Oracle Moving HQ to Austin • Hacker News Board

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#81

Post by throwaway201103 » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:00 PM UTC

908B64B197 wrote: post #76

flatline wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious what it will do to tech salaries as well. Will developers working remotely for SV companies from LCOL areas be compensated the same as those in SV? Will smaller firms elsewhere have to raise salaries to compete with locals taking non-regional salaries?

> Will developers working remotely for SV companies from LCOL areas be compensated the same as those in SV? Some will, some won't! Truth is, those who decide to offer compensation based on value added instead of a magic HR approved formula will get interest from everyone else. I expect some companies to use this CoL-based compensation as a way to let go underperformers and others to attract talent that was previously…

> those who decide to offer compensation based on value added instead of a magic HR approved formula

You're leaving out "what the candidate will accept"

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#82

Post by adventured » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:01 PM UTC

beagle3 wrote: post #42

Likely irrelevant, but reminded me of this[0]: """Basically, we’re moving because of William Whyte‘s rule: virtually all corporate relocations involve a move to a location which is closer to the CEO’s home than the old location. Whyte discovered this principle after an extensive study of Fortune 500 companies that left New York City for the suburbs in the 1950s and 1960s""" Tesla will likely move its HQ to Texas foll…

It's particularly interesting given Ellison and Musk have become close in recent years, with Ellison buying a large chunk of Tesla and joining the board (now a $9.5 billion personal holding). Zero chance these moves weren't widely discussed between them over time.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#83

Post by tidepod12 » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:01 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #75

tidepod12 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Californication" (yes, as referred to in the Red Hot Chili Peppers song) has been a thing for almost a century now. Oregon literally tried to ban immigrants from California back in the 1940s, and Coloradoans have a notorious saying from the 60s "Don't Californicate Colorado" (it used to be a pretty common bumper sticker) due to this effect. Go to Wyoming or Idaho and people feel the same way. California has unfortun…

How does a state export a cost of living? Or are you referring to price increases due to increase in demand? If so, that does not seem like a notable phenomenon.

Californians in LA/SF are used to paying $800k for a house, and the Cali salaries are high enough to support it. A Texan in Dallas/Austin is used to paying $250k for that same house, and has a relatively lower salary to match.

The Californians, after years of having higher salary, more savings, and a job that lets them move, goes to Texas and offers $400k for that same house. The Californian thinks it's a great deal, because they get the same size house they previously lived in for only half the price! And the seller thinks it's great, because he now suddenly gets a huge premium on his previously-valued-at-$250k-house. All of the real estate responds in kind, expecting to get $400k+ from all the Cali transplants. However, the average Texan, who doesn't have that high paying salary, gets priced out and can no longer afford a house in their city.

This has been happening en masse to the northern suburbs of Dallas, as well as many neighborhoods in Austin. It's gentrification, more or less, and it comes with all the same problems.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#84

Post by satya71 » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:02 PM UTC

dmode wrote: post #66

aaomidi wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It means less taxes and less strict labor laws.

How does labor law impact anything when everyone is WFH ? Also, do taxes really have anything to do with your HQ location ? All corporations are registered in Delaware.

Company still pays most of its taxes in HQ.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#85

Post by warmfuzzykitten » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

spchampion2 wrote: post #52

rainyMammoth wrote: post #10

How long before all the Californians make Austin the exact same place they fled from?

Wait until they learn about cedar fever. Juniperus ashei pollinates in the winter, starting right about now through February. Pollen levels are still relatively low, but by January the trees explode and people are miserable. Last January they were reporting almost 28,000 cedar pollen grains per cubic meter of air in the Austin area. Misery. Pure misery. https://www.kxan.com/top-stories/cedar-pollen-reaches-highes...

You left out scorpions.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#86

Post by dragonwriter » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

vzaliva wrote: post #80

Some people lament the decline of Silicon Vally companies like Tesla and Oracle moving out. I argue it could be a good thing. These giant enterprises are not really a pinnacle of entrepreneurship and innovation anymore. Let them move elsewhere and keep the Bay Area nurturing new entrepreneurs and startups. It is huge cubicle farms vs. garages and coworking places kind of distinction.

Drawing experienced personnel from established firms has, as I understand it, long been a big driver for startups in the region. While some established firms leaving isn’t a problem, if it becomes too common, its a problem for entrepreneurship.

OTOH, a few established firms with large campuses leaving also means a lot of space without the usual problems involved available for other established firms that get into lots of conflicts with other local constituencies when they try to expand.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#87

Post by wavefunction » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

TravelPiglet wrote: post #37

nordsieck wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How long before all the Californians make Austin the exact same place they fled from? That is a concern. But part of SF's problems is structural: transportation and new construction are constrained by water. That is much less of a concern in Austin.

Is public transit good in Austin?

Not really but a big transit bond just passed that intends to expand the light rail system, eventually linking the airport to downtown and downtown to more of the central area. There's going to be some sort of huge construction project on the interstate that bisects the town but the particulars have not yet been decided on that.

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#88

Post by 908B64B197 » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:03 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #36

syntaxing wrote: post #11

I'm super curious how this will WFH Covid-era will play out for the Bay Area. I think the question I haven't figured out is job mobility. Pre-covid, even if you lost your job here as an engineer, finding another company thats interesting with the right pay isn't too hard which is one of the best appeals of SV. I wonder how this will play out in terms of this dynamic.

I'm curious about how it plays out... everywhere. I live in what's being called a "Zoom town", with lots of remote workers who seem to want a smaller town with more outdoor access (Bend, Oregon if you're curious). House prices are going through the roof. But Bend was already hot, and on people's radar. Yesterday I saw an article about housing heating up in Baker City Oregon. This is a small town of 10K people that is…

If I was mayor of a small town I would be rolling out fiber like there is no tomorrow and zoning everything to allow for detached units like these [0].

Interests rates are at their lowest and the rise in property value should more than pay for it.

[0] https://www.dwell.com/article/prefab-home-office-accessory-d...

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#89

Post by songshuu » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:04 PM UTC

tidepod12 wrote: post #44

nordsieck wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How long before all the Californians make Austin the exact same place they fled from? That is a concern. But part of SF's problems is structural: transportation and new construction are constrained by water. That is much less of a concern in Austin.

Have you ever been to Austin? It has the worst transportation network in the entire state of Texas, and that's a really low bar. The bus network is mediocre at best, the rail system (actually only one line) is practically useless, and there's only two highways that are notoriously gridlocked at all hours, even in non rush-hour.

Yeah, but they just passed Project Connect so expect that to change quite a bit. https://www.capmetro.org/project-connect

Re: Oracle Moving HQ to Austin

#90

Post by chaostheory » Fri, Dec 11, 2020, 10:05 PM UTC

war1025 wrote: post #56

1helloworld1 wrote: post #18

Shouldn't the republican party be worried? If the trend continues and a lot of companies move from California to Texas bringing along a lot of liberal employees with them, won't that tip the already narrowing margin towards the democratic party?

Given that the parties are increasingly stratifying along class lines, and the working class is getting redder every year, I'd guess Hispanic immigration will trend in the Republicans favor and outpace upper-middle class migration from the coasts, which favors Democrats. Of course that would require the Republicans to get out of their own way and stop playing into the Democrats' hand at every turn regarding Identity…

> I'd guess Hispanic immigration will trend in the Republicans favor and outpace upper-middle class migration from the coasts, which favors Democrats.

This was the RNC's prediction and former goal for future growth. It was correct until Trump disrupted it. The only place where this is still true is in FL.

Until Trump loses his grip on the Republican party, Hispanics by and large will be flocking to the Democrats.