Most who left state don't plan to return

A majority of people who moved out of Massachusetts last year report they are very satisfied with life in their new state and would not move back, a Boston Globe poll has found.

Seventy-three percent of those surveyed said they live in a home that is bigger than their home in Massachusetts was. Fifty-four percent said their standard of living is higher now.

The top reason people gave for leaving Massachusetts was a better job, followed by the cost of housing, family ties, and the weather. In a separate set of questions, 50 percent of those surveyed said the cost of housing was a ''major factor," and a better job was cited as a ''major factor" by 39 percent.

The findings underscored the difficulties of living, raising children, and earning enough money in Massachusetts, and suggested that these fundamental aspirations of the American middle-class are often easier for people to achieve outside the state.

The wide-ranging poll was the first of its kind to measure the motivations of people who have left Massachusetts, whose population of 6.39 million dropped by nearly 19,000 between 2003 and 2005, according to Census data.

Some 232,945 people moved out of the state between 2000 and 2005, a number somewhat offset by births and by an influx of immigrants from other countries, researchers said.

The survey comes as candidates for governor and policy makers are discussing the state's stagnant population, and identifies some of the aspects where Massachusetts faces a competitive disadvantage with other states.

''It points out that people are not being dragged away from Massachusetts kicking and screaming: They go out, they look at other states, and they say, 'You know what? This is pretty nice,' " said Andrew E. Smith, director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, which conducted the poll. ''I see so many people who move from Massachusetts and say they will never move back."

The nationwide survey, commissioned by the Globe and administered over the phone, interviewed 524 people between April 28 and May 4. The respondents, who moved out of Massachusetts in 2005, were randomly selected from a database compiled from change-of-address forms for utilities and telephone service and public records. The questions covered a range of topics, from people's perceptions of their new local public schools to the courteousness of their neighbors.

The results showed New Hampshire was the top destination for people who left Massachusetts. Florida was the second most popular state, followed by Texas. Regionally, the Southeast was the most popular destination, drawing 19 percent of those polled, followed by 18 percent who now live in the Midwest and West.

Blue-collar and white-collar nonprofessionals and those who made less than $75,000 were more likely to move to New Hampshire than others who left the state. Those who moved to New Hampshire were also more likely to name housing costs as a ''major factor" for their move, the poll suggested. They represent many middle-class people who feel they can no longer afford life in the Bay State, said William H. Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., who has studied migration patterns throughout the United States.

''They want a suburban lifestyle, they want a yard, they want a home, they want to have the American dream," Frey said. ''And it's persistently unaffordable in places like Massachusetts."

Professionals and executives, people under age 50, people with post-graduate educations or with incomes above $100,000 were more likely than other emigrés to move to the Mid-Atlantic and to cite a better job as a major factor for moving, the poll suggested. Their exodus represents what some policymakers term a brain drain.

The exodus from Massachusetts has been particularly acute in recent years. Between 2000 and 2004, Massachusetts lost residents at a greater rate than any other state except New York, according to Census Bureau estimates that were released last month. The exodus from Massachusetts averaged 42,402 people per year, according to the Census data.

''To me, what's new about this period is that now housing costs are being factored into people's migration decisions," Frey said. ''In the past, they would look more or less at the job and what the job paid, but housing costs would not factor as much."

The survey also sought to measure what was a major factor in prompting people to move. Housing and jobs were cited by 50 percent and 39 percent, respectively. Taxes were cited by 30 percent; a better place to raise kids, by 25 percent; the weather by 24 percent; and the traffic by 20 percent.

Other issues were less important, the poll showed. Only 8 percent of respondents indicated crime as a major factor for their move, while 9 percent cited the public schools, 12 percent cited Massachusetts' liberal bent, and 13 percent its political leadership.

Once outside Massachusetts, life improved for many respondents. Ninety-two percent described themselves as satisfied with their new state, including 56 percent who said they were ''very satisfied." Only 37 percent of those polled said they would like to move back to Massachusetts someday, while 56 percent said they would not return to the Bay State.

Fifty-four percent of those polled said their standard of living was higher in their new state. Thirty-six percent said it was about the same, while 9 percent said it was lower.

Fifty percent of those polled said their home now is ''much bigger" than the one they had in Massachusetts, while 23 percent said it was ''somewhat bigger." Sixteen percent live in a home that is ''much smaller" or ''somewhat smaller."

A majority of those polled said they were satisfied with their move, with 56 percent calling themselves ''very satisfied" and 36 percent ''somewhat satisfied."

Fifty-two percent of respondents said they visit Massachusetts more than once a year; 26 percent said they visit about once a year. A majority -- 68 percent -- said they still have relatives in the Bay State.

Asked what they missed most about Massachusetts, 25 percent of those polled said family, while 22 percent said the state's natural surroundings. Eight percent said they missed cultural outings to museums and theaters, and 8 percent said they missed Boston.

Asked what they missed least, weather topped the list, named by 24 percent of respondents. Traffic and commuting were named by 19 percent, taxes by 16 percent, the cost of living by 10 percent, cost of housing by 6 percent, and state politics by 5 percent.

A majority -- 69 percent -- said they found Bay State residents either ''much less courteous" or ''somewhat less courteous" than people in their new state.

Some allegiances persisted, the results showed. Only 5 percent of those polled said they were now cheering for a different sports team. The Red Sox, the poll suggested, were the most popular team among those who left Massachusetts, listed by 56 percent of respondents. The Patriots claimed 43 percent, and the Bruins and Celtics, 10 percent each.

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com

Check the Globe's political site at boston.com/news/local/politics.