> Or does a family spending most of their $75K income renting a 500 sf apartment in NY experience the same level of happiness as an equivalent family in a remote suburb with much more living space.
There has been some research done around how some people who live in cities (especially those who can be paid a relatively high livable wage) are those who want the local optimum of their available choices (maximizers). [1,2]
This tends to make them possibly less happy than those who have less choices. For instance, if you live in London or NYC, there are hundreds of options for nightlife and entertainment - and you might want to be somewhere else even if you are at club X (fear of missing out).
But the reality is:
"Happiness is complicated. Wherever you live." [3]
Urban dwellers - especially high-income ones who chose to live there (as opposed to people who were simply born into working class NYC or SF and stayed) - often have idealistic, maximizer notions of "taking advantage of everything the city has to offer". Which is impossible and absurd in even a medium sized city, let alone NYC, London, SF.
There has been some research done around how some people who live in cities (especially those who can be paid a relatively high livable wage) are those who want the local optimum of their available choices (maximizers). [1,2]
This tends to make them possibly less happy than those who have less choices. For instance, if you live in London or NYC, there are hundreds of options for nightlife and entertainment - and you might want to be somewhere else even if you are at club X (fear of missing out).
But the reality is:
"Happiness is complicated. Wherever you live." [3]
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Paradox_of_Choice:_Why_More...
[2] http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2012/02/14/the-real-value-of-d...
[3] http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2011/10/...