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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

#361

Post by mercutio2 »

tfehring wrote: post #302
fierro wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear this often. I would like to see an analysis, breakdown, or a real life comparison that suggests this, and for which tier of engineers this is true. I think two things; 1) non bay area tech workers severely underestimate the total comps that bay area workers are earning right now. 2) many renters in the Bay Area may actually have more in their pocket. If you are willing to rent a room (i.e not have a studio or…

You need to apply the marginal tax rate for California workers, which would typically be ~41% (24% federal + 9.3% state + 7.65% Social Security + Medicare), to figure out how much more is needed on a pre-tax basis. You need an extra $2.5k/month ($30k/year) pre-tax to make up a $1.5k/month difference in rent, or $3.4k/month ($40k/year) pre-tax to make up a $2k/month difference in rent, which is more realistic if you w…

Note that your marginal tax as a tech worker should NOT include 7.65% for FICA. Tech worker’s marginal taxes are, perversely and regressively, lower than not-quite-six-figures earners, because social security cuts out well before marginal tax rates go up.

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

#362

Post by burlesona »

fierro wrote: post #260
burlesona wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not realize that this is a bigoted statement?

I disagree that this is a bigoted statement?

The original statement paints an entire region of people as though they all fit one stereotype. It’s just ironic to me that many people who otherwise laud tolerance, open-mindedness, multiculturalism etc. have no problem stereotyping an entire region of the country as “a basket of deplorables,” as if that region is not full of all different kinds of people, just like any place else.

That’s all I’m trying to point out.

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

#363

Post by jupiter90000 »

octonion wrote: post #215
ethagknight wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate why the south has a long way to go before the average tech worker would want to live there?

The politics and culture (which are intertwined). Even if one area or city is more liberal, you're still dealing with a conservative, and possibly racist, sexist and homophobic, state government.

With the rampant sexism in west coast tech companies, you'd think they'd feel right at home in the southern states then.

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

#364

Post by [deleted] »

amazingman wrote: post #276
rayiner wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived in Atlanta for the better part of a decade as a brown guy right after 9/11. Was great.

I guess you never spent much time in the hills just an hour or so from Atlanta in almost any direction, in any of a good number of towns where “a brown guy” would have a hard time finding a restaurant willing to take his money for food.

[deleted]

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

#365

Post by mdorazio »

rayiner wrote: post #266
mdorazio wrote: post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having lived in Georgia and Tennessee and still having family in the Carolinas, you're either a straight white man or living in denial.

I lived in Atlanta for the better part of a decade as a brown guy right after 9/11. Was great.

30 miles outside Atlanta things were not so rosy for brown people right after 9/11 when I lived there. And now, 17 years after 9/11, Georgia is doing everything it possibly can to suppress and purge voters who might shift the state away from staunch conservatism [1]. Please don't pretend there aren't massive issues in the south preventing it from being appealing to west coasters.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/us/politics/georgia-gover...

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

#366

Post by teej »

oh_sigh wrote: post #338
teej wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jeff Bezos owns a $23m house in DC. The entire HQ2 process was a farce to get cities to game theory themselves to death in favor of Amazon. HQ2 was always going to be in NOVA.

Have you made this claim earlier than today?

There was someone who wrote a blog or tweet about it awhile back but I couldn’t find it.

Found it - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLtLz4wQtOg

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

#367

Post by konschubert »

teej wrote: post #311
DevX101 wrote: post #209

I'd be willing to bet Bezos knew with 90% confidence where he'd want HQ2 a year ago and put on this prisoner's dilemma game amongst states to reap the most benefit possible before moving there.

Jeff Bezos owns a $23m house in DC. The entire HQ2 process was a farce to get cities to game theory themselves to death in favor of Amazon. HQ2 was always going to be in NOVA.

Ey, you have to credit Scott Galloway if you cute hi.

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

#368

Post by fipple »

fierro wrote: post #201
throwaway713 wrote: post #185

Aargh, I wish ONE tech company would put a HQ somewhere in the South. I currently live in the Bay Area working at a company I love, but I'll have to move back at some point (my wife wants to be closer to family). Crystal City, VA is still an 8 hour drive from the part of the South I'm from. Atlanta, Raleigh, and Nashville have so much potential... I think if just one of FANG put a HQ there (or even an office), the ot…

I feel like the South has a long way to come before the average tech worker would want to live and work there. You couldn't pay me enough (literally since comp is so low out there, but also kind of metaphorically as well) to go work and live in any Southern state. Maybe you need a critical mass? - fellow Bay Area tech worker

Not exactly. I work with some people who are huntin' fishin' rednecks from rural areas all over the country and are in the Bay Area because really, where else can they make $450K writing code that ships to 500 million people? They'd love a way to do that in hillbilly country and spend their weekends firing shotguns and driving pickups.

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

#369

Post by LrnByTeach »

DevX101 wrote: post #209

I'd be willing to bet Bezos knew with 90% confidence where he'd want HQ2 a year ago and put on this prisoner's dilemma game amongst states to reap the most benefit possible before moving there.

> put on this prisoner's dilemma game amongst states to reap the most benefit possible

It may be just one factor, but it is much more than that let me explain.

Let us say Bezos came to the conclusion that Northern VA is right place long ago as you said and naively announced the place & commitment. What follows next is 65% of the region people cheer at the announcement and 35% protest stating it will cause housing expensive and traffic congestion etc..

After some back and forth negotiations with local govt. Amazon builds it HQ2. By the time HQ2 complete building complete campus (3 years), the unhappy dissident group get more support and "pass local city and state laws" demanding Amazon should pay for some affordable housing projects and some new infrastructure which may run into few billion dollars.

Now with this new bidding game, it is hard for the people of Northern VA to demand Amazon. Even if they do demand few years down the line few billion dollars towards some affordable housing etc. Amazon can happily pack back some of those Billions they got as tax breaks.

One can't build a Trillion dollar consumer retail business without playing on basic human psychology.

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

#370

Post by dba7dba »

JPKab wrote: post #187
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.

Yep, they have it covered already. I lived in Northern Virginia for 8 years. It's got a mediocre quality of life compared to other tech centers, extremely high cost of living, horrific traffic, and has a talent pool that is inflated on paper due to the misaligned incentives of the Federal government workforce (Federal government workers are promoted and hired based on arbitrary checkmarks like Masters degree: yes/no,…

I agree with this assessment. Bezos is definitely killing, not 2, but multiple birds with the HQ2 story. One is political influence and/or aspiration.

He can literally get great onsite political influence with DC based HQ2.

Imagine having a large group of employees under you whose close friend or family member works in sensitive or influential federal jobs.

I also love the spot in assessments about the inflated pay, degree mills, etc.

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