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Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

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Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#121

Post by __derek__ »

vonkow wrote: post #118
__derek__ wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We may have different definitions of walking distance from downtown because I think that both Volunteer and Washington Park fall in that range, although I understand that they are farther than a hypothetical South Lake Union park. On the other hand, I would note that neither Golden Gate Park nor Central Park are near their respective downtowns.

I don't really disagree, but it's a 50 minute (uphill) walk from Pike Place to Volunteer Park, whereas it's 15 minutes to the edge of SLU. I don't really mind walking an hour, but many people do. Golden Gate is a little out of the way, Central Park is super accessible by subway.

That's fair. Alternatively, it's a 35-minute bus ride.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#122

Post by Kocrachon »

csydas wrote: post #99
jandrese wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the dreaded gentrification. If your neighborhood isn't kept in its run down and decrepit state the land values might go up and push out people who can no longer afford to pay rent.

I don't think there's a need to be sardonic; the full paragraph that I believe you're referencing goes on to talk about other common sights and elements of various Seattle districts; the complaint that some Seattlelites are putting forward isn't "we want a decrepit city" it's they want their decrepit city. The complaint about the changes Amazon and other companies are making is not about keeping the city in a state o…

As someone who is a Seattle Native, I don't see many employed adults complaining about it nearly as much as I see early 20 somethings complaining about it. The same people who don't remember much of older Seattle. Yes, we had "grunge" but really, we are not missing much with these changes. I do dislike how expensive housing as gotten, but its not that.

Plus, Amazon is not the only player here. Microsoft, Oracle, Facebook, and Disney are all in the area as well. Google is also building a new office in the SLU area as well.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#123

Post by NetStrikeForce »

Symbiote wrote: post #89
segmondy wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People live in Alaska, Seattle is not the worst, someone moving from Alaska might like Seattle. People live in Detroit, Job is scarce. Moving to Seattle to get a job especially if it pays well might be the best move instead of being unemployed. People live in East Louis and South Chicago, Moving to Seattle to escape the violence because you want to raise your kids in a better place is not bad. I'm not from Seattle, b…

> discussion of the weather comes up, I don't see that when folks talk about London tho. Really‽ I'm from London, and pretty much everyone I meet makes some comment on the weather there. I've had people insist to me that London is rainy and foggy for months on end. I think this comes from the usual depiction in cinema, which is pretty much opposite to the weather in TV series set in the countryside surrounding London…

Sunny weather? That's what you get in places like Barcelona, not London definitely.

There's a ceiling made of what seems to be solid clouds 10 months a year, including light rain as the default weather status throughout. This June has been atrocious (we just had the heating on for a while this evening) and last year we didn't have summer bar a week at the end of June.

But yeah, fog is very rare. It's just clouds, always. Grey grey grey and wet wet wet. OTOH you don't have to constantly suffer 30°C with 80% humidity for +4 months a year, which is nice if you're not on holiday.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#124

Post by milkey_mouse »

johan_larson wrote: post #113
gohrt wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And now we put everyone in open-floorplan barns to "promote colllaboration", with nowhere for people to go back and work at when they are done collaborating. "Hallway conversations" have become "constant conversations"

I have two theories of why open-plan offices are popular. The first is simply that it's cheaper to have an open office. Modern office buildings tend to have large spaces -- nearly whole floors -- that are open, but can be subdivided. But subdivision costs money. Paying carpenters to put up walls isn't cheap, and even cube systems can be surprisingly expensive. Plus managers are accountable for costs. So they choose t…

My cynical side says a third reason is that open offices make it very easy for managers/bosses/anyone who wants to see if you're working or not.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#125

Post by TulliusCicero »

audleman wrote: post #67

Interesting that this article has a clear bias that Amazon is making Seattle better, starting from > Inevitably, the company's growing presence is making it a scapegoat for common urban woes such as traffic jams and rising rents > New, luxury, one-bedroom apartments packed with amenities that appeal to young urban tech workers fetch upwards of $4,000 a month, putting them out of reach of the Starbucks barista. This m…

> A lot of my friends work odd jobs as book editors, community managers, etc. and they are being priced out of the area. This is a real issue that warrants attention, unless you want everyone to move out of your neighborhoods except the well-to-do.

