Dude I love OKC. I am frustrated with the way it is because it can be a lot better.

Yes, I’ve been to Houston a lot. It has its fair share amid ugly areas but the whole city isn’t like that and has tons of beautiful areas. I just can’t understand how anyone would call it the armpit of America. Name me an area of OKC that is compares with Houston’s beautiful parts and I guarantee you I can point you a mile east, west, south, or north of any beautiful area of OKC and it won’t look so good. Maybe the only exceptions are The far NW area by Edmond, Nichols Hills Area, and perhaps parts of the SW. Maybe 3-4 places in OKC that are nice that aren’t small and surrounded by dumps.

yeah no one cares what you think.

http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/ef/ef02b4af17582f7a6170122891c468b7be9ea23b0285b06fb6 db56ed06b08fe3.jpg

So, speaking of Amazon, if you pay for Prime by the year you're good, but if you're monthly your rates just got jacked up to the point where paying monthly is insane. You already paid a premium, but now monthly REALLY costs you.

Armpit of America in Houston?! LOLOL dude, if you live in OKC, you’re living in the armpit of America. I can’t understand how someone would prefer Atlanta over Dallas but I can accept it. Different taste. You can hardly see anything outside of all of the trees but that adds it’s own charm and Atlanta has its beautiful areas. But I think Dallas is prettier than Atlanta overall.

However to say Houston is ugly and is the armpit of America? I can’t take anyone serious that says that while living in possibly the ugliest city in the US calling one of the biggest and fastest growing metros the armpit of America.

I’m starting to realize how many posters on here have a huge inferiority complex. I had one too about Tulsa when I was younger as many here know. Wow.

FYI, I see Houston as a very pretty city. But I’m not putting it on some golden pedestal here. To call it the armpit of America is hilarious.
You're right - all the trees that make Atlanta beautiful are damned ugly! Thank god Dallas doesn't have them - you wouldn't be able to see all their wonderful highways with all those pesky trees!

You also might want to learn to read - I didn't say Houston was ugly. I said it's a terrible city. Which it is. Of course, this is what's called an opinion. You're entitled to your own.

Inferiority complex? Because I prefer Atlanta to Houston? L.O.L.

You get more obnoxious by the post.

Give it a rest and stop claiming to love OKC every five seconds when almost all of your posts contradict that. Just because Houston is a big city, doesn’t mean people will like it more or consider it prettier than OKC. Most people I know in the energy industry that don’t live in Houston would move pretty much anywhere other than Houston if forced to relocate. Several friends of mine lived there and left because they hated it. It’s a city that people seem to either really like or absolutely hate. Personally, I have to spend a decent amount of time down there and would prefer that time be spent almost anywhere else. Armpit of America might be harsh, but many people would prefer OKC or Tulsa over it.
Armpit of America probably was harsh, it's just not my cup of tea in any way. But I thought we were entitled to our opinions on an internet forum. My bad.

You can buy deodorant and razors on Amazon for all of your armpit needs.

Give it a rest and stop claiming to love OKC every five seconds when almost all of your posts contradict that. Just because Houston is a big city, doesn’t mean people will like it more or consider it prettier than OKC. Most people I know in the energy industry that don’t live in Houston would move pretty much anywhere other than Houston if forced to relocate. Several friends of mine lived there and left because they hated it. It’s a city that people seem to either really like or absolutely hate. Personally, I have to spend a decent amount of time down there and would prefer that time be spent almost anywhere else. Armpit of America might be harsh, but many people would prefer OKC or Tulsa over it.
Okay you got me. I hate Oklahoma City and want to see it fail. What do you want me to say?

For every person that prefers Tulsa or OKC over Houston, I’m willing to bet you there’s a hundred more that would rather live in Houston.

I understand people have their own opinions, but saying Houston is the armpit of America makes absolutely no sense. What variables come into to play to earn the title of being the armpit of America? That’s like saying no one wants to live in NYC because you don’t like it. It’s so easy to show how many people leave NYC a year and leave out other details. Be real.

