What's with the extremely high HOA fees?

Regarding the Upper Valley area

The HOA fees are unbelievable. Seen them as high as 650.00 a month and I believe the lowest I've seen is a small development in Lebanon, 200 a month and it had no amenities at all, no gym, no pool, no trails, no park, nothing, the 200 a month literally just covered trash, snow and grass. Who is paying 200 a month for that? I just dont understand it. I feel like realistically, you would save money to just hire outside work to cut your grass and plow your drive.

Brother in law owns condo in NJ and pays 50.00 a month in HOA that covers everything they cover here (grass cutting, Snow plowing, and trash) but the development also has a few amenities like a tennis court, dog park, common grilling area, and the condos there sell for more than here

What extra costs are here that warrant the unbelievably high monthly fees? Or are the boards just sitting on a ton of cash?