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Switzerland
The Swiss have a well-deserved reputation for quiet efficiency and deadly dullness. Yet the nation consistently ranks among the happiest in the world
Switzerland The Swiss have a well-deserved reputation for quiet efficiency and deadly dullness. Yet the nation consistently ranks among the happiest in the world. Are the Swiss on to something? Yes. For starters, nearly everything there functions exceedingly well. The trains do run on time. The Swiss, in other words, subscribe to philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer’s definition of happiness as ‘‘an absence of misery.’’ Then there is Swiss democracy. The Swiss vote on time and often .?.?. very often.
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Iceland
more of a mystery than Swiss bliss. Iceland is cold and dark for much of the year
Iceland Icelandic happiness is even more of a mystery than Swiss bliss. Iceland is cold and dark for much of the year. It is isolated and, for goodness sake, has the word ice in its name. Not much happy about that, yet these descendants of the Vikings are, statistically, among the planet’s happiest people. It turns out that Icelanders know a thing or two about the art of contentment. They know, as researchers have discovered, that much of our happiness is derived from our relations with others.
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Thailand
The Thais have at least a dozen types of smiles
Thailand Thailand is known as the Land of Smiles, and for good reason. The Thais have at least a dozen types of smiles, not all of them expressing contentment. The Thais remind us that the smile is more a social than a personal gesture (though it can be that, too). Thailand ranks in the middle latitudes of the happiness map, yet that doesn’t tell the full picture. The Thais know instinctively that one of the secrets to happiness is to lead an unexamined life. ‘‘You think too much’’ is a common T
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Puerto Rico
despite their relative poverty and often unstable governments. ‘‘The Latino bonus’’ is what some researchers call this phenomenon
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico ranks high in happiness surveys, as do many Latin American nations, despite their relative poverty and often unstable governments. ‘‘The Latino bonus’’ is what some researchers call this phenomenon. Actually, it’s not so mysterious after all. Latinos derive much happiness from their close-knit families and, certainly in the case of Puerto Rico, a fiesta attitude. Puerto Rico has many more holidays than the mainland United States and knows how to enjoy them. Discuss: What
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The Netherlands
summed up in one word: tolerance
The Netherlands For the Dutch, happiness can be summed up in one word: tolerance. The Dutch famously tolerate, and have legalized, prostitution and marijuana. That tolerance extends to a welcoming attitude toward foreigners. That is changing, a bit, since the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim extremist in 2004. Still, researchers have found that, overall, tolerant nations tend to be happy ones. Discuss: What destinations make you happy?
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Bhutan
The United States may have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but Bhutan has Gross National Happiness
Bhutan No other country has more explicitly yoked its ethos to happiness than this tiny Himalayan kingdom. The United States may have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but Bhutan has Gross National Happiness. The policy, first enunciated by King Wangchuk in the 1970s, aims to supplant, or at least supplement, the conventional measure of national progress, gross domestic product. To this end, the Bhutanese have forsaken millions of dollars in revenue from timber sales and mass tourism.
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India
foreigners from E.M. Forster to the Beatles have sought their bliss in India
India Can an unhappy place make others happy? Apparently, the answer is yes, if that place happens to be India. While India ranks low on the happiness spectrum, foreigners from E.M. Forster to the Beatles have sought their bliss in India’s ashrams and on the banks of its sacred river, the Ganges. Did they find what they were looking for? Some, perhaps, though just as many it seems left disappointed. The allure of sacred India, though, has not diminished, even as the country embraces a high-tech
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United Kingdom
Don’t be fooled by that stiff upper lip and reticent manner. The Brits are happier than they appear.
United Kingdom The dour British are famously allergic to the cheerier side of life and squirm at the thought of the very American self-help industrial complex. Yet Britain is home to the utilitarian school of philosophy, one that famously espouses ‘‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number.’’ This emphasis on the common good continues to this day, as evidenced by the nation’s experiments with traffic restrictions in central London and the several hundred dollars in license fees the Britons
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Asheville, N.C.
While not a nation, Asheville has earned a singular reputation as the kind of city that Americans move to seeking their bliss
Asheville, N.C. While not a nation, Asheville has earned a singular reputation as the kind of city that Americans move to seeking their bliss. With a population of some 70,000, Asheville-ites enjoy many of the benefits of urban life (ethnic restaurants, a thriving arts scene) and relatively few of its drawbacks (traffic jams and high crime rates). As more people move there, though, locals fear that may change. Paradise is a moving target. Discuss: What destinations make you happy?

Discuss: What destinations make you happy?