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Old 10-09-2017, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Bothell, Washington
2,813 posts, read 5,599,629 times
Reputation: 4004

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays25 View Post
My point generalized. But it's still true in as a generalization.
I have spent time in Texas, your point is true. Dallas-Ft. Worth are calling themselves "Silicon Prairie" just the same as countless other cities big and small across the Midwest are. They get a few tech companies and they think they have something big going on akin to Silicon Valley. Sure all cities will have some level of a tech scene, but your point is so true- there is nothing going on anywhere in Texas like what you see in Silicon Valley or here in Seattle.

The people who recruit for these tech companies who need truly the best and brightest minds struggle to get people to go to places like Texas- even Austin. Sure SOME people will go anywhere for the job, but the majority of these types want a hip, cool place like you find in Seattle and other west coast locales (as well as some on the east coast like Boston).

Companies move to Texas for cheaper labor and lax business and environmental regulations. If that is the priority, and this second HQ is not necessarily going to be a tech center as the primary one here in Seattle is- for example if it will be more of a HQ that runs the burgeoning grocery store and logistics side of the business that Amazon is just starting to get into, I could definitely see that going to a Texas city.
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Old 10-12-2017, 06:10 PM
 
Location: Nashville
3,533 posts, read 5,793,167 times
Reputation: 4707
Quote:
Originally Posted by jm31828 View Post
I have spent time in Texas, your point is true. Dallas-Ft. Worth are calling themselves "Silicon Prairie" just the same as countless other cities big and small across the Midwest are. They get a few tech companies and they think they have something big going on akin to Silicon Valley. Sure all cities will have some level of a tech scene, but your point is so true- there is nothing going on anywhere in Texas like what you see in Silicon Valley or here in Seattle.
So you say... Just because a lot of businesses don't have their HQs in a city doesn't mean there isn't a significant presence of top engineers. In addition to NASA , oil industry and being a huge technology hub, Texas has some of huge IT heavy hitters. Another thing that may start killing Seattle's future as an IT city is the lack of new startups in Seattle. The very anti-business mentality of Seattle City Council and the increasingly Socialistic and anti-business Washington state government are chasing away smaller IT businesses for "business-friendlier" pastures. Places like Houston and Dallas actually have more IT startups emerging than Seattle, because many of these small businesses get demolished in Seattle. Even Los Angeles has a much bigger startup scene than Seattle does now. The slimy and greedy politicians of the state made all types of bold promises to the lower middle class socialists for FREE EVERYTHING, but they forgot that it takes money, not promises, to make all their socialist dreams come true. When you chase away all the businesses you are left with a Detroit like atmosphere. Then to quote Churchill, "Everyone has achieved the Socialist Dream of living in poverty together." If you look at the number of software jobs and salaries you will see that Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin areas host almost as many software jobs as Seattle.

What's happening in Seattle today reminds me of what was happening in Portland about 15 years ago. Phil Knight threatened to leave Oregon and they gave him a tax-exempt status and increased taxes for all the other smaller businesses which drove many of them (including me) out of the state. Now at 10% state income tax, Forbes magazine rated Oregon both the worst place to start a new business and to retire next to Hawaii. Congrats to my home state! However, now the state of Washington is wanting to impose state tax and find ways to tax businesses to death, but are scrambling to wheel and deal with the big players for fear of them vacating. Now, Seattle's SOcialists are manipulating and bending their rules to keep Bezos from jumping ship. Yes, they have bribed him with a skyscraper and all types of other special treatment that other small businesses will not get, as the Socialist politicians still need to make their broken promises to the large masses of ignorant sheeple who are promises free or discounted phones, food, housing, heroine, etc as long as they get their votes. Never mind where all these "FREE THINGS" come from.


University of Texas Austin has some of the best technology programs in the country and many brilliant minds hail from the Austin area. In fact, I would put University of Texas Austin ahead of most universities in the Pacific Northwest, especially in regards to IT related degrees. I guess the name Michael Dell doesn't ring a bell to anyone?


All these posts would have been relevant during the 1990s, but are completely inaccurate as of today. In fact, cities like Dallas have more upscale designer stores than anywhere in the country. Austin is becoming more expensive to live than many prominent coastal cities. Austin's cost of living is starting to rise up to the levels of Los Angeles. This is not an indication of an area that is attracting poor people and cheap labor, but quite the opposite.

If I was a betting man, I'd put money on Dallas or Austin area and Dallas looks very promising.

Also, don't underestimate the lack of taxation and regulation on attracting large numbers of businesses. Where there is a lot of thriving businesses there will be brilliant minds to follow.

If people think the environment of Texas is undesirable, I would say the environment in places like Boston, Chicago and even New York are considerably worse. Miserable cold winters with sticky and humid summers. It is not the environment that makes these places desirable. If you consider how high the taxes are in Massachusetts, there is no real advantage of going from one over-taxed liberal anti-business enclave to another.

My beloved home state of Oregon lost Hewlett-Packard to the city of Dallas. I'm hoping raising those state taxes was really worth it now you lost one of the largest tech companies in the world!! Washington should learn from the lessons of its sister state down South!

Last edited by RotseCherut; 10-12-2017 at 06:23 PM..
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