Why Amazon HQ2 Should Choose Austin

Amazon had made October a busy month for city officials. The bid for Amazon HQ2 had a deadline of Oct. 19, 2017. The city to make the top 20 list featured Austin, Texas. The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce had presented the city’s proposal for Amazon’s HQ2 on Wednesday, a day ahead of the deadline. Austin officials confirmed that there were no local financial incentives included in the proposal for Amazon HQ2. Despite the bid, this does not eliminate Austin from the competition. Instead, this forces companies to focus on the great surroundings of Austin and of what the community has to offer.

The city of Austin is the fastest growing city in the United States with an economic growth rate of 6.1% from 2011-2016. This is due to their status of being the next Silicon Valley. Austin is gradually morphing their city into a tech hub. This version of Silicon Valley offers high affordability to Austin investors, which is unlike the original hub. The community preserves a young, educated population and is surrounded by Venture Capitals. The living factors include a thriving restaurant and music culture. The city of Austin is an attraction to young techies and entrepreneurs.

“Texas is a hotbed for the tech industry, and both Austin and Dallas have proven themselves to be among the most sought after locations for companies looking to grow and thrive,” Governor Abbott said. “… I am confident that the economic advantages of an Amazon expansion in Texas speak for themselves, and make either Austin or Dallas an ideal fit for Amazon’s HQ2.”

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The job growth for Austin predicted a production of 9,000 new tech jobs in 2017. Professional engineers, researchers, and etc were already flooding the city. When Amazon decides to pick Austin as their new home for HQ2, it won’t be difficult to search for employment. Perhaps Amazon will relocate to the next Silicon Valley.

“Austin, for several years, has been getting global recognition as a great place to work with. When you look at South by Southwest (festival) … the (Formula) 1 race, (Austin City Limits) festival … that certainly puts Austin on the map for not only Amazon, but other companies that may decide this is the right place for them.” told Mike Berman of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

The tech company will announce the winning city later in 2018. Meanwhile, small businesses and agencies within Austin are able share their professional insight to Amazon also. This is why Amazon HQ2 Should Choose Austin:

How will Amazon HQ2 affect the economy of the city?

‘With Amazon HQ2 in Austin, we will see the opening of 50,000 new direct and indirect jobs, most of which will north of six figures, not at all surprising given the nature of the business and the high demand for tech professionals in the area’. Told Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

‘It will obviously have a big boost, especially if it landed in one of our suburban communities. When you talk about each job equaling more than one person entering the community, and all the rest of the jobs created in the community because of it, it becomes a tremendous addition’. Redroc Austin spoke from Redroc Advertising.

“The impact on Amazon HQ2 to the Austin Metropolitan area would be significant. As a city Austin has a thriving tech and startup scene, one of the best in the country; but when you look at the list of publicly traded companies with headquarters in Austin it is extremely minimal compared to other cities of our size. Amazon building their new HQ2 in Austin would impact infrastructure, urban growth, tech talent pool and countless other aspects similar to what has happened in Seattle”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“With intentions to invest $5 billion into new construction and create 50,000 new jobs, the Amazon HQ2 will undoubtedly boost the local economy through the tax roll alone. The ripple effects of the HQ2 will also give the economy an added boost. More companies will follow suit and set up their headquarters in the same city, more jobs will be created, trade activity will increase, then the population and house prices will rise….  all of which will keep generating more and more tax revenue”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

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Amazon is searching for talent in software development and related fields. What is your city’s tech scene like?

‘Austin has one of the most vibrant tech communities in the country boasting of a strong higher education system and a strong pull from other tech hubs, offering relatively affordable housing, high culture, and growth potential to newcomers’ – Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

‘The Austin area is about as good as you can get for tech. Lots of universities. A great environment for you people. SXSW. The list goes on and on’, Redroc Austin spoke from Redroc Advertising.

