The richest city, the saddest city
From what I've heard, the most satisfied people are not necessarily the ones who have the most choice. In fact, the opposite is often true (does anyone know where I can find that study that shows customers who had fewer flavors of jam to choose form were more satisfied with their purchase?) If this is the case, and I believe it is, a city like NY would be inherently the least happy. Just in the short walk to work you see a zillion more possibilities -- cars, homes, food choices, potential friends and lovers -- than you might see in a life time in a small town. The more you put in front of people, the more they are dissatisfied with what they have. And then the more they seek more. It's a self0perpetuating cycle...and the keyword is self.
posted by Ethan Rand at 12:28 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Ethan,
Too true! Happiness is wanting what you have, not having what you want! :-)
Cheers,
Richard
Of course you also can have something else happen. People who spend their whole life in NYC, shopping at corner delis and having maybe 2 options for their bread or chips or whatever, go visit the midwest and enter the gigantic grocery store chains like Hy-Vee or Kroger and are paralyzed by the huge amount of choice. Jimmy Fallon was talking about that not too long ago on his show. I grew up in Ohio and Kentucky and spent several years in Iowa, so it's normal to me, but I can see it.
Interesting comment by Hagen - to me, the reverse is true. Growing up in Ohio, I'd go to the grocery store, and everything seemed all the same; American, processed foods on the shelves, and the same assortment of produce. In NYC, I can get kimchi at my corner deli, and garam masala in the grocery store (which has many varieties of bread and things, too).
I wonder what's the cause and effect, though - are people who have grown up in wealthier families, with access to privilege, just more likely to be dissatisfied? Or does the money cause the problem? I bet it is a bit of both, myself.
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