Rio de Janeiro is almost always cited as one of the most dangerous places, and at the same time, one of the happiest cities in the world. There is a strange dichotomy here, where the city is constantly divided between the rich and the poor, the booming, yet ‘developing’ economy, and those who think Rio is super dangerous while others deem it completely safe.
There is also a dichotomy between Cariocas (people born in Rio), and foreign volunteers. If a foreign volunteer asks a random Carioca to join him in the favela, 97 percent of Cariocas will say “no.” Sternly. And in under two seconds.
Cariocas have been conditioned to fear the favelas. Statistically, they are undesirable and very dangerous locations. Favelas are the center of drug trafficking activities, where lives are consumed and destroyed through high homicide rates resulting from incidents of stray bullets, random police invasions, and drug trafficker wars.
So, the Carioca must ask himself, why would I want to go the epicenter of danger in my city? And without an overwhelmingly positive answer, they often, very level-headedly, decline the volunteer’s invitation. 
And sometimes for good reason. A friend of mine was once driving through Rio. He was trying to enter a highway called Linha Vermelha. He saw a ramp that looked like it would certainly connect. But, it didn’t. The ramp went up, paralleled the highway, and then made a sharp turn back down into a favela. Immediately, my Carioca friend knew he had made a mistake. At his earliest convenience, he decided to make a three-point-turn, and leave. Unfortunately, not quickly enough. Five men with guns surrounded the car, and asked him to get out. They took his wallet, looking for identification, and repeatedly asked whether or not he was a cop. Luckily, he was not, and they eventually let him get back into his car, and leave. They told him never to come back, and he has never returned.
Months later, I remembered this story while seeing one such ramp. I discovered that I too had been to this favela, but clearly, under different circumstances. I frequented this favela weekly, without fear or problems. And it struck me that there are places completely inaccessible for Cariocas, yet perfectly safe for a volunteer like me.
In the end, I am not sure if anything is ever just safe or unsafe, rich or poor, booming or developing. But one thing is for sure, dichotomies certainly exist.
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Matt, I agree. The impoverished have fewer material possessions, but are generally happier. Why? The basic social economic structure of low income communities is the reliance upon a reciprocal resource exchange between neighbors. This exchange is meant to provide a minimum level of economic security to its members. For example babysitting can be exchanged for groceries…this sort of thing. This system of “welfare” encourages kin and close friends to live in close proximity to one another and maintain strong social bonds. Therefore, the type and frequency of resources being exchanged between neighbors and family can increase trust, welfare, well-being, and happiness, rather than, let’s say, a large-screen TV.
However, in terms of financial planning, I’m not sure crime and violence play a huge role. I think the lack of financial saving comes from inexperience. Look at all the famous people who make it big, and then end up broke. It’s more knowing about what to do with your money when you have it, rather than living in the moment.
Mom, certainly no one is equal. It’s just strange to me when foreigners in a foreign land have an advantage over the natives. No one here is worried that I might live in a neighborhood controlled by an opposing drug faction, or that I might be an undercover cop.
In regards to the happiest cities in the world — I think as terrible as living in and around poverty and crime can be, the silver lining lies in human morale.
As you mentioned, psychological studies/surveys and general opinion, in cities like Rio and Bogotá, the people, many of which have nothing in terms of money/possessions, are much happier as a whole than the wealthy Americans.
Reality is life is short and we are all going to leave at some point.
Living in a city that has a past and/or present of violent crime and poverty forces you to live in the moment as opposed to anxiety about your savings for retirement in 40 years…
Dichotomy is a human reality. It exists in many more places than just Rio. In Russia they tried to rid the dichotomy of society in 1917 by overthrowing the Czar and by starting Communism. That didn’t work well either. People didn’t want to be equal..It’s human nature to want than one’s neighbor.