Hi, I’m Diti Kohli, a business writer at the Globe. I’m 25, and I see a future in Boston. But we’ll dive in today about why so many young residents don’t feel the same way.
But first, here’s what else is going on:
- A US Special Forces soldier involved in the seizure of the Venezuelan president has been charged with making $400,000 off online bets on Nicolás Maduro‘s capture. (AP)
- The small Anna Maria College is closing its doors at the end of this school year, the second Massachusetts school to succumb to financial woes this month.
- Mike Vrabel has broken his own golden rule, making himself the Patriots’ biggest distraction. The latest photos.
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TODAY’S STARTING POINT
Two years ago, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Foundation whipped the city into a frenzy by reporting that a fourth of 20- and 30-somethings were looking to leave here in the next five years.
An update to the study this week offers as much good as it does bad.
Today, 26 percent of the region’s youngest adult cohort are looking to move away from Boston. It’s a “distressing number,” the study says, though at least the outlook has not gotten much worse in the last few years.
Students, single people, and newer residents less than two years from their arrival to Boston are the most likely to leave. That said, fewer people (79 percent in all) are satisfied with their day-to-day lives in town.
Tell me why
The 600 people surveyed ranked job availability, the cost of rent, and safety as the most important factors when deciding whether to stay in Boston. And, shocker: They said local leaders should prioritize creating affordable housing and accessible health care options.
It follows a seemingly endless string of disheartening research about the ways Boston often delays adult milestones, which the Globe has covered over and over and over. Young people in Massachusetts have the fourth-lowest homeownership rate of anywhere in the country. And Bay State couples are typically older than those in all but one state when they get married and have kids.
Anna Giles, a self-certified “city girl” with no plans to leave, said “being in a central location for me is worth paying a little more in rent.” But she feels the same financial pressures as most other 28-year-olds who sacrifice financial security to keep pace with the cost of living.
“I make more money than I’ve ever made in my life,” she said, “but I still cannot save as much as I want to.”
Where are they going?
What is surprising from the Chamber survey is that the South is scooping up Boston’s leftovers. Of the respondents planning to leave Massachusetts, almost half are looking to the southeast and southwest. By comparison, 15 percent are looking to other Northeast states, and 11 percent are eyeing areas in New England.
Warmer and often cheaper, “the South seems to be an attraction these days,” Chamber President and CEO Jim Rooney said. Amber Haskell, the Chamber executive director, quipped that “the worst snowstorm we’ve had in years” might’ve also nudged people towards more tropical climes.
And yet...
There is some good news: Because of the sheer volume of young adults here, Boston still has the highest proportion of people under 34 of the largest American cities. They are having an easier time building community today than a few years ago, the study found. More and more are seeking on-the-job training to advance their careers, or exploring starting their own businesses. And even though complaints about the T abound, most people said they have an easy enough time getting around.
On Monday evening, I’ll be chatting with young Bostonians about how the city can slow outmigration and tackle its biggest challenges. They’ll be refreshments, a prize wheel, and a live art installation. If you care about people staying, or think about leaving yourself, RSVP here.
As Governor Maura Healey put it last month, “there’s work to do, certainly, but there are assets that this state has that other states just don’t.”
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Can’t join us on Monday? Mark your calendars for 3 to 5 p.m Thursday to ask us anything you want at the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library. Data Editor Yoohyun Jung and Managing Editor of Local News Cristy Silva wiil be there to say hi.
🧩 1 Down: Qualified | ⛅ 54° Cooler
POINTS OF INTEREST
Not just younger Bostonians: More older residents in Greater Boston are moving in with roommates for companionship and/or to make ends meet.
‘A kind of dance’: That’s a gentle description for the nearly choreographed congestion of double parking clogging a two-block stretch of Mattapan Square. Will it ever change?
Red Sox: The gang of Fenway has enough problems this year. Why, asks Dan Shaughnessy, is the team going to a new level to erase Larry Lucchino?
No to grandparents: A secret recording led to a judge’s dramatic dismissal of a highly publicized case of two retired physicians seeking to have visits with their granddaughter.
Matthew Farwell: The former Stoughton police detective kept “enduring” sexual interest in teen girls after Sandra Birchmore’s death, authorities say,
Amherst chef: An award-winning UMass Amherst chef has been charged with murder in the fatal beating of his wife at a campus hotel.
The anti-Chromebook movement? Statewide, communities are taking aim to curb classroom tech, from cellphones to laptops.
No pressure: He’s leaving BYU after just one year and entering the NBA draft, where there’s a good chance he’ll be the top pick. AJ Dybansta made his announcement from the Brockton elementary school where he nursed his NBA dream.
A nap a day? It depends. New research suggests frequent or lengthy naps could be a sign your body is struggling.
Dirtier air: A new study shows about 152 million Americans breathe unhealthy air, but one Maine city — home to Stephen King and the mythical Paul Bunyan — is a clean oasis. (CNN)
VIEWPOINT
Belief: How could a surge of faith by young men reshape America? “The kind of faith they embrace could either heal fractures or deepen them,” writes Eugene Scott.
‘Walkers Tolerated’: The pushback to the now-withdrawn Nike ad “shows the power of words and the power of what the Boston Marathon continues to represent to people of all abilities,“ writes Joan Vennochi.
Haha: Chris Vognar writes that the laughing emoji has become the favorite insult of the lazy and incurious.
BESIDE THE POINT
By David Beard
🏓 Ping pong and ‘Stranger Things’: Timothée Chalamet‘s “Marty Supreme” and a new “Stranger Things” are stellar weekend streaming highlights, but don’t overlook the sublime 2025 Korean film “No Other Choice.”
🏠 Home of the Week: A beachy $3.35 million Wellfleet mansion with a “Psycho” connection (don’t worry, it’s OK to take a shower).
💕 Blind date: “He traveled an hour to get to the date! I felt so bad because I just walked down the street.”
🎀 ‘Pretty in Pink’: How does this 40-year-old soundtrack, with its Echo & the Bunnymen and Psychedelic Furs but also Otis Redding, endure as a mixtape masterpiece?
🎸 Dave Grohl: Can the Foo Fighters leader reclaim his “nice guy” image with a new album after a scandal for cheating on his wife?
👚 Recycle or not? When will the clothes at the back of your closet come back in style? Science has an answer. (Reader’s Digest)
📓 First person: “I found a stranger’s notebook. Its contents changed me.”
Thanks for reading Starting Point. Have a great weekend.
This newsletter was edited by David Beard and produced by Diamond Naga Siu.
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Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her @ditikohli_.