The Happiest States In America Might Also Be The Prettiest | HuffPost Life

The Happiest States In America Might Also Be The Prettiest

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Associate Editor, HuffPost Travel

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Last week, Gallup released the results of a poll asking Americans how they feel about living in their home states. The results left us with one thought -- a pretty state is a happy state.

You see, the states with the largest percentage of residents who believe their state is the "best or one of the best places to live" also happen to be the states with some of the grandest, most beautiful natural scenery in America. They're the states we'd love to visit any day.

Check out photos of the happiest states below. Did yours make the list?

1. Montana

Grinnell Lake, Glacier National Park

2. Alaska

Halibut Cove

3. Utah

Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park

4. Wyoming

Schwabachers Landing, Grand Teton National Park

5. Texas

Palo Duro Canyon

6. Hawaii

Wailua Falls

7. New Hampshire

North Sugarloaf, White Mountains National Forest

8. North Dakota

Little Missouri River

9. Colorado

Maroon Bells, Aspen

10. Vermont

Waits River

Before You Go

America's Most Beautiful Neighborhoods

Brooklyn Heights, New York City(01 of07)

The storied Brooklyn Bridge, an American beauty itself, sets its eastern granite foot in this neighborhood made beautiful by brownstones and regal prewar condos on leafy streets, some named for fruit. Generations of literati (Thomas Wolfe, Walt Whitman, Truman Capote) have flocked to Brooklyn Heights, and more than 600 houses date to before the Civil War—surpassing better-known areas in Philadelphia and D.C. Visitors’ most memorable snapshots of the Manhattan skyline are taken from its sunset-soaking waterfront esplanade.

Photo:Christopher Vernon-Parry/ Alamy

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Garden District, New Orleans(02 of07)

When you think of the good life in the South—mint juleps on the veranda, gingerbread iron detailing, heavy subtropical shade trees—you’re thinking of the Garden District around St. Charles Avenue, where streetcars trundle by (fare still $1.25). A slight elevation has protected these mansions from hurricane devastation for nearly 200 years. Certainly a wealthy enclave, where the four-diamond Commander’s Palace is considered the local eatery, the district is by no means homogenous; its Orthodox Anshe Sfard synagogue, with 1926 electric light fittings, was founded by Lithuanian Jews. Don’t miss Lafayette Cemetery, a 180-year-old reliquary of spectacular aboveground vaults.

Photo: Karim Rezk

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Pacific Heights, San Francisco(03 of07)

For many visitors, San Francisco is synonymous with the Hollywood-ready “Painted Ladies”—by definition a Victorian wood home gussied up with at least three paint colors—and this hilltop area has the city’s highest concentration. The Heights preserves the city much as it was before the quake and fire of 1906, and Victorian Home Walk’s daily tours provide context for your architectural exploration. A walking tour of this privileged district also guarantees gorgeous panoramas of the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and the Bay.

Photo: Hemis / Alamy

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The Paseo, Oklahoma City(04 of07)

Some beautiful neighborhoods are also worth celebrating as success stories. Once a thriving artists’ colony of Spanish Revival 1920s bungalows, by mid-century The Paseo, two miles north of downtown, was plagued by gang warfare and prostitution. Unfazed, artists moved in, taking advantage of low property values, and brought things back to a state of homey bohemianism—with plenty of eye candy. Nearly 20 galleries, two schools for creative students, and an annual arts festival inspired Forbes to name it one of “America’s most transformed neighborhoods.” Where home values are dropping elsewhere, in the Paseo, they’re going up, without forsaking that unique pioneer Oklahoma culture.

Photo: Robert V. Archer

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South of Broad in Charleston(05 of07)

Savannah’s cobbled Historic District corners the market on ghost tours and manicured squares, but Charleston’s mansard-rich sister offers it-happened-here Dixie lore and is noticeably less touristy and at least as beautiful. Visitors stroll block after block of corniced brick multilevel buildings graced by canopies of Spanish moss, palm trees, and flowering gardens. These 300-year-old merchants’ homes retain a West Indies influence, notable in the south-facing porches designed to catch sea breezes. The secession of the Confederacy was hatched in this neighborhood’s parlors, and the Civil War’s first shots were fired at Fort Sumter, within sight of the bedroom windows.

Photo: Nik Wheeler/ Alamy

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Hancock Park, Los Angeles(06 of07)

Tourists are shooed away from the opulence of Beverly Hills by tall hedges and locked gates, but the 1,200 homes of Hancock Park form a rare L.A. enclave that invites exploration. The landmarked Hollywood sign is visible from many streets, where the range of styles and fine construction evoke the boom days of the 1920s. Case in point: the Queen Anne–style Higgins-Verbeck-Hirsch House, at 637 South Lucerne, was trucked here in June 1924—while 100 high-society guests partied inside. Stars such as Nat King Cole, Kathy Bates, and Patricia Heaton have helped the community keep its luster despite a westward march of real estate trendiness.

Photo: Ambient Images Inc./ Alamy

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Oak Park, Western Chicago(07 of07)

It’s not just about the modest elegance of Frank Lloyd Wright, although he designed or built 23 structures in Oak Park, including his own studio. The Americana runs deeper here. Fully 90 percent of this 97-block village—conveniently tethered to downtown Chicago by a 15-minute ride on the El—is classified as a historic district that ranges from Prairie School (80 examples) to the birthplace of Ernest Hemingway. Walking past the lawns and low-pitched homes is pleasure enough, but the local government also sweetens the suburban paradise with a cycle system that puts no resident more than two blocks from a bikeway.

Photo: NiKcreative/ Alamy

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