San Antonio draws water from Edwards Aquifer, not Austin. We get our water from the Colorado and Lake Austin.
I still don't think Austin has enough water to continue its growth unfettered. I know it changes, but when I lived in Austin, Lake Travis was full of islands it was so low.
Our primary water source, Lake Austin, is 97% full. Water isn't our primary issue here (though, obviously, all cities deal with having enough resources for its population). Land, real estate, lack of infrastructure, is the problem. We don't have a place to put people.
I do think we have a major advantage over the other Midwest cities with a decent mass transit system and 2 international airports, including 1 massive one, plus a fairly reasonable cost of living for a big city.
I don't know much, but a friend in Seattle who knows a little was saying that they were getting a little nervous about weather patterns with airports and Chicago was one that they were modeling shutdowns at the airports to see if that would disrupt their services. I assume they are doing that with all potential locations.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
I don't know much, but a friend in Seattle who knows a little was saying that they were getting a little nervous about weather patterns with airports and Chicago was one that they were modeling shutdowns at the airports to see if that would disrupt their services. I assume they are doing that with all potential locations.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
Nashville has been shut down for 7 days.. tomorrow is day 8. I'm losing my shit.
I don't know much, but a friend in Seattle who knows a little was saying that they were getting a little nervous about weather patterns with airports and Chicago was one that they were modeling shutdowns at the airports to see if that would disrupt their services. I assume they are doing that with all potential locations.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
I’ve been told that O’hare has more snow plows than the entire state of Colorado. They definitely know how to handle snow!
I had no idea that it sucked so much to work for Amazon!
I think true avg length of employment is like 18mo? and I’m probably being generous. the turnover is craziness.
it makes sense, because they wrap the vast majority of their compensation in the stock payout plan that doesn’t hit until the third and fourth years (normally). so they stay rich lol.
remember the guy who committed suicide there at work? and it was kind of just glossed over. like...ummmm??!
A Google search for "Amazon is a bad place to work" turned up a lot of details!
I don't know much, but a friend in Seattle who knows a little was saying that they were getting a little nervous about weather patterns with airports and Chicago was one that they were modeling shutdowns at the airports to see if that would disrupt their services. I assume they are doing that with all potential locations.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
If anyone from Amazon is looking at Atlanta this week...it ain't pretty. An inch of snow shut everything down for going on day 3. And the roads absolutely were terrible--to the point that my H's cardiology clinic shut down for the first time in several years. But the fact that we don't have the equipment to get up and running two days later doesn't seem good for business.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
If anyone from Amazon is looking at Atlanta this week...it ain't pretty. An inch of snow shut everything down for going on day 3. And the roads absolutely were terrible--to the point that my H's cardiology clinic shut down for the first time in several years. But the fact that we don't have the equipment to get up and running two days later doesn't seem good for business.
Neither does Seattle. An hour outside of Seattle knows how to handle snow but Seattle and Sea-Tac aren't ever prepared. I mean they ran out of de-icer in November for Alaska Airlines. Come on folks!
No snow Huge international hub both by air and sea Our public transportation is crap, but most of us drive anyway. (Although it would be great if they fixed the rail system and add more locations it can actually reach.). No state taxes
And the bid is from the tri-county area (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach) so there is a whole lot of land they can pick from.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
If anyone from Amazon is looking at Atlanta this week...it ain't pretty. An inch of snow shut everything down for going on day 3. And the roads absolutely were terrible--to the point that my H's cardiology clinic shut down for the first time in several years. But the fact that we don't have the equipment to get up and running two days later doesn't seem good for business.
We got 2 inches of snow on Tuesday morning in Nashville this week. School is still closed tomorrow (Friday). We were out last Friday for weather (a little snow in the afternoon), plus MLK holiday on Monday. We haven't had school for over a week now!
Post by aprilsails on Jan 18, 2018 23:08:25 GMT -5
My city is out (Ottawa, Canada), but I highly doubt it will go to a Canadian city either way. Tech is also so tight in this town right now that we would have a hard time absorbing that kind of workforce. Amazon also has an office and data centre here so they are well aware of the areas limitations. My city’s proposal looked pretty sleek though.
I still don't think Austin has enough water to continue its growth unfettered. I know it changes, but when I lived in Austin, Lake Travis was full of islands it was so low.
Our primary water source, Lake Austin, is 97% full. Water isn't our primary issue here (though, obviously, all cities deal with having enough resources for its population). Land, real estate, lack of infrastructure, is the problem. We don't have a place to put people.
I know there were a bunch of proposed locations in the bid the Austin area put in - I could see it working (kind of) if they picked Leander as the actual location. I'm in Cedar Park, and it seems like everything south of here is super crowded and couldn't accommodate much more growth of any kind. But there's still plenty of undeveloped land in Leander. It's true that it's kind of a haul from Leander to downtown Austin, but there is the MetroRail, and all of the new toll roads/lanes they've been adding will be used by the sorts of people Amazon employs. Kind of far from the airport though. I know nothing about south or east Austin. Maybe if the airport is important they'll just plop the HQ right next to it.
