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Not surprised there are nicer bits of London to set up in - not surprised the Googles moved to Kings Cross now its gentrified. Before it was Silicon Roundabout

Not surprised there are nicer bits of London to set up in - not surprised the Googles moved to Kings Cross now its gentrified. Before it was Silicon Roundabout BT had a couple of big offices that I used to go to occasionally and the area was a real dump back then. Ironically in 95 or so I was up for a board (promotion) at 207 old street and was extoling all the cool things I was doing with the www and internet - unfortuetly I was interviewed by the old school COBOL guys and did not get one of the 18-20 promotions.

KaiserPro 5y ago
> not surprised the Googles moved to Kings Cross now its gentrified. I really dont understand why people want to work there. Its a really expensive shithole still. Granted there are now lots of new offices full of tech workers, but thats not a selling point. Facebook and google moved out of soho for kings bloody cross. I suspect the real reason is that its the only site left big enough to put multi-thousand person offices in still. (along with the _really_ expensive chain shops that we tech workers apparently need.) People moved to shoreditch because it was cheap, thats why it looked like a shithole. Now it still looks like a shithole, but lacks every other appealing feature.
- erdo 5y ago
  Yeah I think that's it, there just isn't enough available space in soho and covent garden
- Gortal278 5y ago
  I think ease of commute is a main factor
  - jen20 5y ago
    Yup - both HS1, Thameslink and several "northern" trains go into Kings Cross/St Pancras or Euston (a ~5 minute walk), whereas approximately nothing goes to Old Street.
- thinkingemote 5y ago
  The big companies have their own free restaurants and even bars inside so employees do not need to leave their buildings. Thus where the place is, is less important than with smaller companies. As a similar example, in silicon valley, they have convoys of buses from the nearby city to their offices. Where they work means nothing much. Additionally being close to other companies is less important for networking when you are a monopoly!
- walshemj 5y ago
  Better transport links you have two on the mainline stations next door and Euston is a 10 min walk. Soho is cool but not many large modern office blocks.
- als0 5y ago
  I would wager that their close proximity to King's Cross station is to bring in talent from Cambridge, which is only 45 minutes away.
- 45ure 5y ago
  You are labelling these locations as a 'shithole' without offering any real perspective. The urban regeneration, around the Google site and Kings X has changed the area considerably to shed its gritty image, even if it still lacks some soul. The transport links might be the key factor, but it is also situated in proximity to world leading universities and academic institutions (UCL/Birkbeck/SOAS/UoW/LSE), notwithstanding The British Library. You would be hard-pressed not to find exciting places, teeming with vibrant culture, within a mile radius. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/01/google-submits-plans-million-sq-ft-london-hq-construction-kings-cross https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/01/google-su...
  - KaiserPro 5y ago
    Soho is pretty much equidistant to UCL, and is closer to kings. Everything is close in london. My issue is this, Kings Cross is basically what someone thinks a "tech hub" should feel like, rather than what will naturally pop up over time. My company is moving from Soho, which is a nice vibrant (now sadly diminished) cultural center, to kings cross. Everything is private land in kingscross, which means that the local council has no real control over what happens there. This means no real chance for markets, or passion shops that only have a tiny amount of capital to start up. Soho has three market pitches, shoreditch has at least 2. Kingscross has none, and if they did, they would be charging eye watering pitch fees. This means that there is almost no chance of new local stall popping up and building out a presence. (Unless mummy & daddy provide cash) Which means that all the shops are both expensive and "boutique" Shoreditch on the other hand was a working class, vibrant community. Most of the locals, barring the oldies who have council houses have left. When industry started leaving, and the artists started moving in, there was a time of creativity(90s early 2000s). Things looked scummy because there was no money, not because it was the USP of the area. The USP was it was cheap. Now there is loads of money, a decimated local community, but everything is kept in a state of shabbiness because people think that's what made shoreditch special. Its a zoo for people to pretend to be working class and or cool, when in practice they are neither.
    - lewisflude 5y ago
      I actually went for dinner nears Kings X the other day, and there is a little market section near St. Martins https://canopymarket.co.uk/ https://canopymarket.co.uk/ Although I actually totally agree with you. Kings X not having as much public land makes the entire place almost feel pre-gentrified if that makes sense. Not much soul.
- dukeyukey 5y ago
  Kings Cross has amazing commuter links, that's why. 45 minutes to Cambridge really opens up your options.
dkdbejwi383 5y ago
Kings Cross is a bizarre no man’s land where it’s hyper gentrified in some ways but also a shitty void with fuck all going on. Bizarre place that experienced 30 years worth of development in 5.
- cosmodisk 5y ago
  It is a strange place indeed but its development is almost a blueprint for many others in the capital: previously shitty, ran down places being converted into very expensive areas,yet they aren't very livable. I mean what one is supposed to do when they leave their flats that are minutes walk from King's Cross?
  - mixmastamyk 5y ago
    Sounds like they need a park? Are there markets at least?
    - denton-scratch 5y ago
      The best street market in walking distance would probably be Chapel Street in Islington - about a 20-minute walk. There's a street market in Finsbury.
  - jlarcombe 5y ago
    Go for a walk along the canal... I enjoyed working in Kings Cross for a year or so, but it is a slightly odd place. There are some nice small pubs and restaurants etc (better than the ones near Old Street, though less numerous) and loads of great concerts at Kings Place. The whole railway lands development area is weird but if you avoid that then it's quite good.
philjohn 5y ago
My brother lived on Great Eastern Street from the early 90's until last year, he got in just as it was an 'up and coming' area - it's an interesting place, and there are a fair few tech companies around there (Amazon is 5 minutes brisk walk, as is a company now owned by Vonage). It was interesting to see the area develop over those years.

