Looks like NOVA won Amazon HQ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/06/12/amazon-web-services-buying-into-massive-waterside.html?ana=psm_wa_fbpvkwmay18&kwp_0=877864&kwp_4=2996703&kwp_1=1262825

Here is the article about AWS purchasing land.

Please. These are for server farms or distribution centers. Trust me, Bezos is not signing himself up for a hellish commute. This was all a charade to see how low they could get DC to go and also to get some innovative ideas.

Have you heard of helicopters?

Have you heard of Secret Service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/06/12/amazon-web-services-buying-into-massive-waterside.html?ana=psm_wa_fbpvkwmay18&kwp_0=877864&kwp_4=2996703&kwp_1=1262825

Here is the article about AWS purchasing land.

Please. These are for server farms or distribution centers. Trust me, Bezos is not signing himself up for a hellish commute. This was all a charade to see how low they could get DC to go and also to get some innovative ideas.

Have you heard of helicopters?

Have you heard of Secret Service?

Please. Bezos can get a pass, trust me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

[Anonymous]

If Amazon locates in Herndon, Bezos can easily afford a "pied a terre" in Herndon (like a pied a terre bigger than most Fairfax residents homes) as well as his place in DC. He won't need to ride in a helicopter that much to get there. Aside from which he will still be working in Seattle, on non-Amazon things he owns, etc. Its not like he would need to be in Herndon 5 days a week.

The real disadvantage is having a hard time recruiting young single grads at that location, which might or might not be offset by the slightly older tech labor force out there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

Those things matter to employees, not employers. If you have no clue how long it takes from MD to VA, why are you speaking about it. Amazon is having trouble filling its positions which is why they bring people in on Visa's. There are plenty of tech jobs in MD. Most are not close in. Since you don't know, why are you speaking on what you don't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

? How do you know MD regulations turns off Bezos? Most of these big high tech companies are in blue states, those with more regulations, like WA, CA and NY.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

How do you know what Bezos wants? You remaking a huge number of assumptions. Bezos isn't expanding - they are renting AWS space and have multiple buildings all over and bought land to consolidate, which makes it easier for employees not having to run building to building and being able to work together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Amazon locates in Herndon, Bezos can easily afford a "pied a terre" in Herndon (like a pied a terre bigger than most Fairfax residents homes) as well as his place in DC. He won't need to ride in a helicopter that much to get there. Aside from which he will still be working in Seattle, on non-Amazon things he owns, etc. Its not like he would need to be in Herndon 5 days a week.

The real disadvantage is having a hard time recruiting young single grads at that location, which might or might not be offset by the slightly older tech labor force out there.

Most of the work force aren't new grads. Everyone keeps focusing on that and it's not the case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

Those things matter to employees, not employers. If you have no clue how long it takes from MD to VA, why are you speaking about it. Amazon is having trouble filling its positions which is why they bring people in on Visa's. There are plenty of tech jobs in MD. Most are not close in. Since you don't know, why are you speaking on what you don't know.

It matters to employees, hence to employers, who locate in part to make it easier to attract a labor force.

I don't "have no idea" just not an exact idea.

I doubt they want to staff up 100% on H1b's etc, if they are having trouble filling positions they will certainly pay attention to factors that effect the ability to attract and retain employees.

The number of tech jobs in Md is not as high as in NoVa, I am pretty sure. My point was that commuting time from residential areas in Virginia is more important to them than commute time from residential areas in Maryland. The issues for them with Crystal City are how commutable it is from Va - whether close in areas in Arlington, or more distant areas like Fairfax and beyond. I am not sure why you think commuting time from MoCo to Crystal City would be a big factor (you or another PP) I don't think it would be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Amazon locates in Herndon, Bezos can easily afford a "pied a terre" in Herndon (like a pied a terre bigger than most Fairfax residents homes) as well as his place in DC. He won't need to ride in a helicopter that much to get there. Aside from which he will still be working in Seattle, on non-Amazon things he owns, etc. Its not like he would need to be in Herndon 5 days a week.

The real disadvantage is having a hard time recruiting young single grads at that location, which might or might not be offset by the slightly older tech labor force out there.

Most of the work force aren't new grads. Everyone keeps focusing on that and it's not the case.

I am not sure. You have data on the expected age/experience breakdown for HQ2? The criteria they listed include some that sure sound like new grads are a concern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

The only criterion is money. How many qualified employees can Amazon get. Housing costs, schools, etc. are not important. That is corporate spin. Amazon is going to land in Crystal City 90%. All Bezos wants are 20 and 30 something educated employees, and proximity to the world's power center, Washington, DC. Bezos is already expanding AWS in Loudoun County be a few thousand employees. HQ2 is not going there as well. DC is off the list. Maryland regulations turn off Bezos. Bezos wants a east coast time zone as well. There is so much wishful thinking, but the decision was made the moment the search for HQ2 was announced. People who think vulture billionaires like Bezos cares about housing and schools have not been paying attention to Seattle. He does not, has not, and will not weigh any factor other than talent and location to DC politicians.

I am not sure why you are arguing with me. I think CC has a good chance, and said so above. But I don't think its 90%. Again, you say they want qualified employees, so the other things matter.