We can't handle it. Even in the outskirts, we can't really handle to additional traffic. The expansion to Mopac is joke. It did nothing to alleviate congestion in any significant way. I'm not a fan of adding another small city to our already bursting one. But that's just me.
We can't handle it. Even in the outskirts, we can't really handle to additional traffic. The expansion to Mopac is joke. It did nothing to alleviate congestion in any significant way. I'm not a fan of adding another small city to our already bursting one. But that's just me.
I mean, I'm not sure any city can really handle it. But I'm not in love with living here so I'd take my increased home equity and move somewhere else. DH and I both work from home, so traffic is almost never an issue for us. When I was looking for a job last year, I didn't even consider a job near downtown because I knew the commute would be terrible and only get worse over time.
I had no idea that it sucked so much to work for Amazon!
I have a friend that works there and loves it. Though to be fair, she worked in a European office for the first 4 or 5 years and just moved to Seattle this summer, so things may be vastly different in the US. I know her vacation time went down, but her salary went way up, though I do know there's a cap and the rest is paid in stock.
Post by sugarglider on Jan 19, 2018 12:25:59 GMT -5
If the state of Ohio is willing to throw incentives Amazon’s way, I think Columbus would be a top contender. - Easy to get around - Relatively inexpensive real estate (though more expensive than Indy) - Huge source of talent with relevant experience given all of the retailers based there + OSU - Big enough city to have the perks of city living but not so big that traffic is a nightmare - Desirable place to live in terms of art and culture (i.e., can attract non-locals) - Access to several freeways
But, it’s not a hub airport, and there are no trains. The bus system is decent, though.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
If anyone from Amazon is looking at Atlanta this week...it ain't pretty. An inch of snow shut everything down for going on day 3. And the roads absolutely were terrible--to the point that my H's cardiology clinic shut down for the first time in several years. But the fact that we don't have the equipment to get up and running two days later doesn't seem good for business.
My daughter will be thrilled to hear this. :sarcasm She's already pissed that the VA schools have been closed for more days than they've been open since Christmas. They pre-emptively declared another snow day a couple days ago (day 9 I think) and she about lost it. They're moving in a month to Atlanta and she's already stressing about the amount of time he's been out. (He'll survive. He's 6th grade, Highly Capable with As and Bs and a shortened school year won't be *that* bad in the greater scheme of things. Him being home is driving her nuts though. lol.) Her most formative years (the teen and driving ones) in Ohio have spoiled her.
I once had to fly between Chicago and Nashville on the day after a massive storm. Chicago had feet of snow and Nashville had a couple of inches. Nashville was an absolute shitshow and Chicago was like, yep, just another day in Chicago!
I wonder if the models include the fact that Southern cities completely shut down in inclement weather.
Nashville has been shut down for 7 days.. tomorrow is day 8. I'm losing my shit.
I'm from Chicago and drove to Nashville last Friday (yep, in the snowstorm). We had to pull off the road about 100 miles north of the city and get a hotel for the night cause the roads were so bad, there were no plows out and no salt trucks. I figured everything would be good to go in the AM. Nope. Nothing had been done - even on the Interstate. I was...a little taken aback honestly. I was also semi amused at the people walking around the city totally unprepared who didn't have coats on(I'm assuming they were from much farther south). It was a high of 20 degrees out. SO COLD! And I thought I was going to look like a fool in my snow boots, full length parka, earmuffs and thick gloves.
Anyway, that being said, I don't think Chicago needs Amazon. We're just fine here. I sort of shudder to think what it would do to housing prices. Overall, the city has the space, we have the public transportation, airports, MCOL and could totally support it I think. But yeah, we're good not having it.
If the state of Ohio is willing to throw incentives Amazon’s way, I think Columbus would be a top contender. - Easy to get around - Relatively inexpensive real estate (though more expensive than Indy) - Huge source of talent with relevant experience given all of the retailers based there + OSU - Big enough city to have the perks of city living but not so big that traffic is a nightmare - Desirable place to live in terms of art and culture (i.e., can attract non-locals) - Access to several freeways
But, it’s not a hub airport, and there are no trains. The bus system is decent, though.
The city itself is also committed to development and improving infrastructure. People are moving back to the city from the burbs, and there has been an increasingly strong movement in Ohio to build a rail system (not just within Columbus, but to connect the major cities, specifically a high speed that runs from Cincinnati, through Columbus, to Cleveland). Amazon moving in could be the final big push people need to make that happen.
I'm fairly pro it coming to Philly. I think Philly also submitted a pretty good proposal. The location is Schuylkill Yards, so close to 30th Street Station (Amtrak) and not far from the airport. Pretty quick trip to either NY or DC for executives. Direct international flights to major cities and Seattle. Low cost of living and tons of available housing stock. Good public transit. Access to tons of local colleges (and the proposed site is practically next to an Ivy league school).
I'm in an urban planning type of facebook group for Philly and the downsides are additional gentrification in certain neighborhoods and increased costs in the already expensive areas of the city. Plus, transit could be better, and compared to the amount of people who do bike in Philly, the bicycle infrastructure is pretty abysmal. Plus, public unions.
