Felicity Long
For the past three years in a row, Finland has elbowed out the competition to nab the title of world s happiest country, according to the U.N. s World Happiness Report (yes, there really is such a thing).
Criteria include income per capita, health and life expectancy and social support, among others, but the last time I was in Helsinki with my family, before the pandemic, I had an aha moment about why the Finns keep nailing that elusive award.
The city, while lovely, seems to me to be designed for its residents rather than to impress tourists. For example, our local walking-tour guide wanted to take us to the new Central Library, known as the Oodi, which opened in late 2018, even though we only had a few hours with her.