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I'm not sure that I would stick around Atlanta if Amazon puts its HQ here. The property values will skyrocket, and I haven't bought in here yet. The civic angl

I'm not sure that I would stick around Atlanta if Amazon puts its HQ here. The property values will skyrocket, and I haven't bought in here yet. The civic angle is interesting though, will pressure groups succeed in reining back the usual massive concessions that local governments usually grant corporate behemoths? Or will it be business as usual where the giant tosses a few shiny wampum beads to the locals while destroying their livelihoods?

pc86 9y ago
"I won't be able to profit in the most obvious way possible, so I will leave." That doesn't make much sense to me.
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  Well, there won't be anything protecting me from a rent increase of 20-30% so it's less about profit and more about just plain-ole affordability. My father has property here so I'm sure he'll be fine.
- api 9y ago
  You will no longer be able to raise a family in the Atlanta core if you haven't already bought.
- maxsilver 9y ago
  That's not a fair summary of the problem. It's more accurately described as : "Everyone's costs will increase, and since I don't own property, my costs will increase even higher than most others peoples costs rise" It's totally rational to not want to take a paycut, and Amazon HQ2 will effectively be a massive pay cut to every non-Amazon person in whatever city Amazon uses for HQ2
  - pc86 9y ago
    3/5 people in Atlanta rent so his costs will increase no more than other folks (who rent). I get the affordability argument, but the Atlanta metro area is 5.79 million people. If you add 50k jobs and everyone is from out of the area, you get 5.84 million. Is that really going to double everyone's rent? Lots of people already in Atlanta will work for Amazon. Lots of people who move in will buy a house in the suburbs because they don't want to live downtown.
- eropple 9y ago
  I've repeatedly thought about moving to Atlanta, because I really like the city. I won't be able to afford to if Amazon moves there. Somebody who lives there who hasn't already bought themselves a sandbag-wall against ridiculous rent spikes would probably be wise to consider moving. (I don't want to own a car again; MARTA, being a good public transit option that is taken by people across the socioeconomic spectrum and so there's political weight on the side of keeping it good, makes Atlanta one of few American cities where that's potentially tenable.)
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - vinceguidry 9y ago
    Oh you definitely don't want to live here without a car. I live in perhaps the only neighborhood where it's even feasible, and I would never give up my car. Being at mercy to Marta and the buses and Uber isn't fun.
    - eropple 9y ago
      Interesting. Thanks for the perspective.
ukulele 9y ago
Atlanta thrives on Delta, Coca Cola, UPS, Home Depot, and others. Far from "destroying livelihoods", it's in large part due to the "giants" that Atlanta is a major economic hub in the southeast.
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  While true, these companies are fixtures of Atlanta and all have a great track record of employing locals. Amazon's a huge tech company that employs a lot of tech people, and their effect on the property market is going to be outsized. Entire neighborhoods will gentrify overnight.
ynniv 9y ago
Where does this fear come from? Atlanta is adding ~ 100k jobs every year, and HQ2 is projected to be ~ 5k per year for a decade. Developments adding a few thousand jobs are announced every other month. Anyone worried about rapid expansion and gentrification in Atlanta has been ignoring our reality for a long time.
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  I live in Midtown, paying NYC rents to live in a high rise. I was hopefully looking forward to a modest rent decrease once the half-dozen new buildings get done and start leasing. If Amazon moves in I worry I won't be able to rent here for less than $3k / month.
  - ynniv 9y ago
    Not to be callous, but if aren't already paying $3500/mo then you aren't paying NYC rents. If Amazon moves in, they'll just build another half dozen highrise apartments and rates will stay about the same. NCR, a new Tech tower, perhaps something new around BellSouth, Metlife at 17th street... Atlanta has almost twice as many people as Seattle, and unlike a sleepy coffee town has always been dominated by corporate culture. Even if Amazon moved their whole company here, it wouldn't change the city that much.
    - vinceguidry 9y ago
      Apartments.com lists 4098 1 bedroom apartments in Manhattan alone in my rent range, $2-2.5k/month. All over the island. They might not be as nice as my swanky high rise, but I consider it to be comparable. Certainly whenever someone asks me how much I'm paying at my current place their eyes bug out.
      - ynniv 9y ago
        They might not be as nice as my swanky high rise I mean... this isn’t how price comparisons work? You can rent a studio on Peachtree in Midtown for $1,000 a month if it isn’t “swanky”. It probably has the same square footage as that $2,500 “1 bedroom” in Manhattan. Living in a city isn’t cheap.

