Buenos Aires has been rated among top 10 happiest cities in the world!

[Argento]

Argento. If you read the Forbes article you'll see the company who have perpetrated this odd bit of market research are not claiming it is an objective an objective assessment. On the contrary, in the words of Anholt, the man who masterminded this strange bit of market research, "This is is a survey of of perception not of reality" Furthemore he explains, "this is a survey of where respondents could imagine themselves happy"

Rather curious about all this I also had a look at the GFK Custom Research North America website. According to the website, they have a panel of 10,000 people from different countries and to ask them questions on their perception of life in a list of various well know cities in the world. Most of the panelists have of course never been to BA or to Sydney or most of the cities on the target list either. But it is their perception of what life might be like in these cities that this survey captures. In other words it is a survey of international city BRAND image.

Not surprising then that cities like Rio, Sydney and BA, all places in the southern hemisphere with strong 'brand image', where most people have never actually lived or only visited on a short happy holiday, do so well in a survey of this kind. All those pictures of handsome young couples doing the Tango have obviously done wonders for the international image of Buenos Aires.

The reality for most non-rich people who live in BA or in Rio is rather different.

Good post. I started to read it and thought it strange and stopped. Didn't get as far as the premises for their conclusion.

Argento

[MataHari]

I find argentine people much more intense, communicative, empathetic than in any other country I've been visiting. They are eager to know other people, they welcome you without counting how much they spend. It seems that because they have no control on their future, they want to live the present as intensely as possible.

Yes living at "primer mundo" costs with "tercer mundo" wages is an impossible arythmetic. Yes, bureaucracy makes everything slow, painfull, expensive. Yes, having to bribe everybody and their dog can be quickly unbreathable.

In which other country did you see so many people hand in hand, tenderly kissing one another in public parks, laying endless hours in the spring sun.

I do think western democracies from the northern hemisphere do have a lot to learn from our Argentine cousins. Just like the Mediterranean diet, there is something undescribable in the old Mediterranean art of life, a capacity to survive the worst dramas with fatality, to value time not for what it can yield but for what you can enjoy at the moment, a quality of relationship with others that our obsession of productivity took away from us.

I do believe in their capacity to imagine a perfect world in a recurrently shaken down environment. How could they be so patriotic without this denial capacity?

[Lysander]

Absolutely, positively and shamelessly subjective. Look on the faces of the citizens. Do they look happy to you as they plough through a pile of dogshit? I reckon I am better travelled than most people and my fellow citizens in Bs As are the most mirthless people that I have known.

Argento. If you read the Forbes article you'll see the company who have perpetrated this odd bit of market research are not claiming it is an objective an objective assessment. On the contrary, in the words of Anholt, the man who masterminded this strange bit of market research, "This is is a survey of of perception not of reality" Furthemore he explains, "this is a survey of where respondents could imagine themselves happy"

Rather curious about all this I also had a look at the GFK Custom Research North America website. According to the website, they have a panel of 10,000 people from different countries and to ask them questions on their perception of life in a list of various well know cities in the world. Most of the panelists have of course never been to BA or to Sydney or most of the cities on the target list either. But it is their perception of what life might be like in these cities that this survey captures. In other words it is a survey of international city BRAND image.

Not surprising then that cities like Rio, Sydney and BA, all places in the southern hemisphere with strong 'brand image', where most people have never actually lived or only visited on a short happy holiday, do so well in a survey of this kind. All those pictures of handsome young couples doing the Tango have obviously done wonders for the international image of Buenos Aires.

The reality for most non-rich people who live in BA or in Rio is rather different.

[Whiskas]

One wonders what the publishers of the "top-ten" survey were thinking.

Probably they were bribed by K's people, hoteliers or someone with interest in showing the bright side of BA, the guys who made the survey were taken to free tango shows, fine restaurants and free mongering nights. Why do you think everybody looked happy in their eyes? When you go for the first time in happens, at least that's what I thought during my first trip.

[La Guy 55]

It is not credible at all to suppose BA is one of the top ten happiest cities in the world. I find it one of the most depressing cities I have visited (and I have spent time, in some cases substantial time, in six of the "top-ten" cities listed in the survey, and well as numerous other cities). For my money Argentineans, at least those in Buenos Aires, seem as a group depressed and unhappy; I see it every time I walk down the street.

One wonders what the publishers of the "top-ten" survey were thinking.

[El Queso]

As I've said before, those who come and can leave when tired of things always love it here (I did for the first year I was here! Many of those who spend a lot of time messing with all the things that you have to deal with here, on a day-to-day basis, have a different take on things.

This includes locals. Particularly locals who are not wealthy and can't have decent things for the pitiful salaries they make in comparison to the very high cost of just about anything imported (not including food from neighboring countries - I'm talking about the high-tax things like computers and even mixers for the kitchen!

Of course the wealthy here are happy. They can get pretty much what they want. I live among them - I know. Of course visitors are happy - they don't have to deal with the everyday existence things. Of course mongers are happy - there's some of the best pussy in the world here!

I know SO MANY LOCAL people here who are disgusted with their leaders, disgusted with all the little crap they have to put up with, disgusted often at how their own fellow country men treat each other (that's a really big one)

Earlier today, I was talking with the guy who does my yard and takes care of my pool and gardens (80 pesos a week - you can't beat it! He said if it wasn't for the fact that Buenos Aires was where the money was for the most part (a large part centralized anyway) he wouldn't live here himself. He's a smart guy, working on his degree in agriculture, trying to do better. He has a decent car, but lives in a small house barely big enough for him and his family. We talked about many things that frustrated him and his last words were "well, what can we do - we're stuck here." BTW - he did the talking I just nodded and sympathized. I didn't even taint the conversation by complaining about anything.

Every programmer that works / ed for me is / was seeking citizenship to their ancestors' countries (three from Italy, 2 from Holland and one from Ireland) so they could emmigrate there because they can't stand it here.

I have to wonder how they made the survey, because if it was objectively done, either there were a lot of people lying here in BA, or they only sampled happy people for the most part.

Having said that, a foreigner who makes his money elsewhere and lives here, or is retired, can make a decent living for himself. Along with the beautiful women, there are a lot more personal freedoms available here than there are in many countries, including the United States.

I do enjoy living here more than the US. But I'm not one of the unfortunate people who lives outside my neighborhood in places where many poor in the US would not live.

But in the top 10? Huh.

[Argento]

Absolutely, positively and shamelessly subjective. Look on the faces of the citizens. Do they look happy to you as they plough through a pile of dogshit? I reckon I am better travelled than most people and my fellow citizens in Bs As are the most mirthless people that I have known.

[ComeOnDown]

Not surprising at all from my point of view.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/wor..._slide_11.html

That's true, all my endings in Buenos Aires have always been happy.

[Wild Walleye]

Not surprising at all from my point of view.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/wor..._slide_11.html

Always happy when in Bs As.

[Member #3320]

Not surprising at all from my point of view.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/09/02/wor..._slide_11.html