Moving temporarily doesn't necessarily establish residence.

Typically (Though probably not always) things like Drivers License, or Voter Registration changes help establish when state of residence truly changes. 

They may never have been a "resident" of MA (caution: I am not familiar with MA rules on this) if they were essentially "couch surfing" for a couple of months while trying to figure out where their next home was going to be.

It can get complicated.