4 ms·

Unlikely. One of the requirements is daily direct flights to/from Seattle. Indy does technically have that but it's exactly 1 flight with poor timing for busine

Unlikely. One of the requirements is daily direct flights to/from Seattle. Indy does technically have that but it's exactly 1 flight with poor timing for business considerations. They list a few other destinations as must-have nonstop flights, but I'm not sure how good those are. They're also putting a lot of stress on public transit, which is pretty abysmal in Indiana. They also don't want to sacrifice on some of their values surrounding renewable energy, recycling, composting, etc. I lived in Indiana for over 10 years and can't say I've ever seen a compost bin at a restaurant, and can count on one hand the number of places with recycling bins (for public use anyway, most places would recycle their boxes at least). That said, moving some place in the midwest would be very interesting. Amazon has a lot of employees that are from those areas, so if they want to start moving teams it would probably not be too hard.

corpMaverick 9y ago
The flights will come as soon as the demand is there.
logfromblammo 9y ago
Having lived in Indianapolis for about 15 years, I also say it is unlikely. The talent pool is too shallow, because tech employers just haven't been there. I had to move to Chicago after graduating in order to get a [decent, career-advancing] job as a software professional. The majority of my high school friends also moved out to find jobs after college. And parent confirms some of the other problems I have with Indy. Unigov overwhelmed the urban core with township voters, so city-county government is atypically conservative for a Midwestern city, which has a major impact on statewide politics. (Still less conservative than where I am now, though, and trust me when I say that being liberal or libertarian in a conservative state is like rubbing a cheese grater on your soul every time you visit the polls--no good options, and sometimes you don't even get two whole evils from which to choose the lesser.) If you want to fly anywhere, you have to connect through ORD (American, United), MDW (Southwest), or ATL (Delta, Southwest). The direct flight to anywhere probably only runs once a day or less. Also, all the tech people with kids will undoubtedly cluster in southern Hamilton county, and Washington or Lawrence townships, which won't be great for traffic, because there's no limited-access highway to downtown from anywhere on the north side. And what public transit? I might have seen a bus once or twice, while visiting downtown, within a 5-block radius of the circle. And the hospitals have a monorail since the merger, I guess. Beyond that, you're driving or walking.
013a 9y ago
The state government has very recent precedent of subsidizing nonstop flights [1], because it recognizes that they are key to drawing external investment in the city. This year, taxpayers voted to add a new north/south rapid transit line [2]. Maybe more importantly; public transit isn't as important in indy as it is in other cities. Substantially lower cost of living and a more sparse downtown allows driving to be more affordable, the city has some of the best traffic [3] of any major metropolitan area worldwide, and it is very bike friendly [4] with the downtown trails and a growing downtown core. [1] http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/06/delta-indianapolis-paris/ http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/06/delta-indi... [2] http://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/marion-county/2017/05/01/red-line-gets-50-million-congressional-spending-deal/101150106/ http://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/marion-county/2017/... [3] http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/the-hoosierist/hoosierist-bad-indys-traffic/ http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/the-hoosierist/hoosierist... [4] https://www.rewardexpert.com/blog/studies/2017s-best-destinations-to-explore-by-bike/ https://www.rewardexpert.com/blog/studies/2017s-best-destina...
blorsh 9y ago
The direct flight requirement is odd. Adding flights is trivial, and it will happen if Amazon is buying the tickets. Airlines like to make money.

corpMaverick 9y ago

The flights will come as soon as the demand is there.

logfromblammo 9y ago

Having lived in Indianapolis for about 15 years, I also say it is unlikely. The talent pool is too shallow, because tech employers just haven't been there. I had to move to Chicago after graduating in order to get a [decent, career-advancing] job as a software professional. The majority of my high school friends also moved out to find jobs after college. And parent confirms some of the other problems I have with Indy. Unigov overwhelmed the urban core with township voters, so city-county government is atypically conservative for a Midwestern city, which has a major impact on statewide politics. (Still less conservative than where I am now, though, and trust me when I say that being liberal or libertarian in a conservative state is like rubbing a cheese grater on your soul every time you visit the polls--no good options, and sometimes you don't even get two whole evils from which to choose the lesser.) If you want to fly anywhere, you have to connect through ORD (American, United), MDW (Southwest), or ATL (Delta, Southwest). The direct flight to anywhere probably only runs once a day or less. Also, all the tech people with kids will undoubtedly cluster in southern Hamilton county, and Washington or Lawrence townships, which won't be great for traffic, because there's no limited-access highway to downtown from anywhere on the north side. And what public transit? I might have seen a bus once or twice, while visiting downtown, within a 5-block radius of the circle. And the hospitals have a monorail since the merger, I guess. Beyond that, you're driving or walking.

013a 9y ago

The state government has very recent precedent of subsidizing nonstop flights [1], because it recognizes that they are key to drawing external investment in the city. This year, taxpayers voted to add a new north/south rapid transit line [2]. Maybe more importantly; public transit isn't as important in indy as it is in other cities. Substantially lower cost of living and a more sparse downtown allows driving to be more affordable, the city has some of the best traffic [3] of any major metropolitan area worldwide, and it is very bike friendly [4] with the downtown trails and a growing downtown core. [1] http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/06/delta-indianapolis-paris/ http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2017/09/06/delta-indi... [2] http://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/marion-county/2017/05/01/red-line-gets-50-million-congressional-spending-deal/101150106/ http://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/marion-county/2017/... [3] http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/the-hoosierist/hoosierist-bad-indys-traffic/ http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/the-hoosierist/hoosierist... [4] https://www.rewardexpert.com/blog/studies/2017s-best-destinations-to-explore-by-bike/ https://www.rewardexpert.com/blog/studies/2017s-best-destina...

blorsh 9y ago

The direct flight requirement is odd. Adding flights is trivial, and it will happen if Amazon is buying the tickets. Airlines like to make money.