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".

LSAClassOf2000

September 16th, 2014 at 2:49 PM ^

Ann Arbor topped the Life Evaluation subindex, mainly because this is the one - if I understand this survey correctly - that basically measures how happy you are with your current state of affairs and how you rate the future. Like someone said, it isn't obviously perhaps on gamedays, but as a community, Ann Arbor is definitely at ease with itself and optimistic in general. 

The one that is very strange is that a quick trip east on I-94 puts you in my neck of the woods, the Detroit-Livonia-Warren (i.e., the tri-county area) triangle, which is one of the worst in overall well-being. 

JayMo4

September 16th, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^

As someone that has lived in Ohio all my life, I'd agree.  For whatever reason, the people here are generally miserable and unhappy compared to the other places I've been.  Everyone I grew up with that ended up moving elsewhere always tells me the people there are more friendly and pleasant than back home - and this seems to hold true no matter where they moved.

Going to the west coast is like visiting another universe.... Seriously, San Diego feels like a bunch of aliens from an alternate universe where people still have souls.

Don

September 17th, 2014 at 6:22 AM ^

If you have a college football team that's highly successful, you'll be miserable. If you have one that's struggling, you'll be happy. Go figure.

WestSider

September 17th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^

is not very 'violent' at all, is very diverse, and the downtown area has been improving significantly over the last decade as another poster mentioned. Kalamazoo is not even in the discussion. Grand Rapids is close to Lake Michigan, there are numerous lakes nearby, a decent commute to Chicago, and the breweries are fantastic and growing.