Lying about anything is the cruelest thing in the world you could ever do. Be who you are. Don't try to be someone you're not. It never works.
Local companies don't have to internalize their costs, and few actually do, but they tend to more often because the owners live there and they have to show their face in town, and their kids play with other kids.
When I was in school, I used to look out the window and see the big red double-deck buses driving by. It just looked so free.