4 ms·

I agree with some of your other points... however > Texas is also building high-speed rail, which will end up linking all of their major cities, an immense bon

I agree with some of your other points... however > Texas is also building high-speed rail, which will end up linking all of their major cities, an immense bonus. Denver already has light rail connecting the airport, Boulder, and Golden as well as other metro areas, as well as amtrak, shuttles, and other public transport to the mountain regions for skiing and other recreation. It's also among the most bike-friendly cities I've seen in the US, with routes extending extremely far and having a vibrant cycling culture. Workers commute with all of these options every day. For being a smaller metro, Denver-Boulder's tech scene is much more vibrant than DFW's. Amazon _already_ has tech offices in both Boulder and Denver. Among Texas cities, Dallas also doesn't have the tech talent pool and established network of transplanted tech companies that Austin already has, let alone the politics that many west coast tech workers (and Bezos) find attractive (although that point is kind of moot, because either way it's still Texas). I don't really think it's going to be Denver, either. I'd be really disappointed if it's Dallas. I expect Chicago, Boston, DC, or Atlanta.

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago
There is NO light rail link from Denver to Boulder, only buses. The money raised from Boulder residents via sales tax increases was spent on other lines.
- monocasa 8y ago
  There won't be for decades either. When they sold off 36, there's a clause that they can't build anything that would cause a loss of revenue for that toll road without reimbursing Plenary. On the plus side, the buses do leave every ten minutes, with plans to increase that to every five minutes within the next few years.
jimjansen 8y ago
>Among Texas cities, Dallas also doesn't have the tech talent pool and established network of transplanted tech companies that Austin already has, let alone the politics that many west coast tech workers (and Bezos) find attractive (although that point is kind of moot, because either way it's still Texas). Austin's tech worker population is peanuts compared to the East or West coast so I don't think it gives them much of an advantage over Dallas.
kodablah 8y ago
> Denver-Boulder's tech scene is much more vibrant than DFW's I'm not sure what this is based on. Do you mean like startups? Or general tech companies? Or large companies with significant tech presence? So much of this thread has devolved into these kinds of suppositions and city comparisons. Why do these discussions always come to this, with everyone rushing to defend one metro and demonize another? > Dallas also doesn't have the tech talent pool and established network of transplanted tech companies that Austin already has I think this may be making the same mistake of assuming a few satellite offices of a few large companies makes a difference. Or that you hear more about startups on this site and others gives a certain impression.
- monocasa 8y ago
  > Do you mean like startups? Or general tech companies? Or large companies with significant tech presence? Yes to all of the above if you consider the full Boulder/Denver metro.
thebradbain 8y ago
I've copy and pasted this comment from an earlier comment I made, but I really do think you have the wrong preconception of Dallas. The writing is on the wall — Texas will turn blue sooner than later. Dallas is a liberal stronghold in Texas, and in absolute numbers turns out more for Democrats than any other city in the state, including Austin (percentage-wise Austin wins by +5%, I believe). Unlike Austin, which is gerrymandered in the state legislature, every single state/county/city official in Dallas is a Democrat. Dallas is also a gay rights stronghold, representing the only county and city in Texas, again including Austin, with non-discrimination clauses in employment and housing for LGBTQ+ individuals. Furthermore— Texas is considering bi-partisan legislation to legalize weed. Dallas has already decriminalized it, and the State, while backwards in other regards, hasn’t indicated it will force Dallas to back down on that measure. Dallas also has stricter gun laws than the state of Texas. Dallas, unlike Austin, actually has the political capital to push back on state laws, because Dallas isn't gerrymandered nor represented by 4 Republicans like Austin is. Texas has a long way to go, but I think if you would step in Dallas you would learn to leave your preconceived notions of it at the door. I believe an HQ2 would speed up Texas’ change. --- As far as public transit goes, I'm sorry, but DART rail blows Denver out of the water. I'm personally familiar with both systems, and Dallas also has the funds and political capital to keep expanding. In addition to an already extensive LRT network, we have a streetcar network with 2 lines (soon to be 3), we're building a second subway Downtown to double system throughput, we've started construction on another 26 mile line to the airport (we already have 2), and construction on the high speed rail from downtown Houston to downtown Dallas starts in February.
nullorundefined 8y ago
Foxconn building so close to Chicago makes me think Amazon will look elsewhere.

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago

There is NO light rail link from Denver to Boulder, only buses. The money raised from Boulder residents via sales tax increases was spent on other lines.

monocasa 8y ago
There won't be for decades either. When they sold off 36, there's a clause that they can't build anything that would cause a loss of revenue for that toll road without reimbursing Plenary. On the plus side, the buses do leave every ten minutes, with plans to increase that to every five minutes within the next few years.

jimjansen 8y ago

>Among Texas cities, Dallas also doesn't have the tech talent pool and established network of transplanted tech companies that Austin already has, let alone the politics that many west coast tech workers (and Bezos) find attractive (although that point is kind of moot, because either way it's still Texas). Austin's tech worker population is peanuts compared to the East or West coast so I don't think it gives them much of an advantage over Dallas.

kodablah 8y ago

> Denver-Boulder's tech scene is much more vibrant than DFW's I'm not sure what this is based on. Do you mean like startups? Or general tech companies? Or large companies with significant tech presence? So much of this thread has devolved into these kinds of suppositions and city comparisons. Why do these discussions always come to this, with everyone rushing to defend one metro and demonize another? > Dallas also doesn't have the tech talent pool and established network of transplanted tech companies that Austin already has I think this may be making the same mistake of assuming a few satellite offices of a few large companies makes a difference. Or that you hear more about startups on this site and others gives a certain impression.

monocasa 8y ago
> Do you mean like startups? Or general tech companies? Or large companies with significant tech presence? Yes to all of the above if you consider the full Boulder/Denver metro.

thebradbain 8y ago

I've copy and pasted this comment from an earlier comment I made, but I really do think you have the wrong preconception of Dallas. The writing is on the wall — Texas will turn blue sooner than later. Dallas is a liberal stronghold in Texas, and in absolute numbers turns out more for Democrats than any other city in the state, including Austin (percentage-wise Austin wins by +5%, I believe). Unlike Austin, which is gerrymandered in the state legislature, every single state/county/city official in Dallas is a Democrat. Dallas is also a gay rights stronghold, representing the only county and city in Texas, again including Austin, with non-discrimination clauses in employment and housing for LGBTQ+ individuals. Furthermore— Texas is considering bi-partisan legislation to legalize weed. Dallas has already decriminalized it, and the State, while backwards in other regards, hasn’t indicated it will force Dallas to back down on that measure. Dallas also has stricter gun laws than the state of Texas. Dallas, unlike Austin, actually has the political capital to push back on state laws, because Dallas isn't gerrymandered nor represented by 4 Republicans like Austin is. Texas has a long way to go, but I think if you would step in Dallas you would learn to leave your preconceived notions of it at the door. I believe an HQ2 would speed up Texas’ change. --- As far as public transit goes, I'm sorry, but DART rail blows Denver out of the water. I'm personally familiar with both systems, and Dallas also has the funds and political capital to keep expanding. In addition to an already extensive LRT network, we have a streetcar network with 2 lines (soon to be 3), we're building a second subway Downtown to double system throughput, we've started construction on another 26 mile line to the airport (we already have 2), and construction on the high speed rail from downtown Houston to downtown Dallas starts in February.

nullorundefined 8y ago

Foxconn building so close to Chicago makes me think Amazon will look elsewhere.