Can't see the article, but I'll just put this here:

1. MA has the second highest population density of any state, second to NJ. When people say "oh, see, they're moving to a place like TX because blue states suck" or something along those lines, keep in mind that TX has a population density of 109 people per square mile, and hence a lot of POTENTIAL opportunity just naturally. MA has 884 people per square mile. The BETTER question is: why haven't many MORE people left to go to places like TX?! The answer may well be....in spite of the fierce human competition in MA, we're just a better type of community than is TX. As for me, I'd much prefer the charm of New England and MA to the cookie cutter blandness of a brand new 5,000 square foot house in Houston selling for $350k.

2. People tend to flock to places with high rankings of "natural amenities." MA is middle of the scale on this. Places out West and down South tend to rank higher, mainly because of warmer temperatures, but also because of higher percent of days with sunlight, and some other variables. See: http://map.israelsenlab.org/ People, especially in a work-from-anywhere environment, very well may gravitate to great natural resources that have nothing to do with the state itself. For me, I tend to not entirely agree with this ranking scale, even if it does correlate with where people are moving. I prefer New England's low hills, great summers and falls, and beautiful winters (when we get some snow!). I am happy it is not for everyone...if others prefer more warmth, go ahead and move...and let us get a better deal on a house around here finally!