Today only one red light caught me on my commute. It took less than 10 minutes of driving, and only 15 door to door from the house to the office including a one block walk in the sunshine. I arrived peaceful and happy.

According to Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman — as reported in the WSJ and Creativity Exchange — having a short commute is a key to happiness. Yet another advantage to living in the inner city.

Another key to happiness according to Kahneman is maximizing your leisure time (or disposible time as I’ve called it), including doing active things (dining with friends, going for a walk) rather than passive ones (like watching TV). It’s a lot easier to find active things to do in a bussling city than a quiet suburb.