I would argue that's because we had a bunch of smart people running around here. They were coming in and working very hard and many of them had left jobs in which they made significantly more money. ↗
Some people argue that we should limit choice in favour of good local services. My response is simple: why should we assume those two concepts are mutually exclusive? ↗
I have always argued that change becomes stressful and overwhelming only when you've lost any sense of the constancy of your life. You need firm ground to stand on. From there, you can deal with that change. ↗