The person we choose to spend our lives with is one of the most important decision we will ever take. According to happiness studies, admittedly a contentious area of scientific research, we place far too great a stress on work, money and property and hugely underestimate the value of personal relationships. Evidence suggests that people in long-term marriages are significantly more content than those who are not; one piece of research even suggested that it had the psychic benefit of an annual salary of £65,000.

 

 -David Brooks