Are you in Joytown or Grumpytown? EXCLUSIVE.Byline: BY BETH NEIL NEIL Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited NEIL Network Engineering and Integration Lab IT might be widely regarded as one of the most attractive, affluent cities in Britain... But according to a study, Edinburgh is home to the nation's unhappiest people. The Scottish capital has come bottom in a Great Britain league table of contentment. Walking with a spring in their step at the other end of the scale are the cheerful folk of Powys, mid-Wales. They were ranked happiest in the research by the British Household Panel Survey The British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), carried out at the Institute for Social and Economic Research of the University of Essex, is an instrument for social and economic research. A sample of British households was drawn and first interviewed in 1991. for the Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 with the name Geographical Society of London for the advancement of geographical science, under the patronage of King William IV. . Manchester, West Lothian, Cumbernauld and Macclesfield also scored highly. But down in the dumps with Edinburgh are Rhondda in South Wales, Amber Valley and Clydesdale. Eight of the top 10 happiest places are in Scotland and the North of England, while Sutton in London is the only representative from the South. Psychologist Averil Leimon says: "Happiness is an interaction of factors, and your environment is vital. The key things are human connections and interaction with your community." But don't get too downhearted down·heart·ed adj. Low in spirit; depressed. See Synonyms at depressed. down  heart if your home town isn't
near the top of the joy table. Just sit tight for a bit- the experts
reckon staying in the same place for five years or so can also help
build up your happiness levels.
How they worked it out The Survey put the following questions asking people to grade their answers: a) Better than usual b) Same as usual c) Less than usual d) Much less than usual 1. Been able to concentrate on whatever you are doing? 2. Lost much sleep over worry? 3. Felt that you are playing a useful part in things? 4. Felt capable of making decisions about things? 5. Felt constantly under strain? 6. Felt you could not overcome your difficulties? 7. Been able to enjoy your normal day-today activities? 8. Been able to face up to your problems? 9. Been feeling unhappy and depressed? 10. Been losing confidence in yourself? 11. Been thinking of yourself as a worthless person? 12. Been feeling reasonably happy all things considered All Things Considered (ATC) is a news radio program in the United States, broadcast on the National Public Radio network. It was the first news program on the network, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets. ? THE AREAS SURVEYED..FROM HAPPY POWYS TO MISERABLE EDINBURGH 1 Powys 2 Manchester 3 West Lothian 4 Cumbernauld & Kilsyth; Monklands 5 Macclesfield 6 Cunninghame 7 Sutton 8 Falkirk 9 Cleethorpes; Great Grimsby 10 Nottingham 11 East Staffordshire; Staffordshire Moorlands 12 East Northamptonshire; Wellingborough 13 Berwickshire, East Lothian 14 St Helens 15 Clackmannan; Stirling 16 Colchester 17 Congleton; Crewe & Nantwich; Vale Royal 18 Badenoch & Strathspey strath·spey n. 1. A Scottish dance, slower than a reel, for two dancers. 2. The music for this dance. [After Strath Spey, valley of the river Spey in Scotland. 