Agreed, unless you MUST drive in any weather for work or some other reason, winter tires aren't really necessary. I've spent my whole life in the northeast and never really heard about people having them until I moved to Maine. I get that we're slightly further north here but I saw plenty of snow storms in other states. Seems to be a cultural thing, might just be a holdover from when Maine had more cold/snowy winters, but we're headed out of that climate.