Surely the generations of corruption in Atl city government, not to mention the near-paralyzing traffic issues that absolutely will not tolerate another 8 million square feet of office space, will keep the Gulch (the area @BunsenBurner mentions) from being a serious candidate. Surely. . …
Honestly I don’t see how Austin, Dallas, LA, Atlanta, Boston, or the DMV are on the list of finalists. All of those cities already have HCOL and/or horrible traffic.
Actually the site proposed for Dallas isn’t too bad, it’s actually north of the city in Richardson,TX on land owned by UTD and the proposal includes a much awaited commuter rail station and gives Amazon access to UTD’s computers and there’s access to two major airports
^ I agree. I’ve driven and commuted in DC, Dallas, Atlanta, Boston, Austin.
DC and Dallas are the worst. It takes an hour or so to get anywhere. Atlanta is bad but the flow doesn’t stop. Boston is just squirrely. Austin roads are crowded but Austin is small so it takes 30 to 45 min to get through during rush hour.
@Greymeer , I don’t know how long it’s been since you’ve commuted in Atlanta, but it gets significantly worse every year. I’ve spent more hours than I could possibly count sitting still on Atlanta’s roads, so this “flow doesn’t stop” does not sound like the Atlanta I know. Amazon can’t be stupid enough to move here. How Mayor Keisha thinks she’s going to get employees into and out of the 8 million square feet of office space she wants to put into the Gulch is just beyond me. Mass hovercraft that picks you up in Lawrenceville and drops you onto the roof of your building?
The articles I posted back in #565 are why Atlanta should get drop-kicked out of contention.
@planit Yes , that’s why Atlanta was in my post. I was just there last week. “Rush hour”’starts about 2:00 in some places. The traffic was downright awful!
I also question how you can get through Austin in 30/45 during rush hour. No way I can get through Austin during rush hour in 30 to 45 minutes. I live in SW Austin and it can take me 45 minutes just to get to through the Oak Hill Y let alone any place north of the river! The number of traffic lights on 290 has doubled in the 12 years we’ve lived here and those stupid toll lanes on Mo Pac haven’t helped traffic at all. The traffic in just the past two years has increased significantly.
There is zero public transit in our area and the silly commuter train doesn’t even go from down town to the airport.
Dallas traffic is not nearly as bad as Austin or Atlanta. I think Dallas is a viable option.
Amazon was stupid enough to plop itself in the middle of the infamous Mercer Mess in Seattle… did not phase them a bit. As long as the tax kickbacks are good and the commercial RE offered to them is cheap… like the junklands of South Lake Union used to be… any place will be fair game.
Yeah, it takes me a lot longer than 30 to 45 minutes to get through Austin, most times of the day!
@3scoutsmom, I think you live very near to my sister. 
I still think it’s going to be the DC area.
Boston is worse now than even a couple of years ago. Same mid afternoon jam start.
Where is proposed around DC?
^^ I think there are 2 or 3 proposals.
The Washington DC area would be an interesting location because Amazon is likely to be dealing with antitrust issues in the next few years & it might help Amazon if members of Congress & the Justice Dept. had relatives & spouses employed by Amazon.
I think Atlanta is OK because it has better weather than other cities.
I’m guessing the VA possibility around DC.
Dallas I think would be great cost-wise and Amazon would be a great injection to the area.
DC/NoVa/Maryland would be absolutely brilliant.
So much tech talent, Metro is expanding so can accomodate many employees. Much of the infrastructure is there already for the long term. Govt is right there for any needed legal work/lobbying etc.
Of course it would turn the already terrible traffic into a nightmare.
Not the whole DC/NoVa/Md area. I can see out by Dulles Airport.
“I think Atlanta is OK because it has better weather than other cities.”
Not in the summer it’s not! 
Also, Atlanta actually got snow this past winter. The difference is cities like Boston and other northern cities can actually deal with the snow. Atlanta just gets paralyzed which isn’t good.
https://atlanta.curbed.com/2018/1/17/16900896/photos-midtown-atlanta-snow-january-2018
After 2 inches of snow: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/atlanta-other-parts-of-south-paralyzed-by-ice-snowstorm/