The Latin American happiness advantage

[San-liml]

Family, connection to the community, and great food is my guess

[monicatoro]

I’m a Colombian living in London. I absolutely love London, but the thing I miss the most is the sense of community of the Latin countries. I do think feeling you are part of a community is in the top 3 of the things that make you happier without noticing.

[gabrielaraujo]

Brazilian here... For the most part of my life I was raised in a favela, raised by a single mother that lived on a minimum wage... But every weekend our entire family (30 people or more) come together to throw a Churrasco, listing to some Samba, Bossa Nova and MPB music and of course, play some football... So yeah, community, the climate and simple, but delicious food is the right answer

[hlp]

Brazillian here. I would say:

- Good weather (sunny and warm)
- Good food (tropical crops)
- Community and family oriented people
- Friendly, receptive, affectionate and open people
- Great music/dance culture

Impossible to be sad really

[carbonero]

No es más feliz quien más tiene, sino quien menos necesita

[sdlion]

Living overseas as a Mexican in Japan, another very much community based country, something that I found surprising, is to know that "integrating the new/alone person to the group" is not an universal value. It is a common value with my fellow Latin American friends.
For us, IT IS BAD MANNERS (to the " an Awful thing to do" level) to not *give a chance* to someone to integrate into your group (whatever your group values are). If they don't want to, it's ok, but an approach should be done at least.

I think this is very important, since it leaves a mark on first impression, social grouping and amount of social skills (due extended experience on going in and out of social groups. Including seeing them fail, renew, etc).

And humans are definitely social beings.

[radiantbladez]

I’ve traveled to Latin America and other developing countries, and similar to what others have mentioned, I noticed a strong sense of community and a deep focus on family. In contrast, life in the U.S. often emphasizes individuality and personal achievement. It’s not surprising that issues like loneliness, anxiety, and other mental health challenges are so prevalent here when compared to the communal and family-oriented culture of these countries.

[ingridmace]

I'm Brazilian, and the answer is... be grateful for what you have, realize how lucky we are just to be alive at this wonderful time, make the best of what you can, and go out to spend time with loved ones! Life has it's ups and downs, but overall, I'm glad and thankful for being here living this life!

[gardeniamartinez]

There are two things. There was a happiness study done by Harvard that took decades to complete and they finally concluded that what makes people happy in life above all, are having positive relationships with other human beings. So if there is a sense of community and belonging and shared positive experiences among individuals, it would make sense that Latin America outperforms other countries. Number two, there was another study done to determine what the world’s happiest language is. They measure this by determining how many words in the language are positive. They concluded that Spanish was in fact the happiest language in the world. :)

[ridhakazuki]

Family and community, perhaps? Life in a barrio is pretty great, even if you're completely broke you can get by.

[Victoria-uwpw]

I’m Mexican, what I love the most about Mexico is the people, the feeling of community, the sunshine and the fresh tasty food, the creativity. Simple things.

[taylor_green_]

Being openly affectionate with your family and friends. Hugs and kisses galore, telling people you love them, all that good stuff. Greetings from Argentina 🇦🇷

[anakincaminantedelcielo]

As a latin american boy, I can tell that, we're happy because we do express our love to one another

[jalc]

I’m Honduran and go to Honduras 1x a year, and let me tell you! This year when I went out onto the neighborhood street on Tuesday at around 4pm, there were children playing soccer out on the streets, food sellers and small shops out socializing with the community, elder people such as my grandpa casually sitting outside greeting passerby’s, and overall people of all ages just outside socializing/eating, coming in and out of houses, and although the houses don’t cost a fraction of what they do here in California, the social community was blooming and people were connecting! And this was just a Tuesday!! I’ve never seen anything like it in my neighborhood here in California. Also, the social culture at least within my Honduran family is very loving and expressive- family just shower you with love and praise, I truly mean it! They call you every kind word under the sun and adore you so much all the time! It’s really nice!

[ricardogarcia-vihv]

In latin america people really care about each other. Also humor and a festivity attitude also helps.

[YeniferHer-mj]

Guatemalan here: Happy, wealthy, healthy and at peace ✌ that's just how it is living here. No secrets no stress just life ❤

[Georgeanne]

My parents relocated after 50 years in the US to Latin America-Honduras. They are healthier, happier and more relaxed than ever. They said that people use technology but not attached to it, they only use it if necessary. They talk, visit and meet with others, Kid’s play outside, food is fresher and less processed. Daily activity is the norm, not being stuck indoors. More fresh air, nature and the weather is never cold. Family still matters and work is not the purpose in life.

[pradamateo]

Born and raised in Colombia, now living in the US. We are happy because it's the only thing that is free, doesn't cost a thing and makes the hardship more bearable. We learn to enjoy the little we have and everything is a reason to party.

[renatokobashigawa]

Brazilian here. I'm not happy, but I believe I can speak for the happy people out there. I believe we have a stronger sense of community and hospitality. This helps combating the sense of helplessness and isolation that's brought to all places along with the modern lifestyle. Cheers!

[jadeamorimgalindo]

Joy, kindness, dancing, great folklore and culture, awesome food and beautiful landscapes.