I’m a very harsh critic of OKC and I’m sure most here can see that. But please, don’t sit here and act like the city doesn’t have problems. I won’t be bullied by other posters who have a list of what is acceptable to bitch about and what isn’t. I will continue to post my opinions about the city and call out certain posts when I see fit.

I’m not going to defend myself and explain why I love OKC regardless of what my posts tell you. Again, I will continue to do my part to make OKC a better place and I will continue to post my opinions where I see fit.

You're right - all the trees that make Atlanta beautiful are damned ugly! Thank god Dallas doesn't have them - you wouldn't be able to see all their wonderful highways with all those pesky trees!

You also might want to learn to read - I didn't say Houston was ugly. I said it's a terrible city. Which it is. Of course, this is what's called an opinion. You're entitled to your own.

Inferiority complex? Because I prefer Atlanta to Houston? L.O.L.

You get more obnoxious by the post.If you go back and reread my post, you’ll notice I didn’t use one personal attack. It’s sometbing I’m trying to work on. Sorry you were so offensed by my post.

Yes, it is certainly fine to call it a terrible city. I wouldn’t have responded to your post if you said it was a terrible city. But you called it the armpit of America. I want to know what your definition of that is. You’re making a claim. Not just an opinion.

No. I did not mean to infer that was why you had an inferiority complex. In fact that statement wasn’t even really directed at you. I was thinking out loud.

If I’m that obnoxious, there’s an ignore button for a reason.

If you go back and reread my post, you’ll notice I didn’t use one personal attack. It’s sometbing I’m trying to work on. Sorry you were so offensed by my post.

Yes, it is certainly fine to call it a terrible city. I wouldn’t have responded to your post if you said it was a terrible city. But you called it the armpit of America. I want to know what your definition of that is. You’re making a claim. Not just an opinion.

No. I did not mean to infer that was why you had an inferiority complex. In fact that statement wasn’t even really directed at you. I was thinking out loud.

If I’m that obnoxious, there’s an ignore button for a reason.
I wasn't offended by your post. Calling it that was harsh and I shouldn't have said it. But I did say IMO. I wasn't offering anything other than my opinion. There's certainly no definable criteria other than my personal preferences - Houston just isn't my cup of tea. I should have left it at that.

We cool?

I wasn't offended by your post. Calling it that was harsh and I shouldn't have said it. But I did say IMO. I wasn't offering anything other than my opinion. There's certainly no definable criteria other than my personal preferences - Houston just isn't my cup of tea. I should have left it at that.

We cool?Yeah we cool. I didn’t mean to come as a dick or to bash OKC.

As a native Houstonian, you just gotta know where to be. True Houstonians embrace the city’s roughness, quirks and negatives and spin them into positives. I have been dying to vacation in my own hometown for years and now that my mom moved to MN with us I can pull it off without hearing it from the fam for not spending time with them when I go down there.

Houston and OKC can't really be compared because Houston is so much larger. That's like trying to compare somewhere like Fort Smith or Lawton to OKC. They are in entirely different leagues.

Houston has plenty of ugly, blighted areas but the city is absolutely massive and has a lot of nice areas as well. Westward from downtown, south of I-10 is very nice. I could live there in a heartbeat.

The best part of Houston is the suburbs. But that's all really off topic.

That's actually the worst part, and I'm from the burbs of Houston

So, Apple has stated they are looking at a lower-cost location to locate their new HQ 2. They say it won't be in CA and it won't be in TX. OKC may actually have a chance if they put in a top notch effort.

I guess I'm the only one here who doesn't understand all the hatred for Houston. It has its trashy parts but also has a lot of nice areas. I actually like Houston and if I were to move to a big city it would be on my shortlist.

This surprises me from you. It has to be one of the least planned and thought out cities in the US.

I don’t know why or how this became a Houston thread but I guess I’ll contribute since I was just there a few weeks ago (for the first time in probably 20 years). The lack of zoning there was so jarring. We were in nice areas (due west out of downtown, River Oaks, Memorial, Galleria area) but it just looked so ... tacky. I mean, strip clubs right next to tall buildings (way too tall for their context), next to strip malls next to run down looking structures, yet we were blocks away from million + dollar mansions. The whole thing looked so chaotic, like a 5 year old was playing SimCity. No thanks.

