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Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

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Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#441

Post by xxpor »

matrix wrote: post #371
xxpor wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Socially, Utah could not be more different than Seattle. SLC is one thing, but that's one small slice of a much bigger state. You'd be able to attract people who live there already, but there's 0 chance someone like me would be interested in living there. Note: I work for Amazon, but have no input at all in this process. This is the first I'm hearing about it.

True, to an extent. You are right in that that residents of SLC (plus similar areas like Park City and Ogden) are politically disenfranchised due the state being something of a theocracy. However, SLC itself is actually pretty liberal and has a lot to offer. It's far from perfect (mainly: air quality issues in winter and the political issues), but anywhere you choose has a different set of compromises. Is it right fo…

This is unrelated to the social issues, but I have visited SLC in the past and I don't think I'd move there due to the lack of "urbanness" of the city. The downtown grid makes the blocks so large that it's unwalkable.

The density is 1,678.0/sq mi vs 8,398/sq mi for Seattle, and I consider Seattle already frustratingly spread out.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#442

Post by midnitewarrior »

mrep wrote: post #437
midnitewarrior wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody's going to Chicago. The state government is in shambles, and taxes are going way up. The state is flirting with insolvency. Boston and NYC are all developed expensive. Atlanta still has undeveloped area inside the city limits or old industrial areas that can be removed and replaced. Chattanooga wouldn't work because they want an international airport and major university. Atlanta has the world's busiest airpor…

> Nobody's going to Chicago. Maybe nobody you know is going to chicago but 75% of my friends from the midwest have all congregated to chicago. I moved out west for the better tech jobs but I would instantly jump on the chance to move back to chicago to be close to friends and family.

I meant companies. They are going to steer clear of Illinois. Illinois is at the start of an economic death spiral. Roads are hugely underfunded. State workers' pensions are extremely underfunded, as in, state taxes are going to have to increase significantly beyond the tax increase passed this year for them to not default on their obligations and their other loan payments. Once they default on their loan payments, Illinois' ability to issue debt for capital expenditures like roads, road repairs, bridges and other infrastructure is limited to high risk / high interest loans.

Companies don't want to move to a state whose economic future and viability is in question.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#443

Post by jkimmel »

Animats wrote: post #367

OK, what are the options? Here's the list of the top 50 North American metro areas over the desired 1,000,000 population.[1] This gets down to the Nashville, TN area, at 1.8 million, so it's not the full list. Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba are probably out, both for political reasons and being islands. Mexico is probably out given the current administration's positions. San Juan is on an island and too remo…

As a former Orlandoan, I would pull Orlando from that list based on public transit.

Transit in Central Florida is basically non-functional, and not likely to change anytime soon. The region is entirely car-centric, and there is a strong cultural bias against public infrastructure of any kind.

You can surely look up a map with lots of bus lines drawn across the Orlando core (Lynx), but the service is so remarkably horrific, I never met anyone who used Lynx in the 21 years I lived in the region.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#444

Post by jorblumesea »

libria wrote: post #26

Why I wonder? While they're gobbling up DT Sea, they only have 1 building in Bellevue. Isn't there room to set up shop in Fremont or Kirkland and poach more engineers from Microsoft/Tableau/Expedia etc and reducing commute times? Not seeing the upside. This is a major management overhead, managing culture between both, all hands, IT infrastructure. Austin, TX is a good candidate. Very strong engineering university at…

Amazon is a frugal company and competing with FB/Uber/Snap/Lyft/literally every SV/SF startup was never part of the plan. Seattle used to be the cheap amazing engineering secret. Then everyone caught onto this and moved to the region. Once engineering salaries started to creep up into California territory it was only natural they'd want to leave for cheaper pastures.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#445

Post by midnitewarrior »

XR0CSWV3h3kZWg wrote: post #424
midnitewarrior wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody's going to Chicago. The state government is in shambles, and taxes are going way up. The state is flirting with insolvency. Boston and NYC are all developed expensive. Atlanta still has undeveloped area inside the city limits or old industrial areas that can be removed and replaced. Chattanooga wouldn't work because they want an international airport and major university. Atlanta has the world's busiest airpor…

Georgia State is a reasonable school as well, not as glamorous as GT or Emory though. I'm certainly bias as I grew up in ATL, but the RFP seemed to be written for Atlanta to me.

