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It's hard to argue with the fact that Austin made the shortlist without any incentives. The same doesn't apply to Atlanta.

Throwndjjfne 9y ago
The short list isn't very short... Somerville made it and I'd be stunned if we were chosen.
- theli0nheart 9y ago
  It's pretty short compared to the 238 cities that applied (https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-refuses-arizonas-cactus-as-bidders-for-hq2-climb-to-118/ https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-refuses-...).
- xefer 9y ago
  I think Boston and Somerville are just two different manifestations of one regional proposal, though they weren't really presented that way far as I know. The sites in Somerville are actually a much better choice than the Suffolk Downs site offered by Boston. They're a lot closer to the Boston itself and are better situated for housing and transportation. It would also knit together those grim parts of Somerville that are cut off from the rest of the town by Routes 93 and 28.
- autokad 9y ago
  agree, 20 cities is a lot. i could be wrong, but who really expects LA to make it?
devonkim 9y ago
I am a bit confused about Austin as a candidate partly because I thought that Amazon wanted an east coast presence, not mid-country. So it boils really down to Boston, DC, and Atlanta as options. As another engineer in Atlanta, I’ve got mixed feelings on whether the criteria Amazon put forth is really met. There’s probably more people from Atlanta that leave for tech than stay by a long shot given I’ve probably met more Georgia Tech graduates over my career outside Atlanta than actually in the metro area. Anecdotal evidence aside, there’s been several articles published about Atlanta’s brain drain problem specific to tech (medicine does not seem to apply given CDC and Emory attract world-class doctors just fine). I’m not sure if anyone on HN outside the region can name a single tech company HQed in Atlanta off the top of their head - I certainly couldn’t before I moved here.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  Honestly, I associate Atlanta with film/music production more these days and never really tech. Much like Charlotte = banking.
- cthalupa 9y ago
  > I thought that Amazon wanted an east coast presence, not mid-country Amazon never said this, so unsure why you think this.
  - devonkim 9y ago
    https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/1/29/16946010/amazon-hq2-headquarters-atlanta-shortlist https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/1/29/16946010/amazon-hq2-hea... The five primary criteria driving Amazon’s decision, per GBH, include: 1. “East Coast presence.” 2. “Thriving engineering/surrounding university infrastructure and student pipeline.” 3. “Transportation hub with major growth potential.” ...
    - theli0nheart 9y ago
      Hmm. Those criteria you posted aren't coming from Amazon, they're just the invented criteria of a single analyst at GHB Insights [1], a market research firm based in NYC. I don't think Amazon has made it public as to which criteria it's using to make this decision. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/gbh-insights-atlanta-and-others-are-likely-to-get-amazons-new-hq.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/gbh-insights-atlanta-and-oth...

Throwndjjfne 9y ago

The short list isn't very short... Somerville made it and I'd be stunned if we were chosen.

theli0nheart 9y ago
It's pretty short compared to the 238 cities that applied (https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-refuses-arizonas-cactus-as-bidders-for-hq2-climb-to-118/ https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/amazon-refuses-...).
xefer 9y ago
I think Boston and Somerville are just two different manifestations of one regional proposal, though they weren't really presented that way far as I know. The sites in Somerville are actually a much better choice than the Suffolk Downs site offered by Boston. They're a lot closer to the Boston itself and are better situated for housing and transportation. It would also knit together those grim parts of Somerville that are cut off from the rest of the town by Routes 93 and 28.
autokad 9y ago
agree, 20 cities is a lot. i could be wrong, but who really expects LA to make it?

devonkim 9y ago

I am a bit confused about Austin as a candidate partly because I thought that Amazon wanted an east coast presence, not mid-country. So it boils really down to Boston, DC, and Atlanta as options. As another engineer in Atlanta, I’ve got mixed feelings on whether the criteria Amazon put forth is really met. There’s probably more people from Atlanta that leave for tech than stay by a long shot given I’ve probably met more Georgia Tech graduates over my career outside Atlanta than actually in the metro area. Anecdotal evidence aside, there’s been several articles published about Atlanta’s brain drain problem specific to tech (medicine does not seem to apply given CDC and Emory attract world-class doctors just fine). I’m not sure if anyone on HN outside the region can name a single tech company HQed in Atlanta off the top of their head - I certainly couldn’t before I moved here.

JBlue42 9y ago
Honestly, I associate Atlanta with film/music production more these days and never really tech. Much like Charlotte = banking.
cthalupa 9y ago
> I thought that Amazon wanted an east coast presence, not mid-country Amazon never said this, so unsure why you think this.
- devonkim 9y ago
  https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/1/29/16946010/amazon-hq2-headquarters-atlanta-shortlist https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/1/29/16946010/amazon-hq2-hea... The five primary criteria driving Amazon’s decision, per GBH, include: 1. “East Coast presence.” 2. “Thriving engineering/surrounding university infrastructure and student pipeline.” 3. “Transportation hub with major growth potential.” ...
  - theli0nheart 9y ago
    Hmm. Those criteria you posted aren't coming from Amazon, they're just the invented criteria of a single analyst at GHB Insights [1], a market research firm based in NYC. I don't think Amazon has made it public as to which criteria it's using to make this decision. [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/gbh-insights-atlanta-and-others-are-likely-to-get-amazons-new-hq.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/22/gbh-insights-atlanta-and-oth...