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That report in Geekwire is useless without including Montreal and Toronto who are strong contenders. Funny how earlier Geekwire itself said that Toronto was the top pic.
No this is a list of potential HQ2 locations compiled by REIS, Geekwire just reported on it.
This is just my opinion. I have Chicago outside these odds. Reasons: the crime issue, lack of a younger educated population. Again, just IMO. (And I lived in the Chicago area previously and understand the crime issue is not city-wide.)
Chicago is a great city. I love the architecture and the general boldness of this city. I just don't think it is a good fit for Amazon. I could be wrong, but while it does meet many parameters they are looking for, it doesn't meet the micro-parameters they are looking for. (tax-friendly, bike-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, tech-friendly).
When I read horribly uneducated posts like this one, I just have to respond. What the heck are you talking about? I think a guy from the middle desert of Washington having lived in Chicago is BS. ( and my dad's family is from your neck of the woods originally (Yakima), but moved away to bigger and better a long time ago).
You and Moo guy need to come out to Chicago, maybe go out to dinner together ( at night when the criminals are out) and get educated on the city, since both of you are from the PNW and haven't a clue about Chicago AT ALL. Not tax friendly? Why would it be the top relocation city in the US for the past 4 years? Not pedestrian or bike friendly? Are you kidding me? Talking about lack of tech educated young people when you have feeder schools such as U of I engineering, Northwestern and U of Chicago along with other big 10 schools such as the University of Wisconsin and Michigan feeding the job base?
Canadian Moo guy harps on the fact he thinks there is no good schools for kids in Chicago. I live in a suburb a 22 minute express ride from downtown with nationally ranked schools, and a great way of life. I am a west coast transplant who went to school on the east coast and have a broad perspective. While the cost of living chokes the living daylights out of Vancouver and Toronto, Chicago is actually undervalued, and allows people to actually afford to live comfortably instead of being real estate poor.
I work in the Loop and have never felt unsafe. I only marvel and the cleanliness and beauty of the city. When you look at the options offered to Amazon by developers and the city, it is crazy that it is not consistently on each list as a top or near top pick. Transportation, land near transportation, educated base ( Chicago was just ranked the most educated of the big 5, ahead of NYC and LA), ready made options, decent incentive package and a city that wants them and can accommodate 50,000 without major disruption are all pluses. You, along with others, have stated at some point you have the inside track and the text buddy of Jeff Bezos. Facts are important in this fact unfriendly world. Get them straight.
When I read horribly uneducated posts like this one, I just have to respond. What the heck are you talking about? I think a guy from the middle desert of Washington having lived in Chicago is BS. ( and my dad's family is from your neck of the woods originally (Yakima), but moved away to bigger and better a long time ago).
You and Moo guy need to come out to Chicago, maybe go out to dinner together ( at night when the criminals are out) and get educated on the city, since both of you are from the PNW and haven't a clue about Chicago AT ALL. Not tax friendly? Why would it be the top relocation city in the US for the past 4 years? Not pedestrian or bike friendly? Are you kidding me? Talking about lack of tech educated young people when you have feeder schools such as U of I engineering, Northwestern and U of Chicago along with other big 10 schools such as the University of Wisconsin and Michigan feeding the job base?
Canadian Moo guy harps on the fact he thinks there is no good schools for kids in Chicago. I live in a suburb a 22 minute express ride from downtown with nationally ranked schools, and a great way of life. I am a west coast transplant who went to school on the east coast and have a broad perspective. While the cost of living chokes the living daylights out of Vancouver and Toronto, Chicago is actually undervalued, and allows people to actually afford to live comfortably instead of being real estate poor.
I work in the Loop and have never felt unsafe. I only marvel and the cleanliness and beauty of the city. When you look at the options offered to Amazon by developers and the city, it is crazy that it is not consistently on each list as a top or near top pick. Transportation, land near transportation, educated base ( Chicago was just ranked the most educated of the big 5, ahead of NYC and LA), ready made options, decent incentive package and a city that wants them and can accommodate 50,000 without major disruption are all pluses. You, along with others, have stated at some point you have the inside track and the text buddy of Jeff Bezos. Facts are important in this fact unfriendly world. Get them straight.
A bit defensive, eh?
You left out my compliments to Chicago...
"Chicago is a great city. I love the architecture and the general boldness of this city."
You can call out my posts as being BS, but you would be wrong, as everything I stated was truthfull. I lived in the NW suburbs from 2005-2007. Enjoyed the "22 minute express ride" to the Loop. Beyond that, just wasn't for me.
