A new economics paper, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, has some interesting findings about marriage.  They basically say that you need to marry the person who is your best friend.  

They have also concluded that people who are married are happier than those who are single, particularly during the mid-life timeframe.  The scientists say in particular this is because people who are married can handle mid-life stress better together because they can share the load and they can share their friendship, whereas obviously single people do not have that benefit.  The other findings include findings that stable marriages are more common among educated, high income people and that people who are less educated and earn lower incomes are more likely to be divorced.  The important part of the survey is that they found that people who are married to somebody that they consider to be their best friend are more likely to be satisfied in their marriage than others. The social scientists say what this means is that one must not forget, in living your daily life, that the most important thing with your marriage partner is your friendship with that person.