Massachusetts residents leaving for new borders

Serghino René

Take it from Brad Singleton.

He’ll tell you he is living the good life. A native of Roxbury, Singleton has lived in the South for nearly 13 years, and at the moment, he has no intention of returning home.

Singleton attended Milton Academy, graduating a few years after Gov. Deval Patrick. From there, he went on to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and has kept moving south ever since.

A medical device salesman, Singleton has lived in Atlanta, Ga., for the last three-and-a half years.

“I have a modest- to good-sized home, my kids go to good schools and we take two to three vacations a year as a family,” said Singleton. “My wife is a stay-at-home mom, since there is no need for her to work. If we lived in Massachusetts, I think it would be a requirement to have two incomes.”

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics released last summer, Massachusetts is continuing to hemorrhage people — especially young people. The census found that Massachusetts had an average annual exodus, on balance, of 42,402 people.

The population drop in Boston is consistent with the decrease on the state level. Of all the nation’s major cities studied, Boston had the third largest decline. The statistics showed that since 2000, the city has lost more than 30,000 residents, a 5.1 percent decrease.

Boston’s dwindling middle class is finding refuge in Southern states like Florida, Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina, largely because the cost of living in those locales is much more affordable.

“When you grow accustomed to a certain lifestyle, it’s hard to go backwards,” said Singleton. “With the house I live in now, I’d have to find it in the outskirts of Boston or go to New Hampshire.”

In December, the median selling price for a detached single-family home in Massachusetts dropped slightly, but was still $335,000, down 5.4 percent from $354,000 in December 2005, according to the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

While statistics show that some are leaving, others are still holding on. Foreclosure filings by Massachusetts mortgage lenders last year reached a record level, as 19,487 of the state’s homeowners were in financial distress and in danger of losing their homes.

The Crittenton Women’s Union (CWU) recently released its latest self-sufficiency standard — a measure of the true costs of living, working and raising a family in the Bay State. The report details what a growing number of Massachusetts residents face in making ends meet.

According to the report, the cost of living in Boston for a family of three — single parent, preschooler and school-age child — was $58,133 annually, up from $51,284 in 2003, an overall increase of 13 percent. This family configuration is significant in Boston, where 47 percent of families with children under 18 are headed by single mothers.

In order for a working single mother in Boston to support a family of three, she would need to earn $4,844 per month, or an hourly wage of $27.53. That number is almost four times the state’s current hourly minimum wage of $7.50. The monthly cost of health care has jumped to $343 from $228, while child care costs have risen to $1,490 from $1,226.

Tara Lee, 31, knows all too well the struggle to make ends meet. She openly questions whether she wants to spend the rest of her days in Boston, let alone Massachusetts.

“The cost of living in [Boston] has gone through the roof, and yes, I have considered moving to another state,” said Lee. “The further south you go, the cheaper and warmer it gets.”

Lee has been living with family members for the past three years, making an annual salary of about $30,000. Since the birth of her 6-month old son, she left her job to raise her child full-time.

“I’m on public assistance and I don’t like it,” said Lee. “I have one child and it’s a struggle because it’s just me.”

It’s not just hard for single parents. A major challenge for Massachusetts is retaining college students. Young workers move away to get cheaper living costs elsewhere. Young adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are disappearing the fastest, according to a study done by the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire.

Young adults are earning their college degrees in Massachusetts, but leave the state to use their talents elsewhere.

Cyndi Roy, Gov. Patrick’s deputy press secretary, says the administration is working hard to change this trend.

“[Patrick] constantly asks young people if they have a 5-year plan to get out of Massachusetts,” said Roy. “Unfortunately, many do. We are encouraging young people to do whatever they can to stay while we do our part.”

For starters, Patrick has talked about making Massachusetts a more business-friendly state, in part to ensure that college graduates have jobs here.

When Patrick recently spoke at the second annual Procurement Conference and Business Expo, held at Northeastern University’s Curry Student Center, he put the focus on the young people in the audience. He encouraged them to stay in Massachusetts and explore their own small business dreams after they graduate, “because this is where the action is.”

Patrick has also established a Development Cabinet, which he chairs, to identify and promote business development, job growth and infrastructure projects.

“A top goal of this administration is to bring to government greater efficiency and effectiveness,” said Patrick. “This Development Cabinet will get people working together in a more collaborative manner to promote economic growth and move our state forward.”

But while government panels and business conferences may eventually address the problem, Singleton doesn’t think he’ll feel the pull to leave Atlanta anytime soon. He makes occasional visits to Massachusetts, and that’s plenty for now.

“I come home for one month a year in Nantucket,” said Singleton. “To come back here for good, it would have to be the right combination of things, like my daughter coming to college up here or most importantly, the cost of living going down.”