Sure, but Amazon's only contribution in that area is employing lots of people and paying them well. Not exactly cardinal sins.

If living costs are too high, that's likely on government policy around land use (although some increase in living costs is inevitable in an economic boom).

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#126

Post by mrep »

djsumdog wrote: post #37
nbclark wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on how you define great weather. It doesn't rain nearly as much as people assume (lived there 6 years), but most days have some light drizzle. For a tennis player, that is emotionally taxing (is it going to rain? should we make plans).

I moved to Seattle and it's not the rain that bothers me (it's really not as bad as people say, even during the winter months), it's the cold. .. or rather lack of hot. It never gets above 26C here. There are plenty of other cities like this (London just had a record heatwave .. of 29C; seriously that's too hot for them. People were passing out in the toobs. Wellington, another coastal city, has people bitching when…

While I miss the seasons a little bit (mainly thunderstorms and snow for a little bit), Seattle is WAY better than the midwest. I'll gladly take mild weather over hot humid summers and winters so cold all you see during the winter outside are bundles of clothing walking around.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#127

Post by mrep »

phinnaeus wrote: post #24
Analemma_ wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are correct, though ironically the weather today is pea-soup fog, at least in Bellevue ;)

No better east of the big lake, but I'm betting it will be clear and beautiful by 5pm. Edit: Ok, fine, 2:30pm.

Totally off topic, but does anyone know who organizes the weekly sailboat groups in lake union? I see them from my apartment about once a week and they all tie their boats together when it starts to get dark and have what looks like a mild party. It looks like so much fun.

Nevermind, I found it myself: http://www.duckdodge.org/index.php

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#128

Post by dluan »

troydavis wrote: post #92
dluan wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, a giant green park within the city like SF's golden gate park or NYC's central park sounds really incredible.

It would have been, but voters rejected that idea. As my comment noted, by the time Amazon came along, a park wasn't one of the options.

Didn't Amazon start off in that weird decrepit hospital near Beacon Hill? I mean, SODO could very well have been Seattle's tech hub in an alternate timeline. Though if I get your gist, the point is that the decision was made before any big tech revival.

I remember SLU in the 90's, it was shady and dying. But when I think about SLU today, and how close it is geographically to the heart of the city, it seems like such a lost opportunity that it's now just a sprawling office towers instead of something more vibrant. After 7pm, the whole area from Denny to Capitol Hill just shuts down.

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#129

Post by williamstein »

nbclark wrote: post #29
techsupporter wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have (I live in Seattle, but don't work for Amazon) and the weather is pretty great roughly nine months out of the year. Late November to February are dreary but spring, summer, and most of fall make up for it. Sorry for leaking the secret, fellow Seattleites.

Depends on how you define great weather. It doesn't rain nearly as much as people assume (lived there 6 years), but most days have some light drizzle. For a tennis player, that is emotionally taxing (is it going to rain? should we make plans).

"How many days of rain does Seattle get in a year? About 150." http://seattle.about.com/od/familylifestyles/tp/Rain-In-Seat...

(I've lived in Seattle over 10 years.)

Re: Amazon Has Swallowed Downtown Seattle

#130

Post by pseudalopex »

TulliusCicero wrote: post #125
audleman wrote: post #67

Interesting that this article has a clear bias that Amazon is making Seattle better, starting from > Inevitably, the company's growing presence is making it a scapegoat for common urban woes such as traffic jams and rising rents > New, luxury, one-bedroom apartments packed with amenities that appeal to young urban tech workers fetch upwards of $4,000 a month, putting them out of reach of the Starbucks barista. This m…

> A lot of my friends work odd jobs as book editors, community managers, etc. and they are being priced out of the area. This is a real issue that warrants attention, unless you want everyone to move out of your neighborhoods except the well-to-do. Sure, but Amazon's only contribution in that area is employing lots of people and paying them well. Not exactly cardinal sins. If living costs are too high, that's likely…

Government policy plays a part, but the construction industry is already struggling to keep up with demand.

Both Google and Microsoft have urban and suburban offices and run commuter shuttles. I don't think it would hurt Amazon to do the same.

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