The "businesses fleeing cities" discourse is so driven by NYC and SF (and probably overblown even there). But every city has different dynamics and this captures a lot of the nuance that makes Boston, probably, better-positioned than some other superstar cities post-pandemic. 1/x https://twitter.com/bytimlogan/status/1356971399559208963

For one: Our big universities aren't going away, and the life science industry they power is big, growing and more dependent on in-person work than media or financial services like in NYC or tech in SF.

Taxes, too, are less of an issue here. Yes, Mass. has 5% income tax, but high earners in NYC or California often pay 2x that. So, less incentive to leave for no-tax Florida or Texas. Property taxes, too, are brutal in suburban NYC. Housing is expensive, but not like the Bay Area.

An under-rated quality: Boston is relatively small, geographically. While commuting here can be tough it's not like getting into midtown Manhattan from the 'burbs. That's another incentive to decamp that's stronger elsewhere than here.

As for drags on Boston's growth: We're not really quite a capital of tech, or fin svs, or media. If you're a company choosing one city in which to grow, Boston may not be it. Housing and transpo are certainly challenges, relative to many places. I gather some dislike the weather?

And it is an expensive place to operate. No denying that. That cost pays for a lot of good things, societally, and it's a cost many companies have decided they're willing to pay for the benefits of being here. Could that change? Maybe. Probably on the margins.

But that's going to be highly specific to the needs and aims of individual companies. Even within the same industry. And it may evolve over time. We're seeing that in real estate decisions right now. https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/02/02/business/even-amazon-moves-forward-other-businesses-remain-undecided-about-their-future-boston/

So maybe the lesson is to avoid over-generalizing, or grafting narratives that may not even be true in one city, on to a different city. Watch what companies do, not what talking heads (or people peddling office space or remote-work technology) say. And read your local newspaper!