Atlanta vs Seattle 2019 (size, economy, building, skyline)

[noid_1985]

Seattle’s bus system is second to none......

[Turnerbro]

Originally Posted by DJKirkland

I think people are underestimating the diversity of Seattle’s employment and economic base. The largest employers in our region include the aerospace industry and the US military. Other large non tech employers include Costco, Starbucks, Nordstrom, the University of Washington, Paccar to name a few. Atlanta has a massive airport but our region boasts the 4th largest seaport in the US with the Seattle/Tacoma Port alliance trailing only NY/NJ, LA, and Long Beach. Not that Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo US, and TMobile US don’t employ tens of thousands but they are not the only game in town.

Boeing also employs a lot of people. Including many blue collar union workers.

[DJKirkland]

Yeah, I was including Boeing in the aerospace employment numbers. They are still the area’s largest employer.

[isawooty]

Originally Posted by DJKirkland

I think people are underestimating the diversity of Seattle’s employment and economic base. The largest employers in our region include the aerospace industry and the US military. Other large non tech employers include Costco, Starbucks, Nordstrom, the University of Washington, Paccar to name a few. Atlanta has a massive airport but our region boasts the 4th largest seaport in the US with the Seattle/Tacoma Port alliance trailing only NY/NJ, LA, and Long Beach. Not that Amazon, Microsoft, Nintendo US, and TMobile US don’t employ tens of thousands but they are not the only game in town.

Of course Seattle has more than one sector in its economy. It’s a collective region of nearly 5 million people. That being said, Seattle’s prominence is heavily tied to Microsoft and Amazon. Boeing might be the largest employer but it’s not the most visible or valuable. Seattle is a economic juggernaut in the same capacity as The Bay Area and Houston. So let’s not pretend here...

[DJKirkland]

I don’t think visibility or prominence to the public matters here in reality. Perception does not equal jobs. I’m not pretending- Nearly 80k people directly employed by Boeing and all of the services required to support those employees, which employs tens of thousands more is no small matter. Amazon may be more visible because everyone in this country uses it on the daily and more valuable asset wise but that doesn’t make it more vital to our local economy. I only mention the above due to those with no clue saying Seattle is a one trick pony. It’s not.


Also re: cost of living. Yes, Seattle is expensive but wages are high. I work for the architecture/engineering/construction industry and yes I could move somewhere with cheaper housing and less tax, but from what I can see on Indeed and Glassdoor, the wages in other places are so much lower it doesn’t make it any more affordable in the end.

[isawooty]

Originally Posted by march2

I could not agree more, and I actually said this exact thing in my post. Seattle's economy is great, but very (and will say overly) reliant on high tech. Atlanta's economy is strong as well, but tremendously diverse. It can weather economic storms much better and lasts for the long haul. So, IMO, Atlanta's economy, from top to bottom, is better.

And we see that Atlanta’s economy is already being tested with Suntrust moving out. Region is still killing it in terms of job growth and population growth.

[mhays25]

I wouldn't pin Seattle's risk to "tech" per se. Tech is embedded in other industries, like retail, travel, business services, real estate listings, photography, etc. Amazon is as much (or more) a retail company vs. a tech company for example.

Tech's volatility has historically been about start-ups and companies built upon unsustainable models.

Seattle's risk is that a huge percentage of the economy is a handful of employers. The UW isn't worrisome, but Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon each employ astonishing numbers of people at living or high wages...about 170,000 by these three directly. The military is also a mammoth employer. Any of them can turn around at any time, like a carrier group heading elsewhere for example. These five plus multipliers account for a huge percentage of local jobs.

[isawooty]

Originally Posted by DJKirkland

I don’t think visible to the public matters. I’m not pretending- Nearly 80k people directly employed by Boeing and all of the services required to support those employees is no small matter.

Lol. I never said it was a small matter. I’m just simply pointing out that Seattle has most of its eggs in one basket and that’s the tech basket. It’s creates a strong economy with things are good and likewise it could be crippling if it’s bad. That’s all...

Edit: Basically what mhays just said above me. So many people employed in one sector/field or more specifically in three companies.

[Ric 0_0]

Atlanta's economic diversity has always been on of the regions blessings. You have massive universities (Emory, GA Tech, GA State, etc), the state and federal governmnet (CDC, Capital city), and large companies that span basically every industry possible, (UPS, Dela, Coke, Cox, RaceTrac, Global Payments). It is really astonishing that almost every industry has a sizeable presence in Atlanta.
https://www.metroatlantachamber.com/...19_6a7P4J4.pdf

[NorthAtlanta]

Downtown - Seattle
Walkability - Seattle
Skyline - Tie
Transportation car and public - Atlanta
Bars/ Restaurants - Atlanta
COL - Atlanta
QOL - Tie
Climate - Atlanta
Suburbs - Atlanta
Recreation - Tie
Scenery - Seattle
Diversity - Atlanta by a mile
Economy - Atlanta because it's more diverse

Where would you rather live? Atlanta. I like Seattle's scenery but I don't like the gloomy weather and I like the diverse economy of Atlanta with hundreds of companies with their regional and local head quarters, not like Seattle that is dominated by 4 to 5 big players.