NYers Saddest in US? Fuhgeddaboutit!

New York state came rock bottom out 50 states and DC in a recent study of happiness, prompting Clyde Haberman to ask not what's wrong with New York, but what's so great about happiness. "Might contentment be overrated?" he wonders in the New York Times. "Seriously, isn’t restlessness, even outright discontent, often a catalyst for creativity?"

New York may be in last place, ranked by indicators like climate, cost of living, and crime rates, but there are more people living in New York City than ever before despite all that alleged unhappiness, Haberman notes. The top ten happiest states, meanwhile, include some of the poorest states in the country, like Alabama and Mississippi. "Are people there truly happy, or are they wearing “What, me worry?” smiles," Haberman wonders. (More New York City stories.)