As for DC pols (lets be more precise and say national pols, its not Bowser and Mendo he wants access to) he does not need to have HQ2 be in greater DC for that. Few people in HQ2 will be lobbying/Govt relations types - its easy to set up a lobbying shop in DC while haveing all the marketing and other people elsewhere.

Sounds to me like you want to express anger about "vulture" billionaires. That is your privilege, but I dont think it helps this discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/06/12/amazon-web-services-buying-into-massive-waterside.html?ana=psm_wa_fbpvkwmay18&kwp_0=877864&kwp_4=2996703&kwp_1=1262825

Here is the article about AWS purchasing land.

Please. These are for server farms or distribution centers. Trust me, Bezos is not signing himself up for a hellish commute. This was all a charade to see how low they could get DC to go and also to get some innovative ideas.

AWS is a separate business unit. It has nothing to do with distribution centers. What are you rambling about Bezos for? Bezos is not moving to this area. At best he might visit every year or few months. You are right, it is a long commute from Seattle. But, its a pretty common commute for those at Amazon.

[Anonymous]

LOL @ someone seriously arguing that Bezos will have a pied a terre in Herndon. I'm actually laughing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give me a break. HQs go where CEOs live...Amazon’s HQ will be in DC. The rest is just a charade.

the sites in DC are terrible and we already have multiple development sites in litigation. No way this could go through without at least 5 years of lawsuits from DC residents to stop it. Crystal City is the best location. On metro, urban enough, VA is business friendly and you can be in DC in 10 minutes. Dulles corridor is a shit show of congestion and suburbia, two things Bezos did not want.

Crystal City is a s*** show too.

+1.

DCUM: HQ2 isn’t moving to Herndon. They can’t afford 700k 3000 sq houses.

Also DCUM: HQ2 is coming to Arlington, land of the million dollar shitshacks.

Here a fact guys. Your school system can’t manage the kids they already have without talking about two tracking the high schools because building a 4th high school is impossible for some reason. You do not have the infrastructure for the influx HQ2 would bring. You don’t have a plan to educate the kids you have. That’s just nuts. Tell your school board to get it together, or quit angling for more growth.

Also, saying that the Dulles Tech corridor is congested, but CRYSTAL CITY IS NOT is bonkers. I live in the Dulles Tech corridor and work in CC. CC is a lot more congested than Western Fairfax.

Amazon doesn't care about where their employees kids go to school. Its a non-issue. Not their problem.

Wasn't affordability one of Amazon's priority? That should rule out most of the DC area, in theory. But I suspect Amazon will ignore this priority and go for another expensive market.

affordability is one criterion of many.

They MIGHT go for a lower COL metro area.

They might go for an urban location in a high COL area, such as Crystal City.

They might compromise and go with Herndon (or similar in other metros)

I don't know exactly.

If they DO locate in CC, some new folks will live in Arlington, most families with HS age children will not. Arlington will manage the school capacity issue.

And Amazon will find that CC's combination of walkability, bikability, metrorail, VRE, and buses, provides many options. It is dense, and I suppose driving is a pain, but it doesn't really feel that congested.

But Herndon, with its convenience to Dulles airport, and to a large tech workforce, has advantages as well.

Amazon's criteria is what makes most sense for Amazon financially. Its about money. They don't truly care about housing, schools or transportation. And, just because there is public transportation around its not that easy for most to get to that public transportation. The metro is very limited in where it goes. You have to cut through DC from MD to get to VA. You are fooling yourself to think it has to do with anything beyond money. They have to leave/cannot grow in Seattle because they are now heavily taxing them. Its all about money.

Of course its about money. To make money they need a labor force. That is why the local tech labor force matters, and also schools and transporation. I mean they could locate to Alabama or Tennessee (I guess) if they just want lower taxes. Its all about money /= its all about taxes.

And for the younger people who will be an important part of their labor force, metro is quite important. And at Crystal City there is also VRE.

Is it hard to get from Md to Crystal City? I suppose. Since Md does not have as big a tech labor force as Virginia, I doubt that is a big problem for Amazon.

Those things matter to employees, not employers. If you have no clue how long it takes from MD to VA, why are you speaking about it. Amazon is having trouble filling its positions which is why they bring people in on Visa's. There are plenty of tech jobs in MD. Most are not close in. Since you don't know, why are you speaking on what you don't know.

It matters to employees, hence to employers, who locate in part to make it easier to attract a labor force.

I don't "have no idea" just not an exact idea.

I doubt they want to staff up 100% on H1b's etc, if they are having trouble filling positions they will certainly pay attention to factors that effect the ability to attract and retain employees.

The number of tech jobs in Md is not as high as in NoVa, I am pretty sure. My point was that commuting time from residential areas in Virginia is more important to them than commute time from residential areas in Maryland. The issues for them with Crystal City are how commutable it is from Va - whether close in areas in Arlington, or more distant areas like Fairfax and beyond. I am not sure why you think commuting time from MoCo to Crystal City would be a big factor (you or another PP) I don't think it would be.

They don't care about commute times. Yes, I care as it impacts me where they pick. I highly doubt they'd pick Crystal City.