Monday, March 21, 2011
PHUKET residents are the least happy people in all Thailand, a survey has revealed. Even those living in Thailand's three troubled southern provinces, where bombs and shootings are a daily occurrence, are happier.And a trip across the bridge from Phuket to neighboring Phang Nga might help: Thais living there are enjoying the third happiest province, compared to Phuket at position 77 and last.
Phuket registered just 5.64 on a scale of 10 compared to the happiest province, Supanburi, which measured 7.83.
What's more, the survey was no quick whip-around among tuk-tuk drivers or street sweepers.
The Academic Network for Community Happiness Observation and Research, based at Bangkok's Assumption University, talked to 42,538 people nationwide through February and March before releasing the results.
Respondents were asked to rate their province for happiness on a scale of 1-10. Most of the respondents were young - 69.9 percent were undergraduates, while 30.8 percent were businesspeople.
Could there be a connection between Phuket's position as the top when it it comes to the minimum wage, which is based on the cost of living, and its lowly position when it comes to happiness?
Or perhaps having to smile for a high percentage of overseas tourists makes life really, really hard?
The research was not drawing that conclusion. But certainly, income and making ends meet were a factor in individual's happiness.
The top provinces for happiness were Supanburi (7.83), Uttaradit (7.66), Phang Nga (7.56), Sukhothai (7.50)and Petchaburi (7.44). The bottom five in descending order: Samut Sangkran (6.45), Krabi (6.41), Saraburi (6.40), Songkhla (6.32) . . . and Phuket (5.64).
Surprisingly, somewhere in the middle on the happiness scale were the deeply troubled southern provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat.
Anchor researchers said that concerns about crime were greatest in Narathiwat and almost as intense in Rayong. And Bangkok? Bangkok rated 69th.
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