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Saturday, February 23, 2008
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Hey, smile, we're a happy bunch SOCIAL CAPITAL | A closer look Senior Reporter Happy? You bet.
Brainerd lakes area residents are overwhelmingly happy.
In a social capital telephone survey of happiness and health, fewer than one in 20 report being not very happy or not happy at all. In fact, just 3 percent reported being not very happy. And 45 percent were very happy with another 52 percent simply happy.
Those responses are close to the results in central Minnesota and the comparison community in Michigan. Nationally, 38 percent of residents say they are very happy.
Residents in all the regional sections - Brainerd/Baxter, Cuyuna Range, Crosslake, Lake Shore/Nisswa, Pequot Lakes and Staples/Motley - consider themselves happy. But people in Crosslake - 68.4 percent -are more likely to list themselves as "very happy."
Additionally, eight in 10 residents report they are in good, very good or excellent health. Those results closely mirror or match results from central Minnesota, Michigan and the nation.
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Who says money can't buy happiness? Residents with higher incomes are more likely to say they are very happy and report better health.
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In a breakdown of results, women reported higher levels of happiness and better health than men.
Who says money can't buy happiness? Residents with higher incomes are more likely to say they are very happy and report better health. In a perhaps related category - following the standard belief that people with a higher education earn more - residents with a higher education report being happier and healthier.
If you think happiness is a young person's game, think again.
"Happiness peaks in the 65 to 74 age group, then declines drastically with those 75 and older. Those 44 and younger are most likely to report excellent health," the survey reported.
Those who plan to live in the lakes area for a longer term are more likely to consider themselves "very happy" than those who plan to move. Murdock Johnson of UpFront Consulting who conducted the survey, said it is harder to determine how those items are related and if people are planning to move because they aren't happy here rather than the move itself affecting their feelings.
Brainerd-Baxter had 50.3 percent considering themselves "very happy" with 45.3 percent "happy" followed by an even split in Pequot Lakes. The communities of the Cuyuna Range, Lake Shore/Nisswa and Staples/Motley are more likely to consider themselves "happy" than "very happy."
The Cuyuna Range lists 61.7 percent happy compared to 36.2 very happy. Lake Shore/Nisswa has 59 percent happy to 41 percent very happy. And Staples/Motley lists 75.8 percent happy compared to 21 percent very happy.
In a written survey of 52 Central Lakes College students, 90 percent reported being happy or very happy. And 86 percent listed themselves in excellent, very good or good health.
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
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