Are you happy? If so, I am so glad. But you and I might be exceptions.
I just read a report by WalletHub, a personal finance company, that ranks the 50 states on various metrics to determine which states are the happiest.
Georgia is listed as the 20th most-happy state.
The criteria for determining how happy we are include things like our emotional well-being, how much sleep we get, how many hours we work, whether or not we’re depressed, how safe we are, the rate of suicides, whether we volunteer or not, engage in sporting activities, and the number of divorces.
As usual, we beat Mississippi (42nd), Alabama (44th), West Virginia (48th), Arkansas (49th), and poor old Louisiana (50th of 50) in happiness — just like we beat them in everything else. That makes me happy. Bless their hearts.
Several Northeast states were deemed happier than Georgia, though. WalletHub doesn’t say why, but I think it is because many of their citizens got tired of living in a place where it snows 10 months a year and all the buildings are rusted and decided to move South, which made those who stayed behind happy because they got tired of all the whining.
It may also explain why we dropped to 20th: They settled here, and now we have to listen to them make fun of how we talk.
Before you ask, Hawaii rates No. 1 on the happiness scale. WalletHub says it is because Hawaiians enjoy excellent physical health, low unemployment, the longest life expectancy in the U.S., and the second-highest share of households with an annual income above $75,000.
That, even though the U.S. Geological Survey says Hawaii experiences thousands of earthquakes yearly. It was interesting to note also that Hawaiians ranked dead last in getting adequate sleep.
I guess worrying about thousands of annual earthquakes can do that to a person.
Maryland was the second happiest state.
WalletHub says one big reason is Marylanders like what they do. Many of them are federal bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., meaning they have lifetime.