Looks like Amazon hq2 is NYC and VA

[Matt R.]

I just read it looks like HQ2 is going to NYC and Virginia. NYC for talent attraction and VA/DC for politics is my guess. Thoughts?

[Russell Brazil]

Originally posted by @Aaron Taylor:

From a pure financial standpoint when you can pick anywhere in the US to build, those two areas seem like odd choices.  It's kind of like having the whole US as an option to buy rental property and then buying in the most expensive areas.  Obviously it must be non-financially driven to some degree.  But what do I know, lol.

I also think that huge headquarters may start to go by the wayside in the future.  I live in the midwest, and I've noticed that companies in expensive areas are starting to recruit people to work from home remotely rather than pay someone locally.  Like a person in Kansas might be 25% to 50% cheaper than someone in Cali doing the same job.  I think that trend is going to continue in the future as companies shrink their offices and hire remotely.  I know of two engineers in the last month that were recruited to work at home from now on.

 DC makes perfect sense to me as a DC area resident. Cheap housing when measured against income. Sure while we are the 5th or 6th most expensive market, we also make the most money by far making housing very affordable. Housing prices are only about 4 times our income, placing us outside the top 20 most expensive markets when measured against income.

We have the highest percentage of bachelors, masters, and doctoral level degrees by far. Sonhighly educated work force. We also have a culture built around work and careers here.

Biggest tech workforce outside the bay area.

We have a large amazon presence already, and the backbone of the entire internet is here in DC with 70% of the entire internets traffic driving through our data centers.

We have a great public transportation system. We have 3 major airports. We have some of the best school systems in the country.

Bezos owns the Post and the most expensive house in DC...and of course easy access for lobbying.  Marriott, Northrop Grumman and many other companies have certainly found it beneficial to be here for the purposes of lobbying