19 Argyll & Bute; Dumbarton; Inverclyde 20 Chelmsford 21 Forest of Dean; Stroud 22 Stoke-on-Trent 23 Birmingham 24 East Lindsey; West Lindsey; Lincoln 25 Vale of Glamorgan 26 Barrow in Furness; Copeland 27 Ogwr 28 Allerdale; Carlisle 29 North Hertfordshire; Stevenage 30 Lliw Valley; Neath; Port Talbot 40 Dumfries & Galloway 41 Woodspring 42 Ashfield; Mansfield 43 Colwyn; Glyndwr; Rhuddlan 44 Newcastle-under-Lyme; Stafford 45 Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, city (1991 pop. 199,064) and metropolitan district, NE England, on the Tyne River. The city is an important shipping and trade center. The famous coal-shipping industry began in the 13th cent. 46 Dudley 47 Islington 48 Kerrier; Penwith; Isles of Scilly 49 Barnet 50 Stratford on Avon; Warwick 51 Sevenoaks; Tonbridge&Malling 52 East Cambridgeshire; Fenland 53 Carrick; Restormel 54 Cherwell 55 Wirral 56 Trafford 57 Gillingham; Swale swale n. 1. A low tract of land, especially when moist or marshy. 2. A long, narrow, usually shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline. 3. 58 Eastwood; Kilmarnock & Loudan 59 Brighton 60 Northampton 61 Babergh; Ipswich 62 Bassetlaw; Newark & Sherwood 63 Bury 64 Blackpool 65 Forest Heath; Mid-Suffolk; St Edmundsbury 66 Erewash; South Derbyshire 67 Fylde; Wyre 68 Corby; Kettering 69 Angus; Perth&Kinross 70 Lichfield; Tamworth 71 Redditch; Wychavon 72 Dunfermline 73 Three Rivers; Watford 74 Crawley; M Sussex 75 Waltham Forest 76 Bearsden&Milngavie; Clydebank; Strathkelvin 77 Tameside 78 Sefton 79 Bournemouth 80 Newport 81 Halton 82 Motherwell 83 North Kesteven; South Kesteven 84 Carmarthen; Dinefwr; Llanelli 85 Alyn&Deeside; Delyn; Wrexham Maelor 86 Hammersmith&Fulham 87 Plymouth 88 Newbury 89 Luton 90 Kirkcaldy; North East Fife North East Fife may mean or refer to:
91 Sunderland 92 Purbeck; West Dorset; Weymouth&Portland 93 Huntingdonshire 94 Solihull 95 Beverley; Boothferry 96 Test Valley; Winchester 97 North Tyneside 98 Suffolk Coastal; Waveney 99 Aberdeen City 100 Alnwick; Berwick upon Tweed; Castle Morpeth; Tynedale 101 North Shropshire; South Shropshire; Oswestry 102 Hillingdon 103 Rotherham 104 Gordon; Kincardine&Deeside 105 Portsmouth 106 Hackney 107 Knowsley 108 Lancaster 109 Lambeth 110 Wycombe 111 North Warwickshire; Nuneaton&Bedworth; Rugby 112 Hertsmere; Welyn Hatfield 113 East Yorkshire; Holderness 114 Calderdale 115 Aylesbury Vale 116 Rochdale 117 Wokingham 118 Darlington; Teesdale 119 Gateshead 120 Glasgow City 121 Cambridge; South Cambridgeshire 122 New Forest 123 Hastings; Rother 124 St Albans 125 Kensington&Chelsea 126 Oldham 127 Dacorum 128 Castle Point; Maldon; Rochford 129 Isle of Wight Noun 1. Isle of Wight - an isle and county of southern England in the English Channel Wight county - (United Kingdom) a region created by territorial division for the purpose of local government; "the county has a population of 12,345 people" 130 Mole Valley; Waverley 131 Exeter; Teignbridge 132 Bexley 133 Chichester; Horsham 134 City of London; City of Westminster Noun 1. City of Westminster - a borough of Greater London on the Thames; contains Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey Westminster 135 Rochester upon Medway 136 Merton 137 Cannock Chase; South Staffordshire 138 Thanet 139 The Wrekin 140 North Bedfordshire 141 Hinckley&Bosworth; North West Leicestershire North West Leicestershire is a local government district in Leicestershire, England. Its main towns are Ashby-de-la-Zouch and Coalville. It contains East Midlands Airport, which has flights to the rest of Britain and various places in Europe. 142 Caradon; North Cornwall 143 Tower Hamlets 144 Preston 145 Runnymede; Spelthorne 146 Walsall 147 Reigate&Banstead; Tandridge 148 Bolton 149 East Kilbride; Hamilton 150 Dartford; Gravesham 151 Camden 152 Southwark 153 Cheltenham; Cotswold 154 Eden; South Lakeland 155 North Devon; Torridge 156 Kingston upon Hull Kingston upon Hull: see Hull, England. Kingston upon Hull or Hull City and unitary authority (pop., 2001: 243,595), geographic county of East Riding of Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. 