The study, by two English academics, places Dundee 238th out of 273 in a list of the happiest places to stay in the UK.

“I don’t think Dundee is an unhappy city,” said Neil Ellis, project manager at Boomerang in Stobswell.

“I work with a lot of pensioners and they are all very active. They go dancing and on holidays and seem quite happy to me.”

Strong community ties are an important factor in happiness levels and the ties don’t come much stronger than in Kirkton, according to a spokeswoman for Kirkton Community Support.

“Every area has its issues and Kirkton is no different but above all we have a real sense of community,” she said.

The City of Discovery Campaign also sprang to Dundee’s defence, describing some of the findings of the happiness survey as “very odd”.

“Frankly, I find this a bit difficult to believe,” said a spokesman. “Dundee has regularly done very well in surveys around quality of life and so I would be inclined to take this with a large pinch of salt.”

Only four areas in Scotland fared worse than Dundee — Renfrew (258), Clydesdale, Cumnock & Doon Valley and Kyle & Carrick (joint 270).

However, moving up the road a bit — to Angus or Perth & Kinross, which come in at joint 60th —might not help. The study suggests wellbeing is closely linked to staying put, as living at the same address for at least five years appears to boost happiness levels.

So there’s no point crossing the Tay, even though Dunfermline comes in at a cheery 63 and Kirkcaldy and North East Fife are in joint 81st place.

Overall, Scotland comes off fairly well, with five areas in the top 10 — West Lothian (3), Cumbernauld & Kilsyth and Monklands (joint fourth), Cunninghame (6) and Falkirk (8). Aberdeen is the happiest of Scotland’s cities (90) and Glasgow comes in at number 111.

The happiness map was drawn up by Dr Dimitris Ballas, of Sheffield University, and Dr Mark Tranmer of Manchester University, using information from the British Household Survey.

Surprisingly, they found unemployment does not lead to unhappiness, as long as one’s neighbours are in the same boat.

“There really is something about the intrinsic nature of places which can influence happiness and well-being,” said Dr Ballas.