Hampshire folk so happy (From Daily Echo)
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Southampton happier than Portsmouth but Hampshire more content than both
11:28am Wednesday 25th July 2012 in News
By Tom Moseley, Parliamentary Correspondent
Bronte Lowry and Paris Wateridge show how happy they are at Lepe Beach.
WE’RE happy and we know it – well, if you live in Hampshire that is.
According to official Government statistics those living in the county are more satisfied with life that those in the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth.
But in the happiness league table Southampton did score higher than its south coast rival on three of the four markers used by the Government to measure people’s well-being.
David Cameron’s so-called happiness index, which cost £2m to compile, interviewed 200,000 people aged 16 and over between April 2011 and March 2012.
The average Southampton resident rated their ‘life satisfaction’ at 7.45 out of 10, compared to 7.38 in Portsmouth and 7.56 in Hampshire. The UK average was 7.41.
Almost a quarter of Southampton people, and a fifth of people living in Hampshire, gave happiness ratings between zero and six.
The coalition wants to assess the wellbeing of the nation, as well its economic prosperity, and it could be used to shape future Government policy.
Labour branded the exercise a waste of money and a “statement of the bleeding obvious.”
People were asked four key questions: How satisfied they were with life, how worthwhile they thought their life was, how happy they had been yesterday, and how anxious they had been yesterday, rating their feelings from zero to 10.
The highest average happiness rating was 8.10, in Orkney and Shetland, while Thurrock, in Essex, was bottom with 7.09.
People tended to be happiest when they were in their teenage years or around retirement age, and married people scored higher than those who were single, cohabiting or divorced.
Being a homeowner, having a job and being healthy were all more likely to evoke happy responses.
Women tended to have a greater sense of life satisfaction than men and that what they do is worthwhile, but also reported higher levels of anxiety.
On a scale of 0 to 10, overall, how satisfied are you with life?
Region: Av answer
Hampshire 7.56
Southampton 7.45
Portsmouth 7.38
UK 7.41
Overall, to what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile?
Region:
Hampshire 7.81
Southampton 7.62
Portsmouth 7.50
UK 7.66
Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?
Region:
Hampshire 7.40
Southampton 7.24
Portsmouth 7.22
UK 7.28
Overall, how anxious did you feel yesterday?
Region:
Southampton 3.12
Portsmouth 3.04
Hampshire 2.93
UK 3.14
Comments(15)
Huffter
says...
12:13pm Wed 25 Jul 12
George4th wrote:Perhaps they should have done a separate poll for Echo readers!
Good job they missed out Southy and a few others on here or we would have been bottom!
Shoong
says...
12:27pm Wed 25 Jul 12
Huffter wrote:Not sure how you would get the word 'c***s' into a newspaper...
George4th wrote:Perhaps they should have done a separate poll for Echo readers!
Good job they missed out Southy and a few others on here or we would have been bottom!
ToastyTea
says...
12:33pm Wed 25 Jul 12
Northamboy
says...
1:00pm Wed 25 Jul 12
Isn't life good!
bigfella777
says...
1:08pm Wed 25 Jul 12
Condor Man
says...
1:21pm Wed 25 Jul 12
snapperdownunder
says...
1:30pm Wed 25 Jul 12
good-gosh
says...
2:16pm Wed 25 Jul 12
Maine Lobster
says...
3:27pm Wed 25 Jul 12
For pity sake
says...
3:50pm Wed 25 Jul 12
"...THAT those..."?
Here's one Hampshire dweller who is not happy with the state of Echo proof reading.
oregonsaint
says...
4:00am Thu 26 Jul 12
good-gosh
says...
7:11am Thu 26 Jul 12
oregonsaint wrote:What an exciting ambition!
I think I could do an excellent job as a proof reader for the Echo.
Georgem
says...
10:07am Thu 26 Jul 12
Condor Man wrote:I have to say, I might look into moving to Hampshire. I'm getting a bit fed up with Southampton.
Of course people in Hampshire are happy, they don't have to live in either Southampton or Portsmouth.
andysaints007
says...
3:00pm Thu 26 Jul 12
For pity sake wrote:YAWN
"According to official Government statistics those living in the county are more satisfied with life that those in the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth."
"...THAT those..."?
Here's one Hampshire dweller who is not happy with the state of Echo proof reading.
George4th says...
12:08pm Wed 25 Jul 12