Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2 • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#311

Post by jonknee » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:34 PM UTC

sol_remmy wrote: post #308

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…

Mass transit is NOT needed. Flat land without rivers blocking flow of traffic is all thats needed

Well Amazon said it was needed in the RFP... "Direct access to rail, train, subway/metro, bus routes"

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#312

Post by codekilla » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:35 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.

El Segundo would probably make the most sense....exact proximity to LAX, friendly business climate, lot's of warehouse space being converted into offices already.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#313

Post by sol_remmy » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:35 PM UTC

akhilcacharya wrote: post #233

nsx147 wrote: post #10

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

I grew up in Raleigh and go to NC State. I'm very skeptical that RDU is a better location than Newark (NJIT, Stephens, Rutgers, Columbia, NYU) or Atlanta (GTech, UGA). The talent is here at UNC and Duke but airport and local public transit is the weakest point. With that said, I'd love for them to come here as long as they maintain salary parity.

Theres little-to-no traffic and land is cheap, public transit isn't needed.

The population density is probably higher on average in New Jersey than in metro Raleigh..

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#314

Post by droopybuns » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:35 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…

When I saw Atlanta on the list, I felt that it's over. The rail system is far superior to what exists in Seattle & should support reasonable suburban commutes. Georgia Tech's talent supply makes it interesting, but I get the impression that Amazon hires people with more experience than just straight out of college.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#315

Post by prklmn » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:36 PM UTC

jhall1468 wrote: post #290

prklmn wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't do this after getting bids from numerous American cities. To choose a city in Canada would piss off too much of their customer base, including the president of the country, and would have a long term material impact on sales.

I sincerely doubt the majority of their customer base cares at all, and it would almost certainly have very little impact on sales.

I sincerely doubted that Hillary would lose the election, and we know how that went. You're probably right in that the majority of their customer base wouldn't care at all. However, even if 10% care, not an unreasonable guess, that would absolutely have a large material impact on sales.

The placement of the HQ in Toronto would be branded as a betrayal of America. I think the NFL/Papa Johns case could end up being similar --> https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/12/21/p...

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#316

Post by jamestimmins » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:36 PM UTC

Bhilai wrote: post #307

I totally support this move by Amazon and Apple. My hope is Microsoft/Google/Facebook would follow. There is a desperate need for larger tech companies to move away from Bay Area/Seattle and expand into other cities which actually may have cheaper housing and where life may not feel such a challenge, specially for folks with dependents and families.

That's why I hope they don't go to the obvious cities that already have high rents (New York, Austin, Chicago). They could make an enormous, positive impact on many smaller cities, or could do damage to already expensive ones.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#317

Post by tallanvor » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:37 PM UTC

lolsal wrote: post #274

biohax2015 wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are probably a minority. There is rampant racism in these states and many don’t even try to hide their discrimination.

> rampant: flourishing or spreading unchecked. I have lived in the south for 33 years (in particular, one of these states mentioned) - if you think that racism is flourishing or spreading unchecked you are misinformed. It exists, but it's dying. Please stop spreading hyperbole like this.

Racism is still alive in the south, though, even if it's not as bad as people from more liberal areas think.

However, I can certainly tell you that as a gay man, I do not expect that I will feel comfortable living in any southern state during my lifetime. I lasted 3 years in Raleigh before I had to get out (and that was long before the bathroom bill).

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#318

Post by gist » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

gumby wrote: post #203

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…

> Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest My bet is on Toronto because they can pick up all the staff they need worldwide without the problems of trying to get US visas.

> without the problems of trying to get US visas

This assumes that politicians eager to get Amazon are not able to speed up and fix that process which they certainly would be motivated to do. [1]

[1] This is not 'your shitty startup with 10 employees'. It's Amazon and the brass ring.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#319

Post by prklmn » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

claudiulodro wrote: post #288

prklmn wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't do this after getting bids from numerous American cities. To choose a city in Canada would piss off too much of their customer base, including the president of the country, and would have a long term material impact on sales.

Have you seen Trump's tweets about Amazon and Bezos? He's already pissed at them. Frankly if I was in their shoes I would go with Toronto also to have some sort of hedging against the US political climate.

I think that would be too incendiary a hedge. They have much more to lose than gain.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#320

Post by jamestimmins » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 6:38 PM UTC

indescions_2018 wrote: post #75

Just visited Pittsburgh. There is indeed a renaissance happing in that town. The restaurant scene alone is phenomenal. And the addition of a FANG level HQ could cement its burgeoning international reputation as a destination. The idea is that CMU spits out about 200+ world class CS grads a year. If even 5% decide to stay in the area to start their own ventures. There would be potential for massive growth. the other d…

Serious question: is 200 top level CS grads really all that significant? Seems like a pretty small number, given what is possible at larger state schools.