Teen Paranormal Romance Clichés #1: Main Character is Not in Kansas Anymore

Many teen paranormal romance novels start out with the main character having just moved somewhere new to attend a new school.  For example in "Evernight " by Claudia Gray, the main character, Bianca, is the new girl at the sinister Evernight boarding school.  Lauren Kate even used the same trick twice in her Fallen series (Luce begins attending a reform school in "Fallen" and then starts attending a school for unusually gifted students in "Torment").    

My theories about why writers commonly choose to make their main characters the new kid in town are:

1.  To make the main character more sympathetic. 

A main character trying to adjust to her new school is a more sympathetic character than someone who is popular and well-adjusted at school, and as a result readers will care what happens to her and want to see her succeed.

For example, in "Evermore" by Alyson Noel, the main character used to be a popular cheerleader with a best friend and boyfriend, living in Oregon with her family.  But the book starts out with her starting at a new school where she is an outcast, making it easier for the reader to identify with her.

2.  To compare and contrast.  

In Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight", Bella moves from sunny Phoenix, Arizona to dark and rainy Forks, Washington to live with her dad.  The two places are often contrasted, giving the reader insight into Bella's background, and adding to the sense of foreboding.   

3.  To provide background info more naturally.

Nothing is more annoying than when a character says "As you know..." and then proceeds to give some piece of information that obviously the author wanted the reader to know.  But if the main character is new, it makes sense she might be given a tour, or have certain things explained to her.

For example, when in "Marked" by P.C. and Kristin Cast, the main character, Zoey Redbird, starts to attend a private school for vampire fledglings, and through her eyes we get to learn about how the school works.

4.  To provide plot alternatives for future books in a series.

In "Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie" by Maggie Stiefvater, James and Dee (from the first book in the series) are now attending Thornking-Ash, a music school.  This is a good example of where being the new kid doesn't seem like a cliché - it makes sense that these characters would attend the school, and the school's history and location are integral to the plot.   

5.  New places are more exciting and/or mysterious.

In Rachel Caine's "The Morganville Vampire" series, Claire starts attending university in Morganville, a town that turns out to be controlled by vampires.  If she had grown up in Morganville she probably would have already known this, and the existence of vampires would seem normal to her.  

What are some of your theories as to why main characters are often the new kid at school?