Have you heard of AstroGeography, aka AstroCartography? It's a method of using your Astrological chart and influences to find out which places on Earth are more compatible with you, as each location has its own Astrological influences too. So it goes without saying that this can be used to help find your "Happier Abroad" location as well, as long as you keep an open mind about it, even if you don't believe in Astrology. Astrology is not completely accurate, but it is MORE accurate than chance, I've found, so there's probably something to it.
Wikipedia info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrocartography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locational_astrology
Here is a book about it:
http://www.amazon.com/Astro-Geography-C ... roduct_top
You can order a professional reading on a number of websites, but there are a few free ones too that give you some general info. I tried this long ago and found it to be fairly accurate, but forgot to tell you all about it.
Here are some free websites where you can enter your birthdate and location and see how the energies of each location on the world map can affect you.
http://www.astro.com (Create a free profile and then under All Horoscopes, select AstroTravel)
http://www.astrogeography.com
Try it out and let me know how accurate it is by testing it on locations you've already visited or lived in.