Chicago's in the middle of the pack for the new Amazon headquarters (Naperville: sales, HOA)

[lepoisson]

I honestly expected Chicago to be near the top, but seeing as Chicago isn't anywhere near the top of a "where Americans are moving" list, it really shouldn't be surprising if you think about it.

My guess is that it has something to do with weather, the financial situation in Chicago/Illinois, crime issues in some neighborhoods, and the crime stereotype.

I'm not a fan of Atlanta, but it really is the future of American cities. It's a fast growing city with a diverse economy and a reasonable cost of living. I'm not surprised it's on the top of Amazon's list. They want to build their HQ2 in a place where people are wanting to move to. Atlanta is near the top of that list.

[personone]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I honestly expected Chicago to be near the top, but seeing as Chicago isn't anywhere near the top of a "where Americans are moving" list, it really shouldn't be surprising if you think about it.

My guess is that it has something to do with weather, the financial situation in Chicago/Illinois, crime issues in some neighborhoods, and the crime stereotype.

I'm not a fan of Atlanta, but it really is the future of American cities. It's a fast growing city with a diverse economy and a reasonable cost of living. I'm not surprised it's on the top of Amazon's list. They want to build their HQ2 in a place where people are wanting to move to. Atlanta is near the top of that list.

Agreed. Chicago isn't going to get Amazon; that is pretty clear at this point. Weather and crime reputation don't have anything to do with it. Downtown Chicago is home to several corporate offices, and has reputation from all major finance, law, big 4, consulting, and major hospitals.

The financial health of the city, with its bond rating being in flux the last few years combined with overall somewhat stagnant growth and business incentives, just doesn't make it overly attractive when compared to other cities. Chicago definitely could be a viable headquarter for Amazon, but all things considered, other cities are a little more attractive, which is why Chicago is in the middle of the pack and will not end up being selected.

[damba]

Originally Posted by ipkl07

If they're looking for skilled labor they won't be picking Atlanta. I'd personally pick Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

You aren’t thinking through the issue clearly.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by knitgirl

Read an article yesterday that Amazon was seriously looking for a million sq ft of office space in Boston.

It's a half-million (500,000) square foot building that Amazon is looking at in Boston. The same initial space need announced as part of Amazon's criteria. So, if true, then Boston it is. Makes sense though; MIT, Harvard, BU, and other prestigious schools in and around Boston provide great direct brain-flow into Amazon.

[Marie Joseph]

Personally I would think that Chicago is a better place to locate the new Amazon HQ.

You have a population there that is pretty skilled, it's centrally located, and has a lot of amenities.

Chicago's infrastructure is much better planned than is either Atlanta's or Austin's.

If I could pick from the list, I would go with Chicago, Rochester (personal bias), or Pittsburgh. Ideally I would love to see it go to an area that needs a boost like here (Erie) or Detroit.

Still, Chicago is far superior to Austin or Atlanta.

[personone]

Originally Posted by Kamms

It's a half-million (500,000) square foot building that Amazon is looking at in Boston. The same initial space need announced as part of Amazon's criteria. So, if true, then Boston it is. Makes sense though; MIT, Harvard, BU, and other prestigious schools in and around Boston provide great direct brain-flow into Amazon.

A lot of people aren't ready to concede that Amazon isn't coming to Chicago. I agree with you though. There are multiple reports that Boston is the very likely destination. From what I've been reading Atlanta and Austin are in the mix, but it is Boston's to lose at this point.

[Kamms]

Originally Posted by personone

A lot of people aren't ready to concede that Amazon isn't coming to Chicago. I agree with you though. There are multiple reports that Boston is the very likely destination. From what I've been reading Atlanta and Austin are in the mix, but it is Boston's to lose at this point.

No city is actually out of contention unless there is finalist list announced or prior to the actual city HQ2 announcement.

I don't the big deal about Atlanta though. Boston actually does sound like the best choice, given Amazon's criteria. Plus Amazon can get all those internships with MIT, Harvard, BU, BC and all those other well regarded colleges and universities in and around Boston.

If anything else about this whole Amazon2 thing: locale college and universities play a huge role in business location today.

[Atlanta_BD]

Originally Posted by lepoisson

I honestly expected Chicago to be near the top, but seeing as Chicago isn't anywhere near the top of a "where Americans are moving" list, it really shouldn't be surprising if you think about it.

My guess is that it has something to do with weather, the financial situation in Chicago/Illinois, crime issues in some neighborhoods, and the crime stereotype.

I'm not a fan of Atlanta, but it really is the future of American cities. It's a fast growing city with a diverse economy and a reasonable cost of living. I'm not surprised it's on the top of Amazon's list. They want to build their HQ2 in a place where people are wanting to move to. Atlanta is near the top of that list.

I really wish people would stop saying that Atlanta has a lower COL. It really doesn't--at least not as far as housing.

People want to move to Atlanta because they really aren't doing the full research. Sure the crime stereotype doesn't help Chicago, but Atlanta's crime is almost double Chicago's with only a 1/6 of Chicago's population, and Atlanta's crime is random and it doesn't matter the neighbohood. Atlanta also consistently ranks in the top 10-12 of the FBI's most dangerous cities. The educational systems in the metro are also bad.

People talk about all the folks that want to move to Atlanta, but no one is honest that a lot of people leave because of low wages and lack of plentiful jobs or growth opportunities. I never met homeless or near-homeless degree holders until I lived in Atlanta. I also knew plenty of degree holders there who didn't make $30k per year there. It was actually quite common.

[ipkl07]

Originally Posted by damba

You aren’t thinking through the issue clearly.

I use to live outside of Atlanta. The south is becoming what the midwest once was which is blue collar factory jobs. As far as HQ jobs no way in heck would I choose Atlanta. It's the lowest educated part of the country and it shows for the most part when you live down there. I know a lot of companies have already picked, or moved their headquarters in and around Atlanta. If you're looking for the highest educated individuals you either are picking the northwest, northeast, or Canada, since they said North America. You can get all the incentives on the planet, but if you know you can't find the talent before hand, you aren't choosing that area. Some companies bring in the talent before hand from the Northeast, but those are not usually hundreds of jobs, normally just a few. You can't move around Atlanta now as it is and you think they'll be able to support 50,000 jobs roflmfao.

[SouthWacker]

I'm 99.9% sure that all of the speculative articles that have been written since Oct. 2017 are just that... speculation from non-insiders. Re: the article in the OP, It seems the results were based on some type of model. And, remember, websites have an objective of drawing traffic/views and keeping people on their website (measured in # of clicks, etc.). So, of course various news, business, etc. websites are going to write an article on this topic until an official announcement is made.

Also, re: Amazon's search for office space in Boston, I saw an article about it. I think in the comments section, someone said they're wanting to consolidate workers into one (?) office. But, I don't know details...

Has anyone heard the theory that Amazon's HQ2 search might be more of a marketing stunt than a real effort? As Amazon tries to "take over the world" (and maybe poach customers from some mom & pop biz, smaller Corp. retailers), they don't want to be seen as the "big, bad company". So, if hundreds of cities express interest, etc. in the HQ2, then Amazon is no longer the "big, bad company".