The entire DC area, north and south, is pretty tight already! But so are many of the contenders.
Toronto has plenty of millennials of its own. Many people in the U.S. don’t realize it, but with 5.9 million people, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is the 5th largest metropolitan area in North America after Mexico City, New York, LA, and Chicago. It’s got one of the world’s great universities in the University of Toronto, plus numerous other quality schools within a close radius. And Canada’s immigration system is much more open, welcoming, and nimble than that of the U.S., so it’s much easier for Toronto-based companies to recruit global talent. This will be an even greater competitive advantage going forward as the present U.S. administration appears determined to further restrict immigration to the U.S. If Amazon has global ambitions, Toronto would be a natural choice for its HQ2.
Toronto is a vibrant, diverse city that many U.S. millennials would find highly attractive, and I don’t think Amazon would have much difficulty attracting them. But it wouldn’t need to.
As for winters, they’re real, with temperatures similar to Chicago and snowfall similar to Boston. A challenge at times, but millions of U.S. citizens endure it and some actually love it.
Someone said upthread that neither Toronto nor Boston had offered financial incentives, but according to this Chicago Tribune report on the competing bids, both of those cities and almost all the other finalists are offering various kinds of subsidies and financial incentives, many running to hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. Tops so far appears to be Newark with a package said to be worth an eye-popping $7 billion.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-amazon-hq2-headquarters-city-bids-20180118-story.html
@bclintonk The incentives that were included in Toronto’s proposal were not specific incentives to Amazon. They were funds, grants, tax credits, job grants, etc. that are available to be applied for by any company looking to invest in Canada. So, while, yes, some of these may be applicable if they are awarded, they are not promised or guaranteed.
One thing that the province is doing is increasing funding to universities by $30 million to boost the number of artificial intelligence graduates with an ultimate goal to have 1,000 graduates with applied master`s of A.I. leaving Ontario post-secondary institutions each year, within five years. Additionally, the government committed to help bolster the number of graduates in (STEM) disciplines more broadly by 25 per cent each year, also within a five-year timeline. This will result in an increase in STEM graduates from around 40,000 per year to nearly 50,000 in Ontario. These policies are in place not only with an eye to Amazon coming here but an overall educational funding policy to increase the number of well-educated university grads.
@coralbrook Come for a visit! I’d be happy to show you our beautiful city. 
And Amazon is going to give the 20 finalist a chance to better their offers too, especially since now everyone knows what others have offered and what didn’t work (sorry Tucson, no need for giant cacti).
SNL’s take
Those attempts at Boston accents were bad.
All the accents were terrible but it is very funny
Cute. But it’s chaim-bah. Bah-ston And Noork, one syllable, no breath.
I was surprised to see Minneapolis-St. Paul off the list since there was recent talk of Amazon buying Target.
Slightly OT but the Amazon Go store in Seattle next to HQ opened to the public today and DS texted “Just a liiiiiiiittle busy at the Go store” and that the “line is wrapping around the corner of the block”. He’s gotten lunch there occasionally and we got to peek in and get free shopping bags during Amazon Bring Your Parents to Work Day last fall.
They can save on lobbying costs by locating HQ2 in or near DC 
Here’s an interesting thought:
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/22/amazon-headquarters-shortlist-hq2/
Depending on the tax incentives, its not a race to the bottom at all. Tax revenues to the region (if the incentives are done correctly) would actually increase and there would be a net benefit to the region.
The agreement proposed in that article to have the 20 cities agree they won’t offer tax incentives and will let the cities be judged on the merits would favor cities which are already more favorable in terms of attracting businesses. In effect the haves would get more and the have nots would not. Doesn’t seem very progressive to me.
And that agreement would likely mean that Amazon opens up the bidding again to other cities (and crosses the 20 finalists off the list). Not to mention such an agreement would likely work like OPEC has for much of its existence: someone always cheats.
I agree with @saillakeerie . The author of the Intercept article, and the people quoted within, seem extraordinarily naive about how the wotld actually works.
There’s naivete on all sides. IRL, listen for it. Think back on past promises. Find the spin.
We like to think we see the benefits, but take it a step further. The faucet doesn’t drip equally for all. Who makes money? Which neighborhoods improve, which wait? And what are those “improvements?” You think your property taxes go down, your own salary goes up? Tell us.
I could rant on. This isn’t anti progress. It’s about how the incentives cost us, the frenzy, and the reality that, if you don’t directly benefit, you may end up indirectly paying.
Don’t think I have ever seen a planning commission, tax incentive plan, etc. which promised everyone in a given region would benefit equally or everyone would even benefit at all. Economies aren’t that simple.
Nor is politics. Much is “if only…” thinking. And the sound bites: XXX jobs! The Emerald City! Build it and they will come! Look what I did for you.
Meanwhile, corporate tax income is discounted and existing resources diverted to the newcomer’s needs. Not all the trickle down jobs pay more than minimums. A lot of benefit goes to other major national corporations, not the local family suppliers. (Ok, restaurants, boutiques, bike shops may gain.)
I hope all the naysayers start email campaigns to Amazon trying to discourage it from choosing their cities! Atlanta would welcome Amazon with open arms: more high paying jobs, more money flowing into the region, linkage with GaTech, Emory, UGA, Kennesaw, etc.
Oh, I’m sure there are Atlantans that would happily pass on Amazon - perhaps those already dealing with a horrendous daily commute.