Happiest States

[mnn727]

The Happiest States poll conducted by Gallup, the top 3 happiest states all have a high LDS population

Utah: 69.2

Hawaii: 68.2

Wyoming: 68

Poll from : data collected from more than 350,000 individuals who were interviewed between Jan. 2 and Dec. 30, 2008 as part of the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. The index includes six types of well-being: overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091110/sc_livescience/happieststatesarewealthyandtolerant

[Confidential Informant]

Okay...who wouldn't be happy living in Hawaii, but the Utah and Wyoming really caught me by surprise there.

C.I.

[hordak]

The Happiest States poll conducted by Gallup, the top 3 happiest states all have a high LDS population

Utah: 69.2

Hawaii: 68.2

Wyoming: 68

Poll from : data collected from more than 350,000 individuals who were interviewed between Jan. 2 and Dec. 30, 2008 as part of the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. The index includes six types of well-being: overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20091110/sc_livescience/happieststatesarewealthyandtolerant

With all that plastic surgery and online porn use in Utah why wouldn't they be happy?

Why is Hawaiis 5% LDS population happier then Nevadas 7% or Arizona 6%.

Too many variables to make that assumption.

[bluebell]

I really don't understand the article as it pertains to the results.

The article claims that "The reasoning is that wealthy states can provide infrastructure and so it's easier for residents to get their needs met. In addition, states with a greater proportion of artists and gays would also be places where residents can freely express themselves."

I can't speak for hawaii or utah, but i've lived in wyoming pretty much my whole life, and while agree that wyoming is a wealthy state (thanks to oil, coal, and methane), we do not have a large population of 'artists and gays'. Wyoming is predominantly a blue collar state with values that stem from farming, ranching, and hard labor in the oil fields.

The biggest city in wyoming is around 60,000 with most towns between 1,000 and 8,000 people-places that typically do not provide much freedom of expression contrary to the status quo. The state is VERY republican-which is supposed to be the opposite of 'tolerance' according to many democrats.

And we have a large number of people living at or below the poverty level in the state, as well.

Jackson is pretty libral, but the rest of wyoming barely claims it because it is such a different environment from everywhere else in the state.

I LOVE wyoming, and i don't dispute the data-we are a pretty happy people. I just don't see our happiness being caused by the reasons the article states.

[Vance]

With all that plastic surgery and online porn use in Utah why wouldn't they be happy?

Why is Hawaiis 5% LDS population happier then Nevadas 7% or Arizona 6%.

Too many variables to make that assumption.

Think John McCain and Harry Reid . . . ah . . ah . . . deserts.

[Brenda]

Okay...who wouldn't be happy living in Hawaii, but the Utah and Wyoming really caught me by surprise there.

C.I.

I can understand Utah and Hawaii, but Wyoming? No offense to the Wyoming-lovers here! My father-in-law grew up there and we still joke about the cement mixer (amongst the other stuff) he insisted on "keeping for some future need", laying out in the yard.

SORRY! I couldn't resist.

To make amends, the area north of Jackson Hole and south of Yellowstone, and east of the Tetons, is some of the prettiest country I have ever seen!

[structurecop]

Well, you know what they say about bliss...

[bluebell]

I can understand Utah and Hawaii, but Wyoming? No offense to the Wyoming-lovers here! My father-in-law grew up there and we still joke about the cement mixer (amongst the other stuff) he insisted on "keeping for some future need", laying out in the yard.

SORRY! I couldn't resist.

It's true and part of our charm!

All wyomingites joke that we put the interstate in the southern(and ugly) part of the state to keep wyoming to ourselves.

To make amends, the area north of Jackson Hole and south of Yellowstone, and east of the Tetons, is some of the prettiest country I have ever seen!

That's around where i live. We are about 60 miles from the east entrance to yellowstone, 4 hours north of Jackson.

Back to the poll-i thought it was interesting that montana didn't make the top ten only because wyoming and montana are a lot alike in temperment-excepting that montana has a much larger liberal population. According to the article though, that should make montanans happier than wyomingites.

[Daniel Peterson]

Mormons aren't really happy. They just pretend that they're happy, because they feel obligated to claim that they're happy. It's all fake. Mormons are plastic robots.

In the spirit of Christian service, I thought I would spare some of our critics the trouble of posting the insights above by doing so myself. I predict, with some confidence, that this is the kind of response you'll see, if you see any, on some of the more virulent anti- and ex-Mormon boards.

[structurecop]

Mormons are plastic robots.

Then how come no one plays "Rock 'em Sock 'em Mormons"?

[Redefined]

How many of those polled were on anti-depressants? May that have made a difference?

[krose]

All those "happy pills" must be working.

[bluebell]

And apparently all the drugs and alcohol use in the other states is not.

[Vindicator]

The Happiest States poll conducted by Gallup, the top 3 happiest states all have a high LDS population

Utah: 69.2

Hawaii: 68.2

Wyoming: 68

Poll from : data collected from more than 350,000 individuals who were interviewed between Jan. 2 and Dec. 30, 2008 as part of the Gallup Organization's Well-Being Index. The index includes six types of well-being: overall evaluation of their lives, emotional health, physical health, healthy behaviors.

http://news.yahoo.co...lthyandtolerant

Nevada's 38th? No wonder everyone keeps Fistbumping me and asking "Are we having fun yet"?

[BCSpace]

On the other board where this subject is also posted, I proposed homogeneity a a possible factor. California? All the fruits, nuts, and flakes are living together.

