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Boston in Decline?


TheBostonian

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This is kinda random but, I'm currently living in Columbia, SC and my parents recently got a divorce. My mom has no relatives in SC and hates being in the same area as her in-laws and ex. She has a lot of relatives in Boston. But for a long time thought about moving to Charlotte, since it is a wonderful city which is growing and has alot of potential, where housing is so much more affordable then Boston. She is commited to moving to Boston for some reason, even though she is close to animic and gets cold very easily, it just doesnt make sense for that to happen. What are you guys' suggestions?

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It's no surprise that some expect the city to go into a decline. Massachusetts was the only state to actually go down in population last year. Like me, many people are leaving the Boston area for "greener pastures": places where housing costs aren't as high, where it doesn't snow from November through March every year, where the traffic doesn't suck as bad, etc, etc, etc.

However, I think there is cultural shift in motion involving walkable cities with good public transport. Boston's already one of those places. And a lot of other smaller metros are trying to revitalize their urban cores, promote walking and cycling to work, and acquire funding for regional rail services. Boston is an old city where its citizens have been travelling by foot, rail or bike for centuries - literally. A lot of newer and smaller cities (Atlanta for instance) are having trouble achieving that because they boomed after the invention of the automobile.

I think Boston will remain expensive for a long time, as it is a cultural and educational hub (whether it remains a business hub is to be determined). There will always be a demand to live there, "irregahdless" of the cost of living (anyone catch the SNL reference?).

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I'm not all that concerned about the continued outsourcing of corporate citizenship in Boston. Its true that companies like Fleet, Gilette and John Hancock were important in the fact that they contributed to regional development at the charitable level, however, I dont think the economic impact will be that grave.

The industries that are important to Boston - Financial services, professional services (law, consulting), technology, biotechnology, education, tourism, health care are all very much intact, and are infact growing. These are the core sectors that drive the regional economy. The days where Boston was a regional banking center are pretty much over, but the local economy is resilient, and has been able to weather the storm. When BofA bought Fleet, they decided to locate their wealth management to Boston, and the Columbia funds group remained here, particularly because of the strength of the money management industry in Boston.

The college and universities that we have in the Boston area have served as the back bone to our economy, and due to their nature are a much more stable and integral part of the economy than corporations. As long as our educational leadership remains intact, our economy will have the ability to grow, change and adapt. Places like Detroit and some of the rust belt cities are in trouble - they have been unable to grow and adapt to the evolving economy. The impending collapse of the auto industry would have dire consequences on this region, because there is nothing to take its place in the event of a collapse.

Boston in decline? I dont think so. I veiw it more like the whole top half of the country is in decline relative to the south and west. But remember, with every boom comes a bust.

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and the rationale for the Red Line - Blue Line connector has been obviated by the Silver Line's run from the Red Line to Logan Airport.

It has not been obviated, the red and blue are not connected by the silver line since the silver line does not go to airport station. Commuters from Revere (hopefully, eventually Lynn) are still disconnected from the redline, having to make two transfers to get to Cambridge and/or South Boston. Connecting Cambridge to the North Shore is an important transit need.

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Yes Exchequer. You are correct.

I just don't get these ideas or predictions that Boston is in decline. Census estimates are not entirely accurate becuase they are estimates. I think that's why they call them estimates. For anyone who doubts that argument I suggest you do a little research on how these numbers are put together. There is a lot of handwaving and fudging. Regardless, housing is being added to the city at a very rapid pace. I see new condo developments left and right everywhere I go. Certainly huge demand for housing is a strong sign of a population in rapid decline. And may I point out that this tremendous demand is driving new projects that would make other cities wet in the pants.

Don't even mention Detroit. That city hinged on the success of one single industry. Detroit is so different from every other city in so many ways. There are a billion reasons why Boston did not and will not go the way of Detroit so please people enough with Detroit (same goes for comparisons to NYC...).

The Metro Boston area is quite healthy with plenty of industry and jobs. The formal city center is serving well as a cultural and educational center. Boston is doing quite well as a great place to live. It is an old and mature city. To expect its growth to be on par with cheaper southern cities is foolish. Places like Atlanta are just catching up and have only recently become major cities.

As far as cost of living goes, well that is a problem and I think you will see things start to normalize over the next 15 years. High cost of living shows a city as a victim of its own success. Supply is not meeting demand. But now prices are coming down. Sellers are realizing there are no more people willing to pay $800K for a tiny shabby ranch. Supply and demand are starting to balance themselves. I don't think prices will plummett. They will float down to a more acceptable and sane level.