Hey, when I worked for/with Enron years ago there was a driving range between two office buildings downtown and 3 Starbucks by the Enron headquarters (one inside, one free standing outside, and one across the street) and the Astro dome became a church. Can't be all bad then?

I don’t know why or how this became a Houston thread but I guess I’ll contribute

It isn't.

Hey, when I worked for/with Enron years ago there was a driving range between two office buildings downtown and 3 Starbucks by the Enron headquarters (one inside, one free standing outside, and one across the street) and the Astro dome became a church. Can't be all bad then?

The Summit became the church. The Dome is still standing because we right over tearing it down or repurposing it. Trust me I love that it's the 8th Wonder of the World but tear it down already.

I'm very interested to learn more about Apple's HQ2. Is there anymore information about it?

I would like more complaining about Houston, please. Garbage city.

I would like more complaining about Houston, please. Garbage city.

2nd fastest growing MSA in the country, but yeah, total garbage

2nd fastest growing MSA in the country, but yeah, total garbage

Hey, landfills grow at a high rate too!

Okay, enough about Houston.

Back to discussing the Amazon HQ please.

Granted its been almost a decade since I've been to Atlanta but I never really liked it. I preferred Charlotte a lot more (the natural beauty of Atlanta combined with a 'glitz' reminiscent of Dallas, without the congestion of a Tier 1 city). Maybe I also didn't experience Atlanta the right way.

Probably not. It took me like 10 to 15 business trips before I really started to find the areas I liked. Granted, it's not at all a fav city or anything, but it does have a lot to offer, starting with the magnificent trees.

Generally, I'm not crazy about any city in which 3/4 of the metro population resides in cities other than the city. Atlanta only has about 400k residents who live in "Atlanta," and several million scattered in about 30 other townships. That seems like a terrible challenge for city governance.

I'm not a fan of OKC's spread out nature, but I like that we have a council that governs most of the metro area and that we can vote on things like MAPS and address civic needs and wants.

I am not sure if it is attached to the status of the HQ but I have it on good authority from the planning dept. that amazon will build a distribution center near Will Rogers starting 2018. But no drone program due to the airspace restrictions.

Btw Houston is a 6 million resident disaster. It’s like Atlanta on steroids for people who can’t afford to make it in LA. But “some like it hot.”

Edit: spell check!

Hey, landfills grow at a high rate too!
Spot on. Well done.

This surprises me from you. It has to be one of the least planned and thought out cities in the US.

Houston was my first "big city" experience as an adult which is part of why I have a special fondness for it. I spent a month down there in the summer of '07 and it was a real coming of age experience for me. I really wanted to move down there after college but never could make it happen.

What surprises me is that people who have such a distaste for Houston would like places like Atlanta and Dallas. They are the same breed of cities.

Hence my comment “Atlanta on steroids.” Just keep driving and you’ll run into Athens, now there’s a fun town with some southern style.

2nd fastest growing MSA in the country, but yeah, total garbage

There's a landfill on the southeast side of town that keeps getting bigger too.

Edit: Damn, PhiAlpha beat me to it.

Houston was my first "big city" experience as an adult which is part of why I have a special fondness for it. I spent a month down there in the summer of '07 and it was a real coming of age experience for me. I really wanted to move down there after college but never could make it happen.

What surprises me is that people who have such a distaste for Houston would like places like Atlanta and Dallas. They are the same breed of cities.

May be an age thing. It's gotten better, but compared to Dallas, in the past Houston was a very dirty city. Like LA it had a smog layer, and just stunk, everywhere. There was a brown haze in the air, and it was just generally unhealthy. Both cities have cleaned up, but first impressions. Compared with a city like Austin and the difference is striking. Plus the airport is a nightmare.

There's a landfill on the southeast side of town that keeps getting bigger too.

