Science Says These Two Years Are Officially The Happiest Of Your Life

When you reflect on your life are there certain years that stick out as particularly joy-filled? The year you could legally order yourself a cocktail? Your time at university? When you finally got your dream job? Researchers have discovered that happiness peaks at two points in life, and even though one might be behind you, the other is yet to come.

The Centre of Economic Performance at the London School of Economics and Political Science interviewed 23,000 German adults aged 17–85, quizzing them on their life satisfaction and asking them to predict how happy they envisioned being in five years time. That exact time later, those same people were re-interviewed to see if the reality matched their expectations.

What the team discovered was a happiness U-curve between ages 20 and 70, with joy peaking at 23 and 69. Twenty-three is typically an age when we’re full of momentum and optimism about the future, which makes it the more predictable of the two, perhaps. Sixty-nine, however, is possibly an age when the stresses of the unknown are behind us and we can enjoy the fruits of our labor, both professional and personal.

Interestingly, researchers noted that younger people tended to overestimate the happiness of their future selves, while the older people tended to underestimate it, so during the followup interviews the twenty-somethings reported being disillusioned by the last five years (career stress! dating dramas!), while the sixty-somethings were pleasantly surprised by the trajectory of their lives.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.