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That being said, I do think the tech demographics are important. In tech, the equivalent of "beachfront real estate" is how close they are to universities churning out tech talent. Silicon Valley is obviously the king of this with its proximity Stanford and Berkeley. The cities that you mentioned (Seattle, Austin and Denver) didn't have tech workforce populations come out of thin air - they all have or are right next to universities that produce a ton of tech talent (Washington, Texas and Colorado, respectively). These companies need both quality AND quantity (which is why proximity to Ivy League schools or similar elite private universities outside of Stanford or place like Boston that has multiple elite schools is overrated in this process since they have the quality but not the quantity, while large flagship universities can provide both).
So, if there's one common thread among all of the cities on this top 20 list, it's that they're all either have large amounts of university talent located within or very close to their metro areas (e.g. Austin, Denver, Raleigh and even the "surprise" picks of Indianapolis and Columbus) or is a magnet for such universities (e.g. Chicago for the Big Ten schools, Dallas for the Big 12 schools, Atlanta for the SEC schools, NYC draws nationally, etc.). With one exception (described below), all of those cities have a young tech base and pipeline that they're working from, so none of them are really "If you build it, they will come" situations (which is why Amazon likely found them to be attractive).
The only exception on the list seems to be Miami - it doesn't have that educational pipeline and access that all 19 other cities on the list have. Now, Miami has a very positive profile among young people and draws a lot of transplants from across the country, so it's one of the few places that could plausibly have an "If you build it, they will come" argument because it has proven that it can get people to move there *despite* its economic and educational flaws. Indeed, Miami's real estate market is essentially dictated by a large swath of people that are from somewhere else or even live somewhere else for most of the year. Miami is a very special case in that respect.
In contrast, the "If you build it, they will come" argument wasn't ever going to work for, say, Buffalo or Rochester. (Not to pick on those cities, but those places came to the top of my head.) When you're hiring nationally like Amazon is for talent, there's still a threshold for what's realistic in terms of getting someone to move somewhere. Executive recruiters are well aware of which cities take a LOT of selling to get someone to move versus the cities that sell themselves (and companies are increasingly moving to the latter).
Fair enough. There are quite a few universities in and around Miami, but yes, it's not a known intellectual hub
Just posing a question, did the DC area get 3 in the last 20 and NY area get 2 in the last 20 because its dealing with different state (or DC) governments in VA, DC, MD and NY, NJ.
Basically I live in Boston so I'll use this as an example. Is Cambridge/Somerville group eliminated and only Boston still alive or does Amazon just have "Boston" in the top 20 but both pitches are still viable?
This article tells me the if Amazon chooses the Boston area, that Somerville will be a big part of the equation. The fact that Somerville is not on the official release seems like Amazon is telling Boston to prepare itself for a campus that will be spread out across the city.
I first have to say that it shocks me how any of you think that Bezos owning a house in Washington makes any difference. Bezos could buy a mansion in everyone of the cities listed and pay for it out of his petty cash box. Obviously a house in Washington is a necessity for any uber-wealthy corporate titan so they can be close to the politicians to influence {ie bribe} and to advance their corporate agenda.
A few surprises for me............LA due to being a Pacific time zone, Indy due to having no transit and the antithesis of good urban planning with Columbus, Raleigh, and Nashville for the same reasons and Miami due to it's sheer isolation and not exactly being known as a tech centre. I'm also surprised by Denver due to being on a Mountain time zone as I still think Amazon is looking for an Eastern time zone city.
Although I am a little upset that Cleveland didn't make the list, I'm not shocked that Cleveland, Baltimore, and Detroit didn't as getting highly skilled, highly sought after employees to move to 3 cities with amongst the worse reputation for crime and urban decay would be a very tough sell.
The one surprise city for me that didn't make the list was Minneapolis/St.Paul.
A few surprises for me............LA due to being a Pacific time zone, Indy due to having no transit and the antithesis of good urban planning with Columbus, Raleigh, and Nashville for the same reasons and Miami due to it's sheer isolation and not exactly being known as a tech centre. I'm also surprised by Denver due to being on a Mountain time zone as I still think Amazon is looking for an Eastern time zone city.
So if you eliminate those places and say Toronto as well for the international/NAFTA complications, what are we left with:
- Atlanta, GA
- Austin, TX
- Boston, MA
- Chicago, IL
- Dallas, TX
(DC)
- Montgomery County, MD
- Northern Virginia, VA
- Washington D.C.
I first have to say that it shocks me how any of you think that Bezos owning a house in Washington makes any difference. Bezos could buy a mansion in everyone of the cities listed and pay for it out of his petty cash box. Obviously a house in Washington is a necessity for any uber-wealthy corporate titan so they can be close to the politicians to influence {ie bribe} and to advance their corporate agenda.
A few surprises for me............LA due to being a Pacific time zone, Indy due to having no transit and the antithesis of good urban planning with Columbus, Raleigh, and Nashville for the same reasons and Miami due to it's sheer isolation and not exactly being known as a tech centre. I'm also surprised by Denver due to being on a Mountain time zone as I still think Amazon is looking for an Eastern time zone city.
Although I am a little upset that Cleveland didn't make the list, I'm not shocked that Cleveland, Baltimore, and Detroit didn't as getting highly skilled, highly sought after employees to move to 3 cities with amongst the worse reputation for crime and urban decay would be a very tough sell.
The one surprise city for me that didn't make the list was Minneapolis/St.Paul.
I agree that I don't think Bezos owning a house in DC makes that big of a difference.
I do think Bezos owning the Washington Post makes a bit more of a difference since that's a pre-existing investment in that community specifically that he doesn't have anywhere else.
I also think being in close proximity to federal decision-makers and regulators that impact Amazon makes a very big difference.
Personally, I'm not as high on DC as an option here because it's actually a worse cost of living situation compared to Seattle with a lot of competition for talent, but it has a ton of strengths.
I'm wondering if Indy is the darkhorse here. Amazon will increasingly face regulatory headwinds for numerous reasons, monopolistic/antitrust, relationship with the post office etc. and Bezos with his purchase of the Washington Post and left-leaning reputation has painted the company into a bit of a corner.
Combine that with the possibility of 7 more years of a Trump-Pence administration (and a possible President Pence down the road) and choosing the Hoosier capital might be an astute political move to deflect potentially negative attacks on the company from the powers that be.
Plus Indianapolis is thriving and is actually well on its way to creating a very desirable and vibrant walkable urban core. And you frankly can't find a more pro-business low-tax state than Indiana. And I think young millennials would greatly appreciate the cost of living on offer in Indy.
Last edited by midwest1; 01-18-2018 at 01:26 PM..
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