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Dear Amazon, We Picked Your New Headquarters for You

nytimes.com

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

#221

Post by tttt5 »

JPKab wrote: post #177
virtuallynathan wrote: post #17

I'm surprised to see Philadelphia eliminated so quickly, it ticks almost all of the boxes, and has a very large number of engineering schools (UPenn, Penn State, Drexel, Temple, Princeton, Rutgers, etc). It's transit is better than many of the other cities, and it has 2 major development plots in the city with existing full tax abatements. Not to mention its proximity to NYC and Washington, DC via Amtrak (~1h20m to N…

I live in Colorado and work at a software company. I have a crew of people here who relocated from Philly. I've been hearing a ton about this because this crew has been steadily recruiting from there to Denver. The comments they say when they are doing this: Philly has worse crime by far. The weather (measured in number of sunny days) is obviously worse. Outdoor activities are limited. Yeah, you can get to pretty pla…

Out of curiosity, what's the appeal of being near the mountains for a not athletic type. Arguably being near the beach is more broadly beneficial.

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

#222

Post by snarf21 »

JPKab wrote: post #217
snarf21 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, there is strong factors to consider a location outside of the US. Despite the NYT analysis, I think this is going to end up in Boston. I don't buy the "there is no room for the location" argument. It is like they've never been to Boston. Sure you can't drop it in the downtown but there are lots of areas in need of redevelopment very near by. I also think that Boston has a huge advantage in terms of talent po…

Boston has colleges and universities, and yes, they are amazing. But guess what? Recent college graduates are happy to move to places with better weather and lower costs of living, and they do. We interview top tier people looking to relocate from Boston all the time. I say that as someone who loves Boston, and especially like the culture and people.

I meant it largely in the local ability for intern programs, partnerships with the various internal school "labs", etc. You also have a better chance at attracting institutional talent as they can switch without moving or upsetting their life. Look at the huge exodus of staff from CMU to Uber, etc.

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

#223

Post by [deleted] »

eelkefolmer wrote: post #203
SubiculumCode wrote: post #26

It will probably land in Reno. Just my prediction.

I agree, Nevada is able to provide the largest tax abatements which is probably going to be the deciding factor (helped recruit GigaFactory, Las Vegas Raiders etc). 300 days of sunshine, cheap real state, low cost of living and close proximity to 15 ski resorts, plus 45 minute flights to Seattle/Silicon Valley.

[deleted]

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

#224

Post by foyk »

JPKab wrote: post #177
virtuallynathan wrote: post #17

I'm surprised to see Philadelphia eliminated so quickly, it ticks almost all of the boxes, and has a very large number of engineering schools (UPenn, Penn State, Drexel, Temple, Princeton, Rutgers, etc). It's transit is better than many of the other cities, and it has 2 major development plots in the city with existing full tax abatements. Not to mention its proximity to NYC and Washington, DC via Amtrak (~1h20m to N…

I live in Colorado and work at a software company. I have a crew of people here who relocated from Philly. I've been hearing a ton about this because this crew has been steadily recruiting from there to Denver. The comments they say when they are doing this: Philly has worse crime by far. The weather (measured in number of sunny days) is obviously worse. Outdoor activities are limited. Yeah, you can get to pretty pla…

Not much more than one hour drive to the beach, and two hour drive to mountains (although the mountains probably don't hold a candle to those found in Colorado).

Philly is also a relatively short train ride away from NY, DC, Baltimore, and half a day's drive from everyplace in the Northeast.

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

#225

Post by mcgrath_sh »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #92
hirsin wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 th…

Relatively cheap will go away as soon as ~30,000 new families come in to work at Amazon. Which is a big reason why I'm not sure I want Amazon to come here.

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

#226

Post by skookumchuck »

kitten_mittens_ wrote: post #143
skookumchuck wrote: post #62

Or, Amazon's announcement could just be a move to get Seattle to stop their attacks on local businesses. The Seattle Times has routinely run pretty negative articles on Amazon, and suddenly today they ran a positive one. I think the Times has gotten the message. http://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/editorials/end-of-amazon...

It's pretty hard to argue that Amazon's relationship with the city is not toxic.

Seattle elected and re-elected Kshama Sawant to the city council. She is an avowed socialist, and is openly hostile to Boeing and Amazon. At one point she wanted to nationalize Boeing.

I'd think twice about investing in anything under her sway.

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

#227

Post by JBlue42 »

skookumchuck wrote: post #226
kitten_mittens_ wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's pretty hard to argue that Amazon's relationship with the city is not toxic.

Seattle elected and re-elected Kshama Sawant to the city council. She is an avowed socialist, and is openly hostile to Boeing and Amazon. At one point she wanted to nationalize Boeing. I'd think twice about investing in anything under her sway.

She's an elected official, which means some Seattle people seem to think her ideas are worthwhile.

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

#228

Post by JBlue42 »

saryant wrote: post #213
conorgil145 wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Denver for the past 2 years and agree with this assessment as well. The light rail has expanded lines in recent years to the airport and I have read that the plan is for that expansion to continue to eventually link Denver and Boulder. Amazon could build their huge complex anywhere in that area and workers could take public transportation to the office.

The Denver-Boulder train isn't going to happen for a very long time. IIRC the current target date is 2044.

Wow, I thought the timelines in LA were crazy. Isn't Boulder only 20-25 miles from downtown Denver?

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

#229

Post by JBlue42 »

all_blue_chucks wrote: post #88

The major factor that isn't mentioned: state income tax. Washington has no income tax. It's no small coincidence that it has so many billionaires living there. But Seattle is trying to impose a 2.5% income tax on high earners. This might be Jeff's way of reminding them they have to compete to keep his business around. Also, a 0% income tax rate makes a HUGE difference in attracting tech workers who earn $200k+...

Boo hoo for rich people?

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

#230

Post by nothotdog »

delinka wrote: post #68
bryanlarsen wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Philly was dropped by the "job growth is strong" rule, which is also drops many other cities which would otherwise be fully qualified. So the question really is why would Amazon have that rule and how willing are they to bend in it. Why would Amazon want that rule? Wouldn't it just mean there's more competition for employees? It strikes me as the type of rule put in to ensure their secret favorite gets chosen.

“More competition for employees” translates into higher costs.

not exactly: free market conditions from a theoretical perspective means "no individual's participation in a market will affect price"

A large employer would prefer to be in a comparatively large market such that its hiring would not drive up costs. We're used to thinking of "a company town" as being a monopsony for employment, but this only works to the employer's advantage in unskilled labor markets.

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