Live data from Hacker News

Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

wsj.com

331–340 of 394 posts

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#331
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also in Midtown East . Also, one bedrooms are luxurious . Advice for anyone looking for an apartment in Manhattan: don't waste your time on one bedrooms, look for studios. You pay an unnecessary premium for the extra wall, and it ultimately just makes the space less usable. You can find larger, nicer, better located studios for much less than you'd be paying for a one bedroom.

Also, never have a family

> Also, never have a family

People, Americans particularly, overestimate the space a human being needs to thrive. I know several families who are healthy and happy in two- and three-bedroom apartments. They pay reasonable rents uptown or a forty minute subway ride out of Manhattan in Jersey or Queens. That’s much better than almost any metropolis, where sprawl makes the density gradient gentler and thus commute times between cost zones longer.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Define economic winner....you mean top line income and area GDP? These places are the most expensive places in the country to live, and quality of living is considerably lower. Incomes may be lower in many areas of the country, but when you consider you can pay $2k/mo on a 5,000 sq ft mortgage instead of renting a 900 sq ft apartment, I don't view these places as economically successful as many perceive them to be.

I lived in other "cities" in the US: Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC. Here’s why people who can end up electing to live in a place like NYC and here's why the NYC is the economic winner. I pay $3400/mo for 2400 3bd 2bath two floor apartment with a private backyard ( mine ). If I had a car, I could have parked in in a back - I don't because I have 27 zip cars available within a…

Sounds awesome. If I was single and 25 I'd be all for it. Being 38, married with 3 kids means my lifestyle preferences are a little different.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#333

I wonder how much goodwill Google could have generated by locating this hub in say Orlando or Des Moines. Even if they spent 150k per engineer in relocation costs (1 time fee), it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t make that up in terms of cheaper real estate and lower salaries. There were obviously some benefits in choosing New York City (and I realize it’s an expansion technically), but still, it’s so......unimaginati…

Not many people want to work in those places though. And I say this as an engineer at Google living and working in Manhattan. NYC has a huge draw to it that most other places don't. Good luck attracting top talent to Des Moines or Orlando. Way more would rather work in NYC. You don't want to be in a one-company town either; if you left Google in Orlando, where else could you work without moving? There's no credible c…

Feel like most of the top talent was already swept up by Deere , Hy-vee and a couple of the insurance places in Des Moines anyways.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#334

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The nice thing about NYC in comparison to the Bay Area is that we're not afraid of building more housing here, so supply increases every year and has a dampening effect on rent increases. Also, mass transit is much better, so if you live even 30 minutes away on a subway line the rents will be much lower. If you're willing to commute an hour each way (which is still less than a lot of people who drive every day on I-1…

> and has a dampening effect on rent increase Is that really true? I don't know if this data is accurate but googling "average rent new york city" vs "average rent san francisco" brings up these 2 results as the first hits. They look almost identical. The site claims average rent for NYC is $3634 vs SF at $3735. It also claims prices increased in NYC by 9.46% over last year vs SF at 0.62% https://www.rentjungle.com/a…

Those stats about NYC are, quite frankly, incorrect. I have no idea where they got that garbage data from, but it's garbage. Housing stock was massively added to over the past year and the market has actually gotten friendlier to renters, with many buildings offering one month free rent to entice renters.

You can see some more accurate stats here: https://ny.curbed.com/2018/1/24/16925172/nyc-rent-2017-decre...

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in other "cities" in the US: Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC. Here’s why people who can end up electing to live in a place like NYC and here's why the NYC is the economic winner. I pay $3400/mo for 2400 3bd 2bath two floor apartment with a private backyard ( mine ). If I had a car, I could have parked in in a back - I don't because I have 27 zip cars available within a…

Sounds awesome. If I was single and 25 I'd be all for it. Being 38, married with 3 kids means my lifestyle preferences are a little different.

[deleted]

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would a kid stay in the same area after leaving school? That was categorically out of the question for my graduating classes.

It’s a social class thing. Most Americans live very near where they grew up. www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/387736/ > Of all respondents, about 54 percent said that they lived in close proximity to where they grew up. nypost.com/2018/01/11/a-shocking-number-of-americans-never-leave-home/amp/ > 11 percent of survey respondents have never traveled outside of the state where they were born.

I agree. But if you’re a Google employee, you and your offspring are in the social class that can afford to move wherever makes sense.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#337

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I currently live in Denver and spend almost every weekend in the mountains. To me, the depressing part of NYC is the complete lack of fresh air, outdoor activities, and solitude. Different strokes for different people.

there are a lot of outdoors stuff 1-3 hours outside of NYC. NYC itself does have a lot of parks too, of which Central Park is the largest example.

> of which Central Park is the largest example

The most well known maybe, but not the largest. Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx is more than 3x the size of Central Park

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a lot of hyperbole in here, especially about parks and gyms. There's plenty of parks all over NJ that offer different options from hiking, biking, to kayaking. Gyms are a plenty and it's weird to even say you'd pay more for them when places like Equinox or Chelsea Piers are absurd in price. And go ask any person commuting from Brooklyn right now how there commutes are going to get into Midtown Manhattan, they…

I know there are, but then the door to door commute is unacceptable per my standards. And the further from NY Penn Station you are, the more variance you are subject to, making commutes even longer. My point is, if you want a door to door commute of sub 45 min, consistently, then you would need to be in Hoboken/Jersey City/Secaucus/Weehawken/etc. That whole Hudson County corridor doesn't offer much in the way of dece…

The question is: what is your point of comparison? What is the sub-million housing market look like within 45 minutes of SF, or DC for that matter?

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know much about NJ. I lived in Westchester and it was great. Not sprawling exurbs by any means, but that’s a good thing. You can live in Rye or Pehlam and walk or bike to the Metro North station. MNR is very reliable, runs frequently at rush hour, and will get you downtown in 30-40 flat.

Yes, NJ Transit has to borrow Amtrak's tunnel and it frequently has problems, as does NJ Transit's stuff. MTA/NY infrastructure is much better, but still, I don't see how one can get from Rye or Pehlam to downtown in 40 min. https://goo.gl/maps/DYvaWBSLFcP2 1h15m from Rye train station to Fulton subway station on a Tue morning https://goo.gl/maps/TdQN5FhWF132 55m from Pelham station to Fulton subway. So door to door,…

I don’t know why anyone would work near Fulton station. I worked in midtown and it was 34 minutes on the Metro North followed by a 5 minute walk.

Re: Google Plans Large New York City Expansion

#340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if your income is $133k/yr, then it would fit in the 3x annual income rule for housing affordability, which the typical sr eng at google now exceeds.

It’s one room! I think that 3x rule is supposed to be about space for perhaps a family and other normal requirements for most adults. Not digs for a twenty-year-old.

It's also in Midtown, which is likely not an ideal situation for a family. Check Queens or Brooklyn with more ideal family situations (and still reasonably short commutes) and you'll get a lot more space for less money
Post reply on HN