Men in long-term relationships are healthier and happier, and big cities make us miserable, according to the 15-year research of the University of Melbourne, conducted by a team of 300 scientists.
Since 2001 until 2015 researchers were interviewing around 17,000 people every year, evaluating how certain parameters influence their life satisfaction and income.
The study named HILDA (The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia) is the largest comparison investigation of Australian families. Happiness in life, after all, has a distinct profile, which could be useful for policy makers, believes the author of the study Roger Wilkins, an Associate Professor of the University of Melbourne.
The 97-page report gives insights into how men and women evaluate their life contentment, depending on their location and family status. People living in smaller towns of 1,000 inhabitants or fewer were found to be significantly happier than the ones living in busy capitals. Being friendly with neighbours and having a nice backyard space could also make you more excited about life.
Happiness and Health
- Living in smaller towns with fewer than 1,000 residents makes you happier.
- Residents of capitals are the most miserable.
- Urban areas outside major cities offer reasonably good level of life satisfaction.
- Friendly relations with neighbours increase people’s joy of life.
Relationships
- Men feel happier in relationships than their female partners.
- Being in a long-term relationship is beneficial for men’s health, but has no influence on women’s.
- People in de-facto relationships are enjoying them more than the ones who have officially tied the knot.
- The birth of children reduces levels of contentment.
- People in relationships lasting over 20 years are happy, but until this timeline contentment in marriages goes down over time.
Careers
- The best way to earn more is to find a new job.
- People over the age of 50 are less likely to find a new employment.
- For young girls, if the mother was working when they were 14, their potential of high earnings later in life is significantly higher. For boys, there is no correlation.
- Kids who left home at the age of 21-24 were the best set for life in terms of future earnings. Worst of were teens who left home before 18.
What conclusions can we make from this colossal 15-year research?
- Finding a partner will make you happier and healthier, so you are likely to live longer and enjoy life more.
- Don’t be afraid to change jobs if you are under 50 and wish to earn more — and if you are older, consider becoming your own boss to attain prosperity.
- If you desire to have children, be ready to work harder on your relationship, so you don’t drift apart.
- If you manage to stick together until the 20-year wedding anniversary, it’s going to become even more fun.
The findings about men’s health greatly benefiting from a long-term relationship have been confirmed in another long-term survey in UK.
Read also:
- Marriage is good for men but not for women, research found
- How to find a good match? Find the right person for life
- Age difference in couples — seeking an ideal?
- Why the best time to start your search is now
Do you find that women (the ones on this site) come from more urban settings and are more likely to desire an urban environment? I was dating a Russian lady and she did not like the idea of moving where she had to drive. She was from St. Petersburg and prefered the city life.
Duffy, Yes, most people in Russia and Ukraine live in urban environments, although some ladies are familiar with and enjoy smaller towns. Girls from the country side have no problems finding partners, as smaller farming communities usually have more young men than women. So, women on our site will be usually city dwellers, used to city life. You may get around it by telling her how far is the closest place to drive where she can access theatres and galleries that she believes are important for her (they are not) – usually even in a large capital city you have… Read more »
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Hi Elena! Good stuff on here. My grandparents have been married for 73 years. The caliber of woman I seek is that of my grandmother. I made it for 21 years with my last wife and put up with other men during that time. I was miserable to say the least. I feel like I need a woman like my grandmother has been to my grandfather. They are happy even today in their 90’s.. Mom and dad have been married 45 years and they are happy. My mom was my dads second marriage. I want to be married happily to… Read more »
Joseph,
73 years – it’s amazing!
My husband’s parents are married for 51 years.
My parents were married for 31 years when my father passed away.
I think today marriages work differently. It’s better to seek a person you feel comfortable and happy with rather than someone with “values”. If people are happy together, they will stay together. If people are unhappy, no matter “the values”, they will drift apart, and eventually the marriage will end. A woman will be loyal to the man she loves.
In the past I listened to a podcast from a marriage expert called the Mark Gungor Show. I don’t know if they still do it, but when I was listening to the show they would start by commenting on different studies that had been done on many subjects relating to marriage and relationships. They had a few that stated that men in long term relationships (marriage) did live longer, where healthier and overall more successful. It’s was a big eye opener for me, especially since that has been my desire for a very long time…to find someone and spend the… Read more »
Gilbert, I think marriage is the ultimate personal success for a man or a woman. The ability to share one’s life with another person in a long-term relationship confirms our validity as human beings. Humans evolved as a social animal. If you are capable of finding another person who is willing to share with you his or her life, you must be doing something right and have some social value. Having a child gives us a chance for genetic immortality, conditional on this child’s ability to procreate. It is no wonder that the value of family and spending quality time… Read more »