Posted on 04/09/2009 6:00:40 AM PDT by posterchild
We cheer the reddest. We corn the hardest. And, apparently, we grin the widest.
Because Nebraska is the happiest state in the U.S., a new study says.
The survey — conducted by personal finance Web site MainStreet.com — ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from fiscally happiest to saddest based on a few factors of economic well-being. These included foreclosure numbers, unemployment rates and the ratio of average debt to average annual income.
“It reflects the attitude of this state,” said Gov. Dave Heineman. “We are a positive people with a can-do attitude who are focused on results. If you look at the criterion, (the survey) reflects the common financial sense that we have in this state.
“We didn’t get into the trouble that other states are in because our people, frankly, didn’t make bad financial decisions. We’ve tightened our belts. We just don’t spend money we don’t have.”
(Excerpt) Read more at journalstar.com ...
While I was fairly happy during the time I lived there I'm not sure if I ever 'corned' anything.
Living here since 1981. Have never “corned” anything either. Nebraska was (reported to be) the only state in February to have a reduction in unemployed. If you can take the weather (Saturday we had both blizzard and tornado warnings simultaneiouly a few miles to the west), it is good. Not too many liberals, a bonus!
Not sure if it is something one does to a person, a thing, a bank account, ??? Maybe during my years there I didn’t go as native as I thought:)
simultaneiouly = simultaneously... need more coffee
I never find our malls empty. Since last Saturday, the malls are full like its Christmas and there are few parking spots to be found.
Almost every fast food restaurants is hiring, as usual. Our church is overflowing every week. Churches I have visited or overflowing. We are a red state. We are not arrogant people, just people who trust God.
I’ve never “corned” anything either. I sometimes look at the weather we had last weekend as a necessary “evil” to ensure the ‘tards from Kalifornia don’t all move here & ruin “the good life”.
I am in a nearby fairly happy state and I notice similar characteristics.
My home state was third.
Surprised Hawaii is fourth considering how expensive it is to live there, but based on the indicators, it appears those who live there can afford it.
I like the Nebraska weather especially compared to the northeast. It doesn’t have the dreariness that other places do. The sun is often shining even when it is -20 and snowing.
Also, the snow just stays packed on the road and forms a hard surface instead of melting and refreezing each day.
Kansas is third, where I lived before. Now I’m in TX. We are 12th in this IIRC, a bit surprised by how high, but has higher foreclosure numbers etc.
Wisconsin is in the top ten, at least. They must’ve just interviewed the Socialists, because we Conservatives aren’t all that happy these days. (But we’re gaining ground!)
Now y'all play ignorant. We know better. Apparently, 'what gets corned in Nebraska doesn't get spoken about outside of Nebraska.'
:)
Only 12th! Sorry, you are too sad to post here:)
Mr. niteowl77
(The same friend had any number of observations about his field of work that were somewhat universal in their application: railroads run great after 4:00 in the afternoon because the biggest pains in the a** will be at home 'til 8:00 in the morning; it isn't hard to run a locomotive, but it takes considerable skill to keep everything behind it in one piece; any lawyer can come in and run a railroad until he has used up everyone else's money...)
I do miss Kansas a lot. Then again, I am stuck out in Midland’s desert landscape compared to the more beautiful areas like San Antonio, Dallas, Austin etc. I guess that’s what a long weekend if for. :)
It looks like what has been described as a "tree" but I wouldn't know having lived my entire life on the prairie nowhere near a river or a stream and never having seen one.
A few years back, I was visiting in Massachusetts, and my host asked about having trees in Nebraska. I said to him, “don’t you get claustrophobic here; you cannot even see the sky!”
50 states + DC.
SnakeDoc
It's a tree. It fell off of a truck taking it to the Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" museum in Lincoln.
Quick! Move the nations’ Capitol there. That’ll screw em D.C. style.
I’ve driven through TX south of Midland, from El Paso to Austin. Seemed like a really beautiful area.
I’m surprised Texas isn’t among the top. You’ll be hard-pressed to find more grounded, salt-of-the-earth people. Maybe the wackos in Austin, and Houston’s “montrose” population are dragging us down. A miserable lot they are.
