We asked these young people what they love about their region and what might lead them to one day leave. They shared stories of both their joys and their struggles living here in the Granite State, as well as those of their young friends, relatives, neighbors, and coworkers.

From the North Country to Nashua, and from the Monadnock Region and the Upper Valley to the Seacoast, young people spoke about how New Hampshire offers so much of what they want. They spoke of access to both world-class outdoor recreation and breathtaking natural areas along with proximity to the amenities found in the state’s more urban areas. They spoke of a strong sense of community and the ability to get involved and make a difference here. They spoke of strong public schools and of New Hampshire being a great place to raise a family.

But they also spoke of their struggles just to get by here, to say nothing of being able to take advantage of our state’s vaunted quality of life. The phrase “high cost of living” was mentioned over and over again in all corners of the state we visited.

Housing affordability was, hands down, the number one concern heard across the state. In each region, the top concerns voiced and voted upon by participants were:

North Country

Cost/lack of housing

Lack of job opportunities

Political climate

Monadnock

High cost of living

Lack of child care access

Property taxes

Upper Valley

Lack of affordable housing

Cost of living

Lack of cultural diversity

Greater Nashua

Lack of affordable housing

Lack of higher wage jobs

Lack of adequate public transit

Greater Manchester

Unaffordable housing

Lack of public transit

Lack of BIPOC representation

Greater Concord

Unaffordable housing

Low salaries

Lack of young people in office

Lakes Region

Unaffordable housing

Lack of higher paying jobs

Dismal dating scene

Seacoast

Expensive housing

Overall cost of living

Lack of public transit

What we heard via the Policy & Pints series — both the positive and the negative — was very much in line with (and gave a very real human face to) the results of a quality of life survey of Granite Staters ages 20 to 40 commissioned last year by Stay Work Play and conducted by the Saint Anselm College Survey Center.

New Hampshire is an expensive place for everyone, younger and older. But our younger residents are especially cost burdened. For starters, just by virtue of their youth and limited professional experience, young people generally earn less than their more experienced colleagues. And while both younger and older people must grapple with costs like car payments, food and utility costs, and increasing rents, young people often have additional strains on their monthly budgets.

Due to the state’s inadequate funding of higher education, young Granite Staters have the highest average student debt load in the country, meaning a payment of hundreds of dollars each month for many. And for those who have young children, there’s also the high cost of child care, assuming it can be found.

For too many of our younger residents in too many of our communities, the math simply doesn’t work. This is a big problem for all of us, younger and older. As the second oldest state in the nation by average age with one of the lowest unemployment rates, New Hampshire needs all the talent we can get in general and all the young talent we can get in particular. This will assure employers have the people they need to tend to our medical needs, to sell us our groceries, to maintain the electric system that keeps our homes and businesses running, or just to unclog our drains.

Here in New Hampshire we run pretty lean. We rely on volunteers to do so much of what makes our state function, from those who fill the board, committee, and membership ranks of the nonprofits, civic clubs, and faith-based organizations we rely on to close gaps, to those who contribute their time and talents as elected and appointed officials to ensure our communities, especially our smallest ones, are able to operate.

For 15 years, Stay Work Play has worked to position our state as a place of opportunity for young people. This has not changed. But what has evolved is our vision: making New Hampshire a place where young people not just want to — but can — stay, work, and play. Our future depends on it.