“Austin has one of the best tech scenes in the country outside of Silicon Valley according to most major editorial reports and industry research, what we are missing is a stable presence of large publicly traded companies”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“The tech scene in the capital of Texas is thriving. Tech giants such as IBM and Dell have their headquarters in Austin. Facebook, Amazon, and Apple also have offices here. This is just to name a few. SXSW alone attracts thousands of influential people in tech every year”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

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How will the community welcome Amazon HQ2?

‘Austin will benefit tremendously from this new investment. Our roads and developments, however, will suffer with the inflow of new workers. Higher real estate prices and more congested roads will be the most obvious immediate changes’, told Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

‘It would be mixed. Everyone knows the boost it could bring, but one of our biggest issues in this town is transportation. No one can fathom how rough this could be on our already saturated freeways. We also don’t seem to have a local government that interested on making transportation better as it is, much less with the addition of Amazon. The HQ2 would certainly need to be on the fringes of town where there would be more room for development’, Redroc Austin spoke from Redroc Advertising.

“Austin is known as a forward thinking city that thinks outside the box, but we are still in the south. We will welcome Amazon with open arms and roll out the red carpet to make HQ2 a success”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“I think there will be a mixed reaction. I think some members of the community will be excited about the employment opportunities and the value of their property increasing, whereas others will be angry about the growing population. Many feel that Austin is already too overcrowded and traffic is definitely a problem here”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

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Do you support the major’s proposal? Why, or why not?

‘As a tech professional myself, I do support the proposal and hope we follow this major investment with substantial investment in infrastructure and high density urban living…and please…lots of parking!’ told Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

“We support the major’s proposal because we feel that it will be a benefit to the economy and culture of the city as a whole”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“I support the proposal because of the tremendous amount of capital this will bring to the city. It will help develop the infrastructure, provide employment opportunities for local talent (at all skill levels) and it will ultimately catapult the growth of the city. I think it will be a big win, not just for Austin, but for all of Texas”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

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Besides financial incentives, what does your city offer?

‘Austin offers a vibrant culture, young demographics, buzzing music scene and great night life. It also offers relatively inexpensive housing and a growing pool of qualified workers’, told Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

“Austin. Everyone wants to be here these days to be a part of the city and the energy. People want to move here. That makes it so much easier to hire and bring people in’, Redroc Austin spoke from Redroc Advertising.

“While not all details have been disclosed, our cities offers one of the largest university campuses in the nation; The University of Texas. This would provide a constant stream of new talent for the brand including other major institutions in the area such as St. Edwards University, Texas State University and Texas A&M”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“A business-friendly environment, an exciting networking scene, a well-educated recruitment base, an international airport, plenty of culture and great weather. Amazon wouldn’t have to worry about regular snowstorms disrupting business”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

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What is in your city that isn’t found anywhere else?

‘Austin has a very unique vibe and a culture that is only found in much larger centers. It is fun, it’s smart, it’s fit and healthy, it’s outdoors and it’s inclusive’. – Ricardo Casas of Fahrenheit.io.

‘SXSW. ACL Fest. “Live Music Capital of the World” Texas state capitol. Willie Nelson’, Redroc Austin spoke from Redroc Advertising.

“We offer a similar culture to San Diego and San Francisco in which the cost of living is still actually affordable. This is truly the only place in the country that can still be found”. -Darryl Stevens of DIGITECH Web Design.

“A unique kind of weirdness that everybody loves”. -James Trumbly of HMG Creative.

There are other agencies however who actually believe, ‘I’m not sure I do think Austin’s the best place for an Amazon headquarters. We’re already bursting at the seams with so many people and don’t have the infrastructure for the population we have’, told Kristen Hicks of Austin Copywriter. While the opportunity is at large, many other agencies do not see fit in this business deal.

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If you are an agency from Austin, and wish to contribute, please fill out this form here: https://ownersmag.com/need-talk-marketing-pr-agencies-amazon/

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