I never said I was a "text buddy" of Jeff Bezos. That is apparently only in your mind. I did say I have some connections from some in the company. Again, for you to call BS is unfounded and a generally defensive posture without knowledge of my situation.
But you are free to offer your opinion on here, however wrong it is.
This is just my opinion. I have Chicago outside these odds. Reasons: the crime issue, lack of a younger educated population. Again, just IMO. (And I lived in the Chicago area previously and understand the crime issue is not city-wide.)
Chicago is a great city. I love the architecture and the general boldness of this city. I just don't think it is a good fit for Amazon. I could be wrong, but while it does meet many parameters they are looking for, it doesn't meet the micro-parameters they are looking for. (tax-friendly, bike-friendly, pedestrian-friendly, tech-friendly).
Well, the Travel Channel listed Chicago ..... #3 TOP CYCLING CITIES.
Men's Fitness Magazine listed Chicago ...... A TOP CYCLING CITY. List has no #1. Gives best Cycling cities and why. Starts with Chicago in list of the top 10 bike-friendly cities, evaluated based on the League of American Bicyclists’ program “Bicycle Friendly America”. The program examines a city’s biking atmosphere based on the amount of trails, safety courses,
What it says:
- 170 miles of on-street shared bike lanes gives Chicagoans an alternative to dealing with car traffic.
- 117 miles of on-street bike lanes, more than 30 miles of marked shared lanes, and dozens of miles.
- Chicago announced it is building 30 more miles of Bike lanes this year as PART OF A 650-MILE CYCLING NETWORK IN THE CITY to be completed in 2020.
The city also marked some streets .... even in the Loop with A BIKE LANE IN GREEN.
I'm not sure what is meant by NOT PESDESTRIAN FRIENDLY? The Tourist walking downtown find it VERY WALKABLE. Chicago's street-grid of green-frontage and tree-lined for a enjoyable walk with uniform sidewalks and no Power-line poles in fronts. Is a nice feature in the city's neighborhoods.
So Bike friendly and walkable to transit are still CHICAGO POSITIVES for Amazon.
Those are fair points. I admit that some of my thoughts are based on a decade or two ago. But I appreciate you pointing them out without being insulting. Thanks.
"Chicago is a great city. I love the architecture and the general boldness of this city."
You can call out my posts as being BS, but you would be wrong, as everything I stated was truthfull. I lived in the NW suburbs from 2005-2007. Enjoyed the "22 minute express ride" to the Loop. Beyond that, just wasn't for me.
I never said I was a "text buddy" of Jeff Bezos. That is apparently only in your mind. I did say I have some connections from some in the company. Again, for you to call BS is unfounded and a generally defensive posture without knowledge of my situation.
But you are free to offer your opinion on here, however wrong it is.
Lots of U of Chicago and Northwestern grads staying right in Chicago. How do I know this...I lived there and knew many.
Lots of U of Chicago and Northwestern grads staying right in Chicago. How do I know this...I lived there and knew many.
Again, thanks for your civility. (something not always common on here).
Of course there are many high quality colleges and universities in the Chicago area. When I responded I was unfairly comparing them to some west coast examples, and that isn't fair.
I think it is factual that the west coast does offer more high tech talent, not necessarily from west coast colleges, but more to the aspect of west coast companies. And this may be considered part of Amazon's blueprint. Texas seems to me to be the next logical expansion. Just an opinion, and nothing to be upset about if you are in another State.
Again, thanks for your civility. (something not always common on here).
Of course there are many high quality colleges and universities in the Chicago area. When I responded I was unfairly comparing them to some west coast examples, and that isn't fair.
I think it is factual that the west coast does offer more high tech talent, not necessarily from west coast colleges, but more to the aspect of west coast companies. And this may be considered part of Amazon's blueprint. Texas seems to me to be the next logical expansion. Just an opinion, and nothing to be upset about if you are in another State.
U of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana is ranked 5th in the country, for their Computer Science program. I knew a lot of those graduates in the city, and in the Naperville area. Many, many are staying.
Since Amazon will be looking at friendly and open cities and will target millennials as well, Montreal just made their case stronger again.
"Nestpick’s 2017 Millennial Cities Ranking awarded top spot to Montréal in America and 7th place in the world among major cities that are most attractive to Millennials. This is wonderful news for Montréal’s tech community, whose growth will further depend on its ability to attract young talent from around the world".
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