Edit: Damn, PhiAlpha beat me to it.

https://ct.thisonesite.com/ol/to/se/i39/2/9/5/frabz-oh-you-almost-had-it-you-gotta-be-quicker-than-that-782d6e.jpg

:p

I am not sure if it is attached to the status of the HQ but I have it on good authority from the planning dept. that amazon will build a distribution center near Will Rogers starting 2018. But no drone program due to the airspace restrictions.

Edit: spell check!

I'm interested in hearing more about this.

nm

I am not sure if it is attached to the status of the HQ but I have it on good authority from the planning dept. that amazon will build a distribution center near Will Rogers starting 2018. But no drone program due to the airspace restrictions.


Edit: spell check!

What 'planning dept' ?

Atlanta development proposal just happens to be Amazon-sized

By: Associated Press January 25, 2018

ATLANTA – As Atlanta vies for Amazon’s second headquarters, a developer just happens to be proposing a $5 billion downtown project with 9.3 million square feet of office space – more than three times the amount in the Empire State Building.

No one’s saying it’s for Amazon – yet.

Details of the massive proposed development are coming into view from public records and comments.

An architect working with Los Angeles-based development firm CIM Group presented its proposal Thursday to an Atlanta business group. Christopher Sciarrone never mentioned Amazon during the one-hour presentation.

But when asked after the meeting whether the project would suit Amazon’s criteria for its new headquarters, Sciarrone said “it would seem to.” He added that he does not know whether the project is being pitched as a site for Amazon.

Public documents filed by the group don’t mention Amazon, but specifications of its proposed project are in line with the retail giant’s requirements.

“The big vision for the developer is this really vibrant, urban, mixed-use community that’s walkable, that’s lively 24/7, that’s not just asphalt parking lots,” Sciarrone said.

The office space that would be created “is almost exactly two Sears Towers,” said Thomas Leslie, an architecture professor at Iowa State University who is the author of “Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934.”

“It would be like building two of them right next to each other,” Leslie said of the 110-story Chicago high-rise, which has since been renamed Willis Tower.

The Atlanta development would include 18 buildings in a part of downtown known as “The Gulch,” now covered with vast parking decks and vacant lots and sometimes used as a film set, according to planning documents from the Atlanta Regional Commission. Hollywood crews used it to film scenes from the 2016 movie Captain America: Civil War. The AMC TV show The Walking Dead filmed from a rooftop overlooking The Gulch during the show’s first season.

The office space would be spread throughout 14 of the buildings, which would range in height from 70 to 500 feet, the planning documents state. It would also include a 350-foot hotel with 1,500 rooms and three residential towers.

Metro Atlanta now has about 146 million square feet of office space, and the proposed project would be an increase of about 6.4 percent, said Barbara Denham, a senior economist at New York-based Reis Inc., which tracks commercial real estate.

It would take at least 60,000 jobs to fill all the office space being proposed, Denham said.

However, the metro area has been adding jobs at a rapid rate. Metro Atlanta had seen some of the highest rates of job growth in the U.S., adding 37,100 office jobs last year for a growth rate of nearly 5 percent, Denham said.

Asked whether the project would move forward with or without Amazon, Sciarrone said after Thursday’s meeting, “we hope so.”

“My first question is not just building size, but infrastructure,” Denham said. “Do you have the infrastructure to take on that much in terms of public transportation, highway and road access,” Denham said.

At Thursday’s meeting, Sciarrone noted the existence of two rail transit stations at each end of the development. He said the team working on the project has discussed access to the stations with representatives of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, and that public transit would be a key component of the development.

“Something that big creates its own gravity,” Leslie said. “It’s something that’s going to pull the cultural life in a city in its own direction.”

The projected completion date is 2027, which is when Amazon has said it needs up to 8 million square feet of office space in its second headquarters building known as HQ2 which could potentially bring 50,000 workers. Work could begin in about a year, Sciarrone said.

The timeline is “ambitious, but doable,” said Richard Porter, a professor in the School of Building Construction at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Details of the project and its timeline would be likely adjusted, depending on market conditions in the next few years and other factors, Porter said.

Amazon’s Seattle headquarters is 8.1 million square feet, and includes more than 30 buildings.

Most of the 20 finalists for the Amazon project are keeping details of their pitches secret, but Boston has gone public with a massive development proposal on the scale of the Atlanta project.

