May 24, 2006 9:57 AM

To stay or not to stay, that is the question
Posted by Douglas Eisenhartat 9:57 AM

Local NPR news station WBUR is running a great series this week called "Boston at the Crossroads" about the future of the Greater Boston economy and region.

The question for you, as an individual, is whether you will stay and make a living - and your life - here, or whether you will seek to do so elsewhere. What are the attractions of Boston? Do your skills and talents match up with Boston's industries and growth opportunities? And what are the downsides (we all know about the much-publicized expensive housing)?

The latest installment in the series explores this question: what exactly makes people decide to settle and stay in an area, specifically in Boston:

“The most important reason is that other skilled people are here,” says [Ed] Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard. “Increasingly, cities are located in places that consumers want to live rather than in places where producers want to produce. I think as we think about Boston at the crossroads, the important thing is making sure that you have houses that skilled people want to live in that are affordable, and to compete on the national field for cities, if you’re about attracting skilled workers, it means attracting people by being a consumer city, to make it a place where those skilled people want to live."

Carve out a block of time for this audio segment, which runs over 13 minutes. But it's well worth the listen, as is the entire series, as you consider your future moves.

Good luck (and, of course, we hope you decide to stick around).