Happiest State In America? So Why Are They Moving To Montana?

Dear Californians,

I'm a little confused.

Wallethub just came out with the happiest places in America for 2022 and, well, it just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. According to the study, there are a whole lot of happy places to live in this great land of ours, but it seems that one state really stands out over the rest. Which one?

California.Yep, the Golden State comes in first place.

In the Top 10 Happiest Places in America, California made that list six times.  Yep, you read that right.  Out of the ten happiest places to live in the United States, 60 percent of them are in California.  That brings up the question that I think is probably on a whole lot of minds right now, if it's so great in California, why do you keep moving here?

I mean that's a legitimate question, right?  Especially when you throw in the fact that in the entire state of Montana, there are only two happy places according to the new study. Missoula, which comes in ranked at 73, and Billings which has a ranking of 105.

Bozeman, which seems to be a magnet for Californians didn't even show up on the happy list. (probably because we're not very happy about all of those Californians moving here)

Could it be for the mountains and National Parks?  I suppose it could be, but you have mountains and National Parks in California as well. Yosemite National Park and The Redwood National Forrest are breathtaking, plus California has the ocean AND Disneyland.

How about the cheap house prices here in Montana?  I mean, maybe.  However, here in Bozeman home prices have increased almost 50 percent in the last year and don't show any sign of slowing down.  In fact, there are many places in California that offer far cheaper homes when it comes to price.

Listen, to all of you Californians that are thinking about moving here to Montana, let me be honest with you.  It gets cold here.  Much colder than you're used to, in fact, some of us even wear fur. Oh and speaking of fur, we have wild animals here and many of them will eat you.

Having said that, I would think long and hard before deciding to move here, plus, it sounds like you've got it pretty good there in California.  So, how about we come to a compromise?  Come and visit.  Montana is a wonderful place to vacation.  We welcome you and your money to come here and stay a few days...a week tops, then head back home and bask in all that California sunshine and happiness.