In spite of its great natural beauty and diversity, Oregon is in the 3rd quintile (20-30) in well-being along with Washington and Idaho. So, it's in the "meh" category. Worse than California (huh?) and Arizona. Better than Nevada (of Harry Reid fame). And lots worse than Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Wyoming and Utah.
The index is based on interviews with more than 176,000 Americans in all 50 states from January to December, 2014. States were rated on:
Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals
Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life
Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security
Community: liking where you live, feeling safe, and having pride in your community
Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily
The survey has been done since 2008. States with the most top 10 finishes since 2008:
Hawaii and Colorado - 7
Montana, Utah, and Minnesota - 6
Nebraska - 5
Alaska and North Dakota - 4
4 comments:
No wonder the Left hates Texas and Alaska. Interestingly (at least to me), I have a long-time friend who bought some land on an Alaskan peninsula perhaps 35 years ago. He barged a portable saw mill to the site, felled and milled, and built a house. Oh, he had to bring in some doors and windows and insulation, but for the most part, it all came from his land. He loves it up there, and decided last year to escape the Oregon nuttiness and make it his year-round home.
He had a few moments of anxiety when his freezer died this year, but he resolved the issue by taking the food up to the roof through a skylight. Bears can't reach it, there.
I like your stories, Max! Both interesting and with points to chew on should one desire to think a bit further than the surface.
I thought it was funny that Oregon, Idaho and Washington were in the same quintile. Oregon and Washington think they are quite above Idaho. OregonGuy pointed to an article about this sense of superiority a little over 4 years ago. Heh.
https://web.archive.org/web/20100618170217/http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=127671441411099400
I'm not sure that Oregon thinks it's superior to Idaho, but Portland surely does. And I suspect that what Portland's going to find is that the slackers they want to attract aren't going to provide a lot of economic benefit over the long term.
Personally, I like Idaho. If they had a coast, I'd likely move there.
My friend Richard is certifiably nuts: he had a quadruple bypass, and still went back up to Alaska to finish out his house - by himself! He's got his sawmill, and a wood-stove that kicks the heat up indoors to 80 degrees if he's not careful.
And he's really happy: his replacement freezer finally arrived, so he loaded it into his boat and powered it from Petersburg to his place, then hauled it up to the house. He was awfully tired of climbing up to the roof to retrieve meat or fish to thaw for dinner.
He's 64.
And he just doesn't stop.
I like Idaho too. I have friends and family who live there. And you're right that it's basically the Metro area and education corridor that look down on it. It is a much more "can do" state than Oregon has become.
Your friend sounds like an amazing guy--kind of like you!
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