Amazon HQ2 RFP

Status
Not open for further replies.
KentXie said:
I don't think he is offended by anything you said per se. I think the issue is trashing another city because of the poster's own insecurity is counterproductive to the discussion.

Here's how you can reword your post so that you can sound like an adult, rover.

"If they're sticking to a robust transit network as in subways and commuter rail, this is a much more narrow contest than it first appeared. Atlanta, Charlotte, and Austin are out. We can exclude the cities with transit but have a high crime rate (Baltimore, Philly, Detroit) and who's left? Boston NY, DC, Chicago, Denver maybe (not sure of Denver's transit situation)."

By the way, high crime rate doesn't necessarily rule out any cities. Unless the entire city is in the middle of a war-zone, there are pockets of area that do not see significant crime. That's why cities like Philly and Chicago, both cities with high-crime rates, are still large business centers.
Click to expand...

I can trash any city I please provided I've actually been to the city and seen it first hand. I've heard bad things about Oakland for example, but as I've never been I couldn't say. I was in Philly earlier this month. Baltimore a couple of years ago. They're both dumps in my humble opinion. In Baltimore's case, the city is depopulating. That is not my opinion. That's a fact. We're all entitled to our opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts.

Furthermore, crime rate is in fact a big factor because it speaks to a dysfunctional city and usually poor leadership. For example, while it has many things going for it, Chicago has more murders per year than NYC and LA COMBINED - even though put together those two cities have 5 times the population. No, the senior execs of Amazon probably aren't going to be hanging out in the South Side. But, do you really want to locate in a city where the headlines every Monday are 500 people shot last weekend, but only 50 died? Yikes. If these places can't get that under control, you have to wonder what they can be functional at (transit, educating the workforce, etc etc).
 
Equilibria said:
It would be appealing, but how is it "easier than anything in the Boston proposals?" Suffolk Downs is construction ready in March and has two nearly-exclusive Blue Line stations right now. Port Covington has the potential for one commuter rail station (access to DC but not to Virginia or most of the DC suburbs) and maybe could have street-running light rail someday, which is access to Downtown Baltimore but nowhere else, at least in their latest dead-end plan.

I'm not sure Suffolk Downs is their best option, but it's almost certainly their easiest.
Click to expand...

Answer: HOUSING. Cost and availability.

Easier.
 
Rover said:
If they're sticking to a robust transit network as in subways and commuter rail, this is a much more narrow contest than it first appeared. Atlanta, Charlotte, and Austin are out. Get rid of the cities with transit but which are crime riddled dumps (Baltimore, Philly, Detroit) and's who's left? Boston NY, DC, Chicago, Denver maybe (not sure of Denver's transit situation)...
Click to expand...

If you aren't sure what trolling is - let me help you out. Your post is trolling. You knew it would rile people up and you posted it any way. That is a pretty juvenile thing to do.

Don't be that guy.
 
Chicago and Illinois are more likely to be adversely affected by the state and city pension liabilities then they are by crime rates. One of the criteria is a "stable and business-friendly environment".

https://www.illinoispolicy.org/mood...unk-warns-state-pension-liabilities-top-250b/

The 'stable environment' could pose a problem for Austin for example, where the state of Texas is trying to take back some local powers and autonomy from Austin because it is seen as too liberal.
 
What did I say before? Can we not trash other cities? Calling other cities dumps sounds less fair assessment of competitors and more old school Bostonian's famed provincial superiority-inferiority complex (inferiority complex to NYC, superiority complex for all the other cities). That's why everyone is getting irritated by your "two cents".

You're entitled to your own opinions, but we're entitled to call out that your opinion sounds more like your disdainful biases than intelligent analysis. There's a difference between ruling out Philly because of crime rate versus ruling out Philly because "it's a dump".

The former is a rational analysis with an understanding that since we're not Amazon execs, we could be wrong, but crime rate should be a deterrent that helps Boston's candidacy. But implies an understanding Philly can still win out because of other factors including Amazon being satisfied with the safe area or weighing other factors more.

The later is just thoughtless dismissiveness. Blindly painting an entire city with a broad brush, ignores the risk of underestimating rivals, and foregoes the concept other people may think differently.
 
^ well said. Bostonian superiority complex + ignorance only perpetuates issues (e.g., such as the rest of the country thinking we're a**holes) - it solves no issues.

Comcast thought well enough of Philly to build two supertalls there. So who the heck are we to judge? Obviously if one mega-company can decided to go all-in in Philly, so can another.

Let's focus on Boston's strengths, not bashing cities.
 
Gotta disagree. As we can walk and chew gum at the same time, so too can we admire some other cities and bash some others. That's half the fun frankly and some of you need to lighten up. Unless you're from Philly or Baltimore, who gives a $%^what somebody else thinks of it? Go vacation there if you'd like.

