Gallup: AA happiest city, Ohio 1 of 3 most miserable states

Submitted by michelin on

According to a Gallup poll, residents of Ann Arbor, Michigan were the happiest in all US cities.  They  “ rated their current and future lives the best, for the second year in a row.” (Ann Arbor was one of the top six cities in overall well-being scores.)

By contrast, Ohio was one of the 3 most miserable states. “Residents generally had low evaluations of their lives, trailing only West Virginia and Kentucky by that measure.”  They had among the fewest state residents who stated that day they were thriving or had a learning experience.  “They were among the most likely in the U.S. to have felt angry.” Ohio was in the bottom ten percent of states in overall well-being scores.

 

ADDITION: If the Gallup poll were not enough, also remember that—this year alone-- AA has been rated "The Most Intelligent College Town" and the #2 most educated city as well as the #3 Best Midsize City to Raise Children", #7 Best City for New College Grads and one of the "Top 25 Most Beautiful Cities in America".

michelin

September 16th, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^

the games last 3 out of 112 waking hours a week and only 12/52 weeks a year.  36/5824=0.6% of their miserable Ohio lives.  Unfortunately, this year they’ve already lost ½ home games and 1/3 overall.  Any possible happiness from wins will be far outweighed by the unhappiness after a loss—such as their home loss this year to a currently unranked team, which itself just lost at home to the East Carolina Pirates. And the reality is that Ohio has winning "records" only 2 of the last 4 years

(A note to miserable Ohio fans who may delude themselves in thinking that they recorded any wins in 2010, which the NCAA vacated because--remember, dear Carmen--you cheated).  

BlueLikeJazz

September 16th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^

That's only about 70% of the state.  Southwest Ohio, including Cincinnati, is really hilly, there's water (the river is gross, but still), and there's even some culture.

I'd be interested to see the results broken down by region.  Because it's true that from Dayton north is some of the most depressing land in the country.

Yeoman

September 16th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^

I've got a strong suspicion that broken down by region the really poor results are from the southeast, the least "flat and boring" part of the state. Kentucky and West Virginia were the bottom two states; Huntington/Ashland and Charleston among the worst cities. SE Ohio is just an extension of KY/WVa.

Corn's not so bad. Flat's not so bad. Not having a job, or a doctor, or a decent public library...that stuff sucks.

StephenRKass

September 16th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^

I joke about Ohio, but the honest truth is, there's beauty everywhere, including Ohio. I'd love to spend time on the Islands in Lake Erie. And the hills and valleys and Appalachian areas down south are gorgeous. I enjoyed time in Amish country about an hour or so south of Cleveland last summer. I actually love staying with my sister-in-law in Cleveland, who lives about 50 feet from Lake Erie, and can watch the sunset almost every evening in the summer. Cleveland, while with significant struggles, has a very different feel to me than the Chicago area, where I live.

azian6er

September 16th, 2014 at 11:30 AM ^

I loved Ann Arbor when I was there from 2001-2006.

However, having grown up in Columbus, the city has really taken off in terms of culture, artistry, and social scene. I live on the north side in Worthington which is a beautiful suburban part of the city.

It is no Ann Arbor, but as a place to raise a family - I am very satisfied.

Also, one thing that always bugged me was the state of the roads in MI. Horrendous and loud vs the roads in Ohio. But out cops are bigger assholes too which sucks.

2Blue4You

September 16th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^

I live in Ann Arbor and I have the BEST and HAPPIEST life.

I've been reading MgoBlog since 2007 and despite it being a guilty pleasure, maybe it is the problem b/c Michigan Football has not been the same since then.

BlastDouble

September 17th, 2014 at 8:04 AM ^

And a lifetime resident (all but two years when I went to GVSU, transfered to WMU to finish) I can say that Kalamazoo is a much more liberal community, if thats your thing. Grand Rapids has LOTS of violence, I mean....A LOT, compared to Kalamazoo. I would also say that GR is much more segregated than a lot of places, not much racial tolerance from what I observed, but I could be way off there. It is also the freakin Bible belt so theres that, its gets pretty annoying. So to each their own I suppose, but Kalamazoo has a lot of great things to offer, like, say The Kalamazoo Promise!