Urban Regrets (Unhappy Metros: Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS))

Abstract

This is the first study of urban-rural happiness gradient using multi-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). A new finding is that urbanites fail especially on “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing”–urban way of life tends to result in regrets. Effect sizes of urbanicity on subjective wellbeing (SWB) are substantial–about half of health–living in a metro depresses one's happiness as much as going half way from fair health to poor health, for instance.