Along with Atlanta and Boston, the other 18 communities still in the running to land the Amazon project are Austin, Texas; Chicago; Columbus, Ohio; Dallas; Denver; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; Miami; Montgomery County, Maryland; Nashville, Tennessee; Newark, New Jersey; New York City; northern Virginia; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, North Carolina; Toronto; and Washington, D.C.

Jeff Bezos’ Quest To Find America’s Stupidest Mayor (https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-baker-amazon-hq2_us_5a7b28aee4b08dfc92ff0128?ncid=inblnkushpmg0 0000009)

Moved a bunch of posts to a new Amazon & Politics thread in the Politics Forum:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?t=44125

Sources: Tulsa in Discussions with Amazon to Construct Distribution Center (http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/sources-tulsa-in-discussions-with-amazon-to-construct-distribution-center/article_c0fab4af-a017-51b1-bdaa-d94418e62df6.amp.html)

That belongs in the Tulsa subsection.

Texas city of Arlington says it's out of bid for Amazon HQ2

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The city of Arlington says it's "no longer moving forward" in the competition to become Amazon's second headquarters, and released details of the incentives it offered the online retailer.

Arlington said Tuesday it had been "one of the very select finalists in North Texas asked by Amazon to make an in-person pitch to company executives and provide a site visit for our proposed HQ2 site." But it said it was no longer involved.

"We realize we are no longer a focus in the HQ2 selection process," city spokeswoman Susan Schrock said in an email.

Arlington's pitch was included in the proposal for the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which included many area sites. Arlington says it "remains very supportive" of the region's ongoing effort to land the headquarters.

Amazon had set off the competition last year, and made clear that tax breaks and grants would be a big factor in its decision. In January it released a list of 20 areas still in the running for the $5 billion project that could employ up to 50,000 people. Seattle-based Amazon.com didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Arlington offered incentives estimated at $921 million, including a 10-year property tax abatement and a grant for the hiring of Arlington residents. The city proposed the 200-plus-acre Globe Life Park, soon-to-be-former home of the Texas Rangers baseball team, as the potential site. The team will move into a new stadium in 2020.

The city, which is located between Dallas and Fort Worth, said its 10-year economic model indicated the project could bring more than 96,000 permanent jobs, almost $50 billion in salaries and wages and almost $4 billion in taxable sales.

Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Amazon was looking for a different environment.

"I think it was looking for a more downtown, urban environment but it intrigued them very much that they could come in here and build a downtown right here," he said.

This is really interesting and could prove to be another innovative move in Amazon's bid to take over the world.


Amazon wants you to start a business to deliver its packages

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/amazon-delivery-partners/index.html

This is really interesting and could prove to be another innovative move in Amazon's bid to take over the world.


Amazon wants you to start a business to deliver its packages

http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/28/technology/amazon-delivery-partners/index.html

This really isn't totally new, just not something we've seen here. Does this mean this is expanding here?

This really isn't totally new, just not something we've seen here. Does this mean this is expanding here?

??? The article says it starts today. Has it been in beta up until now? This isn't hiring contractors to deliver packages, this is Amazon helping people set up companies (a contractor would not need five to twenty vehicles, for example).

While I'm sure this has been in the works for awhile, long before any ill-informed tweets regarding Amazon stealing from the USPS, this appears to be something new, something designed to move away from using the USPS and other 'last mile' carriers, which should make certain ill-informed tweeters rather pleased with themselves. Until the chickens come home to roost, at least.

When do they flip the switch from packages to people and then suddenly Amazon is in the Uber/Lyft space.

It's been a while since I ordered anything from Amazon, but earlier this week, I realized I needed a random selection of items, so I put in an order. I checked the tracking information this morning and noticed my shipment was in OKC as opposed to Fort Worth, and it's being delivered at my house in Amarillo tomorrow. I expect this will probably be the new normal for most of my orders.

Is there a reason why we have threads for the fulfillment center and previously for the sortation center, but not for the just announced distribution center at Hefner/I-35?