One last point, the state gov realizes whole heartedly that our biggest economic obstacle right now is our ability to provide affordable housing. Companies are moving out mostly because they cannot pay their workers enough to live here. Things are slow right now but I am confident that there will be continued progress in this area. It just takes time... Don't be so quick to assume the fate of the region for the next 30 years. The main problems have been identified. Now its time to take some action.

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I agree that Boston is not in decline. There is a lot of building going on now and 2006 should put the city into the building boom category with hotel, residential, office and medical highrises all U/C at the same time. Shopping and entertainment venues are at an all time high. The loss of Filene's DT is sad, but it will be replaced with new retail and probably a high rise behind the main building as well.

The city and metro are evolving and reinventing themselves as some old companies lose headquarters (but still retain large operations) other old companies get bigger, and new companies become big companies.

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/artic...ciences__money/

Unemployment is very low, good jobs are plentiful, and the general feeling is very dynamic.

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  • 6 months later...

My theory for this population decline (if the estimate is at all accurate) always has been, and continues to be, a combination of 2 factors: The renovation of brownstones and multi-families from housing multiple housing units back to the single unit they were originally intended for (lowering density), and the type of people moving back in to the city, namely the single young professionals and empty-nesters.

Does this necessarily mean the city is in decay? That is subject to debate. I personally prefer density and diversity to wealthy, gentrified, and impenetrable neighborhoods to the middle classes..

And if those two points were already brought up previously, I apologize. :unsure:

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Especially with the ritzier towns putting in so many regulations that encourage expensive buildings instead of afforadable ones.

Yes, the cities and towns close in don't want to pay to educate kids, so we're seeing lots of one and two bed 'luxury' units. Families are moving out of the core to be replaced by singles and couples. That explains why we see declining population at the same time that we see increased occupancy rates, even while new units are coming on line at a fast clip.

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Well I'm coming with my wife and son....we're living downtown, and we're sending our son to public school.....though one family does not a revival make.

It upsets me that families move away. People have some bizzare desire for lots of space to fill up with cheap crap. I'm downsizing, selling one of our cars, and couldn't be happier. My son is stoked that he'll be riding the subway with me to his school in the North End, and wife can't wait to walk to the Asian market.

Society in general is destroying itself with obsessive consumerism. I'm stoked that I'll finally be apart of the answer.....

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Well I'm coming with my wife and son....we're living downtown, and we're sending our son to public school.....though one family does not a revival make.

It upsets me that families move away. People have some bizzare desire for lots of space to fill up with cheap crap. I'm downsizing, selling one of our cars, and couldn't be happier. My son is stoked that he'll be riding the subway with me to his school in the North End, and wife can't wait to walk to the Asian market.

Society in general is destroying itself with obsessive consumerism. I'm stoked that I'll finally be apart of the answer.....

That's the kind of family life I wanna have! :thumbsup:

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I would suspect that given Boston's small city proper, the loss is largely due to gentrification replacing larger low income families with smaller more affluent families. There also is the larger context of the entire state losing population, correct? I know lots of people from Massachusetts and other northeastern states in Atlanta who left due to two reasons: more plentiful job opportunities and cheaper housing in the sunbelt. From what I have seen, I do not see how a non-trust funded 20-something could ever hope to own a home in a decent area in Boston. It is like you have to rent, become "house poor" such that you cannot enjoy living there, or leave.

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I sense my own need to get educated on this issue. It looks like the list of top population losing cities includes some much more affordable places than Boston and San Fran.

True, but most of those "more affordable" cities on the list are either economically depressed, plagued by crime, or both. I would assume that Boston and San Fran are losing due to the same factors such as affordability and overly competitive job markets, while these other cities are driven more by flight from a currently undesirable city.

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I heard in the news today that Worcester is the only city in Mass that gains population. They blame it on the still relatively affordable housing. I personally met many people recently who moved west from Boston, just because they got so much better housing for the buck. But of course this is a trade off, as you will never have the same life quality as in Boston.

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I heard in the news today that Worcester is the only city in Mass that gains population. They blame it on the still relatively affordable housing. I personally met many people recently who moved west from Boston, just because they got so much better housing for the buck. But of course this is a trade off, as you will never have the same life quality as in Boston.

I considered in the late 90s moving from Boston to Worcester. I moved to Waltham, then to NYC of all places. At the same time I also considered Providence, and ended up here after my stays in Waltham and New York. Price was at the top of my list for reasons to move, and yes, NYC was comparitively cheaper than Boston.

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So far is 2006, there have been 1,209 residential building permit issued for Boston (within city limits)......this is twice as high as any other year to date total in at least a decade.

While not a gauranteed barometer, the huge uptick in new units indicates the developers see strong demand.....or that a lot of developers will be hurting pretty bad.

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