79% of danes trust most people, a statistic i found extraordinary. Helen would probably get reported to the police or social services if she abandoned her babies on the street. But is the same also true for happiness? Researchers at the centre for sustainable development at columbia studied what happens to immigrants when they move to a happier nation like denmark. Within one year, they start reporting the happiness level of their adoptive home - which in some places can mean almost a doubling of their level of happiness.
People who live in some places are happier than others. But if you move to a happy country, happy city or happy district, will it make you feel better? And what can do if you can't uproot from your current home, can you make sad spaces happier?
Dan Buettner introduces us to his "Blue Zones", and explains why these places score so highly in wellbeing surveys. Helen Russell tells her story of moving to one of the happiest nations on earth...in bleak midwinter. And Texan Jason Roberts admits he had to break the city laws to make his neighborhood in Dallas a bit nicer.
For further reading:
Helen Russell - The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country.
Dan Buettner - The Blue Zones of Happiness: Lessons From the World's Happiest People.
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