Where Will Amazon Build their NEW Headquarters? (quality, famous)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I think that DC, Northern Virginia, or Baltimore will get chosen simply based on the fact that Bezos will not want to travel far from his home in DC to the new HQ.
One of the reasons Pittsburgh is always immediately cut from the short lists is a lack of a daily non-stop flight to Seattle.
Just announced today, Alaska Air will be starting daily non-stop between Pittsburgh and Seattle in Sept 2018.
It's great the city is going all out but we just don't have the infrastructure to handle the traffic unless Amazon locates to an outlying county and that has never been their plan.
I think it will probably be what everyone is thinking... Atlanta. The problem with a lot of the great northeastern cities is that they have the same high housing costs and limited space that is in Seattle. I don't see a big enough delta to want to spend 5 billion and create a whole separate hq2 if you want to essentially buy what you already have. Atlanta gives you a lot of breathing space in terms of both space and costs while still getting good talent. Sure it's biggest drawback is its public transportation. But it does have the bones of something to work with. It has MARTA and could possibly upgrade its transportation system to be better. It is large enough to not be a company town, it is tolerant enough to not scare people away. It is business friendly enough to not complain about someone wanting to rule the world from their kingdom. It doesn't have a state whose finances are in jeopardy. It has warmer weather than the NE or Midwest cities. It is already fast growing and has room to accommodate.
I think that DC, Northern Virginia, or Baltimore will get chosen simply based on the fact that Bezos will not want to travel far from his home in DC to the new HQ.
If you are using that metric, I guess SoCal will get chosen, since it will be near his Beverly Hills house he has had for decades or wait, maybe it will be in NYC, since he will not want to travel far from his place in Manhattan, which he also has had for decades.
I'm not saying the DC metroplex will or will not be getting the HQ2, but the thing I would least base it on, would be where Bezos has a house (he has at least 4, Seattle, LA, NYC and DC). The guy is the richest person in the world (at least on paper) and can easily and will probably buy a new house wherever HQ2 ends up, unless he already has a house there!
I think that DC, Northern Virginia, or Baltimore will get chosen simply based on the fact that Bezos will not want to travel far from his home in DC to the new HQ.
Bezos has infinite money. He can buy a house wherever he wants. I don't think HQ2 is going to a suburb, or any city with housing costs comparable to Seattle. What would be the point?
Marta should be in the war room 24/7 strategizing, and fast tracking plans to beef up the transportation infrastructure. They will have to do it eventually, so why not now?
HQ2 will pretty much be in the bag, if the city can show Amazon SOMETHING very soon. (If they haven't already made their choice.)
I need to see some stats or ranking on the tech thing. I don't think Dallas is in this higher tier than Atlanta when it comes to that.
Atlanta's advantages over Dallas include its universities and mass transit. The advantages over Austin are mass transit and the airport. All things considered when factoring in the pros and cons for each city, they are more or less in the same boat. Practically even publication that lists cities with the best chances of landing HQ2 have Atlanta near the top and for good reason.
I don't think that Atlanta has better mass transit than Dallas, they both kinda suck TBH. I know that Atlanta has heavy rail, but it is very limited for service. DART in Dallas my be slow and suck, but it goes more places. Again, neither city is scoring a lot of points on transit.
Dallas has one of the largest telecom corridors in the country. AT&T and TI are both based here. Dell is in Austin. Combined there is alot more tech talent and movement between these two cities.
I don't think Dallas is a dominant tier above Atlanta, and honestly I don't think Amazon will go to either of these cities, but if they did, I think Dallas would edge Atlanta out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
