Cutting to the chase, a recent study by a pair of economists breaks it down this way: Lewiston is a fairly happy place – it’s happier than Bangor, they say, but not as happy as Portland.

The study was conducted by economists at the Univeristy of British Columbia and expanded upon by The Washington Post. Locally, people don’t really care where the study comes from, they just want to weigh in with their opinions. And their opinions are fairly overwhelming: Lewiston gets a bad rap and they’re sick of it.

“Every place has its good and bad,” says Lewiston’s Drew Desjardins. “I am tired of people complaining about Lewiston but not stepping up to do anything about it. The downtown has some great restaurants and the riverfront is developing; the river is cleaner than the past and now usable.”

Not that Lewiston fares all that poorly in the study. According to The Washington Post graphic, Portland is listed as “more happy,” Bangor as “less happy” and Lewiston as simply “meh.”

“Meh” isn’t the highest praise in the world, but it’s not as bad as some studies have treated Maine’s second largest city. Lewiston, many say, should be considered the ultimate work in progress.

“I would say that Lewiston is really positioned to be the happiest place to live in Maine,” says the city’s former mayor, Kaileigh Tara. “The persistent bad rap that Lewiston gets is often perpetuated by the very people who live there. The term ‘the Dirty Lew’ comes to mind as just one example.

To compile their findings, the University of British Columbia economists used responses gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Of 318 cities surveyed, three of Maine’s largest were included. Lewiston, ranking 129th out of the 318 metro areas, basically came in second in a three-city race.

But not by much – Portland ranked 120th, Bangor 194th.

“I would suggest,” Tara says of the study, “that those numbers reflect Lewistonians’ own conflicted opinion of where they live.”

Tara has a unique perspective. She’s from Lewiston and served as its mayor for four years. But she’s also moved around a bit, throughout Maine and ultimately, all the way across the country to San Diego.

Like others, Tara believes that people tend to bad-mouth Lewiston simply because it’s become a habit. Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the city was known for the bar scene on Lisbon Street, an area so raucous it was called “The Bowery” by some.

In the 1990s, Lewiston was beset by drug problems and the issues that go along with it: home invasions, shootings, stabbings and a variety of crimes tantalizing enough to draw interest from outside media.

“I do not see Lewiston as a perfect place,” Tara says. “I am well aware of the shortcomings of my beloved hometown. I choose to see the hope, the possibility, the opportunity for growth and change that exists. I have then acted in my life to work towards correcting those areas where we can do better. I have experienced the hearts of the people of Lewiston. I know for sure, that all that is needed to attain such a state of happiness is there, it just doesn’t show up when we are divided.”

In a query on the matter, a love-it-or-leave it attitude became the theme, not just regarding Lewiston, but it’s informal sister city, as well.

“I want to know why so many people complain about L-A,” said Melissa Costa, of Auburn, “but continue to live here.”

The survey asks around 300,000 people each year: “In general, how satisfied are you with your life?” The University of British Columbia researchers applied the responses to 318 cities as a means of pinning down happiness.

New York was ranked the most unhappy place of all. LaFayette, Louisiana, was listed as the happiest.

But, who cares about those far-flung places? Locally, the discussion focused on Lewiston and it’s place on the happiness scale. It wasn’t a matter of simply praising or bad-mouthing the city, as it turned out. Most were of the opinion that if you don’t like something, do your best to change it.

“I have so much faith in Lewiston’s future,” said Desjardins, “I am working on opening the Little Curiosities Children’s Museum of Natural Science. I feel this community can benefit from my investment for the children. So I say, put your money where mouth is and somehow invest in the future of this community and stop complaining.

“I do not have money,” Desjardins went on, “but I am willing to take that risk. You can volunteer, help clean up our neighborhoods, anything that is positive! Nuff said.”

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