Maybe a better question: Where are concentrations of happy people?
Our research indicates several factors contribute to what makes a happy city. We started our research by looking at what others judge as happy places. A few popular magazines list top x most happy cities, but the results are all over the place. Nothing is consistent in the selection of cities. We are working on a definition of happiness and finding out where in the US is truly happy.
It’s not bike trails or money.
It’s not the nice weather either.
What looks to be causal is use of free time and availability of places to use our free time.
There is a high causal relationship to past-focused time orientation, social process with friends, differentiation, analytical thinking, and biological and perceptual process.
What does not connect well is cognitive process, such as insight, tentativeness, and insight. How odd. Our research is not done. We are still removing subjective data.
The below chart indicating places where happiness is in high concentration.
Above is a sample of places considered happy cities. The density of human activities is inconsistent and so are the personality traits. Overall, the data could be reasonably correct (vs miserable places) but the inconsistency across 450+ activities (densities). Below is a sample of activity density.
Boulder, Co is often voted one of the happiest places in the US. It’s not the place but state of mind.