Photo: Jarred Brosnan/WBZ NewsRadio
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Though rising housing costs aren't new for Massachusetts, a new poll conducted by MassINC Polling Group said at least one in five residents are thinking of moving out of the state because of it.
21% said that they envision themselves leaving the Bay State for another within the next five years.
Some who spoke to WBZ NewsRadio said they are staying put despite the current housing crisis. Gus came to Boston in 1960 from Canada, and retired here. “I don’t think it was as bad then as it is now,” he said.
Meanwhile, more than a third of the surveyed people said that the rising housing costs is a “very big burden” for them, and 18% said it's their top concern.
“I moved out of Boston and moved to New Bedford because it was too expensive here,” one resident said, but added that he wasn't willing to move states, and that there are good reasons for the expensive living costs in Massachusetts. Another said he was considering a move to New Hampshire, but that would make his commute very difficult.
Other top concerns in the survey included immigration (18%) and taxes (14%).
In May, Governor Maura Healey launched a statewide housing campaign to highlight the impact of high housing costs on everyday life and the urgent need to lower it. The state's dire housing crunch has been at the top of the list of pressures on the corner office.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports
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