Where Idaho Ranks Among Loneliest States in America

Look at it this way, we have the great outdoors to keep us company.  Or 500 TV channels.  Or everyone is so busy making a living, they don’t have time to be lonely.  Fortune is tracking the loneliest states in America.  Three of the top seven are in New England (half the region).  I suppose it’s the blustery conditions in Maine.  The gales blowing in off the ocean and the long distances between people in the scantily populated northern reaches of the state.

Otherwise, there doesn’t really appear to be any regional connection between lonely states and states where people aren’t lonely.  Florida gets a lot of sunshine.  As does Arizona.  One is ranked as a lonely place and the other looks to be filled with more contented if not happier folks.

By the way, Idaho is the sixth least lonely place on the list.  Neighboring Utah, with strong family ties and faith, is the least lonely place in America.  And how can you be lonely when the biggest daily concern is driving in that mess between Brigham City and Provo?

What’s really being measured is depression.  While there clearly some internal factors, where you live could be depressing.  When I was a young adult I lived in a distressed community and one day was talking with a friend who was often depressed.  She said it was because there were so few young people living in the city.  Most left because of a lack of job opportunities.  She ended up moving west and developed a much brighter attitude about life.