A lot of tech (outside of biotech) in MA is still outside Boston. After all, when Teradyne moved out (in the 90s?), they were at that point pretty much the last tech company in Boston. A lot of the new tech offices are the west coast company satellite offices.

My company does have an office in the Seaport but it's in Boston specifically because it makes more sense to have a customer briefing center there. Most MA employees are about 45 minutes west.

ADDED: And when biotech started going into Kendall Square that area was pretty much old warehouses. Of course, now it's some of the most expensive real estate in the Boston area. I know someone whose company moved out of Kendall Square to move to the Finance District because it was cheaper.

A few reasons, I suppose:

* No T access or...

* Other transit stations don't have existing office buildings or are equally built out, losing to other advantages as...

* No "scene" - Kendall and the Seaport have a "feel" to them that you don't find at, say, Alewife

Part(s) of problem is A. access to employees with the right skill sets and B. their respective commutes and desire to live closer to the city.

So, you could choose to locate a company in Worcester (or even closer in, say, Framingham), but many of the 20/30 somethings will have a tough time getting to these locations and these towns themselves don't have people with the necessary skill sets.

It's criminal the train from Boston to Worcester is slower today than it was in 1950. But that's another topic.