EVERYONE is thankful for Hannah Montana because, it seems, you can have the best of both worlds.
A metropolis in the Midwest with a lot of nature won the title of happiest in the country.
Minneapolis Earned Highly Coveted Spot in the Institute for Quality of Life’s Annual Report Happy City Index.
The institute explained that it determines its list by analyzing the happiness of the real residents of each city.
“The ranking was created based on thousands of indicators meticulously developed by our researchers that are directly related to the quality of life and the feeling of happiness of its residents”, states the website’s methodology.
“It is important to emphasize that we do not analyze the happiness of an imaginary individual in all locations in the world, but rather of the people who actually live in these cities.”
While no city is “one size fits all,” the institute determined that the small city of Aarhus, Denmark, with more than 260,000 residents on just 35 square miles of land, is the happiest city in the world.
A few spots below, at 18th place internationally, is Minneapolis, taking the top spot as the happiest city in the US.
Minneapolis’ topography clearly explains why residents can be satisfied with their quality of life.
On the one hand, the city has a “world-class” park system, earning it the title “Land of 10,000 Lakes”.
While the epithet may be a bit of a stretch, its intent rings true considering the city’s 6,800-acre park system features 22 lakes, 12 gardens, 180 parks and seven golf courses.
It’s also a hiker’s paradise, with 88 kilometers of cycling and walking trails.
Every one of Minneapolis’ more than 425,000 residents is within six minutes of a park, according to Habitability“making this twin city a gem for outdoor lovers, families with kids, and pet-loving residents.”
City dwellers and nature fans will also find a fair compromise in the city’s transportation system, which includes plenty of options for the commuter with its network of buses, light rail, and trains.
Minneapolis also doesn’t fall short in terms of culture and arts, starting with the many colorful commissioned murals that adorn the city.
Most importantly, unlike many cities its size, Minneapolis has an affordable housing market that makes finding housing easy.
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“Single-family homes for sale in Minneapolis are well balanced with condos and apartments, and you’ll find many properties that date back to before 1945 if you like vintage architecture,” said Livability.
“Real estate agents in Minneapolis have no problem finding newcomers looking to buy in this Midwestern metropolis known for its friendliness, outgoing nature (even in winter) and affordability.”
In explaining its decision to rank cities – and Minneapolis as the “happiness city” in the country – the Institute for Quality of Life explained that no individual resident is exactly the same as another, and each person’s “happiness” metric is different.
“Cities are made of people and their feeling of happiness depends on many factors. Each person is different and has different needs that result from historical, geopolitical or traditional conditions,” the website states.
“People who live in cities are involved in their constant transformation through social, political or economic activity. It is also the inhabitants who create the future of cities, giving them their expressive character.
“There is no statistical woman or man whose feeling of happiness can be studied by locating it in different cities around the world. In each location, several other determinants affect the feeling of happiness.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
