Are there signs of people leaving Boston for cheaper parts of the state yet? (Worcester: renting, school rankings)

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Boston is for the super Elite and young who want to have fun. Nothingf in between anymore.

My dads friend just dropped 13 million for a brownstone in the Back Bay while my three middle income friends escaped to the suburbs.

Whoa!

[BosYuppie]

Most of my friends are fairly settled at this point either in the burbs or a couple stragglers in the city. Myself, we are thinking of cashing out of our house and getting More House in a less gold plated suburb. Inventory is damn low though.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by mwj119

Idk what I think, but I don't see anything west of Worcester reaping the "benefits" of a Boston exodus, small or large. If anything, this may simply mean a more "balanced" set of middle-upper class suburbs?

Prices creep up, regardless. When you have towns like Hudson or Marlborough elevating into the $400ks-500ks, it impacts the pricing of towns further west ... particularly as the towns further west might have better school systems, be generally wealthier (albeit older), and equally attractive to high income earners in Worcester metro.

Based on current comps, including my neighbor's house which is near identical, my house in Sterling has appreciated somewhere in the 32-36% range since my purchase in 2015,

But yes, the only people moving to 190 or west from Boston metro are those out of the W2 game or tradesmen who leave the house at 4am and get paid to drive.

[BostonMike7]

When I was younger I was all about living in/near Boston. I had a sweet place in the Fenway area during my college years and it was the place to be.

Now, I prefer to be around trees and deer and get woken up by the sounds of lawnmowers on a sunday vs police sirens and people randomly fighting on the street.

I would move further away if I could right now. In fact, I know exactly where I would go given that my wife still needs to commute to her job. My commute (right now) would be 35min which I could totally deal with 2 or 3 days a week.

However, and the big HOWEVER is whether or not this remote work model stays. I think we need to get past this school year, and into Q2/Q3 of 2021 to see if this is a continuing trend, or if people start creeping back into the office before we can decide we are moving further out.


In terms of local real estate, bidding wars have slowed down, but homes are still selling and prices still climbing. Inventory is low.

[Bridge781]

I’m also not sure why people think moving to the suburbs is always cheaper than living in Boston. I wouldn’t call Boston suburbs cheap by any stretch.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by Bridge781

I’m also not sure why people think moving to the suburbs is always cheaper than living in Boston. I wouldn’t call Boston suburbs cheap by any stretch.

You need to view these things with some nuance ... people are obviously not implying Wellesley or Arlington. They're implying outer rings like the north/south shore or metrowest 95-495 'tweener towns.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by cupola_

I'm figuring with Boston-area housing prices the way they are combined with a lot of jobs becoming remote, people would be leaving the city to move to cheaper parts of the state. Are there any signs of this yet? Where are people moving? Worcester? Springfield?

If someone likes Boston but can work 100% remotely and wants something cheaper, then there are much better options than Worcester and Springfield.

[495neighbor]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

My city friends (all parents) are actively trying to move to the 'burbs right now. They need space desperately.

This is it. They need the larger house for the home offices and the yard for the kids to play in.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Boston Shudra

If someone likes Boston but can work 100% remotely and wants something cheaper, then there are much better options than Worcester and Springfield.

I telecommuted from two vacation homes from 2009-onwards. If you don’t have the nuisance of needing to be an office drone, you can live where it’s aligned with your lifestyle. With the very low birth rate among college grads, public school system quality is less the driving force.

[missionhill]

Originally Posted by cupola_

I'm figuring with Boston-area housing prices the way they are combined with a lot of jobs becoming remote, people would be leaving the city to move to cheaper parts of the state. Are there any signs of this yet? Where are people moving? Worcester? Springfield?

Interesting to me is how two trends sort out in the MA context. One is the whole idea of millenials and, I guess, people in general in 21st century wanting to live in walkable places. The other is that remote work will be sticking around after COVID-19 is all done. If Boston area people who like walkablility and city life go to cheaper cities—Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, etc.—then the secondary cities will get a big boost. But if the WFH thing punctures the whole walkability balloon then auto-centric, single-family-home sprawl will continue and cities like Spfld and Worcester won’t much benefit.