Are there signs of people leaving Boston for cheaper parts of the state yet? (Worcester: condos, home)

[FCMA]

Rents are headed up and rental inventory way down in the Happy Valley. Homes still reasonable but getting offers for over listing price. Grumbles are circulating about NYC and Boston folk relocating well past Central MA(GA) flyover country to tiny W Mass towns with internet.

[mdovell]

https://www.recorder.com/City-folks-...untry-35501300

"“I’m seeing more pressure from Boston for exactly that reason,” Gross said. “They’re all thinking they’re going to be working from home now. People may only have to commute once a week, or once a month.”

"Sandvik said she recently sold a house to an already local resident. She said it is nice when local people are able to get a new house in the area. According to Sandvik, the exodus from cities has led to a competitive housing market. Sandvik and Gross said some clients have put in offers over asking prices, but are still at risk of being beat out by cash buyers from Boston or New York.

“Sometimes, houses are going for $30,000 over the asking price,” Sandvik said."

30K extra might not sound like much in eastern mass but if the house is 300K that's about 10%

Granted I think there's a limit to how rural someone would want to move to. The consolidation of healthcare in western Mass clearly brings more into Springfield. You aren't going to see a new hospital opening up in the Berkshires or Franklin County any time soon. Baystate has consolidate much to Springfield and Holyoke.

Having said this I don't think that are technically safer based on where they live if they are trying to flee corona. The fact that New Zealand has cases again after 100 day of none and now their capital is under lockdown is evidence.

So yes rents have and will continue to go down in Boston. Look at the reporting back in March and see what changed. First we were going to shut down schools for three weeks, then it became the rest of the year and now it looks like most schools will at least have hybrid until the end of this year. Colleges are not meeting in person, movie theaters and sporting events still largely closed etc.

With respect to a train I still think it's going to happen but not for the reasons that people are saying. The recent storms did havok in CT. Some went for up to a week without power...this was just a tropical storm (see the CT board). Train travel between NYC and Boston was shut down. Infact they had to send passengers back to boston. Not that it said there was no back up.
https://whdh.com/news/amtrak-cancels...back-to-boston

You need a backup line and frankly this would be it. If a tropical storm is enough to shut down the rail service what about a full hurricane? I recall Gloria back in '85 and that did a number. CT wants to be connected to Boston but it doesn't make sense to go around new haven and though RI. Eventually the second track will go from Hartford to Springfield and a connector to Bradley airport. CAA has some very long term plans for an additional runway but that could take decades. Chambers of commerce and unions in western, central, eastern mass and ct want it. CT in many respect is what Mass could have been had it not made various reforms (education, housing, prop 2 1/2, procurement laws, inspector general, standardized tests etc). The foundation problem isn't going away any time soon. CT tried investing in suburbs and mass invested in cities. I've heard many in NYC have gone to Fairfield County and now the Bridgeport numbers are up, no surprise. It can be argued that if someone lives in a city they don't want to lose everything to go to a rural area. If there's no restaurants, little medical care, little public transit, no art etc.


I still talk to people in Brockton. Brockton property values have gone up significantly. some homes as high as 600K. I was doubtful at first hearing some claims but even with the violence buyers don't care. Brockton has three commuter rail stops with a route to boston and a bus route to boston. No other place in the state outside of Boston has that. Their DW Field Park has serious potential if they actually put some money into it. I don't think they need a mayor, they need more of a city manager. There's too many issues there that divide people to the pint where they don't want to do anything.The water issue is complicated and the fairgrounds I'm not sure what they'll ever do with again. The issue with brockton is that for the most part it's an urban area but it doesn't exactly have other ones near it. Springfield has Chicopee and Holyoke and maybe west springfield (parts), Boston has Quincy etc. It's mostly suburban areas so technically it looks more urban than it really is. But the pricing isn't that much cheaper (read the article). Prova was very interesting. If it wasn't for covid they would have had a 3rd year.
https://www.enterprisenews.com/news/...ar-in-brockton
Things brings people together. It might not be big economically but more in a sense of community.

https://brockton.wickedlocal.com/new...uess-is-boston

So where are people displaced from Brockton going? I hear Fall River and New Bedford.

