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Hey, Hawaii, you happy?

By Catherine Toth Fox • March 9, 2011 • Musings, The Daily Dish

Despite my crazy schedule and severe lack of sleep, I’m pretty happy.

I can surf before work, walk to Foodland for groceries, take my dogs to a nearby off-leash dog park and indulge in just about any food craving I can imagine — all within a five-mile radius of where I live.

It’s not a bad gig!

So it’s no wonder Hawaii was selected the happiest state in the nation, according to a 2010 Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Hawaii scored a 71.0 average well-being score, out of a possible 100 points. That’s up from 70.2 last year. Wyoming was second with a score of 69.2 and North Dakota rounded the Top 3 with 68.4.

All the states and Washington D.C. were ranked in six categories: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, work environment, healthy behavior and basic access to things like healthcare and safe places to exercise. (Not weather or proximity to world-class surf spots!)

Happy in Hawaii? Sure. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have our share of irritants — like morning traffic, state budget cuts, gnats, coqui frogs, higher price for goods, lower salaries and potholes that never go away.

And if you’re tall, Asian-American, an observant Jew, at least 65 years old, married with children, runs your own business and earns more than $120,000 a year — and you live in Hawaii — well, you’ve hit the proverbial happiness jackpot, according to Gallup, as that’s the statistical composite for the happiest person in America. (Alvin Kuo Wong, 69, from Manoa, fit the composite and was profiled in a recent New York Times article.)

Men, apparently, are happier than women. That concerns me.

So what do you think about the survey? You happy? Lucky we live Hawaii? Or do you think life could be better in the Aloha State? Dish here!

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About the Author

Catherine Toth Fox

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10 Comments

  • Reply Patrick March 9, 2011 at 2:41 am

    I am happy to read NonstopHonolulu every day #suckup

  • Reply Patrick March 9, 2011 at 2:41 am

    I am happy to read NonstopHonolulu every day #suckup

  • Reply turkfontaine March 9, 2011 at 2:49 am

    ”Men, apparently, are happier than women. That concerns me.” – then, you’ve got your work cut out for you.!

  • Reply matti2d March 9, 2011 at 4:03 am

    as i was getting ready for work this AM I had the local (bay area) news on. they did a little piece on this and showed the “happiest man”. i glanced up, not really listening, and thought i recognized him as my friend’s uncle. when i heard “converted to judaism” and noticed the aloha shirt he was wearing, i payed more attention. imagine my surprise when i realized that the happiest man was a guy that i knew!!

  • Reply M March 9, 2011 at 7:03 am

    Hello Cat!

    I’m happy happy happy!

  • Reply Annoddah_Dave March 9, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    CAT: I am happy to be alive…life is guud!

  • Reply WildeOscar March 9, 2011 at 8:12 pm

    The factors considered in the ranking make sense and the result is credible. A few external factors don’t hurt and they do help explain the result for populations, but individual happiness comes from within. I’m with Abe Lincoln on this one: “Most people are has happy as they make up their minds to be.”

    Having a strong sense of meaning and purpose are more important than being happy is, and they are certainly not mutually exclusive. In combination they are great, but both are also good on their own.

  • Reply MaxMaxMax March 10, 2011 at 3:50 am

    @turkfontaine No surprise here… isn’t that the stereotype? Women are subject to mood swings, etc.

  • Reply 808marv March 10, 2011 at 7:46 am

    Yeah I’m happy, why boddah you? ;-D

  • Reply Melissa Kamakawiwo'ole April 30, 2013 at 9:55 pm

    Cat Toth, I can tell you I’m pretty unhappy in Hawaii. Jobs are nil, the place is looking mighty ghetto-er everyday, a woman can never walk alone down a city street after sundown, the small island mindset is perturbing and the food is just not that great…unless you’re Cat Toth or Melissa Chang. Japan is looking better and better everyday and I hope to be living there within the next year. Sorry to bring rain down on the happy parade, maybe it’s just a wake up call to living out my dream.

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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