Amazon New HQ (50k jobs), MA? (Boston, Worcester: fit in, amusement parks, hotel)

[bugelrex]

Originally Posted by Hiapo

Im in agreement, seems like a much better place, with a ton of colleges in the area. Yes its depressed but it still has much to offer and it is much cheaper than Boston.

Think about it: You are qualified enough to earn the top 2% salary in Massachusetts... You honestly going to choose to live in Springfield vs Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton?
If you switch to another job after Amazon, it's not likely to be in Springfield...

Let's be real here...

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Think about it: You are qualified enough to earn the top 2% salary in Massachusetts... You honestly going to choose to live in Springfield vs Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton?
If you switch to another job after Amazon, it's not likely to be in Springfield...

Let's be real here...

Seriously - it's not even a secondary MA option when you consider the Worcester/Marlborough or Devens proposals, which offer superior Boston access, abut the highest concentration of qualified white collar workers (metro-west/495), and maintain proximity to relevant educational institutions in eastern/central MA.

Springfield is far too isolated.

[Hiapo]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Think about it: You are qualified enough to earn the top 2% salary in Massachusetts... You honestly going to choose to live in Springfield vs Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton?
If you switch to another job after Amazon, it's not likely to be in Springfield...

Let's be real here...

Well I agree about switching to another job, but does that play a major factor when one is deciding to work for a top company like Amazon?

And though the Boston area has a ton to do I would personally choose to live in western mass over the Boston area

Wasn't one of Amazon's requirements a reasonable cost of living, how does Eastern mass offer that?

I do not consider Springfield Isolated, what is it isolated from? (You will have to give me a little grace, I moved away some years back and do not get back much)

[robr2]

Originally Posted by Hiapo

Well I agree about switching to another job, but does that play a major factor when one is deciding to work for a top company like Amazon?

And though the Boston area has a ton to do I would personally choose to live in western mass over the Boston area

Wasn't one of Amazon's requirements a reasonable cost of living, how does Eastern mass offer that?

I do not consider Springfield Isolated, what is it isolated from? (You will have to give me a little grace, I moved away some years back and do not get back much)

Reasonable cost of living was not a requirement listed by Amazon. In summary, this what they asked for:

In choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:
 Metropolitan areas with more than one million people
 A stable and business-friendly environment
 Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
 Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options

HQ2 could be, but does not have to be:
 An urban or downtown campus
 A similar layout to Amazon’s Seattle campus
 A development-prepped site. We want to encourage states/provinces and communities to think
creatively for viable real estate options, while not negatively affecting our preferred timeline

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....516043504_.pdf

As for the next job after Amazon, it can be a driving factor for their employees. Amazon is a chew 'em up and spit 'em out type of company. Those employees will be onto their next job and Springfield ain't where it's going to be.

[yellowstatus]

Originally Posted by robr2

Reasonable cost of living was not a requirement listed by Amazon. In summary, this what they asked for:

In choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:
 Metropolitan areas with more than one million people
 A stable and business-friendly environment
 Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
 Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options

HQ2 could be, but does not have to be:
 An urban or downtown campus
 A similar layout to Amazon’s Seattle campus
 A development-prepped site. We want to encourage states/provinces and communities to think
creatively for viable real estate options, while not negatively affecting our preferred timeline

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....516043504_.pdf

As for the next job after Amazon, it can be a driving factor for their employees. Amazon is a chew 'em up and spit 'em out type of company. Those employees will be onto their next job and Springfield ain't where it's going to be.

Great summary robr2, not that it will really influence the discussion. People just want to opine about their personal preferences, rather than what Amazon has explicitly stated in the Request For Proposal. 40 pages of wandering personal rants.

I have to get off this thread.

[Broknrekord3]

Originally Posted by xo_kizzy_xo

We have friends who eventually landed in Weymouth who fit this demographic. They never expected to still be there, but considering 1) they've bee priced out of the immediate surrounding towns; 2) it's a reasonably easy commute into Boston for both of them; and 3) they're more "suburban" than "urban" so it doesn't bother them that they're living in a traditional not-the-place-to-be.

Many of their neighbors are either dying off or trying to move out. Because of the town's reputation many of them are having trouble selling. In reality, the part of Weymouth they're in isn't bad by any means, only a little run down.

It's not bad at all, and the demographics are changing significantly-- especially the last five years. Around the Landing, houses are selling within a week at asking price. Not bad for the 'bad town' in the area! Factoring in that there's a huge redevelopment boom in the city, I think you'll hear a lot of people in 5 years saying that they can't believe how much it has changed, and for the better.

[Hiapo]

Originally Posted by robr2

Reasonable cost of living was not a requirement listed by Amazon. In summary, this what they asked for:

In choosing the location for HQ2, Amazon has a preference for:
 Metropolitan areas with more than one million people
 A stable and business-friendly environment
 Urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent
 Communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options

HQ2 could be, but does not have to be:
 An urban or downtown campus
 A similar layout to Amazon’s Seattle campus
 A development-prepped site. We want to encourage states/provinces and communities to think
creatively for viable real estate options, while not negatively affecting our preferred timeline

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....516043504_.pdf

As for the next job after Amazon, it can be a driving factor for their employees. Amazon is a chew 'em up and spit 'em out type of company. Those employees will be onto their next job and Springfield ain't where it's going to be.

I was looking for that albeit not very hard. Thanks I must of picked that up from somewhere else.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by bugelrex

Think about it: You are qualified enough to earn the top 2% salary in Massachusetts... You honestly going to choose to live in Springfield vs Boston, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton?
If you switch to another job after Amazon, it's not likely to be in Springfield...

Let's be real here...

I agree with all of this but need to quibble over the top-2% salary part. Top-5% statewide, maybe. Massachusetts has a ton of very high paying jobs. It's why an OK house in a leafy Boston suburb with a good school system costs $1 million+. Median household income in Norfolk County is $90K. 1/4 of the people in the county make Amazon-level money. That $125K to $150K Amazon tech job is nothing special. It's not like everybody in the building makes $250K+ until you start counting stock options and ESPP up-side.

In Springfield, Amazon money is Thurston Howell III money. If you're not in a medical job or director level, few people see that kind of compensation.

[bjimmy24]

If Amazon goes to Springfield, I'll give everyone on this board $20.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Hiapo

I do not consider Springfield Isolated, what is it isolated from? (You will have to give me a little grace, I moved away some years back and do not get back much)

Springfield is a failed city. 9 of the top 20 highest poverty rate public schools in the state are there. Another 3 are in Holyoke so 12 of the top 20 for the metro area. 30% below the poverty rate. It's in the list of failed cities along with Flint, Detroit, Athens GA, Gainesville FL, Brownsville TX, Cleveland, Hartford, Dayton, Syracuse, and Rochester.
Citation: War on Poverty: Where are the top 20 poorest schools? | masslive.com

You have Longmeadow as the only suburb with a public school system that would be acceptable to professional parents working at a tech company. Physicians drive 30 minutes from Northampton if they don't like Longmeadow.

BDL is very good for a regional airport. Barely adequate for a multinational. That's pretty much all I can come up with. You start hitting the Boston traffic jam at Sturbridge these days so you're effectively isolated from Boston. If there were 200 mph rail to Boston and NYC, maybe. It's 3+ hours on Amtrak to NY Penn and Greyhound to Boston stuck in the traffic jam on the Turnpike Extension. There's no retail better than Target. The nearest Trader Joe's and Whole Foods is Amherst. You have to drive to Hartford to get your Porsche or Volvo serviced. It's isolated the same way rust belt and flyover country is isolated.