[cupola_]

Originally Posted by Lampert

Also I am not so sure someone who likes Boston also likes Worcester and Springfield.

I'm looking for work in the western Mass area and my thought process has been that Boston is still a relatively short drive from Springfield for weekend play.

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by cupola_

Aren't the suburbs getting crazy expensive too? I was hoping to hear about more people moving out to Springfield and revitalizing that area... Maybe once they open that commuter rail from Springfield.

One of the reasons I left Boston is because I can not live in a decent community, commutable to Boston for any reasonable price. Like 20 years ago, Quincy and Watertown were cheap... Not to even mention Somerville. Now you can't grab anything good in Haverhill or Lawrence?

It's getting really bad and driving young talent out fast. I'm in my 20s getting a PhD and probably won't consider moving back up anytime soon. A lot of people my age feel this way too.

Over the past 5 years, Boston had lost its appeal to me and as I learn to value my dollar more, cities like Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, Chicago, Pittsburgh and DC are becoming much more appealing. I love Boston to death, but come on.. not only can I not buy a drink for a decent price when I'm out with my friends.. I can't even afford a micro unit 45 minutes out. Boston is expensive all around.

I make decent money too.. it's about 60k a year. So I'm not "broke"

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by cupola_

I'm looking for work in the western Mass area and my thought process has been that Boston is still a relatively short drive from Springfield for weekend play.

I think there's a general difference of opinion about how you define a trip. In most other parts of the country they might say based off of distance, in New England it seems to be more about time.

I would make the argument I haven't given that many many times that it depends. I haven't had to go out to Boston's just a pandemic hit but if I left freak Ovid and before 6am I could make it in 90 minutes. After 6 it would take me two hours. Of course this also makes the assumption that you can find parking. I can pm you a bit more for detail

[BosYuppie]

Originally Posted by cupola_

I'm looking for work in the western Mass area and my thought process has been that Boston is still a relatively short drive from Springfield for weekend play.

Hell, NYC is relatively short from springfield

[BostonBornMassMade]

High paying jobs (not nearly enough for everyone), students, brand name, cleanliness, ocean/mountain access, healthcare and stringent /dated zoning keep Boston ultra expensive. Your paying a premium for all of those things the problem is people don’t feel the direct impact on their QOL nor does it make it easier to pay bills.

Most of the advantages of living in Bsoton flow right to the. Top 15% of the city. Or affluent suburbanites. bottom 20% get a high ROI as well compared to their QOL in NYC/Philly. Everyone else is living in a perpetual state of ‘crunch‘ trying to make money/gain an education before they move.

[cupola_]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

Hell, NYC is relatively short from springfield

Truthfully, that factors into my decision as well. Proximity to NY and Boston in a somewhat rural setting (not Springfield, but rather Pioneer Valley).

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by cupola_

Truthfully, that factors into my decision as well. Proximity to NY and Boston in a somewhat rural setting (not Springfield, but rather Pioneer Valley).

That doesn't make sense because Springfield is in the Pioneer Valley.

We used to figure on two hours on the Mass Pike to get from the Easthampton area to Boston in good weather. In the winter I have never been so scared in my entire life! But as long as it isn't snowing, it's fine. Around Springfield you are closer to the Pike so it takes less time.

One unfortunate thing is that CT is so close by and yet the state doesn't have much of anything to offer. Probably there are good jobs in Hartford but the people who work there live in the Hartford suburbs for the most part and Hartford as a city is about like Springfield. People leave Hartford at night

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by cupola_

I'm looking for work in the western Mass area and my thought process has been that Boston is still a relatively short drive from Springfield for weekend play.

That was my thinking when I moved to central MA.
Now, excluding trips to the airport, I go to Boston 4-5 times a year and just because I have very close friends living there. Last time I went to Boston to do some activity just with my family must have been years ago.