The Happiest States "Ironic?"

Happiest States Revealed by New Research - Yahoo! News


I noticed this on yahoo news. I find it interesting that 5 of the ten are in the southeast even if you exclude Florida. I find this great for SC, AL, and TN where I might want to live. Yet, these are some of the poorest states,so apparently money greed and multiple government handouts does not equal happiness!So if you are unhappy please don't move to these states because I want them to stay happy for when I get there!
I would love to hear the thoughts as to why this happened.

I'm pretty sure they still take in their fair share of government handouts.

They take more! Its just they don't have as many people to take them!

Top 3 are all pretty obvious. Tenn isn't even a stretch... but Arizona? 120 degrees does not make me happy.

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Originally Posted by IanS

Top 3 are all pretty obvious. Tenn isn't even a stretch... but Arizona? 120 degrees does not make me happy.

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Louisiana is obvious????

This was taken before Katrina.

But yeah. I drove through LA about eight years ago. Happy place.

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Originally Posted by treydampier

I would love to hear the thoughts as to why this happened.

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A damned Yankee like you wouldn't understand if I told you. :roflmao

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

A damned Yankee like you wouldn't understand if I told you. :roflmao

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That is by far the most offensive and mean thing I have ever been called. I have been called many mean nasty ugly things, buy that was by far te worst.
I am crying now and don't know if I can go on. :(
I may live here in the north now, but I still look at myself as the old phrase," American by birth, Southern by the grace of God!"

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Originally Posted by treydampier

That is by far the most offensive and mean thing I have ever been called. I have been called many mean nasty ugly things, buy that was by far te worst.
I am crying now and don't know if I can go on. :(
I may live here in the north now, but I still look at myself as the old phrase," American by birth, Southern by the grace of God!"

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Trey, you are always mentioning that you are from Mississippi ..... I know that you live in God's country now .... OOPS I mean NY so I hope you will take my post as the jest it was meant to be. :rock: BTW, my father was born and raised in Mississippi and died in Louisiana for whatever that is worth. :)

My homestate is #8? BS! This place is miserable, IMO.

Real estate is one good part about living down here, though. You can buy a nice, roomy, brick 4 bedroom house in a nice suburb for around $250K.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Trey, you are always mentioning that you are from Mississippi ..... I know that you live in God's country now .... OOPS I mean NY so I hope you will take my post as the jest it was meant to be. :rock: BTW, my father was born and raised in Mississippi and died in Louisiana for whatever that is worth. :)

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Jimmy,
No offense was taken, I was kidding! My family has lived in Georgia (where I am from) for right at 300 years. Now I like Mississippi, but I am not from there.
I was just kidding about the offense because up here I stand out in a crowd because I do have an accent.

I have spent the last 3 years in SC after being born in Chicago and growing up in Indiana, and I can honestly say I hate SC. Worst state I have ever lived in. They must only be polling the rich there, because a huge percentage of the people I know from SC hate it as much as I do.

Well, I am a filthy rich South Carolinian who voted 100% happiness 1,000,000,000,000 times in this poll. That may have skewed the numbers.

Just kidding. In all honestly, I live in the upstate of SC and enjoy it! First and foremost it is less than an hour from the SE SRP Get Together... BIG plus there, the mountains are perfect for hiking, biking, camping, etc. Weather is mild, though it could change a bit today.

Cost of living is a lot cheaper than where I have been before and housing hasn't been hit as hard in this area as a LOT of other places in the country.

Just adding my two cents from my little happy corner of SC!

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Originally Posted by DPflaumer

I have spent the last 3 years in SC after being born in Chicago and growing up in Indiana, and I can honestly say I hate SC. Worst state I have ever lived in. They must only be polling the rich there, because a huge percentage of the people I know from SC hate it as much as I do.

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That's because you probably don't know many people from there. But, it's definitely no Chicago where the crime is terrible and neighborhoods that look like third world countries, nor is it Indiana where most of the auto industry jobs are going to be lost and pretty much all I found were industry and corn. Sounds like jealousy since niether of the places you compare it to have even close to the beauty and varied landscape of SC. I have traveled through all three areas extensively and I couldn't name a single person even in NY that would choose either Chicago or Indiana over SC. Besides, if you hate it, leave, the Sourh Carolinians probably won't miss someone who hates their state as much as you do. There are plenty of colleges in Indiana.

if some of you would like to get a general idea of what the south is all about, try reading "we had everything but money" priceless memories of the great depression, put out by reminisce books...this is about the U.S. in general, but a lot of this still applies to the southern states as it is now....

