9 ms·

To the folks who think this is some kind of rejection of remote work: even in a remote work era, having physical offices in cities makes a ton of sense so long

• gordon_freeman 5y ago
  > In a city like New York, living day to day life across many physical spaces is a core part the experience. In fact it's one of the major draws. The park is your front lawn, the cafe your breakfast nook, the theater your living room, and the office is... your office. why would someone rather not live in a countryside with expansive views and much lower stress and work remotely? (especially when tech like Starlink are going to remove the comms friction)
  • RobRivera 5y ago
    why would someone assume that is the superior mode of operation for every human neuro-type?
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  • cj 5y ago
    I've lived in NYC, SF, Boston, and now the country side. Each have their pros and cons, just like anything in life. For one, in NYC I liked being able to walk everywhere and not owning a car.
  • conk 5y ago
    What’s the dating scene like out in the countryside?
    • gowld 5y ago
      You have a car, so you set a larger search radius and get the same number of rejections.
  • judge2020 5y ago
    I agree that many people end up wanting that, but certainly some see the lure of a big city and would (at first, at least) love to interact with people on a daily basis.
  • jumelles 5y ago
    Rural areas tend to be more conservative and less diverse. I don't want to drive 15+ minutes just to get to the grocery store. I like having specialty shops around. I value access to museums, cultural events, and art festivals. I don't want to be an hour from the nearest hospital. Seriously, you couldn't pay me to live in the countryside.
  • knodi123 5y ago
    Why would someone prefer something that you wouldn't? There as many answers to that question as there are people. I for one love big cities, and prefer to live in one even though I'm a remote worker. You do you, I'll do me, and if we're lucky in life then we'll each find someone whose preferences are similar to our own to share a life with.
  • smoe 5y ago
    Because I get bored. It lacks the cultural diversity and and offerings the big cities have, which is the reason I live in one in the first place, not because of the job. Also most of my friends are here. I love the countryside for weekend or longer trips when I'm not working and just want to relax all day or go for hikes.
    • Salgat 5y ago
      Both have their exciting aspects. Both my boss and I got tired of living in Chicago highrises, even though it has a lot to offer, and my boss is living it up on an island with 10 acres of land and shoreline and wouldn't have it any other way. Me on the other hand, I moved to somewhere that's still closer to a city (so I can still enjoy all the things a city resident can) while having the luxury of a huge house with a private office, big back yard, and a garage full of toys for me to tinker with.
      • smoe 5y ago
        Completely agree. There are many different lifestyles, none inherently better than the other. I just disagree with the sentiment that the only reason to live in a big city is because of work. At least for the kind of positions people on HN tend to hold. It's not like working fully remotely was impossible pre-pandemic. I definitely see the appeal of owning a huge house and I might well consider it in the future, especially if I have children. But for now, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I own few things of the maximal quality I can afford. Even my city apartment is viewed as somewhat spartanic by some. So I prefer renting an entire place in different parts of the country with my girlfriend or friends for a couple of days at the time meanwhile living in my favorite part of the city where most everything I want to do or need is within 20 minutes walking distance.
  • pkulak 5y ago
    Because I want to be able to do things without sitting in a car for half an hour first.
    • SilverRed 5y ago
      My stress levels plummeted after moving from a distant suburb to a city apartment. I haven't driven a car in months. All the walking has done wonders for my health, physical and mental. The only stressed people are the ones coming from the suburbs to the city and back again every day and almost all of that stress is in the driving / transport part.
• sjg007 5y ago
  Remote workers could also fly into NYC for meetings and such.
• hkarthik 5y ago
  I think this misses the mark on the fact that we now have an aging population in the USA, and an aging population has different needs when it comes to raising families that the urban lifestyle simply hasn't evolved fast enough to support. Urban areas in the USA like NYC are still the playground of the young and unattached. I think European and Asian cities have done a much better job at this. With two kids aged 10 and 12, I need access to a sports park for practices and games. I need space to park a car and roads wide enough to support them because I have a lot of things to haul. I need good public schools that don't break the bank to provide my kids the support and community they need. Everything smooth and convenient about living as a single person in an urban area quickly turns into living life on Hard Mode for families. As our working adult population ages, cities need to evolve to meet these needs, or expect people to move out as they outgrow the lifestyle. I'm sure there are folks who live in places like SF with families and ride around in heavy urban traffic with 2 kids on an electric cargo bike, but that's just not for many of us. We're happier and way more stress free in the suburbs or even in the rural areas working remotely.
  • gowld 5y ago
    Guess how many children live in NYC. You don't need all that sports gear, it's an arbitrary choice. The most popular sport in the world is played with just a small ball.
    • hrid88ry4g 5y ago
      Some might contend it is popular not because of the quality of the game but rather its accessibility.
