We asked, you answered: Readers are mixed on leaving Greater Boston
There’s no universal right or wrong answer when it comes to living in Boston or moving farther away from the city, but for readers who are weighing their options, it’s a difficult decision all the same.
We asked readers if they’d be willing to move outside of Greater Boston to take advantage of more space and cheaper home prices in exchange for a longer commute. While most readers say they aren’t “super commuters,” some have already made the move and expressed mixed feelings about moving farther away from the city.
There were 160,000 super commuters in Greater Boston in 2019, and during the first year of the pandemic from March 2020 to February 2021, moves away from big cities rose by 17% across the nation, according to an analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Rob from Stoneham was one of the many people who moved out of Boston during the pandemic. He said doesn’t regret his decision at all.
“Moving out of the city has proven to be a great decision. City prices were skyrocketing and parking spots were becoming fewer and farther in between with the uptick in bike lanes,” he said. “Knowing our job would eventually call us back into the office, I secured a fully remote job doing the same exact work. Took a 5% pay cut, which is essentially what I would have had to pay to commute.”
But moving out of the city isn’t as worthwhile for everyone who does it. Some who left enjoyed the change initially, but as life returns to normal and employers call their workers back to the office, the negatives are starting to outweigh the positives.
“My family relocated to New Hampshire during the pandemic. It’s been great during remote work, but now it’s time to return to the Boston office three times a week. This is about an hour and a half, each direction, not including traffic,” said Sally from New Hampshire. “I wish I had never moved out of Greater Boston.”
Related High housing prices gave rise to the ‘super commuter,’ but the pandemic kicked it into high gear
Among the top concerns for readers who are considering moving out is the rising cost of housing in Greater Boston. Homeownership in the city feels out of reach for many, and the cost of renting has also skyrocketed. Between January 2021 and 2022, however, the median rent for a one-bedroom in Boston increased 20.5 percent to $2,700, according to a report by Zumper. Massachusetts is now the second-most expensive state for renters nationwide.
Last month, we asked readers how they were navigating the rental market in Boston as rents bounce back from pre-pandemic levels, and several readers let us know that the days of COVID rent deals were long gone. One reader living in Jamaica Plain said their landlord increased the rent on their two-bedroom from $2,600 to $3,400.
“The rents are so high for the apartments that aren’t updated. The landlords are requesting $6,500-plus to even proceed with the application,” said Jonae P. from Dorchester. “There isn’t enough housing in the market as is. Boston is overpriced.”
Prices are even high for readers who live in the suburbs, where an increasingly tight market makes it hard to find their ideal home.
“I have an average deal on an apartment in the suburbs. I think about looking elsewhere, but prices are prohibitively high and nothing is pet-friendly,” a reader said. “The building I live in is old and needs work, but there’s that fear of not being able to do better than this, so I’m staying.”
When weighing the pros and cons of a move outside of Greater Boston, readers find themselves on either side of the argument for a variety of reasons. Ahead, you’ll find a sampling of their responses.
The responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
How have your feelings about moving outside Greater Boston changed?
Get me out of the city:
“I would LOVE to leave the area. I have had enough of the over-crowded, over-priced housing situation and deteriorating quality of life.” — Ana, Cambridge
“I’m waiting for the surge in home prices created by the pandemic to cool before I make my move, but my plan is to move out of Boston as soon as that happens. Hopefully within a year or two.” — Bill, Brighton
“If you can find good work outside of Greater Boston, it’s a no-brainer. Rising cost and travel time are not looking any better in the near future. It only makes sense to take the dive now.” — Rick, Danvers
“Much more interested. I have always been a renter and this year I am finally starting to consider buying. I knew the prices were outrageous but they really are outrageous! And condos aren’t much less with condo fees driving up costs. I have lived here for 18 years but I am fairly certain I will just rent here and then when it’s time to buy, I’ll leave, maybe in the next two to three years.” — Elizabeth, Medford
“We have already decided to move out of Greater Boston and New England due to the lack of a viable path to homeownership.” — Alex, East Boston
“Yes, looking for homes in New Hampshire and Maine. Traffic and overpopulation impinge on the quality of life in Massachusetts. If you do want to go anywhere in Mass., the traffic makes any outing a nightmare. We’re done with it.” — Julie, Stow
“I commuted from Worcester to Boston daily on the commuter rail from 2011-2016, it was 3.5-hour round-trip on a good day. We moved to Boston because the cost of an apartment and one car was only $100 a month more than an apartment in Worcester, two cars, and a Zone 8 pass. My commute went down to a 15 min. bike ride. We thought the tradeoff was worth it because we now had so much more time to enjoy all the amenities Boston had to offer. Now rent has gone up so much, home prices have gone totally out of reach within I-495, my job has been remote since March 2020, and so many of the great restaurants, music venues, etc. that we used to enjoy have closed. We have a new baby and the cost of daycare on top of everything makes going back to Worcester even more attractive by the day.” — Dan R., Brookline
I’m staying put in Greater Boston:
“This is a great area for a million reasons — education, beauty, opportunity. Myopically focusing on commuting misses the myriad of other benefits.” — Erin H., Newton
“Naw, not down. Red Line all day.” — Garrett F., Quincy
“We never even considered moving. Our kids are just getting started in our town’s school system. My wife owns and operates two businesses in the area (and has to be there) and my job requires me to be mostly on-site. Our commutes are pretty decent, at least comparatively for this region. I understand the desire to have more space and lower expenses in exchange for a longer commute but for us personally, we wouldn’t trade our location for anything. We were lucky enough to move from a condo in Boston proper to a quiet, wooded cul-de-sac that’s only a 25 min. drive from downtown in 2017. Unless there is a literal zombie apocalypse we need to escape from, we plan on staying put and raising our kids here until they’re through college.” — Chris, Westwood
“No, I like living in the city. I like not sitting in traffic. I’ll happily take a smaller house with no yard for proximity to friends, and locally-owned restaurants that are not chains. I love that dirty water and enjoy riding my bike to work along the banks of the River Charles.” — Mark, Newton Corner
“Nope! I’ve lived and worked in Boston for 25 years, and I have no plans to move. I love the convenience of being able to live car-free and either walk, bike, or get around by Uber. Boston living is also much more ecological. Multi-family dwellings use less space and resources than any other type of dwelling, especially compared to single-family homes. City living is also less isolated. I have many friends and neighbors that I see daily, compared to a decade living in a single-family home in Brighton, where I might go days without seeing a neighbor. For those who work in the city and have one child or less, I say that living in the city affords the highest quality of life, even if it means a smaller space (which is frankly more environmentally friendly anyway).” — Mike B., South End
(Boston.com occasionally interacts with readers by conducting informal polls and surveys. These results should be read as an unscientific gauge of readers’ opinion.)
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