As far as "better cities than Boston" not sure how we'd judge that but there's a lot of be said for places like SF, NY, DC, New Orleans, Denver, etc etc over Boston. The problem is some of you are clinging to either boring or crappy places like you're defending the fat kid in gym class who always gets picked last to play on the team. Trolling would be saying something about a place that I don't actually believe. Truth be told, I wouldn't have expected to "get a rise" out of anybody out here by blasting these places as I wouldn't have thought anybody cared that much about them
 
Rover said:
The problem is some of you are clinging to either boring or crappy places like you're defending the fat kid in gym class who always gets picked last to play on the team. Trolling would be saying something about a place that I don't actually believe. Truth be told, I wouldn't have expected to "get a rise" out of anybody out here by blasting these places as I wouldn't have thought anybody cared that much about them
Click to expand...

See this? This is more trolling. You actually used an analogy ABOUT bullying to insult people. Are you going for some kind of meta-trolling merit badge?

Ask yourself before posting - how is this a positive contribution?
 
Equilibria said:
There will be plenty of housing for $100K Amazonians anywhere they go. The problem will be housing for everyone else.
Click to expand...

Man I wish it were the case, but $100k a year doesn't buy as much home around here as many seem to think.

Maybe a couple of fellow Amazonians making their $100k each.
 
SeamusMcFly said:
Man I wish it were the case, but $100k a year doesn't buy as much home around here as many seem to think.

Maybe a couple of fellow Amazonians making their $100k each.
Click to expand...

With 100k a year you can afford roughly a 300k house. Try finding a 300k house in the Boston area with a good commute.
 
tysmith95 said:
With 100k a year you can afford roughly a 300k house. Try finding a 300k house in the Boston area with a good commute.
Click to expand...

Not many of these folks will be buying, and Eastie, Winthrop, Chelsea, and Revere are some of the few places where you CAN do that here (at least for now).
 
It's not about being nice, it's about taking competition seriously. It's the competitive mentality (for me and most other respondents at least, I can recognize some are genuinely just mad about Philly). That's the thing you're not getting. It's not about that I care about Baltimore or any of the ~255-ish out the 263 cities dismissable as "below Boston". It's about taking basically all competitors seriously. Saying Boston should beat Philly because we have a better crime rate and more educated people is an intelligent analysis while also leaving an open discussion of an upset for various factors. Saying "it's a dump" does not reflect an intelligent assessment, but an arrogant dismissiveness.
 
fattony said:
See this? This is more trolling. You actually used an analogy ABOUT bullying to insult people. Are you going for some kind of meta-trolling merit badge?

Ask yourself before posting - how is this a positive contribution?
Click to expand...

Not defending anyone, but not picking someone for a sport is not bullying.
That many might think it is, is part of the problem.
Someone can just be bad at sports. It sucks, and to avoid it in gym class. The instructor needs to change tactics and not allow "captains" to pick teams. Inevitably, they pick the best and/or friends first. And feelings get hurt.

back on topic.....
 
tysmith95 said:
With 100k a year you can afford roughly a 300k house. Try finding a 300k house in the Boston area with a good commute.
Click to expand...

That seems pretty conservative. More like $400-500k. Add a spouse making $50k and you can crack $700k. That gets you a sub-30 minute commute on the T.
 
ant8904 said:
It's not about being nice, it's about taking competition seriously. It's the competitive mentality (for me and most other respondents at least, I can recognize some are genuinely just mad about Philly). That's the thing you're not getting. It's not about that I care about Baltimore or any of the ~255-ish out the 263 cities dismissable as "below Boston". It's about taking basically all competitors seriously. Saying Boston should beat Philly because we have a better crime rate and more educated people is an intelligent analysis while also leaving an open discussion of an upset for various factors. Saying "it's a dump" does not reflect an intelligent assessment, but an arrogant dismissiveness.
Click to expand...

On the flip side.
A cigar is sometimes just a cigar, the same as a dump is just a dump.
 
fattony said:
That seems pretty conservative. More like $400-500k. Add a spouse making $50k and you can crack $700k. That gets you a sub-30 minute commute on the T.
Click to expand...

Your math appears way off for many people.
You must lead a very spartan lifestyle, or have no other bills to try to make that work.

To generalize. The young folks looking to fill these jobs do not lead a spartan lifestyle. There is much dining out, nice things, expensive brews... etc.

Going with the old standby of a house costing 3x your salary. The $300k is true for $100k, and let's say $450 for your $150k couple. Both of which are not so readily available within a 20 mile or more radius to the city. Believe me, I have been looking for two years.


You can say people don't need cars, which may be true for some to many, and that adds to the amount of home one can afford. But, it is not going to be true for all or even half.

Many are also graduating with incredible college loan debt. That monthly payment can/will negate the money saved on a car/insurance.

Even at $100k/yr, many of these folks will be looking at roommate situations in the city.
 
tysmith95 said:
With 100k a year you can afford roughly a 300k house. Try finding a 300k house in the Boston area with a good commute.
Click to expand...

Not quite that low. At $100K, your front end ratio for mortgage ratio would be around $3,000 per month for home expense, and back end ratio would be $3,750 for total monthly debt. As long as your not heavily burdened by other debt, someone making $100K would only be worried about the front end ratio ($3,000/month) for mortgage, taxes, insurance and PMI(if required). Even with just $25K down for a 95/5 loan, you will qualify for almost $500K home purchase on a fixed rate mortgage.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top