
Boston Buzzing with HQ2 Rumors - SQL2219
https://www.necn.com/news/business/Amazon-Eyes-Office-Space-in-Bostons-Seaport-District-468794773.html
======
hprotagonist
This conflates two things.

1\. Amazon is (already) leasing a big building in Seaport. It's mostly Alexa,
~500-1k staff.

2\. Amazon is shopping cities for a 50k-person second headquarters; one
candidate site is the old Suffolk Downs in revere.

For many reasons, i hope (2) does not come to pass.

~~~
colanderman
> Amazon is (already) leasing a big building in Seaport. It's mostly Alexa,
> ~500-1k staff.

There's a building in Fort Point, but apparently they're looking to lease yet
another one. [1]

[1] [https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/10/amazon-
seeks...](https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/01/10/amazon-seeks-big-
new-office-space-city/kMktDIWuDCg8ibG4Accc9H/story.html)

------
bigdubs
If one of the motivators for Boston is proximity to top tier universities, as
a data point of one I had zero desire to stay in Boston after school and
didn't think to get a job in the area. I doubt I would have stayed for Amazon.

~~~
dnadler
Out of curiosity, what made you want to leave?

~~~
gm-conspiracy
I would guess traffic and cost-of-living.

And the winter.

~~~
stevenwoo
I spent a week in Rhode Island for work and spent one day sightseeing in
Boston in the summer ~1998, it felt a lot like Houston in terms of heat and
humidity which really surprised me (long time Texan at that point.)

~~~
gm-conspiracy
Funny enough, I too spent some time in Boston during the summer of 1997.
Reminded me of Florida summer weather.

I went back last year in October. 20 years is a long time, but the traffic now
reminds me of Manhattan (apparently the bad drivers are called Mass-holes),
with screaming cabbies and bumper cars.

I did have the best clam chowder of my entire life there, so there is that.

~~~
cannonedhamster
The traffic isn't as bad as NY except for certain times of the day and once
you become a regular it's not difficult. The weather in the winter really only
means the snow. The cold isn't terrible, but the snow just mucks everything
up. It makes sense that you'd have the best seafood since Massachusetts has
the largest fishing port in the entire United States.

------
Analemma_
Maybe the other positives Boston has in its favor outweigh the downsides, but
you’d think Amazon would use this opportunity to pick a city with lower cost
of living. Boston is one of only a few places _more_ expensive than Seattle,
which raises the question of what is the point of doing this at all.

~~~
lakkal
I'm really hoping they'll choose southern NH, where I live. You get most of
the advantages of Boston, somewhat lower cost of living, and an opposite
commute from what typically happens now. I'm not interested in working for
Amazon and would like to leave the area, so it would make it easier to sell my
house...

~~~
cannonedhamster
Southern New Hampshire realistically wouldn't be a terrible spot. Manchester
has phenomenal infrastructure, an airport, and the space to support the
growth. I hope that they take your suggestion.

------
cannonedhamster
As someone who works just outside Boston, I'm really hoping they choose
somewhere other than MA. Usually this comes with massive corporate welfare
paid for by the taxpayers, higher traffic, and increase property costs.
Massachusetts doesn't have the infrastructure in place to support a large
influx of workers into a single place. The highways are a mess at the best
times of the year, turning into figurative parking lots during peak commuting
times, housing costs are astronomical because so many people want to live in
the same spots inside the 495 belt or on RT 2 or 190. My city put in a bid
which I would dread if we got. I haven't honestly seen many people who _want_
Amazon in their hometown.

------
montrose
I have always thought Boston was the most likely choice. The thing most big
tech cos want most is more good programmers, and by moving to Boston they can
get at the supply upstream of most other big tech cos. Plus it's a nice place.
(I lived there for many years.)

------
hallman76
Wikipedia[1] lists 52 colleges and universities in the boston metro area. The
anecdotal number I've heard is 65-ish, which must go out into the suburbs a
bit beyond wikipedia's bounds.

Amazon is a polarizing force, for sure. Some locals are concerned that their
presence will drive up the cost of living further. Others want the broader
economic impacts introduced by more tech jobs.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universit...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_colleges_and_universities_in_metropolitan_Boston)

------
SQL2219
and this

[http://www.kxl.com/boston-site-amazons-north-american-
headqu...](http://www.kxl.com/boston-site-amazons-north-american-
headquarters/)

------
Kyragem
Glad it’s not coming to my city!

~~~
dang
You've been posting lots of unsubstantive comments to HN. We ban accounts that
do that, so would you please read
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)
and not do that? The idea here is as follows: if you have a substantive point
to make, make it thoughtfully; if you don't, please don't comment until you
do.

