Amazon HQ2 - Austin Chances ??? (Houston, Dallas: buy, community college, salary)

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

And those high rents correlate to high property taxes which are pretty much funding the Texas education system at the moment.

I did not say I wasn't at fault, I said I was a small piece of the puzzle that has caused the inequality we see in Austin. It is systemic and historic, but has increased a great deal with the increase in tech. And to say that this should go on to help pay for schools is ridiculous. The school funding system is completely inept and dysfunctional. Although a large chunk of AISD students are low income the district sends away a large amount of their money to smaller "poorer" districts to help other children instead of funding services for their own. But I digress as well.

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

I'd take this opportunity to upgrade skills, tech requires tons of skilled labor that doesn't require high level degrees, the semiconductor equipment and auto assembly industry have dozens and dozens of subcontractors here, machinists in particular are highly sought after.

Tough to do when you have a viable skill and that people need you. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't needed. Yes, tech is in demand, but I'm not willing to change my career just because that's where the money's at. I did not get into the job for the money, but I do need to have a roof over my head at an affordable price. It's like the Chinese one baby rule, you put a lot of stock in one thing there's going to be a shortage of another. We bring in all these Amazon jobs they're going to bring all their things with them. There will need to be more teachers, more nurses, more doctors, more bus drivers, more janitors....more everything....but they don't bring high salaries either...

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by centralaustinite

I think it is interesting that public transportation is part of their criteria as well as someplace without significant congestion, in the NYT analysis, Dallas and Austin were eliminated on that basis.

They used the inrix report which doesnt make sense. The inrix report compares the least traffic time to the most traffic time. A better measure is total commute time.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I did not say I wasn't at fault, I said I was a small piece of the puzzle that has caused the inequality we see in Austin. It is systemic and historic, but has increased a great deal with the increase in tech. And to say that this should go on to help pay for schools is ridiculous. The school funding system is completely inept and dysfunctional. Although a large chunk of AISD students are low income the district sends away a large amount of their money to smaller "poorer" districts to help other children instead of funding services for their own. But I digress as well.




Tough to do when you have a viable skill and that people need you. I wouldn't be here if I wasn't needed. Yes, tech is in demand, but I'm not willing to change my career just because that's where the money's at. I did not get into the job for the money, but I do need to have a roof over my head at an affordable price. It's like the Chinese one baby rule, you put a lot of stock in one thing there's going to be a shortage of another. We bring in all these Amazon jobs they're going to bring all their things with them. There will need to be more teachers, more nurses, more doctors, more bus drivers, more janitors....more everything....but they don't bring high salaries either...

If there is a shortage of people for those jobs, then the salaries will go up. My sister in law is a teacher in california and she makes 90K.

O.C. teachers’ average pay up to $81,307 – Orange County Register

[Trainwreck20]

Yup, those salaries will also go up or go away, in which case the hi-tech will also leave.

[rangergrit]

Originally Posted by Bo

The criteria mentions "international" airport, as well as access to "rail and subway" service. If they're strict about that, no Texas city pushes all of those buttons.

Wouldn't Dallas qualify?

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Austin97

If there is a shortage of people for those jobs, then the salaries will go up. My sister in law is a teacher in california and she makes 90K.

O.C. teachers’ average pay up to $81,307 – Orange County Register

Which is about equal to, if not less than the current salary that an AISD teacher receives if you compare the COL. I just chose a random district in the "OC" area since I'm not familiar with it.

Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Which is about equal to, if not less than the current salary that an AISD teacher receives if you compare the COL. I just chose a random district in the "OC" area since I'm not familiar with it.
Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

la habra heights is in LA and is roughly 30% more expensive than orange, ca. Im not sure what your point is though. If the demand is there due to cost of living increases then the salaries go up.

In places like orange, ca Teacher salaries average about 80k because the COL is high and the demand is there.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Austin97

la habra heights is in LA and is roughly 30% more expensive than orange, ca. Im not sure what your point is though. If the demand is there due to cost of living increases then the salaries go up.

In places like orange, ca Teacher salaries average about 80k because the COL is high and the demand is there.

My point is 80k equals our 40k. The salaries didn't go up, they matched the cost of living. It's just like my 35k in San Antonio is equal to my 50ishk here. It doesn't mean anyone is more well off, it just means they're still probably struggling.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

My point is 80k equals our 40k. The salaries didn't go up, they matched the cost of living. It's just like my 35k in San Antonio is equal to my 50ishk here. It doesn't mean anyone is more well off, it just means they're still probably struggling.

Well, to be fair, the vast majority of the population of the world has been struggling for the entirety of human history. I don't think there is any definitive reason why that has suddenly changed. I know some people in small town Texas (Coleman, to be exact) where the COL is minimal, but they still struggle and either get paid correspondingly less or just can't get work in any job that pays any thing.

Essentially, you are making the case that Austin is similar to other places.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Well, to be fair, the vast majority of the population of the world has been struggling for the entirety of human history. I don't think there is any definitive reason why that has suddenly changed. I know some people in small town Texas (Coleman, to be exact) where the COL is minimal, but they still struggle and either get paid correspondingly less or just can't get work in any job that pays any thing.

Essentially, you are making the case that Austin is similar to other places.

But it's disproportionate to the population. Yes, there were people struggling in Austin before the last decade of prosperity, but it will continue to increase as will the need for assistance with the addition of Amazon. I don't want to see that happen.