'Grump' travels the planet to find bliss
It may take a lot of frequent-flier miles, a penchant for cold places, a tolerance of taxes and regular doses of chocolate, but happiness could be within reach. However, it's not where most people might expect. Just ask Eric Weiner, who made it his mission to find the most content places around the globe, uncovering lots of surprises along the way. Hungering for a tropical paradise? A warm climate doesn't necessarily make a happy nation, Weiner said. Thinking of moving to a wealthy state? Money can degrade happiness, he found. Weiner, who wrote the book, "The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World," began his quest for very personal reasons. "I'm an unhappy person, so it's kind of what prompts a hungry person to search for food," he said. Weiner spent 10 years as a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, a job that took him to some of the least happy places in the world. It was enough to send him on a yearlong journey to look for just the opposite. Weiner mapped out his quest with a combination of scientific and personal methods, choosing some countries because they traditionally score high on happiness surveys and selecting others to see how factors like money play a role. A world map of happiness, based on 100 different studies and produced by Britain's University of Leicester in 2006, listed Denmark as the world's happiest nation. But for Weiner, the place where he felt the most bliss was a toss-up between Bhutan and Iceland, countries that ranked eighth and fourth, respectively, on the happiness map. Weiner's list of favorites also included Thailand, India and Switzerland. His top two picks, though very different countries, have unconventional paths to happiness, he said. "Bhutan is probably the closest thing on Earth to Shangri-La, that fictional paradise," Weiner explained. He pointed out that while other countries focus on their gross domestic product, the Himalayan kingdom proudly touts its policy of "gross national happiness." "The Bhutanese very much believe that happiness should be part and parcel of every government decision," Weiner said. startclickprintexclude--> Meanwhile, after a year of exploring some of the world's happiest places, Weiner -- the self-described "grump" -- said his mind-set has improved somewhat. "I would describe myself as a recovering grump," Weiner said. "At this point, I think I am marginally happier than before I started the project." |
See photos of his favorites and listen to him explain why they're happy »
