I've often stated how proud I am to be from New Hampshire, and what a good thing we have here in the tiny Granite State. But I've never really spelled out some of those reasons. In fact, most often I simply discuss how horrible things are in Massachusetts, implying how much better is up here without actually spelling it out.

But two other bloggers of note (and both are distinguished GuestBangers Emeriti) have done some of the work for me of late, and I have been remiss in not thanking them and pointing it out, eking out a posting off their legwork.

Rob over at Say Anything wrote a piece a little while ago bragging about how a recent study had ranked his home state of North Dakota the 11th best place to work in the United States. Congrats to Rob and his fellow North Dakotans, but that same survey put us at #2.

Meanwhile, intellectual heavy lifter and all-around Classy Guy Will Franklin has been looking at other economic factors in his semi-regular Trivia Tidbits, and seeing how they correlate with other factors. He's compared tax rates with economic growth, and tax rates and general economic health. In both studies, he's used the same 18 states:

Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming have no state income taxes.

New York, California, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Ohio, New Jersey, Maine, and Hawaii have the highest state income taxes.

(Emphasis added)

And it isn't just those two worthy gentlemen who have noticed New Hampshire's appeal. When the Free State Project decided that they wanted to try to re-make a state into a living laboratory for their libertarian ideals, it was no dart tossed at a map that led them to choose New Hampshire -- and no coincidence that a lot of New Hampshirites (including several state officials) welcomed them.

Now, there are a host of reasons we in New Hampshire don't brag about such things. The first is our innate Yankee modesty, where it's perceived as unseemly to boast too much. Another is our fear that if word gets out too much, we'll have to deal with an influx of "flatlanders" eager to reap all the benefits without making the correlating sacrifices and changes. (This one we've learned the hard way, especially in the southern part of the state with the refugee Massholes.) A third is the fear of "killing the goose that laid the golden egg," the irrational concern that if we talk about how wonderful things are too much, we'll drive them off.

But every now and then, kicking around the Massholes and the Looney Left and howling about the latest outrages gets a trifle tiresome, and I need a break. There's a lot of ugliness in the world, but it's not an ugly world. There are some bright spots, some oases of sanity and reason and hope left.

And I am blessed to live in one such place.

(Even if it does have a window overlooking the cesspool that is Massachusetts.)