Proven: you are happier if you have a local pub

It's nice when you never have to doubt where you're going to hang out at the bar tonight. You always hang at the same bar.

Having a local pub is very good for you, research shows. Research at the University of Oxford has confirmed what you might have suspected when you ordered your umpteenth vodka-soda: your local pub makes you happier. This is mainly because you get to know more people and build a larger circle of friends by going to the same place often to have fun., .

People who always go to the same place also drink a lot less enthusiastically than those who go to ‘something new’ every week. This saves you from a nasty hangover. If you're still looking for a local pub, go for the smallest pub in the area that you know. Because, as scientists say, the smaller the pub, the better. The smaller the place, the more likely you are to strike up a conversation with someone else. And yes, those conversations ultimately make you happier.

And don't think you can just scroll through your Insta feed and be done with it. “Friendship and community are probably the most important factors that influence our sense of happiness,” says Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford. “Making new friendships is something that can only happen face to face. The digital world is simply no substitute for this.” The Netherlands has about 11,000 pubs and cafes, so go for it. You're never too old for that bartender who knows you by first and last name, right?

And if you still need to convince someone to join you for a glass of wine... Just say that the University of Oxford has proven it. Then no one will hold you back.