I know good, intelligent people there. Unsure how much of it is naivet, kooky Liberalism, or what.
I knew a young college-educated adult - first professional job - who was living for FREE with family (not his parents) in the Twin Cities. When he went out for 'family meals' with his extended family, they paid for his meals. They didn't want that, but nobody confronted him on his miserly ways. This went on for a year, and two decades later they joke about it. A normal family. A teacher, a nurse, a small business-owner mechanic, school-age children.
So it could have just been that family, or is the area culturally non-confrontational? When I heard the story, it was so odd.