. Translation: We are not going to report accurate crime statistics because we don't want to be at the top of a worst crime list. And you thought these mayors didnt care about high crime rates?

I believe over 100,000 people kind of makes it a city. As for your comment on California, people are leaving it because it's so fabulous it costs a fortune to live there..... you get what you pay for. If I could afford to buy a house there, I would in a NY minute.

I suspect that the reason democratic socialist countries are the top 10 happiest is because the residents aren't one illness away from bankruptcy. They get free education and free health care.... that takes a big load off their minds.

Some people are not happy no matter where they are....

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, I think most people are as happy as they choose to be. It is a question of attitude toward life.

Their education and healthcare is not free. They pay for it through heavy taxation which disincentivizes entrepreneurism; thus they are relatively poor countries. Freedom is what produces wealth and happiness. Just a moment...

:BigApplause::BigApplause::BigApplause:

I was going to post.......................but I doubt there will be comprehension.

:thumbup:

I have a hard time believing California is on the list. Unless they were only polling the millionaires..

Rich people are leaving like crazy.

"Analysis of the approximately 750,000 people who have bid farewell to California over the last three years has revealed that thousands more high-earning, well-educated workers have left the Golden State than have moved in."

"It is not just wealthy residents leaving; businesses are also exiting the state — again due to high tax rates, punitive regulations, high labor, utility and energy costs, among other things."

The ones who own homes that are paid for are very, very wealthy

Madison Wisconsin?
 

I'm not sure who did the survey, BUT Madison Wisconsin? I'm throwing the BS flag. I can tell you, they are not happy or friendly people. Next, they'll be doing a study and find Milwaukee, Chicago, and San Francisco as being the safest.

It almost seems as if someone is using the press to influence people.

Au contraire...in the biggest way possible. They pay heap loads for both of those.

The Scandinavian countries are beautiful and very civilized places (I've been to 3 of them) but, make no mistake, they have breathtaking taxation. Basically, the highest in the Western World...including substantial personal income tax rates, huge VAT taxes (22 to 25%) added to almost everything you buy, personal property taxes and more.

Nothing at all free about those services unless you live on the dole to begin with.

Exactly.

You can measure the Crime Rate, you can measure Per Capita income, you can measure population density, But Happiness? I don't think so.

People vote with their feet:

https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About...t-Again-28337/
2022 U-Haul Growth States
1.TEXAS (1)
2.FLORIDA (2)
3.SOUTH CAROLINA (4)
4.NORTH CAROLINA (19)
5.VIRGINIA (31)
6.TENNESSEE (3)
7.ARIZONA (5)
8.GEORGIA (23)
9.OHIO (24)
10.IDAHO (9)


https://www.uhaul.com/Articles/About...Of-2023-30661/
1.PALM BAY-MELBOURNE, FL (4)
2.OCALA, FL (1)
3.CHARLESTON-NORTH CHARLESTON, SC (10)
4.SARASOTA-BRADENTON, FL
5.AUSTIN, TX
6.COLLEGE STATION-BRYAN, TX
7.CHARLOTTE, NC
8.HUNTSVILLE, AL (9)
9.DALLAS, TX
10.MYRTLE BEACH-NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC (7)

Those cities in CA are great to live in if you are wealthy.

So that's what kept us off the list! Good catch!! :icon_wink::bowdown:

I know, yet they are the happiest......

that was helpful..... Mr Helpful. You should change your handle to Mr. Rude Guy

how
 

I always wonder HOW did they make a unbiased survey of these 3 things? I was in Burlington, Vermont at Christmas nice town for little shops and some restaurants not much else there except LOTS of lodges for the ski resort. The Von Trapps have a lodge there.

I can't see any difference from Galena Illinois wait Galena has more shops maybe it is #1

Our last visit to San Francisco was eight years ago. It was a very enjoyable visit. Lots to see! Yes, there were homeless but not any more than any other large city
we have toured. Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, New York, etc. All of the above have the “best” and the “worse” areas you can see. There are many medium size cities that have the same. Of course, we prefer TV which technically isn’t a city.