Illinois, Connecticut becomes 'worst possible state to live in', Boulder tops list as happiest place

Ice coats the Hudson River as a river ferry departs for New York City from Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S.
Ice coats the Hudson River as a river ferry departs for New York City from Weehawken, New Jersey, U.S., January 18, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar

A recent survey has found that people living in Illinois, Connecticut and Rhode Island consider themselves to be unhappy and have described the regions as the 'worst possible state to live in.'

Classic socio-economic indicators including work-life balance, healthcare, crime levels, education, housing, income and the environment were included in the study of grievances.

One of the Reddit Posters discussing the findings stated the issue of Connecticut and Rhode Island: 'Poor economy I guess, though everyone in the area has a bit of an inferiority complex from the rest of the country picking on their size.'

Another poster said: 'Connecticut is low because of the overwhelming tax burden.'

However, the map data from the survey does not say the exact nature of the residents' grievances.

According to the Gallup survey, 21-25 percent people ranked the three states as the 'worst'. Louisiana and Mississippi were also declared as worst by 17-20 percent of the participants.

However, the states like Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Maine were having lesser vote shares, with only 1-2 percent unhappy citizens.

Boulder and Colorado were named as the happiest cities in the US in the survey last October. These cities have topped the list of 25 America's happiest cities according to the book, The Blue Zones of Happiness, by National Geographic Explorer Dan Buettner.

Dan Buettner has included 15 parameters for happiness including elements like civic engagement, walkability, and healthful food options.

Boulder made its extra points in happiness index through the combination of features like walkability, access to nature and sense of community contributing to residents' happiness.

According to the survey, California is the cool place to live in as its eight cities including metro areas made it to the top positions in the list. Californian metro city Santa Cruz-Watsonville made the second position among the happiest places. It was followed by places like Charlottesville, Virginia, Fort Collins, Colorado, San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, San Diego-Carlsbad and San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward.

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