If other people knew all about your life, would they envy you?
Sure… describe my average day to someone in the slums of Congo, or a grime-caked factory in northern Siberia, and it’d sound like paradise.
Probably… I’m nothing super exceptional, but there are a lot of people out there right now who could go for being solidly middle class and not having any financial or health trouble. Of course, they might also pity me; there are still more than enough people out there who would see “there’s a portion of his liesure time that he’d rather spend reading or playing games than going out and doing X” and have an adverse reaction.
My life has its ups and downs. Many people would hate to live like me. Some would enjoy my life.
Possibly.
I suspect so - I’m pregnant and hubby and I had no problem, whatsoever getting that way, I get a full year of maternity leave. Paid. I have a wonderful husband who’s kind and supportive. I have lots of really great fun friends. I live in a home that I like, and have few money concerns.
Really, things are pretty swell in Wonderland. That being said, I’m sure there are people who would pity my existence for various reasons that haven’t even occurred to me.
On some levels perhaps:
I am married to a man whom I love and he loves me
We have very few financial worries
Our children are clever, healthy, and good people
We have a full time job with benefits
We live in a house we adore - not because it’s opulent or extraordinary - it’s 150 years old and has a ton of character.
On the other hand
I have a host of medical issues, most of which have no “cure”
We drive more than an hour each way to work (and that’s only if we get up at an ungodly hour to beat traffic - otherwise it would be 2 hours + each way)
I don’t love my job - it’s a job
I suppose it’s perspective really. The real test for me is that a short 10 years ago I would have envied my present life very much. Cool.
Yep - this X 1,000!
People have flat-out told me so. Not that I consider my life enviable to everyone around me, but I’m pretty proud of what I have considering what I had to work with. On the other hand, I’m sure there are just as many people who would shake their heads and pity me.
People tell me so but they’re not living it. Grass is always greener and all that crap…
Some folks would envy where I live. The views from my deck are pretty awsome. Same with my office.
Just had a nephew visit us for a few days. He couldn’t get over it.
Man, it so depends on who you ask, doesn’t it? Those Congolese and Siberians **Wallenstein **mentioned put a real damper on the sucky <<<health/finances/romantic relationships/family&relatives/housing>>> pity parties we love to throw ourselves. (On the other hand, way to pick two totally different climates, Wally!)
I try to look at my life in a similar manner to what **Heckity **said. Every coupla years, *something *improves. A decade and a half ago, I was living at home under the thumb of my (colorful description here) parents. A decade ago, I was in college - yay! no more thumb! (Sorta.) But living in the dorms was better than living at their house. After two years of dorm life: yay! an apartment! I could *cook *for myself instead of eating cafeteria food! After a year or two of that: yay! an efficiency! My own space all for myself! I could wander around naked if I wanted! No one to bug me! After that: yay! moved in with Mr. Horseshoe! A whole *house *to ourselves, plus he sleeps next to me every night! … and on it goes …
So I guess my life is enviable to my younger self, and has been for a while. I hope that trend continues. (I heartily look forward to envying my future not-so-broke self!)
Somewhere out there, someone has awesome views from their deck, and their office … because they’re one and the same, and thus, the cycle of envy continues. 
Yes, for those who choose to envy others. We make more than average, have no debt and money in the bank, a nice home, been married for > 30 years with no conflicts, and two kids over 21 both with good college educations and no issues. Plus our health is good, and I love my job.
The kicker is that I don’t envy anyone else. I consider myself very lucky.
People always say “Mark how do you live like that? If my life was as bad as yours I’d shoot myself.”
I got where I am by envying other people who got there before me, so yeah!
I work from home, set my own hours, and generally like my job. I have a great house on many acres. The house is perched on the lip of a small gorge with a creek running through it, so the view from our living room & bedroom makes you feel like you’re in a tree house.
My husband is cute and we love each other. We have two dogs who are wonderful too.
What’s not to envy? 
My life? Not most people’s cup of tea (odd jobs, not a lot of money, tiny messy apartment, lots of pets). I do have a great boyfriend though.
People tell me to my face every day that they envy me, though. Because I’m both skinny and a big eater.
I would say yeah–both of us have good jobs, a decent house in a decent/safe area, we’re happily married, and we have enough money in savings that we don’t have to worry that much about finances. We’re both healthy and have families who care about us.
I used to envy rich people when I was younger, but I don’t anymore. These days I just want to live a comfortable, happy middle-class life. If we won a big lottery jackpot, we’d probably upgrade our lifestyle about one step (a bigger house in a different part of the same area, quit our jobs) but neither of us wants to live the “rich person” lifestyle.
Oh my no, in fact people would use me as an example of a living hell.
Hell no.