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I haven't read everything on here, but why does nobody think Newark is a good option? It's a major air, rail, and port shipping hub. EWR is major world airport with flights all over the world. The city has an urban layout simply in need of revitalization. It has great public transit served by NJT buses, NJT light rail, PATH heavy rail subway service into Manhattan running 24/7/265. It's NJT commuter train hub and has Amtrak service. Amtrak also stops at EWR. Rutgers and Seton Hall are within the city and its surrounding area. There NJIT is nearby as are several other universities. Princeton is in NJ, while nearby NYC has NYU, Columbia, Fordham, and other highly regarded universities.
For what Amazon is looking for, Newark seems great IMO. They want good transit access (stated above). Liberal policies are important and NJ is a very blue state (disregard Chris Christie). A highly educated workforce is just 20-30 minutes away by public transit in Manhattan, as well as in the highly wealthy suburbs of neighboring cities like Montclair and even those commuting into Manhattan from Hoboken and Jersey City. Large airport, good train system, and a port. Land is much much much cheaper in Newark when compared to NYC, Boston, DC, etc. It's almost like moving to Manhattan but at a discount. Amazon would get basically all the benefits of being in NYC, but at a cheaper price just outside the city. Then once a company like Amazon would move into Newark, it has massive potential to takeoff and possibly return to its heyday. It already has a Whole Foods, luxury lofts are popping up downtown, shopping and restaurant/bar scene is on the rise. A lot of people are already moving to downtown Newark because it's urban and on the come-up, still with excellent public transit access to the jobs in Manhattan.
Compared to other places, I think Newark has much more going for it.
Austin is in a conservative state, has only one major university nearby, has virtually no public transit, and has a mediocre airport and shipping service.
Atlanta is in a conservative state.
Boston is very expensive.
Chicago I think is a good option also with good connectivity to the world, urban, liberal, good universities nearby, and cheap-ish land.
Columbus is in a moderate red-leaning state, no public transit, small airport, only one major university.
Dallas is in a conservative state with subpar public transit. Good universities and connectivity, though.
Denver is too far west still.
Indy is conservative, no public transit, bad connectivity by rail and air, and universities are okay but not as good compared to other cities on the list (and also the best are further away).
LA is on the west coast so not happening.
Miami does not have the public transit or educated workforce.
Montgomery County/DC/NoVa are all good on paper, but expensive for land. Still great options though as well.
Nashville has only one major university, bad connectivity with a smaller airport, bad public transit, in a very conservative state.
NYC is very expensive.
Philly is my second choice after Newark. East coast, liberal, great universities, great public transit, very urban, large airport and rail connections, and could attract talent very easily from nearby DC and NYC also.
Pittsburgh would be a good option except for having a small airport.
Raleigh is too suburban and too small and in a still moderate state, though it is definitely starting to lean more blue, but its airport is small.
Toronto would be an excellent option if it was in the US, but I don't see them moving to Canada.
I would rank the options as:
1. Newark
2. Philadelphia
3. Chicago
4. MD/DC/NoVa
5. Boston/NYC/Pittsburgh tied
Spot on.
There is a reason Newark is on the list and if you read my past comments I think it could be a "dark horse" as they say.
The main thing is it's kind of NYC Lite. It has all of the pluses of NYC by few of the minuses. Plus there is $8bn in incentives being thrown.
The only problem I see is attracting talent outside of the Northeast. Sure, New Yorkers will commute on a train but can you convince a West Coaster to move from the awesome climate out west and settle in NJ. You could say "well they could live in NYC" but someone from Seattle would be astonished at Manhattan prices. So they would either be relegated to NJ suburbs or to become gentrifiers.
I do think they could get critical mass with NYC and Philly right there surrounding Newark. It'll be interesting to see. It's a dark horse candidate but not a shoe in.
Nobody has yet offered a reason why Atlanta cannot be the #1 spot so I'll stick with that.
There is a reason Newark is on the list and if you read my past comments I think it could be a "dark horse" as they say.
The main thing is it's kind of NYC Lite. It has all of the pluses of NYC by few of the minuses. Plus there is $8bn in incentives being thrown.
The only problem I see is attracting talent outside of the Northeast. Sure, New Yorkers will commute on a train but can you convince a West Coaster to move from the awesome climate out west and settle in NJ. You could say "well they could live in NYC" but someone from Seattle would be astonished at Manhattan prices. So they would either be relegated to NJ suburbs or to become gentrifiers.
I do think they could get critical mass with NYC and Philly right there surrounding Newark. It'll be interesting to see. It's a dark horse candidate but not a shoe in.
Nobody has yet offered a reason why Atlanta cannot be the #1 spot so I'll stick with that.
We’ll many people are predicting Newark to gentrify anyway since Jersey City is gentrifiying!
It's not animosity, it's just being realistic. Austin appears to be peer to Indy and Columbus in this contest, and not really anyone else. Yet we have posters presenting it as a peer to Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, etc.
If Pittsburgh is auditioning to be "the next Austin", does that mean Pittsburgh would need to get rid of it's light rail system, half of it's skyscrapers, NHL/MLB/NFL teams?
I would say Austin is at least a peer for Raleigh and Nashville. But this is subjective stuff, there is no set parameter, so you could say Austin could be a better fit to newark as well, right? Also, some of the larger cities don't have great transportation either.
I'm hoping and praying it is Austin. Then I can sell my duplex and get a cabin in New Mexico!
Dilly Dilly!!!
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