Peter Moore: Does journey to find happy life go via Totnes and Montecito?

I was talking to a very successful professor of general practice.

He taught at a top university and edited a prestigious academic journal, but his success had come at a cost. He then had a “eureka” moment. Sitting in a flat, estranged from his wife and children and editing the journal, he suddenly realised his situation. What was he doing? He gave up his academic career, cut his hours and his family accepted him back. Although he was no longer as successful on paper, he was much happier.

It made me wonder about some of the reviews into the “best universities”. One criterion is how much money students earn after graduating. Although we all need an income to pay the bills, does a massive income make anyone happier than an adequate income? Is a very wealthy and successful businessman in a massive house, on his third wife and never seeing his children really successful?

Qualifying as a doctor is seen by many as a success. I loved my job and I hope I was successful but I also saw a suicide by a colleague who went into medicine and hated it.

What makes for real success in life? In an incredible piece of research Harvard University in the US looked at the health records of over seven hundred people across the world for 85 years, presumably not all by the same researchers.

It turns out that a successful career and money do not bring happiness, proving an old cliché. “Money can’t buy me love”, to quote the Beatles. Diet and exercise are important for health but do not by themselves bring happiness, an observation I prove every new year when I start a diet. I also confirmed it with my only trip to the gym some years ago.

I have never visited Montecito, the home of the Sussexes in California, but I am sure I’d rather live in Devon. A Times journalist cynically called it Totnes reimagined by Ralph Lauren.  It is the home of numerous extremely wealthy celebrities. I could buy a gluten-free, vegan, kosher, non-GMO certified beetroot juice and 100 per cent vegan organic gluten-free palm oil free soy-free low sodium chocolate bar for $10 or turmeric pills for $100. I think I’d prefer our Totnes. Harry appears to have been happiest when he was in the army, surrounded by friends. Today is he really happy, estranged from his British family? We can never know. The secret of a happy life is a social life. We all need people. We need to be a part of a community, as Harry found when he was in the army.  

The problem today is that life is pulling in the opposite direction. Many people work from home, missing the chats over coffee or the water dispenser.

According to the British Retail Consortium, in 2024 the number of people going to the shops rather than buying online fell again and this included Christmas. Anyone walking down Union Street in Torquay or Victoria Street in Paignton will notice the number of shops which have closed. Crossways is now a car park.

Whenever I go shopping, I use the self-service checkout. The only contact I have with a human is when they ask me if I’m over 21, which does not take too long.

In the first three months of 2024, 239 pubs in England and Wales closed. Many local nightclubs have now gone.

As with all psychological research, these results are complicated. We cannot measure happiness with a blood test. Attempts have been made with a “happiness index” but this is controversial. There are some exceptions when money appears to bring happiness but not on its own. Just being rich to buy lots of “stuff” is not helpful but people are happier if they can buy things they want. This does not make a billionaire a thousand times happier than a millionaire but if someone loves going to Plainmoor or collecting stamps they will be happier if they can afford it.

Perhaps the real secret of happiness is not only going to Plainmoor but seeing Torquay win.