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Comment by hnaccy | Hacker News Reader

I hope they pick Atlanta but I doubt techies want to live in the South.

I'd think the massive calamity known as Atlanta traffic would be more off-putting than "living in the South". I know I'd love to find someplace warmer to live.

Could try a little bit further up 85

Warmer but more humid. The Deep South is definitely air conditioning country.

You don't even have to be in the Deep South to need A/C. I live in North Carolina, which is "South but not Deep South" and I can't imagine living here without A/C.

You might change your mind after spending a couple of summers here. ACs run 24/7. But 1" of snow sends everyone home - to clean grocery stores out of milk and bread.

Just shove it all in midtown.

If you know where you're going to work, it's not difficult to plan where to live to avoid traffic. Not to mention the breakneck pace we're adding midrise housing next to anything that looks mildly interesting.

Many techies not only want to live in the South, they are FROM the South.

Started out my career during the dot-com boom in Atlanta. The only reasons I left were proximity to family, and the traffic problem.

Also, the "I'm not quite going to snow, so have some 35-degree rain" or "Hey, how about an ice storm?" winter weather.

Never really had much of a problem finding a gig down there.

Have you ever been to RTP? We have a TON of techies here and this is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Which is both good and bad, because right now one of the nice things about living in this area is the relatively cheap cost of living. But an influx of newcomers will eventually drive that up. But more jobs are good as well. Anyway, the point was just to say that lots of techies are already quite happy in this particular corner of the South.

What might kill Atlanta for AMZN - besides certain problems with traffic and sociopolitical climate (we have probably the largest Confederate memorial in the US called Stone Mountain) - is WHERE Atlanta (itself not an especially large political jurisdiction) would probably like AMZN to build - south of I-20 which is not where most people would want to work or live right now.

Obtaining the land would probably be the easy part, issues such as gentrification might prove harder to solve.

The various counties comprising the ATL metro might themselves spark a bidding war to lure AMZN but I have no idea how that would take shape.

If suburban ATL is in the mix, what about the old GM plant in Doraville?

That site is being developed as Assembly Yards: http://assemblyyards.com/

But I think it could be a good pick since its still under development. The only major tenant I've read about is Serta moving their HQ there.

The only downside I can think of is this is not in the city center, but that is on their nice to have list on the RFP.

There are three other areas I could see if Atlanta was to be considered. (There are likely more but to me these stand out).

First, the Downtown area. I think development there could get the most tax credits and their is a surprising amount of vacant or under utilized land. I don't know enough detail but I would assume that "The Gulch" area and/or "Underground Atlanta" area could be potential sites since they are both up for redevelopment currently.

Second, Midtown could be a good contender. There seems to be potential for redevelopment around North Ave and Civic Center stations. I think the Civic Center is vacant currently and could be a large enough site, but doesn't have direct access to the rail station.

Third, Sandy Springs/Dunwoody. Looking at the area around the Dunwoody Marta station specifically. I know I've seen some master plans for that area online and they could fit the bill. The new State Farms HQ there was able to get direct access to the Marta station (I think). The site where AJC is or the shopping centers with Best Buy would work. It seems that Mercedes Benz was able to get a good deal for moving to this area. There are already a lot of large companies with HQs in this area and its close to desirable areas for executives. (similar to Assembly Yards its not in the city center)

My personal pick would be for Midtown, since I think that the most desirable area and employees would like it better, but the more I think about it, I think Downtown makes more sense for what Amazon is looking for and COA would likely be willing to make a better deal for a major development there.

> "sociopolitical climate (we have probably the largest Confederate memorial in the US called Stone Mountain)"

The thing about Atlanta is inside of the perimeter is almost just like any other multi-cultural and socially-liberal coastal metropolitan area.

A lot of techies already do.

I went through Alpharetta with a friend once and saw all the expensive cars and jerk drivers. I thought it must be what living in Silicon Valley is like.

My experience has not been as bad, but since moving to the north side, I don't use the interstates as much to get around. The psychos all seemed to use the interstates.

Or maybe I am one of the jerks.

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