4 ms·

Prineville is a lovely place and as an Oregonian I'm thrilled that high tech jobs have come to a rural town that does not get many opportunities like this.

by oofabz 10y ago

JeremyMorgan 10y ago
My thoughts exactly. Hillsboro and Portland have enough tech companies, glad folks who live out there have something like that as well.
- mc32 10y ago
  It seems a lot of data centers get built in the middle of nowhere as long as there is cheap electricity, a nice stream and cheap land --typically smallish towns outside middling cities with airports not too far. So, yeah, there are some lucky rural areas getting some technical jobs (and transplanted workers too) but they all add to the local econ.
danielrhodes 10y ago
The promise of jobs from these data centers usually comes in the form of construction work. After that, there are very few people who actually work at these places - if they could keep the lights off they would.
- stuff4ben 10y ago
  Yep. The datacenters in the western part of NC for Apple, Google, and Facebook are all the same. Lots of incentives from the local government with very few high-tech/high-paying jobs going along with it. So basically the company gets the land really cheap, doesn't have to pay much if any taxes, cheap electricity, and few people to hire. What's not to like if you're a high-tech company? Still, I'm sure the local construction companies benefited. And there's something to be said for raising the profile of the area.
  - yardie 10y ago
    Honestly, what's the alternative. The land would sit unused otherwise. If they did build it in a more developed area they would be competing against commercial and residential interest, and for what gain? Servers don't care about a 2 hour commute, or how far they are from the airport. In the sticks or downtown, it's the same to computers. Now that one company has done the research of getting electricity, network backbone, roads, and other infrastructure built. Now, others can come along and build their datacenter next door because they know the infrastructure is there. Which is exactly what's happening in NC.

Prineville is a lovely place and as an Oregonian I'm thrilled that high tech jobs have come to a rural town that does not get many opportunities like this.

by oofabz 10y ago

Prineville is a lovely place and as an Oregonian I'm thrilled that high tech jobs have come to a rural town that does not get many opportunities like this.

JeremyMorgan 10y ago

My thoughts exactly. Hillsboro and Portland have enough tech companies, glad folks who live out there have something like that as well.

mc32 10y ago
It seems a lot of data centers get built in the middle of nowhere as long as there is cheap electricity, a nice stream and cheap land --typically smallish towns outside middling cities with airports not too far. So, yeah, there are some lucky rural areas getting some technical jobs (and transplanted workers too) but they all add to the local econ.

danielrhodes 10y ago

The promise of jobs from these data centers usually comes in the form of construction work. After that, there are very few people who actually work at these places - if they could keep the lights off they would.

stuff4ben 10y ago
Yep. The datacenters in the western part of NC for Apple, Google, and Facebook are all the same. Lots of incentives from the local government with very few high-tech/high-paying jobs going along with it. So basically the company gets the land really cheap, doesn't have to pay much if any taxes, cheap electricity, and few people to hire. What's not to like if you're a high-tech company? Still, I'm sure the local construction companies benefited. And there's something to be said for raising the profile of the area.
- yardie 10y ago
  Honestly, what's the alternative. The land would sit unused otherwise. If they did build it in a more developed area they would be competing against commercial and residential interest, and for what gain? Servers don't care about a 2 hour commute, or how far they are from the airport. In the sticks or downtown, it's the same to computers. Now that one company has done the research of getting electricity, network backbone, roads, and other infrastructure built. Now, others can come along and build their datacenter next door because they know the infrastructure is there. Which is exactly what's happening in NC.