81–90 of 118 posts
I hope they pick Atlanta but I doubt techies want to live in the South.
I'd think the massive calamity known as Atlanta traffic would be more off-putting than "living in the South". I know I'd love to find someplace warmer to live.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the value in having two headquarters a few hours apart?
The cities are geographically close, but there is an international border between them. Canada has more open immigration laws opening up Amazon to a much wider talent pool. Considering that major difference, there could be a strong case made for having these major offices close by for in person collaboration.
As a ballpark number, if Amazon wants to hire 50k people, I'd imagine they'd need at least 20k Canadians. So I suspect they'll need to convince Canadian programmers to move there.
I can't pretend to speak for all Canadian citizens, but given the choice:
1. Move to the most expensive real estate market in the country, where the raise in wages wouldn't account for the price difference in housing costs. To work for an employer with Amazon's reputation towards employees... (that's the most polite way I could put that)
2. Immigrate to SV under a TN visa, with the chance of working on interesting valley projects.
Despite both options having a crazy housing market, #2 is much more attractive. The value proposition can be changed though. I'd move in a heartbeat if the same wages were available in Montreal. Same for any Canadian city other than Vancouver and Toronto.
I find it interesting how many of these comments are sales pitches for their chosen cities. I don't have any preferences, since I have no desire to work for Amazon nor do I think my current city of SF is a good choice for reasons laid out in the article. What I'm most interested in, however, is how you get around some of these problems. The article points out a number of issues: Can even Amazon afford to pay 50,000 p…
Some of that 50,000 is likely to be transfers and lower wage employees.
I hope they pick Atlanta but I doubt techies want to live in the South.
What might kill Atlanta for AMZN - besides certain problems with traffic and sociopolitical climate (we have probably the largest Confederate memorial in the US called Stone Mountain) - is WHERE Atlanta (itself not an especially large political jurisdiction) would probably like AMZN to build - south of I-20 which is not where most people would want to work or live right now. Obtaining the land would probably be the e…
I think Philadelphia is a good choice. Center City is a 30 minute drive to Philly international airport. Land is relatively cheap, much cheaper than NYC, Boston, or dc. We have an ivy league school in the city, with another less than an hour away, as well as many other schools in the area. We have a large metro population with a good size technical and business industry already. We also have rail and sea shipping ava…
I posted this elsewhere but I'll repost here: The Navy Yard literally ticks every box of their requirements: 30 Mile proximity to population center: It's IN the city. 45 Minute proximity to international airport: It's about 15 minutes drive from the airport, or you can take mass transit. 1-2 Miles from Major highways: It sits basically ON I-95 Close to Major arterial roads: Within 10 minutes of 295, NJ Turnpike, I-76…
He needs to add Detroit to his list. Amazon already has two large warehouses and a small developer office there. The only negative on the list is a less than overwhelming public transport system. But they've got lots of cheap land, and both an international airport and an international border as well as three world class universities within an hours drive. Not to mention a metro area with a population of 4.5 million.
Which universities are within an hours drive? Michigan, obviously.
I find it interesting how many of these comments are sales pitches for their chosen cities. I don't have any preferences, since I have no desire to work for Amazon nor do I think my current city of SF is a good choice for reasons laid out in the article. What I'm most interested in, however, is how you get around some of these problems. The article points out a number of issues: Can even Amazon afford to pay 50,000 p…
Houston. Low Taxes. Low Cost of Living. International Airport. Major Port. Plenty of Housing. Universities.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The cities are geographically close, but there is an international border between them. Canada has more open immigration laws opening up Amazon to a much wider talent pool. Considering that major difference, there could be a strong case made for having these major offices close by for in person collaboration.
While we are friendly to immigration, Canadian citizens will need to work there too (in order for government incentives to be doled out)... Otherwise, the public will eventually demand those benefits rescinded. As a ballpark number, if Amazon wants to hire 50k people, I'd imagine they'd need at least 20k Canadians. So I suspect they'll need to convince Canadian programmers to move there. I can't pretend to speak for…
He needs to add Detroit to his list. Amazon already has two large warehouses and a small developer office there. The only negative on the list is a less than overwhelming public transport system. But they've got lots of cheap land, and both an international airport and an international border as well as three world class universities within an hours drive. Not to mention a metro area with a population of 4.5 million.
South of Chicago is suuuuper cheap and has lots of available space.
But I'm just weirded out by how the article discounts Chicago based on assumptions about, what, tax policy? Where is this coming from? The Rahm is lobbying hard, and he's very pro-bigcorp, as McDonald's new 500,000 sqft world headquarters in West Loop can attest to.
Regardless of where Amazon lands (and I don't really have a horse in that race), Bloomberg's weird hang-up about Chicago are no more than a distraction. It's bad enough that Michael Bloomberg is personally spending $millions on TV ads to support the Cook Cty soda tax in a state where he doesn't even reside. Ugh.