Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

91–100 of 253 posts

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#91

Post by saryant »

technofiend wrote: post #87
stevenwoo wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't lived in Houston in 30 years but wouldn't it have been eliminated on the mass transit/transportation/traffic congestion round or possibly the amenities via outdoor recreation round and definitely the culture of inclusion due to the GOP state priorities on bathroom bills? I loved Memorial Park when I lived inside the 610 Loop but the options after that at that point in time required a significant amount of t…

Depends on where Amazon ends up. We definitely are weak on public transportation but have a couple of international airports. With 600 square miles of area, it's tough to have a single metro system serve that entire area and frankly with our weather few people choose to stay outside and wait on transportation unless they just have to. Which is why you see things like Exxon's move to the Woodlands. There's enough loca…

So many of the oil companies have left downtown I have to think Amazon could snap up a good chunk of it. I moved away years ago but did anyone even fill up Shell Plaza after they moved out?

That said, I doubt it'll be Houston.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#92

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

hirsin wrote: post #89
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #46

I know they eliminated Pittsburgh right out of the gate, but I think it has a bunch of things going for it. It's one of the few places where housing is cheap (but a pretty beautiful downtown) but young tech workers would love to live: tons of stuff to do but lots of knowledge workers with CMU. Biggest obvious issue is no direct flights to Seattle, but if Amazon built a headquarters there it seems like it would be eas…

Not to mention a starving international airport that would be desperate to help make flights to Seattle happen. I know I'd be on the first one. And really, Pittsburgh is fantastic. Good schools, good commute even if you live in a suburb, great food and alcohol scene, with an arts scene and history to rival any major city (Carnegie and Warhol for starters).

I visited Pittsburgh recently, and I kind of fell in love with it:

1. Beautiful, unique geography, with a ton of outdoor stuff to do (granted, at least in summer). 2. Gorgeous architecture all around. 3. Great public transportation. 4. Lively nightlife, lots of options. 5. Relatively cheap

Pittsburgh basically has infrastructure for a city twice as big, but has managed to transition from its industrial past better than most rust belt cities.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#93

Post by danjayh »

hbosch wrote: post #10
rmason wrote: post #2

This really burns me. The Times compared the metro population of Grand Rapids (1 million) to Detroit's population (670,000) in order to disqualify the city in their first round. But metro Detroit has a population of 4.5 million so the Times either was sloppy with their criteria or they deliberately snubbed Detroit. Detroit may be a dark horse in this competition but with Dan Gilbert going all out to win I don't think…

Still, despite the size of metro Detroit, I think it's 100% off the table for Amazon's HQ2. The positive side of it is, sure, Amazon could own Detroit like vintage Ford – that's neat but I don't think Amazon wants that. The winters are still some of the most frigid and intimidating of any major American city, Michigan is still seen as the turncoat swing state (or one of them) that lead to Trump's election, and even t…

All depends on your perspective. Unlike many on ycombinator, I voted for Trump. I suppose it is more accurate to say that I actually voted for his Supreme Court justice list -- I viewed that issue as far more important than the president for the next four years. I lean libertarian, and while Trump had several justices that I'm OK with on his list, Hillary had no list and probably wouldn't have nominated anybody that I like. I live in Michigan, and I'm proud of our role in getting him elected (and getting a justice with a strict interpretation of the constitution nominated).

Also, please don't crucify me for admitting that I voted for Trump. I usually don't tell people IRL, because most left-leaning folks are extremely intolerant about it, many to the point of anger/hatred and possibly violence. If you want to know why you can't find the trump voters out in the real world, I think that's one of the big reasons.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#95

Post by shawn-butler »

I wonder if there is a study of these "sweetheart" municipal discretionary tax incentives deals? I have to imagine very few, if any, ever achieve the ROI the politicians claim and usually on top of non-tax incentives.

Would be interesting to see some actual data.

These people in power make these deals with little public oversight, usually negotiated in secret, knowing full well they won't have to deal with the long term impacts.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#96

Post by joveian »

Since Bezos has a house and newspaper in D.C. but D.C. itself isn't suitable, I'm thinking "distance from D.C." is a major unmentioned criteria and the main point is to get suburbs and nearby cities to compete. I'll guess Baltimore.

Unfortunately, I suspect a lot of places will offer plenty of bribes ("tax benfits") that should be illegal.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#98

Post by rurounijones »

danjayh wrote: post #93
hbosch wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, despite the size of metro Detroit, I think it's 100% off the table for Amazon's HQ2. The positive side of it is, sure, Amazon could own Detroit like vintage Ford – that's neat but I don't think Amazon wants that. The winters are still some of the most frigid and intimidating of any major American city, Michigan is still seen as the turncoat swing state (or one of them) that lead to Trump's election, and even t…

All depends on your perspective. Unlike many on ycombinator, I voted for Trump. I suppose it is more accurate to say that I actually voted for his Supreme Court justice list -- I viewed that issue as far more important than the president for the next four years. I lean libertarian, and while Trump had several justices that I'm OK with on his list, Hillary had no list and probably wouldn't have nominated anybody that…

You are the first person I have seen that has given supreme court justice list as reason fo voting trump and it seems like a pretty kosher reason.

Not sure about the 4 year damage offset but hey, it is better than voting for him because wall

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#99

Post by tanilama »

Sir_Cmpwn wrote: post #25

Why doesn't Amazon choose a city that almost meets their criteria and invest the wealth they generate there back into the city? Then we get more good cities instead of overinvesting into any single city.

Because ... They are not charity? If there is a market for Amazon's offer, they surely can pick the one that best suits them. And the line seems getting really long.

Re: Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

#100

Post by tptacek »

beart wrote: post #29

Grand Rapids, MI is just WAITING for something like this to turn it into a major city. It has an awesome culture and a ton of interesting things happening. However, the available tech job pool is still low and what jobs do exist are typically at non-tech companies who happen to employ tech workers.

It's not easy to get in and out of GR. Airline connectivity was one of Amazon's criteria.
Post reply on HN