Despite the lack of link to the original research, I'm not sure how many paid attention on what the ranking means.
It is the order of appeal to the 'average american' that the authors have come up with. That's actually the biggest claim of the work, that they have been able to account for a lot of subjectivity.
(I'd really want to see the correlation with the impact of the current economic crisis. LA obviously should be excluded from the list since the measurement has been taken in completely different situation without the ability to account for that, and the authors clearly acknowledge that.)

As far as I'm concerned, I'm neither american, nor average, so the rankings may or may not match the ones that matter to me :)

i myself would love living in sc, have wanted to move the family there for years, i sit around dreaming about spending alot of my free time chasing overly large catfish on the big lake in the middle of the state, and the weather is somewhat better, now not all the time better than where i live currently, heck we just got d*&m near 2 ft of snow, my kids will have a white christmas afterall.

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Originally Posted by IanS

This was taken before Katrina.

But yeah. I drove through LA about eight years ago. Happy place.

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May have been taken before Katrina but most of us here in New Orleans still are happy. We still have great food,:beer2: drink,:beer1: music,:boohoo: and festivals.:mexwave:
COME ON DOWN.

OH< And by the way if your above BATON ROUGE your a Yankee! ";"

I saw that list also , what a bunch of crap, how did alabama make the list ?
who would want to live there ? a state where the kkk is still at full throttle .
I don't remember the rest of them , but one thing I do remember is that CALIFORNIA didn't make the list .... I dare you to find a happier state
how can someone be unhappy in perfect weather , the beach ,the mountains , deserts, the national forests , recreation, lakes , fishing, hunting , shooting , history, all of this within 1 hour of my house I'd go on all day but my finger are getting tires from typing ,oh yeah by california I mean southern california
find me another state that can offer me what southern cali can and I will eat my words
remember when using a straight razor ,if it glides across you're face without cutting hair , you have the razor up side down .. stay thirsty my friends

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Originally Posted by razormike

I saw that list also , what a bunch of crap, how did alabama make the list ?
who would want to live there ? a state where the kkk is still at full throttle .
I don't remember the rest of them , but one thing I do remember is that CALIFORNIA didn't make the list .... I dare you to find a happier state
how can someone be unhappy in perfect weather , the beach ,the mountains , deserts, the national forests , recreation, lakes , fishing, hunting , shooting , history, all of this within 1 hour of my house I'd go on all day but my finger are getting tires from typing ,oh yeah by california I mean southern california
find me another state that can offer me what southern cali can and I will eat my words
remember when using a straight razor ,if it glides across you're face without cutting hair , you have the razor up side down .. stay thirsty my friends

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just shows you what you "think" you know about the southern states mentioned...yeah, i want to live in california, property taxes triple over tennessee or alabama, housing over 5 times what it is here, i'll stay in the south.. oh by the way, why don't you do a little research, there are more members of the KKK in your state than alabama(do not ask for the links, i am not going to link up to hate sites)

I noticed that Minnesota is in the middle of the list, just about squarely, at number 26. That give us neither giggles nor groans for a single word description of tundra life. For a relatively unpopulous state we do have a remarkable number of recent immigrants. I guess the novelty of snow is a thing looked forward to by legions of those in the tropics or semi tropics. This probably boosts our happines quotient as many of the 3rd and 4th generation residents are of the grunting and grim, let's get it done, Scandanavian and Germanic type.

:beer2:

Florida happy?? Ha Ha Ha ! You've got to be kidding me. Oh yea, I'm laughing so I must be happy.

your right I could sell my house in south cali and buy 4 or 5 in alabama but there is one problem with that , I'd have to live in alabama ... no thanks ,my house cost $750 thousand for a reason guy . I have family in alabama and tennessee in both of those states there is still segregation in some parts ( whites walk on one side of the street and blacks on the other ) thats a fact .. we don't tolerate that here , sure the kkk is in every state but Alabama is the home of the kkk thats a fact ...

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Originally Posted by razormike

your right I could sell my house in south cali and buy 4 or 5 in alabama but there is one problem with that , I'd have to live in alabama ... no thanks ,my house cost $750 thousand for a reason guy . I have family in alabama and tennessee in both of those states there is still segregation in some parts ( whites walk on one side of the street and blacks on the other ) thats a fact .. we don't tolerate that here , sure the kkk is in every state but Alabama is the home of the kkk thats a fact ...

