After spending the entirety of my life so far living in Hastings, I’ve finally escaped my hometown and am now a fully-fledged Brightonian! I’ve been wanting to move here for years, but university, work and family commitments have always made me stay with my feet firmly on the Hastings pavements I’ve been walking on for 25 years.
As much as I love my hometown, it’s great to be living in such a new, vibrant and exciting place. After moving on Friday, I’ve spent the last few days finding my feet, befriending my neighbours and getting to know the place. One thing that became apparent from the start is that Brighton is one of the happiest cities I’ve ever found myself in.
Happiness seems to exude from almost every person I’ve met or passed in the street. On our first night in Brighton, our new neighbours invited us to a barbecue for a few drinks. After a couple of hours, it felt like spending time with people I’d known forever. The next day, the same neighbour popped in to ask how we were getting on and if we wanted to hang out together the next morning. Forgive me if I’m being naive, but I’m pretty sure this doesn’t happen wherever you go!
It’s not just the lovely neighbours that are friendly. The place 
itself is so vibrant and colourful, and with the sun shining, you can’t help but smile.
I started wondering if this happiness translates to the workplaces of Brighton – are people as happy in their work environments as they are on the streets, in shops and restaurants? Are so many people here happy because they love their jobs? ? Or is Brighton just the Happy Capital of the UK? I’d love to hear from people living in Brighton about this. Please feel free to email me at hayley@peoplelab.co.uk, or leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
Of course, Action for Happiness is incredibly popular in Brighton, with people flocking to see guest speakers at their events each month. There are also numerous positive psychology based events taking place all over the city, such as strengths workshops and laughter yoga. With so much focus on happiness and its importance, perhaps that goes some way to explaining the happy feeling that accompanies Brighton.
Whatever it is that makes Brighton such a happy place, I’m not complaining. It’s infectious!
