You would think that Finland's unemployment rate (10%+) would influence its ranking, but that's not the case at all.

PowerElectronix 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

As it's selfreporting and it's more about expectations than actual happiness a finnish dude only needs to think that life is just incredible compared to what he sees at the other side of the border to selfreport a 10 in happiness

	▲	lostmsu 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Could also explain Israel

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avgDev 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Nordic countries have better safety nets.

I haven't travelled there but I grew up in Poland and still visit. US feels very capitalistic to me. I feel the pace is slower in Poland. In US I feel the need to produce. Might be just me.

	▲	brailsafe 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		This is how I feel as a Canadian. It's just a border between us, we've got issues of our own but on one side life seems much more transactional and individualistic in a somewhat repulsive way. I'm sure it's not unique to them, and I'm sure it's not uniformly pervasive. I rarely feel like a true foreigner while I'm in the country, but there's just this unsettling feeling of distrust coupled with a drive to consume that I don't feel when I'm north of the border.

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renewiltord 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Well, that's just inherent in the question which asks someone to imagine the best possible life vs. the worst possible life. In a society with lots of room to grow you aren't at the higher rungs. In a society with no progress possible you're at the top easily.