The Happiest Place on Earth

Recently, I've been looking out the window and thinking that life would be happier on a beach in Costa Rica. It turns out, that's pretty accurate. Not just because of the weather though.

Here's a pretty interesting Op-Ed article from the New York Times about why Costa Rica was ranked the happiest nation on earth according to the World Database of Happiness, a "Happy Life Years" index, and a "Happy Planet Index" which rank countries based on their reported happiness and longevity, and on their environmental impact respectively. In short, Costa Rica is a happy place.

The main reason for this, according to the article is that they abolished their military and instead invested in their schools. This turned out to be a pretty smart move since their improved education led to less conflict, a boost in their economy, slimming the gap in gender equality and improving their environment.

I like the idea that the article is getting at. It's a strong case for investing in education. On a related note, Minnesota finished the application for Race to the Top which could earn a grant of up to $330 million for Minnesota schools.

I guess most Minnesotans wouldn't say they need warmth and sunshine to be happy, so what are your key factors?

Photo by Armando Maynez, Flickr Creative Commons