I think most have covered it, but the answer is mostly property taxes and insurance. If I move just one county over (or about 5-10 miles), the property taxes go down about 60%--again, over the life of a 30 year mortgage, that's about $108k (or $300 per month). Love the area where I live, which made me blind to the higher taxes--live and learn (although I'd still probably pick the higher taxes...).
Yea I hear ya. I'm pretty much in the same boat with the taxes. Anywhere in my state it's highway robbery. I got an excellent rate so I jumped on it when the opportunity arose.
But you guys with the PMI, it's a little misleading because that's only if you can't cover the 20% down payment, and honestly it makes a huge difference in the life of the loan to not have that included in your rates. But again I understand not everyone is made of money.