    • xyzelement 5y ago
      Technically, you don't need anything. People evolved living naked outdoors, subsisting on berries. Drawing the line of what conveniences of modern at "city apartment" but not "suburbs" is extremely arbitrary (I am also guessing you are saying that as a single city-living male, so your view is theoretical and not borne of experience - just a thought.)
    • walshemj 5y ago
• tootie 5y ago
  Not really. I live in NYC and my company has an office in NYC and still never go in and don't care if I ever do. We're likely going to retain a space once our lease is up, but it's going to be modeled very differently. Our business has some physical co-location requirements for certain aspects, but no one doing tech work needs to do anything beyond meetings. And we are all 100% comfortable doing them over video. If we want a rallying spot for once or twice a year jamborees, we could do it at a hotel or a much smaller permanent space. There's no reason Google would need to pay $2B unless they were rejecting remote work.
  • morelikeborelax 5y ago
    Ah yes your anecdotal experience clearly means one of the largest companies in the world is rejecting remote work by buying an office they already lease.
    • Salgat 5y ago
      It gives some insight into the worker mentality. Investing in premium office space at the height of a huge real estate bubble during a huge shift to remote work says a lot about Google's confidence in office space remaining in high demand, especially since we have on record Google execs pushing for going back to the office. I don't know if this is just Google doubling down but it's an interesting move on their part given the timing.
      • jjeaff 5y ago
        Either that or it just illustrates how they have so much money ($135B cash on hand and growing) that $2B is barely a drop in the bucket for them.
        • kwere 5y ago
          Yeah, considering inflation o other variables It could even be a good splurge
  • bobthepanda 5y ago
• hellbannedguy 5y ago
  Google, Facebook, and the other monopolies are itching to get their workers back. (Little Zuck is buying buildings in San Francisco like I buy beer.) These companies hate not having their workers under their thumb, but won't come out and say it. They know they will never have a hard time attracting workers. The 1 out of a thousand Rockstar might be another conversation, but the run of the mill worker--no problem. They know they will be able to do whatever they want for years. I imagine Zuck, and the Google Boys, thanking their god, the dollar, they don't live in China. (Xi is cracking down on certain big businesses. He, and his mates, don't like the extreme wealth disparity rearing it's head. He doesn't like companies that seem to exploit people. He doesn't like the fact that houses are rising in price so quickly, only the wealthy, and companies that buy up realestate, can afford them. Xi is worried about the amount of credit certain businesses are taking on. I heard business debt is almost 3x ours. Business leverage that is, not governmental debt. This couldn't be right? Xi is worried his unchecked Capitalistic experiment might come crashing down.) Ok, back to employers salivating for the day they can demand everyone show up. I've thought about it, and don't see an out. They will drag everyone back in. It doesn't matter if the tech works. Maybe if we started using Global Warming as an excuse to not came back? All those extra cars on the roads couldn't be good. (Sorry about bringing China in to the mix. I'm a tiny bit jealous just how quick they can move there. I liked city life when they were diverse, and then only for awhile. In all honesty, the only thing about city life I liked was the ratio of single women to men. I said it.)
  • alonsonic 5y ago
    How are cities like NYC not diverse?
    • hellbannedguy 5y ago
      In all honesty, the only thing I liked about city life was the ratio of single women to men. And I know that sounds shallow. I wrote diversity out of habit? Conditioning? I tried to update my post, but the system wouldn't let me. I knew a lot of people like city life. I didn't. They say you are suspose to habituate to noise. I never did.
  • 5y ago
• pbuzbee 5y ago
  As a Googler who wants to work remote, in my personal opinion I think this makes a ton of sense. Focus on providing offices in major urban areas for people who want an urban lifestyle, and then offer remote work for people who don't. NYC isn't for me personally, but I absolutely see the appeal for others, and I can see why Google would want to expand proportionally there.
  • option 5y ago
    I think G already has an office in NYC, don’t they? To me this means that they expect more in-person presence there over time, not less.
  • chii 5y ago
    > then offer remote work for people who don't. the problem is that offering remote work as an isolated option isn't feasible, because the cost of living when remote is lower (presumably), and thus, either they must be paid lower, or the office-working colleagues must be paid more to adjust for said cost of living. I feel there would be social friction caused by this market-force mechanism.
    • mikewarot 5y ago
      The value the worker provides to google doesn't vary with location. If someone wants to live in an overpriced urban area, that's their choice. Why should google have to subsidize it? It shouldn't matter where in the United States you live, NYC, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam, or some forsaken place like Indiana, etc.. If you get your work done, you should have the same responsibilities and benefits.
      • WaxProlix 5y ago
        Salary already isn't directly proportional to value added, so I'm not sure where that idea comes from.
        • sangnoir 5y ago
• weatherlight 5y ago
  I'm a New Yorker who has no desire to go back to the office. Love the park, the restaurants, nightlife, etc. I absolutely loathe going to the office. Just because people like living in cities doesn't necessarily equate to people enjoying going to the office.