I'm sure Georgia State is reasonable, but it's just as reasonable as any other good state school in any other state. Georgia Tech and Emory are at the top of the list for their specialties though, engineering, computer science and business -- all things Amazon would find enticing.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#446

Post by BatFastard »

gitgreen wrote: post #421
midnitewarrior wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nobody's going to Chicago. The state government is in shambles, and taxes are going way up. The state is flirting with insolvency. Boston and NYC are all developed expensive. Atlanta still has undeveloped area inside the city limits or old industrial areas that can be removed and replaced. Chattanooga wouldn't work because they want an international airport and major university. Atlanta has the world's busiest airpor…

Detroit has a rather large, comfortable, and underutilized international airport. U Michigan is close by, widely considered a top ten CS school.

Shit, they could probably buy the whole city!

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#447

Post by notyourwork »

uiri wrote: post #189
notyourwork wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Based on how many have moved to Seattle Amazon is one of them though.

How much of that is hiring straight out of University? I would wager that Amazon has the largest tech internship program in North America.

How much of it is senior engineers? The point is they have filled roles of all levels of experience. What is your point?

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#448

Post by angstrom »

plandis wrote: post #411
grecy wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And anyone wonders why the USA does not have money for healthcare, higher education, high speed rail, etc. etc. I am in West Africa and everyone continually asks about the corruption. At least here it's up front and honest. The guy with the AK-47 just wants $5. In the USA, it's the guys in suits getting billions.

It might be morally questionable but isn't Amazon doing what you're describing? Most companies shopping around don't publically announce their plans to move in exchange for tax breaks. Amazon, OTOH, is explicitly calling this out.

Of course the argument is also the employees are paying taxes. Besides, Amazon is notorious for pouring money back into the business and growing instead of reaping profits, so good luck taxing that. By any account that's exactly what a city should want.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#449

Post by strange_quark »

johan_larson wrote: post #432
BatFastard wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chicago would be another good candidate.

Isn't Chicago's municipal government spectacularly dysfunctional?

Yes and no. Chicago has been really good at wooing companies to move their headquarters here: see Boeing, McDonald’s, ConAgra, GE transport, Kraft Heinz, the list goes on.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#450

Post by strange_quark »

midnitewarrior wrote: post #419
logfromblammo wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except that I want to live in Atlanta even less than I want to live in Seattle. It has a kind of psychic oppression field over it that makes me want to immediately turn around and leave. Atlanta looks good on paper. It always does. But actually being in the city tells me a different story. That said, I think only Atlanta, NYC, Chicago, or Boston could absorb the extra demand for skilled employees without sucking the…

Nobody's going to Chicago. The state government is in shambles, and taxes are going way up. The state is flirting with insolvency. Boston and NYC are all developed expensive. Atlanta still has undeveloped area inside the city limits or old industrial areas that can be removed and replaced. Chattanooga wouldn't work because they want an international airport and major university. Atlanta has the world's busiest airpor…

Maybe I'm biased because I live here, but Chicago seems like a complete slam dunk for Amazon. We've got: good public transit, plenty of space for development, an educated workforce with a a decently sized tech talent pool already developed, easy draw from Big 10 schools and the University of Chicago, and a (relatively) low cost of living when compared to comparable cities. Yes, the state and city have financial problems, but watch how fast the gridlock disappears when an opportunity like this presents itself. As I said in another comment, the city has been really good at getting companies, both from the suburbs and from out of state, to setup headquarters in the loop.
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