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Right,
A 100K home in AL, is bigger, nicer, newer and in every possible way better than what you have in Cali. Plus AL isn't bankrupt completely from illegal immigrants and believe it or not, they actually speak English in southern AL. I have traveled extensively through southern California and it's overcrowded and miserable. Plus when my college team from AL (Div I-AA) and took SDSU into the fourth quarter tied, I knew football was a joke there. By the way, yoir segregation bit, is a blatant lie! Please disprove me by naming the town and posting photos in these places in AL and TN where this happens. The civil rights movement occuurrer in Birmingham in case they didn't teach that in Cali.
Besides we all want to have substantially higher taxes, speak somebkanguage other than English, and best of all to buy a $500k house slightly smaller than the garage of a $500K house in AL, or TN. Your statements in addition to being false, they are laced with hate driven jelousy. You are also poorly versed on what most KKK groups used to do.
Then again, education all over the US is to hate the south, since there are still moral values there in some places. Please stay in your $750K place in Cali, it might not meet the code for square footage in AL or TN neighborhoods of $500-750K homes. It's funny because I went to Church this morning with OMG, African Americans! In the south too! Them again, I am a hate monger!
Roll Tide!

#1 you crossed the line guy, I've been called a lot of names in my day but never a liar , a man is only as good as his word .
#2 it's called supply and demand , i've seen a $35,000 house in Wisconsin sit empty for a year and a $850.000 house in huntington beach sell in two weeks in this economy , so what does that say ? when Zowada or livi or Williams sell a razors for $600-$2000 are they " overpriced " does you're kreiger or sweeny todd shave just as well , yeah a kreiger is cheaper but it just doesn't compare
in the end you're just cheating yourself
#3 everyone that lives in America is either an immigrant or a descendant of a immigrant , yes that means you !!!
#4 I think I'm going to watch the sun rise at the beach then go snow boarding
something you can't do ....hahaha

you're calling me ignorant ? did you even proof read you're reply's ? if you have comment to make please use spell check !! I don't have time to translate south to english .. and you say someone is going to shoot me if I go to you're state? how pitiful is that ... hows the weather by the way ? hahaha

Gentlemen, Please ! Stop and listen to yourselves. I'm sure you are not like this. Please stop, it is the Christmas season. Peace be with you both.

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Originally Posted by razormike

you're calling me ignorant ? did you even proof read you're reply's ? if you have comment to make please use spell check !! I don't have time to translate south to english .. and you say someone is going to shoot me if I go to you're state? how pitiful is that ... hows the weather by the way ? hahaha

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I deleted the reply due to grammer. I typed it from a phone and since I am in med school and not studying the English language, I need spell check.
However, yes you are very ignorant, arrogant, and completely misinformed about the south. Particularly AL and TN. The people obviously are happier in these places and although their homes aren't worth as many dollars, your home most likely could not exist in a middleclass neighborhood in either state. I admire your love of your home, but southern Cali is overcrowded, and bankrupt from uncontrolled immigration.
Your lack of respect for others also indicates yoir ignorance in addition to the lies you put up about segregation in two states. If a man is as good as his word, and you are typing up false statements, then perhaps you should evaluate your worth. I am not putting down California, but you shouldn't put down other states because YOU think yours is better. The south still prides itself on Christian moral values, respect, and hospitality. I love my home as much as you love yours, but I didn't put anywhere in this thread that these states were better. You did that and then slandered them. Plus the people in other states might love their homes as much as you love yours and they didn't have to slander other states.
Prove your previous accusations of segregation and I will admit I am wrong. Otherwise, you should acknowledge your lies and rectify them. Funny, there are more members of hate organizations in Cali than in AL :)!

New York is a beautiful state. I'd be happy as a clam if we could just get rid of our government. :soapbox:

History lesson : the clan was founded on December 24th 1865 in Tennessee
and most of it population is in the following stated Alabama , mississippi , Tennessee, Georgia , Kentucky , west Virginia , Arkansas , Nebraska , Iowa and oklahoma, then there are small groups in the rest of the states .
My comment about segregation in TN , It's a fact son !! it's not a rule imposed by the state or any officials it's done by the citizens that live there they elect to do that understood ? how about in south Carolina where a high school still had separate proms for its students ?
and lastly I live in the state that I'm so passionate about , you on the on the other hand DON'T !!! even you don't want to live in the south !!

I have nothing against New York but why do they make it so hard to own/ purchase and hand gun ?

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Originally Posted by razormike

I have nothing against New York but why do they make it so hard to own/ purchase and hand gun ?

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Because we are run by a bunch of Communists. Voting doesn't help, I've been trying for about 35 years.

It's the cities that are the problem. Our county is an island of red surrounded by blue. Nice rural small towns.

I thought California was in the same boat as N.Y.

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Originally Posted by razormike

History lesson : the clan was founded on December 24th 1865 in Tennessee
and most of it population is in the following stated Alabama , mississippi , Tennessee, Georgia , Kentucky , west Virginia , Arkansas , Nebraska , Iowa and oklahoma, then there are small groups in the rest of the states .
My comment about segregation in TN , It's a fact son !! it's not a rule imposed by the state or any officials it's done by the citizens that live there they elect to do that understood ? how about in south Carolina where a high school still had separate proms for its students ?
and lastly I live in the state that I'm so passionate about , you on the on the other hand DON'T !!! even you don't want to live in the south !!