[katherine the great]

I really don't understand the article as it pertains to the results.

The article claims that "The reasoning is that wealthy states can provide infrastructure and so it's easier for residents to get their needs met. In addition, states with a greater proportion of artists and gays would also be places where residents can freely express themselves."

I can't speak for hawaii or utah, but i've lived in wyoming pretty much my whole life, and while agree that wyoming is a wealthy state (thanks to oil, coal, and methane), we do not have a large population of 'artists and gays'. Wyoming is predominantly a blue collar state with values that stem from farming, ranching, and hard labor in the oil fields.

Apparently, whoever wrote the article thinks Wyoming is really like "Brokeback Mountain."

[Walden]

On the other board where this subject is also posted, I proposed homogeneity a a possible factor. California? All the fruits, nuts, and flakes are living together.

I was thinking this same thing while considering the results of this poll. Areas where neighbors think alike, look like, and live in communities with common values and political views would seem to be more conducive to overall happiness. In California, for example, with the various ethnic groups, extreme lifestyles, and charged political differences, I would think that there would be less happiness.

And Hawaii...now who wouldn't be ecstatic if they were living in Hawaii?

[bluebell]

Apparently, whoever wrote the article thinks Wyoming is really like "Brokeback Mountain."

You mean like Canada?

[Joseph Antley]

Apparently, whoever wrote the article thinks Wyoming is really like "Brokeback Mountain."

...did you guys even read the whole article?

"In addition, not all states fit into the researcher's overall model of what makes for a happy area. For instance, the top three states, Utah, Hawaii and Wyoming are outliers, as they aren't considered the wealthiest of the pack.

[BlueDreams]

Apparently, whoever wrote the article thinks Wyoming is really like "Brokeback Mountain."

Ah dang it, and here I thought hollywood gives accurate presentations of people. Now what am I supposed to trust in???

On the other board where this subject is also posted, I proposed homogeneity a a possible factor. California? All the fruits, nuts, and flakes are living together.

Possibly....except that half of the top ten have significant minority populations (by that I mean around 25%+ minorities)....well unless you want to keep Cali out.

With luv,

BD

[bluebell]

...did you guys even read the whole article?

"In addition, not all states fit into the researcher's overall model of what makes for a happy area. For instance, the top three states, Utah, Hawaii and Wyoming are outliers, as they aren't considered the wealthiest of the pack.

If the top three states don't fit the criteria for what makes a state happy, then doesn't that imply something about the criteria? Like, it's not actually the criteria for what makes a state 'happy'?

[Zakuska]

Then how come no one plays "Rock 'em Sock 'em Mormons"?

We painted ours to look like a Mormon Elder, and a Baptist preacher.

[Daniel Peterson]

Mormons aren't really happy. They just pretend that they're happy, because they feel obligated to claim that they're happy. It's all fake. Mormons are plastic robots.

In the spirit of Christian service, I thought I would spare some of our critics the trouble of posting the insights above by doing so myself. I predict, with some confidence, that this is the kind of response you'll see, if you see any, on some of the more virulent anti- and ex-Mormon boards.

Am I good, or what?

From over at my Malevolent Stalker's board:

I think being happy often feels like spiritual responsibility to LDS. They're supposed to be happy because, after all, they're blessed enough to have the One True Gospel. They're supposed to let that happiness shine from every pour so their neighbors will gasp and say "gee, I wish I had what those folks have... wonder what it is..."... hence, I think there is a possibility of exaggerating reported happiness.

And because the interviewees filled out the questionnaire themselves, wouldn't this survey just show the people who think they're the most happy as opposed to who really is the happiest?

[handys003]

Quote from the story

"What makes us happy"

"To figure out why some states scored higher or lower than others, the researchers looked at the relationship between happiness levels and other variables, including economic indicators, education levels, personality factors and levels of inclusiveness".

It's not Shangri-La here either, but Hawaiians are happy overall eventhough we have our share of economic problems such as housing costs and drug problems. We work hard but also learn to relax and not be uptight. We see it all the time from tourists from the mainland and other countries. Here we learn Aloha and to not try to keep up with the Joneses. A local can be just as happy in a tent on the beach having BBQ with friends and singing songs rather than be in a million dollar home, or on the internet or TV. It's not uncommon here to gather all the neighbors once a week and have a night together. We also live with other cultures as Hawaii is the most diverse in cultural population. It's the fact that we are not as prejudicial in our thinking and be more open with each other to work out problems. believe me we have our beefs too. Another is the environment. We keep it pretty clean here not just talking about the environment, but standards, other than Waikiki area, it is pretty much spiritual here with Christian attitudes still prevailing. Outdoor wise the beaches and oceans are pristine except for Honolulu) and places such as where I live are just outstanding in beauty. It's still so clean in some valleys like Waipio you can still drink the water straight out of the stream.

Keep life simple and you'll be more happy. Shoots I don't know why I tell all you haoles this. I like to keep this place all to myself and we don't need another influx of mainlanders moving here.

BTW to all you mainlanders living on or near the ocean. we have a law that does not allow you to own the beach property. All public must have access and are able to enjoy them up to 25 yards from the high tide mark.

Here's some pics of where I live just to rub it in:

[katherine the great]

...did you guys even read the whole article?

"In addition, not all states fit into the researcher's overall model of what makes for a happy area. For instance, the top three states, Utah, Hawaii and Wyoming are outliers, as they aren't considered the wealthiest of the pack.

It was a joke silly...