The Healthiest Cities have Community

Want to live longer? Be a part of your community.

As I was going through deleting hundreds of emails I don't remember subscribing to, a title caught my eye. The article was called, "The Top Ten Longevity Cities of 2025: Lessons from the Healthiest Places on Earth." Now I clicked to read it because I have read a lot of books about happiness and health and a lot of them talk about the importance of feeling connected to our communities. Which is a huge driving factor on why I continue to push so hard for inclusive communities. If you want to read the article, check it out here.

But I am going to show you below every screenshot I took of the 10 cities secrets to being happy and living longer because every one of them either talks about social connection or a healthy work-life balance. Want to know who wasn't on the list? ANY CITY IN America.. so let's discuss.

The first city on the list is Seoul, South Korea. Of course social interactions aren't the only thing that promote life longevity. Being active, outside, eating well, access to health care, are all very important to our life expectancies. But we can't brush over how every city had something to say about the importance of connecting with each other. Top of the list, Seoul has:

Reflect on your own relationships with your family, your community, your neighbors. Can you ask them for help? If they need help, do you show up? Do you respect your community members? Sometimes I feel like we are so stressed out making sure we are "comfortable" instead of focusing on compromising so we can all show up happily together.

The article continues with the importance to build social ties and reminds us "loneliness is a longevity killer!"

The next city is Madrid, Spain. Not only fo they discuss the importance of a healthy work-life balance, but they even remind you to not rush through your social interactions and to enjoy them. Slow down. Go have a conversation with friends and family and don't rush to be done or hurry off to the next activity. Show appreciation in that moment. Better yet, go for a walk with a friend! Then go out an eat like a Spaniard.

As we head over now to Zurich, Switzerland, the article states the importance of, "Social Connection & Community Stability: Switzerland has low crime rates, strong community ties, and a culture of personal responsibility."

This is one of the first times the article talks over the culture norm of a city. Taking responsibility for yourself. I do feel like a lot of Americans LOVE to find someone to blame. There is all this talk about taking accountability but a lot of what that has been looking like is a half-hearted apology and then shifting the blame to someone else who made you act like that. Switzerland's tip for you:

Find groups you want to be a part of. There are so many local groups that want you to be a part of their community. Search near your local coffee shops and books shops or even Facebook.

Not surprised to see Quebec, Canada on the list, but I have to say, one of their tips was one of my favorite. This city has a culture of connection with events that bring community together but their tip they shared was to talk to strangers. They explain how easily it can improve your mood! And as someone who is at her local bookstore and had a 10 minute conversation with the owner before sitting down to work. I could not agree more the importance it is to connect to people you interact with daily.

Next up, we have Melbourne, Australia. Another place that stresses the importance of a work-life balance and being active but again, focusing on the social connection! What I love about this tip is that they specify in cultural importance. You can focus on a creative pursuit, or an activity that is chill.

And you know what, I lied at the beginning. There is ONE American city on the list. Boulder, Colorado. As someone who has visited this city, I can say that they were one of the most active community I have ever seen. Everyone was running, biking, playing, hiking, and enjoying outside with friends. And really, it is all about the balance.

Recently, my therapist told me to make a pie chart of where my energy goes throughout the day and I know that too much of it goes to stressing about things I can't control. Name three things you can control. And start there.

Lastly, the article gave a list of bullet points to help us make It to 100-years old. And I wasn't surprised at all to see this as one of the main bullet points.

How do you connect with your community? How can you be a villager?

Inclusion starts with you and I just want to help.

Kayla