Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Fact: Seattle was once an affordable place to live. Now it is not for those not making Amazon salaries.
Having lived in Seattle back in the day, the only time Seattle was affordable was when Boeing was in the tank and there was a billboard on I-5 reading "Last one out please turn off the lights". I believe that was in the 70's...
Amazon alone isn't causing Seattle to be unaffordable. Geography plays a huge role in that city and many others that are bound by water, mountains and other natural barriers. You are correct that the Triangle has plenty of land on which to grow. The same is true for Charlotte, Nashville, the Triad, Richmond, etc. Amazon would, however, undoubtedly exponentially affect housing prices near the very core of Raleigh. Frankly, Raleigh is already seeing values grow more rapidly in and near downtown as the city and metro grows. However, one doesn't have to travel far to find much more affordable options in greater Raleigh. This is something that is very different than one finds in the Seattle market.
I think the whole west coast is seeing affordability issues. As well as the northeast. Raleigh still has some way to go before it reaches those level.
In the Pacific NW isn't there an issue with overseas speculators driving home prices? I have a Chinese friend who told me that a lot of Chinese investors are looking for places to invest because those opportunities are limited in China. It's especially prevalent in the NW due to proximity and the available flights from China.
I imagine that trend would increase in the Triangle if they ever got the Beijing to RDU flight.
Seattle has completely changed from a decade or two ago. Keep in mind it used to ebb and flow on Boeing's order book, they were Seattle. Now not only has Boeing had an incredible run over the last decade but technology has also really taken off. Seattle's climate is nice and (IMO) better than most of the US save for southern CA. They have fairly low property taxes and zero state income taxes (this is huge for higher wage earners).
There are still relatively inexpensive places to live in the PNW. Vancouver WA is just across the river from Portland and enjoys good schools and lower housing costs, although they also have increased over the last few years.
Most bigger southern cities have seen huge price upticks, while those in the NE and Midwest have been fairly stagnant. I was recently looking up in NJ for fun and just have to wonder how in the world the local governments spend all their tax renenue. Property taxes that average $6k-$10k per house, plus income tax, where does it all go? These are for average homes up there.
I think the whole country will soon have an affordability issue if people are forced to bounce around from place to place to find an affordable place to live (which will end up driving up prices in every city if there isn't adequate amounts of housing supply). Heck, even places like Boise have an affordability issue now.
I think the whole country will soon have an affordability issue if people are forced to bounce around from place to place to find an affordable place to live (which will end up driving up prices in every city if there isn't adequate amounts of housing supply). Heck, even places like Boise have an affordability issue now.
So the question is - what needs to change?
THe only thing that needs to change is middle-class wages need to start rising at a faster rate than it has been the last 40 years. Jobs need to come back to the US.
Unfortunately, the 1% has a tight grip on all the power and the resources to make that happen and they aren't giving it up any time soon.
Interesting. First, it was Denver and Austin, then Atlanta and Boston. Then the DC area was the top speculation. Now Raleigh.
Miami might be next!
I think the goal is to write at least one article (if not a half dozen) on all 20 finalists about how they are the top spot for HQ2, so in the end, when Amazon does decide, someone will be able to say, see I told you so!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
