It's annoying when companies choose to re-locate to Boston's suburbs.

armpitsOFmight

armpitsOFmight

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Yeah, I know...real estate is too expensive. At least that's what my company is telling me. Honestly, are commercial property taxes in Newton and Needham Heights cheaper than Boston?
 
The clowns running City Hall might have a big part in many companies' relocation outside of Boston. Boston can be a hostile business climate for those companies not part of the clique.
 
Can you be more specific -- which companies have moved from Boston to the suburbs?
 
Oh, you are talking about factories? I thought this was about headquarters offices.
 
I just used factories as an example; my company is in the medical field and has nothing to do with manufacturing.
 
Bio-tech has traditionally been located in Cambridge or around 128. Downtown has mostly been finance, banking, lawyers and such.

It would be nice to see bio-tech move downtown but industries tend to cluster together, so it would take a big name to move downtown in order to get the little guys to follow.
 
I work for a software company that moved from Kendall Sq. to an office park in Marlborough last year. Not sure how widespread this phenomenon is...but it's happening. These office parks are darn near giving away their office space to any company priced out of Boston/Cambridge.
 
This is not necessarily a horrible things, since it frees up space near MIT and other universities to incubate new business. Still, it would be nice to keep them in the city. Kendall's development is probably helping them stay, but the space isn't being built quickly enough.
 
CDubs said:
I work for a software company that moved from Kendall Sq. to an office park in Marlborough last year. Not sure how widespread this phenomenon is...but it's happening. These office parks are darn near giving away their office space to any company priced out of Boston/Cambridge.
Click to expand...

that sounds downright depressing.
 
^^You got it! Car commuting is the worst (especially if, like myself, you previously didn't own a car for 6 years), not to mention being trapped in office park/strip mall world, where sidewalks are barely an afterthought. Sadly, office morale is never factored into these moves.
 
IMO companies are going to miss out on getting the most talented employees when they do this. When I looked for my current job, I specifically avoided anything along 128 or further out. I absolutely hate being stuck in an office building in a sea of parking lots, where I have to drive through craptastic traffic to get there and can't even get away at lunch time. Working downtown is fantastic. Taking a walk to lunch or a few minutes to relax in the park nearby is awesome. So is being able to take the T or bike to work. I wouldn't want it any other way.
 
^ It's not exactly an employee's market right now, which might explain why companies feel they can ignore that factor when seeking to cut costs by moving.
 
My Uncle worked for a company around 93/495 which was previously on 128, and before that was in Cambridge; but it is now moving to India. Quite a journey...
 
Past 495, India, what's the difference?
 
Ha. Although truth be told, all these jobs that go to India go to shiny office parks, not dense business districts in Delhi or Mumbai.

I'm always amazed when I go to third world (or even second world) countries how earnestly sprawling they still are. Cairo has miles of subdivisions out into the desert that look like they belong in Phoenix. Everyone wants to shop at the bigass mall or hypermarket instead of the souq (given the temperatures during the summer, though, it's harder to blame them). And don't get me started on Israeli settlements, which, politics aside, wouldn't be as big a problem if they were concentrated and not single family homes with pools.
 
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