Grew up in Moscow, Idaho, and now live in SE PA, so this story has taken an even weirder turn for me.

They are also used for land investment purposes. A number of the large storage chains have restructured themselves as land holding companies. Makes sense. Buy land cheap, get steady income from storage rentals, and then sell land when/if prices go up.

My wife had the same experience. She lived in and around NO for over a decade. Moved to DC, where we met, and then we both moved to Baltimore. She felt so much more at home in Baltimore than DC. Friends would visit her and say how much Baltimore reminded them of NO.