Check out the latest Gallup poll on places, called "communities" in this poll with the happiest people.
Again, we are seeing metropolitan areas compete in ways that resemble colleges or theme parks more than as municipalities. Notice that Lynchburg and Charlottesville scored higher than Roanoke (168 at +60.5) or Asheville (26th at +63.7). I would be interested in seeing the non-rated similarities between these high-ranking towns, as off the cuff I'm seeing a low level of diversity in race or culture and a high level of small towns in the positive rankings. I love Gallup, but as everyone knows, it's all about how you ask the question and how you group and weight the answers.
Again, we are seeing metropolitan areas compete in ways that resemble colleges or theme parks more than as municipalities. Notice that Lynchburg and Charlottesville scored higher than Roanoke (168 at +60.5) or Asheville (26th at +63.7). I would be interested in seeing the non-rated similarities between these high-ranking towns, as off the cuff I'm seeing a low level of diversity in race or culture and a high level of small towns in the positive rankings. I love Gallup, but as everyone knows, it's all about how you ask the question and how you group and weight the answers.