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Ah Ignorance,
I am finishing med school in NY, I have not applied for residency anywhere outside the south because that is where I am from. I intend to live either in north AL or middle TN. I do have a $300k plus obligation to finish med school first. In case you are wondering, I went to the Caribbean med school on Grenada. I was forced to finish in NY and my passion for wanting to be a physician drove me to live in places I don't like.
You should read earlier posts in this thread because I do take offense being called a Yankee when I am a southerner through and through.
I love the south and plan to live there and although I will not live in my home town, I will keep a home on my grandfather's farm that has been in our family since 1890.
One last thing, I am not your son. My father does not post false statements about a state he knows nothing about. My father IS and HONEST man.
You have yet to name the town inTN where the segregation occurrs. I don't know about SC, but quite frankly you have posted false statements before and still fail to prove them, so why should we believe you now?
I love the south and I will return for residency God willing. You really should do the manly
thing and either empiracally prove your false statement or apologize.

I lived in SC for a year, it was great!

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Originally Posted by razormike

your right I could sell my house in south cali and buy 4 or 5 in alabama but there is one problem with that , I'd have to live in alabama ... no thanks ,my house cost $750 thousand for a reason guy . I have family in alabama and tennessee in both of those states there is still segregation in some parts ( whites walk on one side of the street and blacks on the other ) thats a fact .. we don't tolerate that here , sure the kkk is in every state but Alabama is the home of the kkk thats a fact ...

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WRONG, the KKK was founded in pulaski, tn...show me one town where blacks have to walk on the other side of the street...you are bigot against the people of the south, plain and simple...most members would have been banned for your comments about a group of people and the whole state in general

I m not the one that brought up race bud . My simple comment was this , I couldn't understand how california didn't make the list , thats it and thats all
you're buddy trever said it didn't make the list because there are to many mexicans that don't speak english. He's the one that should be banned
and I said the kkk was founded in TN so you agree with me ...
and further comments should be made in person I'm tired of "telephone tuff guys " acting tuff over the internet , I'm done with this
and its a FACT that there are parts of TN that the races are separated , you need to read past posts before you comment

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Originally Posted by razormike

I m not the one that brought up race bud . My simple comment was this , I couldn't understand how california didn't make the list , thats it and thats all
you're buddy trever said it didn't make the list because there are to many mexicans that don't speak english. He's the one that should be banned
and I said the kkk was founded in TN so you agree with me ...
and further comments should be made in person I'm tired of "telephone tuff guys " acting tuff over the internet , I'm done with this
and its a FACT that there are parts of TN that the races are separated , you need to read past posts before you comment

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you sir are misinformed....i travel this state(tn) and alabama from end to end and pickup and deliver to towns that are not even on most maps and nowhere and i repeat no where is there places like you say...NONE...we are the same as any other state...get the facts right....if you want my address so you can meet me face to face...pm me and i will be glad to give it to you....your comment about the people of alabama where the "KKK" runs rampant is unwarranted and offensive to the state and its people..

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Originally Posted by razormike

I saw that list also , what a bunch of crap, how did alabama make the list ?
who would want to live there ? a state where the kkk is still at full throttle

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you are the one that brought up race with the above comment.....

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Originally Posted by razormike

y I'd have to live in alabama ... . I have family in alabama and tennessee in both of those states there is still segregation in some parts ( whites walk on one side of the street and blacks on the other ) thats a fact .. we don't tolerate that here , ...

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this is an outright lie....you can not prove this....and yes you do tolerate racism there just like it is tolerated to some point in just about every state..
show me the town here in tennessee, alabama that whites and blacks walk on the other side of the street from each other....you have an agenda against the south and it is apparent....again either prove your point or apologize or remain a liar.....

Caddy ,
when I originally posted my thoughts on this ,I didn't think there would be anyone educated enough to comment but clearly I was wrong , when I first read you're post I thought "who is this guy" ? I read on and found out you're a delivery man thats traveled all over Tennessee and Alabama, I thought to my self " he clearly knows what he's talking about , you're caliber of higher education has really put me in my place .
the correlation between driving a " pick up" and human behavior go hand in hand , you seem to have a strong opinion so you must have done extensive studies so here are a few questions for you .
#1 is there prejudice / racism in the stats mentioned ? yes no
#2 is there any type segregation in the states mentioned ? yes no
#3 was the kkk founded in TN ? yes no
#4 is there a history of the "clan" in any of the southern states ? yes no
If you answered no to any of the above questions , you need to give up you're studies and focus on driving