pc86 9y ago

"I won't be able to profit in the most obvious way possible, so I will leave." That doesn't make much sense to me.

vinceguidry 9y ago
Well, there won't be anything protecting me from a rent increase of 20-30% so it's less about profit and more about just plain-ole affordability. My father has property here so I'm sure he'll be fine.
api 9y ago
You will no longer be able to raise a family in the Atlanta core if you haven't already bought.
maxsilver 9y ago
That's not a fair summary of the problem. It's more accurately described as : "Everyone's costs will increase, and since I don't own property, my costs will increase even higher than most others peoples costs rise" It's totally rational to not want to take a paycut, and Amazon HQ2 will effectively be a massive pay cut to every non-Amazon person in whatever city Amazon uses for HQ2
- pc86 9y ago
  3/5 people in Atlanta rent so his costs will increase no more than other folks (who rent). I get the affordability argument, but the Atlanta metro area is 5.79 million people. If you add 50k jobs and everyone is from out of the area, you get 5.84 million. Is that really going to double everyone's rent? Lots of people already in Atlanta will work for Amazon. Lots of people who move in will buy a house in the suburbs because they don't want to live downtown.
eropple 9y ago
I've repeatedly thought about moving to Atlanta, because I really like the city. I won't be able to afford to if Amazon moves there. Somebody who lives there who hasn't already bought themselves a sandbag-wall against ridiculous rent spikes would probably be wise to consider moving. (I don't want to own a car again; MARTA, being a good public transit option that is taken by people across the socioeconomic spectrum and so there's political weight on the side of keeping it good, makes Atlanta one of few American cities where that's potentially tenable.)
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- vinceguidry 9y ago
  Oh you definitely don't want to live here without a car. I live in perhaps the only neighborhood where it's even feasible, and I would never give up my car. Being at mercy to Marta and the buses and Uber isn't fun.
  - eropple 9y ago
    Interesting. Thanks for the perspective.

ukulele 9y ago

Atlanta thrives on Delta, Coca Cola, UPS, Home Depot, and others. Far from "destroying livelihoods", it's in large part due to the "giants" that Atlanta is a major economic hub in the southeast.

vinceguidry 9y ago
While true, these companies are fixtures of Atlanta and all have a great track record of employing locals. Amazon's a huge tech company that employs a lot of tech people, and their effect on the property market is going to be outsized. Entire neighborhoods will gentrify overnight.

ynniv 9y ago

Where does this fear come from? Atlanta is adding ~ 100k jobs every year, and HQ2 is projected to be ~ 5k per year for a decade. Developments adding a few thousand jobs are announced every other month. Anyone worried about rapid expansion and gentrification in Atlanta has been ignoring our reality for a long time.

vinceguidry 9y ago
I live in Midtown, paying NYC rents to live in a high rise. I was hopefully looking forward to a modest rent decrease once the half-dozen new buildings get done and start leasing. If Amazon moves in I worry I won't be able to rent here for less than $3k / month.
- ynniv 9y ago
  Not to be callous, but if aren't already paying $3500/mo then you aren't paying NYC rents. If Amazon moves in, they'll just build another half dozen highrise apartments and rates will stay about the same. NCR, a new Tech tower, perhaps something new around BellSouth, Metlife at 17th street... Atlanta has almost twice as many people as Seattle, and unlike a sleepy coffee town has always been dominated by corporate culture. Even if Amazon moved their whole company here, it wouldn't change the city that much.
  - vinceguidry 9y ago
    Apartments.com lists 4098 1 bedroom apartments in Manhattan alone in my rent range, $2-2.5k/month. All over the island. They might not be as nice as my swanky high rise, but I consider it to be comparable. Certainly whenever someone asks me how much I'm paying at my current place their eyes bug out.
    - ynniv 9y ago
      They might not be as nice as my swanky high rise I mean... this isn’t how price comparisons work? You can rent a studio on Peachtree in Midtown for $1,000 a month if it isn’t “swanky”. It probably has the same square footage as that $2,500 “1 bedroom” in Manhattan. Living in a city isn’t cheap.