From Russell Smith's column in todays Globe and Mail: (paywalled; subscriber access only)

Happiness sounds terribly sweet. Economists at something called the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research recently published a study that claimed to show that people who live in small towns in this country are happier than those who live in big cities. They claim that Saint John and Charlottetown are among the top five Canadian cities for quality of life. What could this "happiness" possibly mean?

The authors say people who trust in and are involved with their neighbours are happier, so you're better off in a small town. I say happiness is proximity to a video store with the complete Criterion Collection. If happiness means living in Saint John, then perhaps I want to be miserable.