Yes, you're right. In our case, we're here for the jobs and the weather. DH and I are from the snow, and we'd had enough of it. We made a choice and we don't complain about the costs here on a personal level.

Yes, we do have a lot of poor people around here, and a lot of them are working at jobs that wouldn't put them there if they were living in Kokomo, IN or Laconia, NH. That's really awful. But the thing is that a lot of these people are FROM here, and moving to New Hampshire would mean severing ties with family and friends.

I agree that spending choices can be unwise, though. I DEFINITEY agree with that.