Stable, Poised to Fail…but Happy!

Recent posts on Sweet Digs Seattle:

• Past Sales Rainier Beach–On the Road
• Bainbridge Island: A Forward Worth Reading
• Bainbridge Island: Wyatt Village Planned for Winslow
• Slow on the Go in Bridle Trails 

We’ve been called “most stable” by Forbes Magazine, and then “poised to fail” by Fortune Magazine. Call us what you will, but now you can call Seattle “happy” as well. According to the feature article on MSN, “How Happy is Your City?” we are a “happy” city, at least with respect to most of the happy factors presented (though it’s completely hopeless for us on the ”sunshine” factor). 

Here’s where we rate among the eight factors given. Take a look and  decide for yourself–are we a happy city?!

• Happy couples. Totally related to the loneliness factor, married people are less likely to be lonely, making for happy citizens. A Pew Research center statistic showed that 43% of married men and women were “very happy” compared with 24% of unmarried men and women. No Seattle-specific statistics were given.
• Religious attendance. Pew Research Center statistics again show that 43% percent of people who attend church at least once a week reported being “very happy” while only 26% percent of those who attend “seldom or never” said the same. No Seattle statistics were given.
• Sunshine. We lose. (Seattle measures 43% of daylight hours when the sun is shining. Not a total loss, though we are near the bottom of the list, take that Nome, Alaska–we are still ahead of you!)
• Employment. It’s not what you think (or maybe it is). If you are one of the lucky people who loves your work, than hats off to you! Another Pew Research Center statistic showed that men who said they were “very happy” was significantly lower for unemployed men (16 percent) than for employed men (37 percent). Unemployment had little impact on women’s happiness. In terms of unemployment, Seattle turns up at #15 on the list, with the unemployment statistic at 4.1%–does this make us happy or not?
• Health. No surprise here, as Seattle turns up once again as one of America’s healthiest cities, ranking #4 on this list.
• Social time. Makes sense to me–more play time, means more happy time. The measure used here is average commute time, and Seattle turned up at #37, with a 27.8 commute time. It could be better, but then again, it could be worse.
• Community contributions. Based on giving, Seattle, be proud. We came in at #5 on the list of top areas with volunteers. More than one-third (36.3%) of you out there, have been donating your time to good causes. Seattle, you clearly rock here!
• Good urban design. Great setup, means greater enjoyment of all the city amenities. No relevant statistics here, but certainly, Seattle has a lot of great things going for it. (Of course, I’ve got a couple of pet peeves here, that I personally would ding us for–what is the deal on ramps and off ramps being on the LEFT side of the freeway? And, while I’m on it, what is the deal with the commuter lanes being on the RIGHT side of the freeway?!)