SnakeDoc
My wife is a transplanted Midlandian. Still got a lot of in laws around there. Its a hell of a drive getting from Houston to Midland to visit every year ... 500 miles of nothing.
SnakeDoc
It’s both an alternative fuel and an alternative lifestyle.
Actually, there are a lot of liberals in Omaha and quite a few in Lincoln too.
MI is #44. At least we’re above Ohio, #45.
...
Where the girls are the fairest,
The boys are the squarest,
Of any old place that you knew.
There is no place like Nebraska,
...
Well, south of here has a different landscape. Flat, dry, full of shrubs here. I can take the flat, but not having green grass ever since I got here is depressing.
The people here are great though....very nice.
Plains girls often end up toward the top of the Miss USA contests etc.
Much like with voting maps, I bet if the study was done on a per county basis we’d see a similar pattern with a wide range in each state.
ENGLISH BOB
What I heard was that you fell
off your horse drunk and broke
your neck.
LITTLE BILL
I heard that one myself, Bob.
Hell, I even thought I was dead
til I found out it was just I
was in Nebraska.
The only reason Texas didn’t win is because the study takers didn't understand English.
I especially get a kick out of all the crazy nonsense going on with our neighbor to the east.
They didn’t include football as part of the criteria, that would would knock them down a peg or two. j/k
Bingo; all of this type geographic statistic should be on a county basis, as the dense urban populations can always prejudice the results across a state. And counties are generally large enough, but isolated enough, to substantiate a local trend. For instance in Nebraska because of the overall low population density, most of the counties would show a similar lifestyle, except like a poster above says, Lincoln and Omaha.
At The Suntrade Institute we generally use counties, the compiled statistics are generally available, and far more telling.
I would indeed like to see a map of the happiest counties in the USA.
A couple of years ago, I was traveling on I-80 east bound in western Nebraska. The sky got very dark, I turned on my radio for weather report and they named a bunch of counties in Nebraska that were under tornado warnings.
I didn’t know what counties were where but didn’t really need a geography lesson to know I was certainly in one of them.
Ahead of me on the right was a large open area and about 1/2 mile to the right were 3 humongous twisters. A car was pulled over on the shoulder and some moron was standing by it taking pictures, as I drove by, I noticed his California plates.
I sped up to almost 100 miles per hour, as the tornados seemed to be moving from the side directly toward me. Even at that speed, cars were passing me.
I don’t know what happened to the nut taking pictures.
I think it has to do with the "size" of our "guns".
“Where the girls are the fairest,
The boys are the squarest,
Of any old place that you knew.
There is no place like Nebraska,”
One of my favorite songs.......... but I digress.
I will second the posts about my beloved state that were made above. Very conservative (outside of Lincoln and Omaha, although compared to most big blue cities, they would still be considered very conservative) lots of hard working, friendly people. The financial downturn has hit here (my bro in law and sister in law have both been laid off) but overall here in Omaha the economy seems to be doing OK.
I have always wanted to take one of those idiots who say we are running out of room for our population and drop them in the middle of the Sandhills. Nothing but cows and grass for miles and miles. They would be ecstatic to see a tree, let alone another human being.
As far as the “corned” thing, not sure what the he** that means. I’m pretty sure that not one of my friends or relatives here in Huskerland have ever “corned” anyone or anything......
The west is probably much more tornado prone.
Only 3 times during my decade of living in Lincoln did I experience a warning where I had to go into a basement. For one of those I was already in a basement pool hall at the time (anyone remember Chesterfields?)
I have noticed an increasing urban blight in Lincoln. Over the past 10 years or so I notice more empty buildings or lots to the east of downtown. The downtown and haymarket area still seem vibrant though.
From usage it appears that it can be done hard or soft vs frequent or infrequent. Don’t know if it is something one does on the prairie, in the unicameral, in the Niobrara, near carhenge, after last call at O’Rourke’s, in Memorial Stadium...
It is strange that you should say that. I have noticed it too. It really hit me when I was down there last night taking my Mom to dinner. The Near South down by the Capitol is looking pretty rought these days too. I guess thats what happens when you have many consecutive years of a Dem mayor. Still love Lincoln though, lived there from ‘82 to 2001. It really still seems like home.
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