My husband also works with biopharma data so maybe he could get a job if they get into healthcare, lol. He is looking for more work/life balance, though. We can also walk to a SEPTA station from our house (Montco), but the commute would probably be close to an hour.
ETA: And the transit is better than Atlanta and Austin, and COL is better than Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago and DC, which I think are considered the top choices.
I'm fairly pro it coming to Philly. I think Philly also submitted a pretty good proposal. The location is Schuylkill Yards, so close to 30th Street Station (Amtrak) and not far from the airport. Pretty quick trip to either NY or DC for executives. Direct international flights to major cities and Seattle. Low cost of living and tons of available housing stock. Good public transit. Access to tons of local colleges (and the proposed site is practically next to an Ivy league school).
I'm in an urban planning type of facebook group for Philly and the downsides are additional gentrification in certain neighborhoods and increased costs in the already expensive areas of the city. Plus, transit could be better, and compared to the amount of people who do bike in Philly, the bicycle infrastructure is pretty abysmal. Plus, public unions.
My husband also works with biopharma data so maybe he could get a job if they get into healthcare, lol. He is looking for more work/life balance, though. We can also walk to a SEPTA station from our house (Montco), but the commute would probably be close to an hour.
ETA: And the transit is better than Atlanta and Austin, and COL is better than Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago and DC, which I think are considered the top choices.
I was just about to tag you and ask what their proposal was, assuming you'd know. I just watched their splashy video. I'm sold.
I also really love philadelphia though, so easy sell to me. Mama was all, "no. don't want it." but she's a curmudgeon. it's not traffic or anything - she lives in the city and bikes most places, she doesn't give a shit if the sure-kill is a mess, she just doesn't like tech-bros and doesn't want them clogging up her bars and restaurants.
ETA: And the transit is better than Atlanta and Austin, and COL is better than Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago and DC, which I think are considered the top choices.
ETA: And the transit is better than Atlanta and Austin, and COL is better than Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago and DC, which I think are considered the top choices.
Philly is cheaper than Atlanta?
Using a cost of living calculator, it appears that the COL is only slightly higher in Atlanta, but the housing costs are 50% higher on average, so I don't know how that works. I don't know much about housing availability in Atlanta or desirable neighborhoods, but Philly has a lot of neighborhoods that are still very affordable. The neighborhoods that are very expensive are a pretty dense area in what is basically center city/old city and slightly northeast. The proposed Amazon site has some adjacent neighborhoods that are super affordable and interesting, especially by Seattle/tech standards.
Of course, there are some neighborhoods in Philly that are in pretty bad shape for lots of reasons, mostly relating to the city government. There's lots of housing that needs renovation, so not everything is move in ready, but it's pretty prime for buyers with a HHI of $100k+ who are keen in being in the city.
Some of the Philly suburbs are $$$$, while there are a lot that aren't, but Amazon seems most interested in areas around where the campus will be, since they brag that a large percentage of their Seattle workforce bike, walk and take transit.
Another thing about Philly is that it has a high poverty level relative to other major cities. So high-paying jobs are very desirable, not that they aren't everyone, but definitely for Philly, which would also love to prevent the brain drain that occurs when its most educated college grads leave once they're done with their education for places like NY and DC.
BUT, as a major city with several industries and major employers, while 50,000 jobs would be a major investment, it wouldn't be supporting the entire city the way something like that would fundamentally transform Pittsburgh or Detroit. Pittsburgh already knows what its like to rely on one major industry/employer for your success, so I think that could be a concern with a relatively smaller city, even though I think they objectively meet Amazon's criteria.
If the state of Ohio is willing to throw incentives Amazon’s way, I think Columbus would be a top contender. - Easy to get around - Relatively inexpensive real estate (though more expensive than Indy) - Huge source of talent with relevant experience given all of the retailers based there + OSU - Big enough city to have the perks of city living but not so big that traffic is a nightmare - Desirable place to live in terms of art and culture (i.e., can attract non-locals) - Access to several freeways
But, it’s not a hub airport, and there are no trains. The bus system is decent, though.
The city itself is also committed to development and improving infrastructure. People are moving back to the city from the burbs, and there has been an increasingly strong movement in Ohio to build a rail system (not just within Columbus, but to connect the major cities, specifically a high speed that runs from Cincinnati, through Columbus, to Cleveland). Amazon moving in could be the final big push people need to make that happen.
This also means increased gentrification, and the higher rents are pushing lower-income families out of the city.
There is talk of a high-speed rail possibility between Columbus and Chicago, which would be beneficial.
Post by sparkythelawyer on Jan 19, 2018 16:40:59 GMT -5
I would be intrigued if they come here (Chicago), but I don't think they will. The state legislature is way too fractured to really be able to meaningfully commit to tax incentives, and our mass transit infrastructure is old AF and in need of updating.
I can't shake it will be Indianapolis, because you have decent access in and out of the city with the highway system, a decent sized airport, and almost limitless ability to expand.