The Latin American happiness advantage

Comment thread:

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.

"family" is different in Latin America vs in India/Asia. Moms in Latin America are strict but families in asia overwork their kids and have limited expectations. If the kids dont reach them they are a failure (every indian I've met studied computer science). So if an indian wants marry someone they parents don't approve, etc they are cut off. In Latin America family is your safe space, not a constant burden.

my barrio i know everyone personally like we are a whole family of like 3k people

India getting developed super fast with their massive surge in GDP in such a short amount of time, resulting in the breakdown of traditional societal bonds may be the cause. I mean in cities, u hardly know ur neighbours. Nuclear families are also breaking familial bonds. To put simply, rapid Westernization.

the problem is older than modern tech, I'm ready to blame the nuclear family model

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.

With technology we've lost a lot of real world relationships. We've also seen community be lost in other ways such as the decline in church goers for example. I'm not religious, but church was absolutely a community building experience Family, connection to the community, and great food is my guess

As an Argentinian who has been living in South Korea for 3 years, I can say the answer is stress management, community and natural resources. We prioritize spending time with our loved ones above everything else, having regular family gatherings and meeting up with friends frequently. Our land is blessed, extensive and diverse, so we have access to good and affordable meat and produce, and plenty of space so that even the poorest people can have a decent home. And we know how and when to take a break. In Korea, there is this notion that you must work as much as possible at all times, and always take on more and more work, be better than others, make more money. I find myself frequently reminding my friends to take breaks, to pass up opportunities sometimes so they can have a rest. And the land is so small and deprived of resources that produce and meat are extremely expensive, and decent homes are basically impossible to access. I completely understand why this country has the highest suicide rate and the lowest birth rate. Stress kills, take a siesta.

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

Indian family would yell at kid to become doctor. While Hispanic family wants throw parties every weekend and happy if you get a job at a construction

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

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.

In Brazil, life objectively sucks, but there's something that makes it all more digestible at times. I spent some time trying to find out what it was, and the best I could come up with is that the Americans and Canadians (and probably Brits and such) spend so much energy putting up all these boundaries and toned down expectations of what community can be, that your basic need of being social is barely if ever fulfilled, almost as if by design.

Now I'm definitely not going to point fingers and say the culture of a place I'm not from should change, but we (northerners) could use a bit of reflection on the matter.

I am Colombian, I have studied in Europe, I have vacationed in USA and also in other Latin American countries, and you don't need much to be happy, happiness comes from within, also from the good weather, good food, from being loved, the simple things are the best.

As a Hispanic American who lived in Buenos Aires briefly, it's community and a general zest for life. There's something about living in a place with such rich culture in spite of relative poverty that makes you prouder, happier, and more ready to appreciate the good. I adopted the culture, they adopted me, and I've never been happier in any period of my life. Many people (including myself) compare Buenos Aires to a poorer NYC or Paris, but I'd rather live in BsAs than either of those cities.

As Costa Rican I would say happiness does not depend of the amount of money you have. Happiness depends of being grateful with life and with time that you share with family and friends.

Im Nicaraguan, living in Spain, I can tell you how much I miss my family, friends and how happy I was in my country In Central America many people live in nature, close to forests, mountains, beaches. Often they just want a small plot of land to plant their food, have chickens and just be left alone.

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. Family, music, dancing/traditions and feeling like you belong within the community is a big part.

Had a friend from Brazil who came here for marriage. She said in Brazil we have nothing and are happy but here in America we have so much but are so unhappy.

Colombian here. I would say, strong family ties and intergenerational closeness, same cultural background and history, and a sense of agency over our lives, IMO motivated by the fact that governments are so helpless in providing for their people that we become creative in revenue creation (which unfortunately creates a massive underground economy).

People, connections, family and friends , that's what makes us happy! Community is everything! we take time to be with friends, family, etc.

The weather help a lot, not cloudy or cold days at all, and so ...the music, the strongs colors of nature, and a all year agricilture production help a lot to. land scape, beaches etc

Strong sense of community and family, and an incredible openness to other people’s joy, and when I say community, I mean country wise and even ethnic wise. Think of it like a ripple: strong nuclear family ties, strong extended family ties, strong community ties, strong town, cities, country, neighboring countries, regional, same language, similar customs, similar languages, same history, etc etc etc. The best way to really get a scope of the unity is international sporting events like the World Cup, where first you root for your national team, then the nearest country’s team, then the nearest in a bigger geographical area, then the one with the same language, then the one with the most similar culture or history and so on and so forth.

It’s the perspective on life, in Nicaragua we say often that we are “jodido pero contento” which can be translated to f*cked, but happy. We feel like even though life can be hard, we must find a way to be happy. Drink good coffee if you like it and can have it, good rum if you like it and can have it, spend time outside often, make fun of everything, mostly yourself; don’t take life so seriously because none of us will make it out alive.

would be very interesting to see how this holds up in immigrant/diaspora communities. saying this as someone who moved to Canada from Mexico as an infant and now has depression and anxiety

Brazil here - family and community. And sun, of course. Having sun the whole year goes a long way. Anytime i visit my family in Central America, everybody knows each other, looks out for one another, and they are super friendly. Same as when I visited Norway

They have a very strong cultural focus on solidarity and community building

There's a saying in my country –and I'm sure we share it with the rest of Latin American countries– that says: "donde come uno comen dos" it could be translated as "where is enough for one, it's enough for two" and i think it reflects well that sense of community, we don't let down anyone. Sharing is caring, for good and bad.

They are content with the basics, not greedy, envious or entitled. Kindness makes life good too and most are friendly people.

In Turkey I made deeper friendships more quickly and they were constantly meeting up in groups and talking about everything together. I also got to know the barber, the bodega guy, the guy who did the call to prayer, shop owners, etc. People were available! In the US they aren’t so approachable and willing to simply connect. Hanging out with people and spending time together was casual and authentic.

we're very family oriented, strong values, real friendships, we always see the optimistic side of things, we know laughing at ourselves, also people is down to earth, humble, solidary and real funny

It's culture, interpersonal warmth, and leisure. Much more than just family.

I think is the way we see life. We value the simple things, being and feeling connected to others, not seeking for what's lacking but appreciating what we have.

Family is huge...We are not far from each other. We connect with sisters, brothers, aunts, grandparents… It is difficult to be homeless here if you have at least one family member close. There’s no one in my family that I would not give a room for staying. And I’m sure because they did the same for me.

the struggle makes us really close. not only with family but also friends and co-workers

The music as a community expression is definitely unique in central and south america

Family, Food, Community, Sunshine, Self-confidence, Music, outdoor living, and not chasing materialism

what everyone said plus the fact that most of the countries mentioned have a very rich natural environment, so much abundance in the tropics, i could be broke without a job but i can go to the beach and fish i can find many fruit trees around and all this with beautiful scenery. its the im gonna have the best time i can with what i have today mentality.

Their happiness is not from the things they own but, from sticking together with their families and helping out each other as families to get through difficulties. Happiness doesn't come from indulging in self satisfaction and achievements in corporate ladder, you get short lived moments of joy from it and then you realize how lonely you really are unlike people that live in communities and rely on each other will never feel that way and always know they are loved and appreciated.

We joke about literally EVERYTHING, not to even mention things that would be considered as racist or sexist in other countries. And it all usually start at the huge meetings we tend to have with our huge families. In my family we have a say that goes: "If you get angry, you loose". I did understood this after a while in my childhood. They will come at you with any kind of jokes, if you get mad, they will come harder on you.

multiple sociological studies pointing at faith and stronger religious roots as being the reason for happiness.