re: Amazon seeking second headquarters for 50K employees

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Dark horse is MSP.

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WRONG

The "Dark horse" is officially Bogalusa, Louisiana.

Memphis is the headquarters of Fedex and has no state income taxes.

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Well they would probably be a bit more excited when a person with a $100,000 salary in Seattle would be able to get by on roughly a $64,500 salary in Columbus while maintaining the same standard of living.

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You think young talent cares about that? Cost of living will not even be in any sort of consideration for Amazon.

I still find it amazing that people have this perception that Amazon is a great company to work for. Pretty much everyone I know that works there hates it, but they pay decent. Terrible work/life balance. Amazon has been trying to make improvements recently, but still has a ways to go.

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still find it amazing that people have this perception that Amazon is a great company to work for. Pretty much everyone I know that works there hates it, but they pay decent. Terrible work/life balance. Amazon has been trying to make improvements recently, but still has a ways to go.

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Yep it a terrible work environment by most accounts

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You think young talent cares about that?

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Why wouldn't they? Home prices and rent prices are 2 to 3 times more expensive in Seattle than they are here, and we have one of the hottest rental markers in the country too. A one bedroom apartment goes for a thousand more per month, while a 2 bedroom is almost 1300 more per month.

If talent doesn't care about an extra 12,000 per year on rent or mortgage payments alone, then that talent better be in the top 99.9% of income, or that talent is not very smart, which calls the talent into question.

I'm not saying that it's a sole consideration, but it would foolish to not consider tens of thousands of net income.

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Cost of living will not even be in any sort of consideration for Amazon.

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Why wouldn't it be? Would the same position in a far cheaper area require the same salary?

If 65,000 in one place goes as far as far as a 100,000 in another than any wouldn't they pay less for the same work at a cheaper place. Anything between the cost of living difference would mean the salary for a cheaper city is has more value, even with thoughts it less.

I mean if $80,000 that would be a far better (20 to 25 percent) salary in Columbus than $100,000 in Seattle. If they can provide a better value for a salary and save $20,000 for each of the 50,000 employees, then that's a billion dollars less in salary costs per year.

And since those costs also include the costs associated the the business itself (rent, construction, utilities, etc.), that's assuredly well above a billion dollars in saving each and every year.

And besides Seattle wasn't a prime destination for people for most of its history. From 1960 it most population across various decades, and only had 6,000 more people by 2000. It's added almost 96,000 in the last 6 years alone, a yearly growth rate almost 90 times the 4 decades leading up 2000.

I really enjoyed Seattle when I visited a couple years back, and it sunny the whole time, but it's reputation as a dreary city is accurate ( 2nd most dreary city), and that's not usually an ideal climate for people and is actually not usually good for one's.

Yet, it's now a desirable location, but I don't think it's a coincidence that Seattle's growth occured at the same time as the growth of many of its largests companies like Starbucks, Amazon, Costco, and Microsoft. So it seems clear that jobs drove demand for the location, which would be the case for most places, including and especially wherever Amazon chooses to build this new headquarters.

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I still find it amazing that people have this perception that Amazon is a great company to work for. Pretty much everyone I know that works there hates it, but they pay decent.

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Yeah. It doesn't seem to the most satisfying work environment, but I'm sure the salary plus having Amazon on a resume is worth it.

1. Memphis
2. Somewhere between LaPlace and Sorrento
3. DFW

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That's because the tax rate in CA has driven them out.

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And yet CA is still the king of venture capital investment......Texas sells out its citizens by giving away tax money to big corporations that are searching for a payoff. That creates demand for housing which gives those citizens have lived in their house for 25 years a huge tax increase. Sure, they coukd sell.....but where do you move?.....Stop giving corporations tax breaks to move to your city and allow the private market to determine it.

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The "Dark horse" is officially Bogalusa, Louisiana.

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Alexandria has about 50k people, coincidence? Nope.