Robin Arias and her husband had been living paycheck-to-paycheck in Las Vegas ever since the recession, so moving to North Dakota in 2012 was a last-ditch effort to get back on their feet.

So far they've had mixed results: Her husband got a job as a manager at a construction company and quadrupled the salary he was earning in Las Vegas, and Arias found a job -- also in construction -- that pays nearly triple her previous salary. But rent is also much higher than they expected, at $3,400 a month for their 4-bedroom modular home (not including utilities).

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"While the cost of living is outrageous, it's easier to justify when you can both bring in almost $200,000 a year," she said. "We pay a lot more but we also keep so much more."

And while her kids aren't so little anymore, at 20 and 21 years old, Arias worries about their safety when they're out at night on the dangerous truck-filled roads, where accidents happen all the time. And because rent is so high in the area, both kids still live with Arias.

"It's too bad, because kids everywhere else look forward to getting their own place at this age, but it's just too expensive here," said Arias.