According to This Study, Maine is Kind of a Miserable Place to Be
The only way the statement that Maine is kind of a miserable place to be can be anywhere near true is if you're focusing specifically on tourist season.
And even then, that's not even a fully true statement since a lot of our favorite local businesses throughout Maine depend on tourist season to survive and thrive. And when people are thriving, how are they unhappy?
Happiest States in America
It's not that WalletHub called us a miserable place to be or an unhappy place directly, but it's also a little inferred in their latest study.
WalletHub recently dropped its 2023 update for the Happiest States in America, which, according to WalletHub's survey itself,
...30 key metrics, ranging from the depression rate and the share of adults feeling productive to income growth and the unemployment rate.
And without burying the headline, on that list of derived from examining those 30 key metrics, Maine landed almost right in the middle at 30. Not overly happy, apparently, but also kind of miserable, too.
In fact, not only did Maine rank #30 overall, but it also ranked the least happy of all the New England states.
And it honestly just makes no sense. According to WalletHub's own survey, Maine finishes #4 in the country in volunteer rate and #2 in the safest state in the country. How does a state walk the not that happy/kind of miserable line when it leads the way in not only helping other people through volunteering but also being one of the safest places to live?
Also, think about it -- Maine reeks of so much awesome that every single summer, people literally uproot their lives for a week or more to make sure they can come here. And there's truly something for everyone.
Portland and other areas in Maine are such foodie cities. The amount of lighthouses we have to see on any given day is a ridiculous amount. You can drive Route 1 for hours and just take in a gorgeous coastline.
You can hit Acadia and take in absolute natural beauty, leaf peep to your heart's content during peak foliage season, body surf on multiple beaches, float along any river or lake, hike a mountain when it's warm out then ski or snowboard down it in the winter.
Head up to Oxford to hopefully become rich, eat fair food and ride fair rides a stupid amount of times throughout the second half of the year, and then bring your dog with you to almost every brewery in between.
And don't even get us started on the Old Orchard Beach Pier, where there's plenty of fun and people watching for any and every age that it's impossible to not have a smile on your face the whole time you're there.
So, Maine may have finished #30 on WalletHub's most recent list of Happiest States in America, but like they say -- IYKYK (If You Know, You Know).
And we know Maine reeks of stellarocity. Period, end of story, thank you, and goodnight.