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Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#191

Post by clubm8 »

totablebanjo wrote: post #27
hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crystal City really has so much going for it: 1. As you point out, right next to Pentagon and federal government. 2. Good transportation: right on the Metro and literally across the street from National Airport. 3. If you're going to have 2 headquarters, having them be on opposite coasts makes sense. 4. And I think another one that is pretty unique to Crystal City is that Amazon and their employees definitely want to…

I mean, Crystal City is pretty soulless, but a bunch of AMZN cash will make that millenial ready in no time. Also, some nyt writer that’d never been there called it the Brooklyn of DC which was hilarious.

>Also, some nyt writer that’d never been there called it the Brooklyn of DC which was hilarious.

Meanwhile, Columbia Heights and Eastern Market will probably see their gentrification rapidly accelerate since they're a short Blue or Yellow line ride away on WMATA. H street will probably be safe since Washingtonians seems to have a pathological fear or switching lines during their commute and it's closest to a Red line station (Union Station).

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#192

Post by moron4hire »

samstave wrote: post #159
erichurkman wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or: Amazon is going to heavily recruit former-DoD and government workers, luring them from low pay rates to high paying jobs. Reduce hiring friction: you don't need to convince them to uproot their families to move. They already live in the area, hell, their commute doesn't even change. Are you more likely to award contracts to AWS if you work at the DoD knowing that in two years you can move over and suddenly quintu…

+1 If anyone in the consulting field is paying attention - right about now is almost too late to begin going out and lining up a bunch of clearance techies who can be on your secure GovCloud consulting team to provide all the services that the DoD will be needing.

Most of the people with clearances are already working at major consulting firms in the area.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#193

Post by clubm8 »

totoglazer wrote: post #57

Alaska Airlines has the only DCA SEA nonstop flights I know of. I expect that will become much more popular and expensive...

But how many IAD -> SEA flights are there?

It's always been the case that DCA has a limited number of long haul flights.

It's nice to be able to WMATA to the airport but IAD is a short Uber away from Crystal City.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#195

Post by JPKab »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #17
headShrinker wrote: post #2

Just a stones throw away from Washington DC, imagine that. I’m sure it’s no coincidence that Amazon is in talks to do billions of dollars worth of work with the DOD and that the location choice of the second headquarters might have a lot to do with that.

Crystal City really has so much going for it: 1. As you point out, right next to Pentagon and federal government. 2. Good transportation: right on the Metro and literally across the street from National Airport. 3. If you're going to have 2 headquarters, having them be on opposite coasts makes sense. 4. And I think another one that is pretty unique to Crystal City is that Amazon and their employees definitely want to…

I lived in Crystal City for a few years. Perfect place for it.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#196

Post by Spooky23 »

eli wrote: post #91
Yhippa wrote: post #58

This is clearly a DoD play. The federal government as a whole is thirsty for cloud services and having a services provider like Amazon literally at their doorstep is going to win them a lot of work. If they do bring good experts to government work instead of what the typical government contractors in the area provide this will be a good thing for taxpayers.

People keep saying this and I really don't follow. Why does the DoD care where the headquarters of the parent company of their contractor is located? Are they gonna pop in and ask questions about the Amazon retail site? Sure AWS needs a sales office in the region. And a datacenter. And a lobbying shop too. Pretty sure they got all that covered already.

It’s easier to poach consultants and others with security clearances in DC than in Kalamazoo.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#198

Post by Spooky23 »

erichurkman wrote: post #138
eli wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People keep saying this and I really don't follow. Why does the DoD care where the headquarters of the parent company of their contractor is located? Are they gonna pop in and ask questions about the Amazon retail site? Sure AWS needs a sales office in the region. And a datacenter. And a lobbying shop too. Pretty sure they got all that covered already.

Or: Amazon is going to heavily recruit former-DoD and government workers, luring them from low pay rates to high paying jobs. Reduce hiring friction: you don't need to convince them to uproot their families to move. They already live in the area, hell, their commute doesn't even change. Are you more likely to award contracts to AWS if you work at the DoD knowing that in two years you can move over and suddenly quintu…

No, because as a procurement officer, you’ll be more worried about getting moved over to a US penitentiary a year after that.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#199

Post by dc_wtf »

JPKab wrote: post #189
erichurkman wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or: Amazon is going to heavily recruit former-DoD and government workers, luring them from low pay rates to high paying jobs. Reduce hiring friction: you don't need to convince them to uproot their families to move. They already live in the area, hell, their commute doesn't even change. Are you more likely to award contracts to AWS if you work at the DoD knowing that in two years you can move over and suddenly quintu…

Your statement is incredibly naive and ignorant. The Federal government pays incredibly well, but has few technology workers. They instead primarily act as managers for embedded contractors, who themselves are paid far above average for a given role. Additionally, AWS already has a DoD presence. Source: Lived in DC area for 8 years, worked on numerous federal contracts, witnessed highly overpaid, lazy shitbags who we…

How could the federal government possibly pay "incredibly well" in the context of software? ~185k is the current cap on salaries. That's not the bottom or the median, it's the top, a place most people will not reach in their whole careers, and there are rigid rules around how to get there. As far as I know, pretty much everyone is on something equivalent to the GS? Even contractors are on a proxy version of it, based on my experience in the space (it's why I left). I know people talk about 18f a lot on HN and I was under the impression they had to get an ultra-special allowance of some kind for even their salaries. What makes the pay so good, I really don't get it? There are benefits, sure, but I am under the impression that pensions aren't what they used to be, and a FAANG is going to give you health insurance as a dev. What am I missing?

Maybe they pay the people in question too much for their skills, motivation, or work product, but that is not "incredibly well" for a software developer in the USA. DC isn't that cheap, though certainly not like SF. If you are a good developer who doesn't show up at 9 and leave at 3:30 and don't want to, who can make it to a decent pay band at a FAANG, or have a specialization that demands high income, I just don't see how the government could be a good choice economically.

Re: Amazon HQ2: Advanced talks about second headquarters in Northern Virginia

#200

Post by bitexploder »

eli wrote: post #91
Yhippa wrote: post #58

This is clearly a DoD play. The federal government as a whole is thirsty for cloud services and having a services provider like Amazon literally at their doorstep is going to win them a lot of work. If they do bring good experts to government work instead of what the typical government contractors in the area provide this will be a good thing for taxpayers.

People keep saying this and I really don't follow. Why does the DoD care where the headquarters of the parent company of their contractor is located? Are they gonna pop in and ask questions about the Amazon retail site? Sure AWS needs a sales office in the region. And a datacenter. And a lobbying shop too. Pretty sure they got all that covered already.

People have some good replies but they are missing a big one. Relationships. The DoD is absolutely who you know. That is a big part of it. You have to be in the area to have skin in that game.
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