I like reading stories about lists. In the past few years, I have read innumerable stories listing the wealthiest and poorest states in the United States, the best and least educated states in the United States, and the states with the most and least crime.
Almost uniformly, the wealthiest, best educated, and safest states are in the Northeast and the poorest, least educated, and most dangerous states are in the South. No state does worse on these lists than Mississippi, but Louisiana isn’t far behind.
Consequently, I was stunned when I saw this article, which listed the USA’s happiest and unhappiest cities. The list was compiled after research by economists Edward Glaeser, Oren Ziv, and Joshua Gottlieb.
10 Happiest Cities 1. Lafayette, La. 2. Houma, La. 3. Shreveport, La. 4. Baton Rouge, La. 5. Alexandria, La. 6. Rochester, Minn. 7. Corpus Christi, Texas 8. Lake Charles, La. 9. Nashville, Tenn. 10. Gainesville, Fla.
10 Unhappiest Cities 1. New York City 2. St. Joseph, Mo. 3. South Bend, Ind. 4. Erie, Pa. 5. Evansville, Ind. 6. Toledo, Ohio 7. Jersey City, N.J. 8. Detroit 9. Gary, Ind. 10. Scranton, Pa.
So Louisiana is the USA’s happiest although party city New Orleans, the state’s most populous city, isn’t ranked in the Top 10 nationally? I’m confused. So my native New York City is the unhappiest despite its low crime rate, decades-long economic renaissance, and tremendous amenities? I’m unhappy.
A long time ago, a newspaper in Shreveport that belonged to the same company that I worked for contacted me about being their City Hall reporter. At first, the newspaper wanted to fly me down for an interview. Then, it decided to save a couple hundred bucks by interviewing me on the phone, intending to offer me a job if I interviewed well without giving me a chance to see the city. I declined.
Thinking about living in Shreveport without knowing much about the city made me uneasy. Now I know that I would have been happy – regardless of the fact that Louisiana is poor, uneducated, and crime-ridden.
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