KaiserPro 5y ago

> not surprised the Googles moved to Kings Cross now its gentrified. I really dont understand why people want to work there. Its a really expensive shithole still. Granted there are now lots of new offices full of tech workers, but thats not a selling point. Facebook and google moved out of soho for kings bloody cross. I suspect the real reason is that its the only site left big enough to put multi-thousand person offices in still. (along with the _really_ expensive chain shops that we tech workers apparently need.) People moved to shoreditch because it was cheap, thats why it looked like a shithole. Now it still looks like a shithole, but lacks every other appealing feature.

erdo 5y ago
Yeah I think that's it, there just isn't enough available space in soho and covent garden
Gortal278 5y ago
I think ease of commute is a main factor
- jen20 5y ago
  Yup - both HS1, Thameslink and several "northern" trains go into Kings Cross/St Pancras or Euston (a ~5 minute walk), whereas approximately nothing goes to Old Street.
thinkingemote 5y ago
The big companies have their own free restaurants and even bars inside so employees do not need to leave their buildings. Thus where the place is, is less important than with smaller companies. As a similar example, in silicon valley, they have convoys of buses from the nearby city to their offices. Where they work means nothing much. Additionally being close to other companies is less important for networking when you are a monopoly!
walshemj 5y ago
Better transport links you have two on the mainline stations next door and Euston is a 10 min walk. Soho is cool but not many large modern office blocks.
als0 5y ago
I would wager that their close proximity to King's Cross station is to bring in talent from Cambridge, which is only 45 minutes away.
45ure 5y ago
You are labelling these locations as a 'shithole' without offering any real perspective. The urban regeneration, around the Google site and Kings X has changed the area considerably to shed its gritty image, even if it still lacks some soul. The transport links might be the key factor, but it is also situated in proximity to world leading universities and academic institutions (UCL/Birkbeck/SOAS/UoW/LSE), notwithstanding The British Library. You would be hard-pressed not to find exciting places, teeming with vibrant culture, within a mile radius. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/01/google-submits-plans-million-sq-ft-london-hq-construction-kings-cross https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/01/google-su...
- KaiserPro 5y ago
  Soho is pretty much equidistant to UCL, and is closer to kings. Everything is close in london. My issue is this, Kings Cross is basically what someone thinks a "tech hub" should feel like, rather than what will naturally pop up over time. My company is moving from Soho, which is a nice vibrant (now sadly diminished) cultural center, to kings cross. Everything is private land in kingscross, which means that the local council has no real control over what happens there. This means no real chance for markets, or passion shops that only have a tiny amount of capital to start up. Soho has three market pitches, shoreditch has at least 2. Kingscross has none, and if they did, they would be charging eye watering pitch fees. This means that there is almost no chance of new local stall popping up and building out a presence. (Unless mummy & daddy provide cash) Which means that all the shops are both expensive and "boutique" Shoreditch on the other hand was a working class, vibrant community. Most of the locals, barring the oldies who have council houses have left. When industry started leaving, and the artists started moving in, there was a time of creativity(90s early 2000s). Things looked scummy because there was no money, not because it was the USP of the area. The USP was it was cheap. Now there is loads of money, a decimated local community, but everything is kept in a state of shabbiness because people think that's what made shoreditch special. Its a zoo for people to pretend to be working class and or cool, when in practice they are neither.
  - lewisflude 5y ago
    I actually went for dinner nears Kings X the other day, and there is a little market section near St. Martins https://canopymarket.co.uk/ https://canopymarket.co.uk/ Although I actually totally agree with you. Kings X not having as much public land makes the entire place almost feel pre-gentrified if that makes sense. Not much soul.
dukeyukey 5y ago
Kings Cross has amazing commuter links, that's why. 45 minutes to Cambridge really opens up your options.

dkdbejwi383 5y ago

Kings Cross is a bizarre no man’s land where it’s hyper gentrified in some ways but also a shitty void with fuck all going on. Bizarre place that experienced 30 years worth of development in 5.

cosmodisk 5y ago
It is a strange place indeed but its development is almost a blueprint for many others in the capital: previously shitty, ran down places being converted into very expensive areas,yet they aren't very livable. I mean what one is supposed to do when they leave their flats that are minutes walk from King's Cross?
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  Sounds like they need a park? Are there markets at least?
  - denton-scratch 5y ago
    The best street market in walking distance would probably be Chapel Street in Islington - about a 20-minute walk. There's a street market in Finsbury.
- jlarcombe 5y ago
  Go for a walk along the canal... I enjoyed working in Kings Cross for a year or so, but it is a slightly odd place. There are some nice small pubs and restaurants etc (better than the ones near Old Street, though less numerous) and loads of great concerts at Kings Place. The whole railway lands development area is weird but if you avoid that then it's quite good.

philjohn 5y ago

My brother lived on Great Eastern Street from the early 90's until last year, he got in just as it was an 'up and coming' area - it's an interesting place, and there are a fair few tech companies around there (Amazon is 5 minutes brisk walk, as is a company now owned by Vonage). It was interesting to see the area develop over those years.