157 Northavon 158 High Peak; Derbyshire Dales 159 Eastbourne; Hove; Lewes 160 Chiltern; South Bucks 161 South Hams; West Devon 162 Brentwood; Epping Forest; Harlow 163 Braintree; Uttlesford 164 Blyth Valley; Wansbeck 165 Charnwood 166 Brent 167 Peterborough 168 Bristol 169 Adur; Worthing 170 Hounslow 171 Bradford 172 Hartlepool; Stockton on Tees 173 South Somerset 174 Malvern Hills; Worcester 175 Salford 176 Mendip; Sedgemoor 177 Lewisham 178 Craven; Hambleton; Richmondshire 179 Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 130,300) of Greater London, SE England. Mainly residential, it has light engineering works and manufactures electronic equipment. It also contains one of the largest shopping centers in outer London. In the 10th cent. 180 Hyndburn; Rossendale 181 Wandsworth 182 Wakefield 183 Harborough; Melton; Rutland 184 Torbay 185 Selby; York 186 North Wilts; West Wilts 187 Tendring 188 Ealing 189 Wealdon 190 Bracknell Forest; Slough 191 Banff&Buchan; Moray 192 Windsor&Maidenhead 193 Redbridge 194 Boston; South Holland 195 Easington; Sedgefield 196 Breckland; South Norfolk 197 Stockport 198 Newham 199 Milton Keynes 200 Broxtowe; Gedling; Rushcliffe 201 Basildon 202 Middlesbrough 203 Canterbury 204 Richmond upon Thames Richmond upon Thames, outer borough (1991 pop. 154,600) of Greater London, SE England. The borough was created in 1965 by the merger of the municipal boroughs of Barnes, Richmond, and Twickenham. 205 Harrogate 206 Enfield 207 Langbaurgh-on-Tees 208 Kennet; Salisbury 209 Taunton Deane; West Somerset 210 East Hampshire; Havant 211 Great Yarmouth; North Norfolk 212 Glanford; Scunthorpe 213 Hereford; Leominster; South Herefordshire 214 Warrington 215 Bromley 216 Elmbridge; Epsom&Ewell 217 Kings Lynn; W Norfolk 218 Wolverhampton 219 Chorley; West Lancashire 220 Chester; Ellesmere Port&Neston 221 Bridgnorth; Shrewsbury&Atcham 222 Barnsley 223 Surrey Heath; Woking 224 Derby 225 Greenwich 226 Burnley; Pendle 227 Wigan 228 Guildford 229 Coventry 230 Hart; Rushmoor 231 Derwentside; Wear Valley 232 Ribble Valley; South Ribble 233 Basingstoke&Deane 234 Broadland; Norwich 235 Maidstone 236 Bath; Kingswood; Wansdyke 237 Chester-le-Street; Durham 238 Broxbourne; East Hertfordshire 239 Haringey 240 Leicester 241 Caithness, Sutherland 242 Kirklees 243 East Devon; Mid Devon 244 Monmouth; Torfaen 245 Thamesdown 246 Liverpool 247 Dundee City 248 South Oxfordshire 249 Oxford; Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. The main town is Abingdon, other places include Faringdon and Wantage. There are 68 parishes within the district. ; West Oxfordshire 250 Croydon 251 Arun 252 Barking; Dagenham 253 Havering 254 Cardiff 255 Sheffield 256 Reading 257 Southampton 258 Leeds 259 Mid Bedfordshire; South Bedfordshire 260 Gwynedd 261 Daventry; South Northhamptonshire 262 Harrow 263 Ryedale; Scarborough 264 Blaenau Gwent; Islwyn 265 Merthyr Tydfil; Rhymney Valley; Taff-Ely 266 Poole 267 Renfrew 268 Bolsover; Chesterfield 269 Bromsgrove; Wyre Forest 270 Ashford; Tunbridge Wells 271 Blackburn 272 Eastleigh; Fareham; Gosport Gosport (gŏs`pôrt), city (1991 pop. 69,664) and district, Hampshire, S England. The city is a major port and shares its harbor with Portsmouth. There are ship- and yacht-building facilities and various light industries. 273 Ceredigion; South&Preseli Pembrokeshire 274 Sandwell 275 Christchurch; North Dorset; East Dorset 276 Doncaster 277 Gloucester; Tewkesbury 278 Swansea 279 Clydesdale, Cumnock&Doon Valley; Kyle&Carri 280 Amber Valley; North East Derbyshire
North East Derbyshire is a local government district in Derbyshire, England. 281 Cynon Valley; Rhondda 282 Edinburgh City CAPTION(S): GLADDEST POWYS Home of the Hay-on-Wye book festival; SADDEST EDINBURGH Tourist heaven but hell for its residents |
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