People who live in northern province of Drenthe top a ranking of those who are happy, healthy and feel safe, according to a new survey which measures income and other factors that affect well-being.

The areas with the highest score are Drenthe and het Gooi in Noord-Holland but not for the same reason: het Gooi does well because it has more households with a high disposable income and low unemployment, while people in Drenthe boast a better life/work balance and a safer environment.

The survey looks at health, safety and liveability as well as income in carrying out its research. ‘We look at how people interpret prosperity,’ researcher Bas van Bavel told public broadcaster NOS. ‘Economic growth is important but not necessarily decisive.’

Drenthe proves his point because, NOS writes, the province is lagging behind when it comes to economic growth and unemployment is relatively high. But other things boost Drenthe’s score.

‘We have the woods, a lake and we are near to big cities such as Groningen and Assen’, NOS quotes one Drenthenaar as saying, while another praises the quietness of the country side.

Urban areas

According to Van Bavel people’s sense of well-being has not kept up with the increase of economic growth post crisis, especially in big urban areas.

‘People are often not happy about their housing situation and are afraid that more flexibility in the jobs market means they have a greater chance of losing their job,’ he told NOS.

Amsterdammers, for instance, are more often unhappy about high rents and house prices while people in Rotterdam worry about job security. The province of Zuid-Holland had the lowest happiness score overall.