Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2 • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#291

Post by ravitation » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:18 PM UTC

wbl wrote: post #251

prions wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Give your requirements, Newark would be the best candidate - EWR close by, with public transportation connections - Strong local universities, both in tech and business (Rutgers, NJIT, Stevens) - Newark development is rising, downtown is still relatively sparse - Audible is already in Newark Skeptical it will actually happen though. Wouldn't even consider myself a fan of Newark (even though I go to school here), but…

Columbia and NYU and Cornell Tech don't make the list? Newark is a borough.

Not to mention Princeton is less than an hour away too.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#292

Post by kenhwang » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

Rotor wrote: post #281

Los Angeles (i.e. Hollywood) could be a strategic move given Amazon's massive push in original series and programming via Amazon Studios. Also, shares a coast with Seattle.

I'm thinking more mid-city/mid-Wilshire area. Still close to Hollywood/WestLA/DTLA but much much cheaper and less dense.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#293

Post by deevolution » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:19 PM UTC

saosebastiao wrote: post #179

brewdad wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the added bonus of it being completely underwater within 50 years!

Meh, the Dutch solved that problem hundreds of years ago.

They also have a completely different mentality about the environment.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#294

Post by tallanvor » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

Rotor wrote: post #281

Los Angeles (i.e. Hollywood) could be a strategic move given Amazon's massive push in original series and programming via Amazon Studios. Also, shares a coast with Seattle.

And LAX has good flights to Asia, which is important for sourcing goods.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#295

Post by ProAm » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:20 PM UTC

dx034 wrote: post #160

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…

Denver appears to be the current favourite (also chosen by the NYT as the winner) but doesn't have any flights to Asia except for Tokyo[1]. But I guess being sufficiently connected within the US is enough, not sure how many flights to China they need. [1] https://www.flightera.net/airport/Denver/KDEN

Except no one in Denver wants them here except the Governor and business council. It would be a huge net loss for the community and people.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#296

Post by epmatsw » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:22 PM UTC

drumttocs8 wrote: post #249

Amazon would have the greatest impact in Atlanta. You could argue that Atlanta is the economic, cultural, and geographical center of the Southeastern United States. It has the busiest airport in the world and is a major rail hub. There are already dozens of major corporations headquaratered in Atlanta. There is no shortage of talent, with a top-5 engineering school in Georgia Tech. Yet there are things missing which…

From what I’ve heard, there’s a bunch of mostly unused land south of the football stadium that has been slowly being bought up over the last year or so. Obvious speculation is that it’s either Amazon or someone betting that Amazon will want to buy a big chunk of land near downtown...

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#297

Post by slg » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:24 PM UTC

wyattk wrote: post #126

Something about this just makes my stomach sick... A massive corporation is pitting governments against each other for its own gain, often to no benefit of the local population. I'm scared to see the numbers of "incentives" that local politicians try and hand out to Amazon. There's little evidence that the public money used/lost will ever be recouped. One of the worst cases of this happening so far is the Foxconn dea…

>I'm scared to see the numbers of "incentives" that local politicians try and hand out to Amazon. There's little evidence that the public money used/lost will ever be recouped.

It is a classic example of the winner's curse[1]. If Amazon is auctioning off the HQ for tax breaks, the government that wins is likely going to overestimate the value that winning the bid will provide. Those odds greatly increase when you throw in the fact that governments have misaligned incentives. Most politicians will choose the continuation of their career over the good of the people they govern. "Winning the Amazon bid" might be enough to get a politician elected to a higher position long before any economic reprecussions are felt. You see this same scenario play out all the time when public money is used to build sports stadia.

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winner%27s_curse

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#298

Post by Bhilai » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:24 PM UTC

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…

I like Toronto a lot but man its so freaking cold.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#299

Post by sol_remmy » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:25 PM UTC

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…

"a strong existing tech workforce and universities"

Hate to say it, but Northern Virginia and Raleigh have Toronto beat on this

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#300

Post by johncalvinyoung » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:26 PM UTC

nsx147 wrote: post #10

Ask for Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area to build better transportation, and that's the pick

Triangle resident here, and we don't have anywhere near the density to actually make general-purpose light rail work, economically.

That said, I do think we're somewhat competitive for this, even though I don't want to see Amazon move in. The housing stock availability is a huge liability for the locals...we're already in a seller's market right now.