Indy advances to the final 20 in bid to win Amazon's 2nd HQ (Indianapolis: movers, homes)

[W & C]

Originally Posted by Berteau

Hurricanes don't hit the west coast! They travel west and hit eastern facing coasts and southern because of the earths rotation. WOw. I quit reading the rest of your post after reading that. LOL.

Wasn't the point being made ? I think he's saying that West coast is a much more favorable place for business and the only reason there are businesses in older East population enclaves is because that's where countries first cities were founded.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by W & C

Wasn't the point being made ? I think he's saying that West coast is a much more favorable place for business and the only reason there are businesses in older East population enclaves is because that's where countries first cities were founded.

Well if that was the point it is a horrible LOL point.

[indy_317]

Originally Posted by W & C

Wasn't the point being made ? I think he's saying that West coast is a much more favorable place for business and the only reason there are businesses in older East population enclaves is because that's where countries first cities were founded.

At least someone can read. The west coast has very low hurricane risk compared to the east coast. Plus, huge snow storms can strike New England and even DC more often than almost anywhere on the West Coast. Business risk and continuity are new issues that companies look at. Weather is part of that, though it doesn't mean it would be anywhere near a deciding factor in certain cases. I personally think most people like more moderate to warm/hot weather overall, and thus I pick either Nashville or Raleigh as the winner in the moderate category with Texas in the warm/hot category.

[GarfieldPark]

FedEx's announcement that it is spending $1.5 Billion to expand and improve its Indpls air freight hub is a very big deal. Distribution and logistics is huge for Amazon. Indy is very good at that and getting better. Our central location with interstates going in 7 directions (soon to be 8) is also excellent for a company very interested in moving billions of products around the US and the world as quickly as possible.

[rrah]

I think the State legislators killed Indianapolis's chances this week by failing to pass a hate crimes bill. IN is one of only 5 states without a hate crimes law. It says a lot about the culture of the state, and that culture is the "opposite" of what Amazon is looking at.

In the original RFP, and I'm sure this continues to be important to Amazon, one of the criteria is, a "cultural community fit" that indicates that Amazon wants the "presence and support of a diverse population." It cannot just be at a city level. It needs to be at a state level because state laws impact local issues.

Indianapolis stands up well when it comes to transportation, business climate, COL, but so do other cities. The state, and by extension, Indianapolis, doesn't meet that "cultural community fit" criteria and have a history of not supporting diversity.

Recall what happened after the RFRA nightmare. Amazon is well aware of that and this current backwards move by the State legislators.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by rrah

I think the State legislators killed Indianapolis's chances this week by failing to pass a hate crimes bill. IN is one of only 5 states without a hate crimes law. It says a lot about the culture of the state, and that culture is the "opposite" of what Amazon is looking at.

In the original RFP, and I'm sure this continues to be important to Amazon, one of the criteria is, a "cultural community fit" that indicates that Amazon wants the "presence and support of a diverse population." It cannot just be at a city level. It needs to be at a state level because state laws impact local issues.

Indianapolis stands up well when it comes to transportation, business climate, COL, but so do other cities. The state, and by extension, Indianapolis, doesn't meet that "cultural community fit" criteria and have a history of not supporting diversity.

Recall what happened after the RFRA nightmare. Amazon is well aware of that and this current backwards move by the State legislators.

Curious to know why Indianapolis being in Indiana is any more of a penalty than Nashville in Tennessee, Atlanta in Georgia, Austin in Texas, or Raleigh in North Carolina. For example, North Carolina has had similarly divisive social law issues that has prompted boycotts. To date, Raleigh is thought of as a favorite for Amazon and North Carolina still has those laws.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

Curious to know why Indianapolis being in Indiana is any more of a penalty than Nashville in Tennessee, Atlanta in Georgia, Austin in Texas, or Raleigh in North Carolina. For example, North Carolina has had similarly divisive social law issues that has prompted boycotts. To date, Raleigh is thought of as a favorite for Amazon and North Carolina still has those laws.

Honestly, I don't know how Nashville made the list, other than its current status as a "hot" city and Tennessee's low taxes.

I'd rank Indy's "regional" university base as better than Nashville. Purdue is a great engineering school. IUPUI is huge and right downtown. IU is a little more than an hour away. Notre Dame, Louisville, and some more Big Ten schools are within a few hours. That's not even counting "home grown" schools like Marian and Butler.

Nashville has Vanderbilt and Tennessee Tech close by, but Purdue is a lot better than TN Tech. UT-Knoxville is 2.5 hours away. Other than that, you have a string of small private colleges like Belmont and Davidson, and MTSU.

I don't see where Nashville tops Indy at all in that regard.

Compensation may be a factor. I had several offers in Nashville when I lived in Indy. Most came in at two-thirds or less of what I was making in Indy. I know people doing well in Nashville, but my experience is that pay there lags behind the Midwest.

Indy is easier to get around, much cheaper to build in, probably more land to build on, etc. I'd also argue that outside of Nashville proper, Tennessee is far more conservative than Indiana or North Carolina.

Raleigh is a well-known tech hub, and close to the coast, has excellent universities, and is close to the Acela corridor at a more reasonable price. I think it was a shoo-in for the finalist list from the start.

[Berteau]

Originally Posted by GarfieldPark

FedEx's announcement that it is spending $1.5 Billion to expand and improve its Indpls air freight hub is a very big deal. Distribution and logistics is huge for Amazon. Indy is very good at that and getting better. Our central location with interstates going in 7 directions (soon to be 8) is also excellent for a company very interested in moving billions of products around the US and the world as quickly as possible.

They aren't building a warehouse! We already have one of those in Plainfield! It is called a corporate office where people sit at a desk all day. It's not a shipping center. Duh!

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by Berteau

They aren't building a warehouse! We already have one of those in Plainfield! It is called a corporate office where people sit at a desk all day. It's not a shipping center. Duh!

2, actually. There's one in Whitestown as well.

[hapaleeretired]

Being a World HQ2 means a LOT more than "people sitting at a desk all day". It means that vendors, contractors and employees will be traveling to and from it. Perhaps this would make more sense to have one on the east coast as there is already one on he west coast. Were it to be a singular World HQ Indy would be a better centrally located choice IMHO.