(apologies if I just missed it)

Looks like the DC area will get the HQ2. Not very surprising..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/amazon-in-advanced-talks-about-putting-hq2-in-northern-virginia-those-close-to-process-say/2018/11/02/9be831d6-d7c0-11e8-aeb7-ddcad4a0a54e_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e13fb28a906d

Is there a reason why we have threads for the fulfillment center and previously for the sortation center, but not for the just announced distribution center at Hefner/I-35?

(apologies if I just missed it)

Because we reported on the distrubution center some time ago and it's quite small in comparison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTb3GR6yrQI&feature=youtu.be

Saw where they are about to be adding several lights in the Portland 89th area around this development. Can’t say I’m surprised but I’m disappointed because we currently have been going up Portland to 89th to avoid the mess at 104th. Can’t got to 119th because it’s so busy it probably needs a light. Just makes those of us west of I44 feel more remote.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTb3GR6yrQI&feature=youtu.be

It would be funny with all the money and work cities put on the table, if site selection all came down to a personal grudge.

Saw where they are about to be adding several lights in the Portland 89th area around this development. Can’t say I’m surprised but I’m disappointed because we currently have been going up Portland to 89th to avoid the mess at 104th. Can’t got to 119th because it’s so busy it probably needs a light. Just makes those of us west of I44 feel more remote.
If they were synchronized it wouldn’t be a problem. Buuuuuuuuut... LOL

It would be funny with all the money and work cities put on the table, if site selection all came down to a personal grudge.

LOL. In seriousness, it would have been nice to see him put one of the HQs in a place where the choice would have made a real economic difference to the community. Can you imagine the economic boost to Detroit or St. Louis had one gone there instead of perpetuating the coasts?

LOL. In seriousness, it would have been nice to see him put one of the HQs in a place where the choice would have made a real economic difference to the community. Can you imagine the economic boost to Detroit or St. Louis had one gone there instead of perpetuating the coasts?

While you are right, Amazon went where they knew they would have the workforce for their project. Hence why there were really only 6 cities that could have gotten a project like this: NYC, DC, Boston, Chicago, San Fran/Bay Area, and LA. Any other city was fooling itself. Dallas doesn't have 25,000 workers qualified to do the work Amazon is wanting. Boston is iffy, but there are a ton of colleges there, so they might be able to pull it off.

To a great extent, I know you are right and that is the company line pretty much, but the way I see it is that unless the new HQ site isn't totally UN-desireable, if the job is a good one and the pay is good, people will move from elsewhere. I know it's my taste, but I'd far rather get paid $125-150K/yr in the mid-country somewhere than in Queens. The 25K won't be hired all at once so area schools would be able to set up programs to feed the HQ and, as they do in Seattle, San Fran and San Jose, others can be hired from overseas until they don't need to. I have good friends who lived in San Jose until a year ago. They moved to Dallas with job transfers but kept their 10 year old townhome in San Jose just to be able to rent it for $5K/mo to 6 Indian programmers. The cost of living in those west coast cities as well as NYC and to a great extent, DC, is ridiculous compared to most of the rest of the country. At least they put the OPS center in Nashville - but even there, a city that was already booming economically. I just think Amazon is missing a huge opportunity to really make a difference to an entire region.

Dean Baker has some good thoughts today on this CRAP. That SNL clip isn't funny. Reminds me of Hee-Haw.

http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/maybe-the-best-way-to-help-left-behind-regions-is-to-stop-having-policies-that-give-all-the-money-to-rich-regions

Dean Baker has some good thoughts today on this CRAP. That SNL clip isn't funny. Reminds me of Hee-Haw.

http://cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/maybe-the-best-way-to-help-left-behind-regions-is-to-stop-having-policies-that-give-all-the-money-to-rich-regions

Baker, Robert Reich, Thomas Frank, Michael Yates, David Cay Johnston , John Nichols ... they are all great when it comes to economic issues. We don't listen at our own peril.

Amazon Cancels Plans To Build Headquarters In New York (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amazon-cancels-headquarters-new-york_n_5c659b3fe4b0bcddd40fa4ff)

Interesting, I wonder who was second on their list?

Interesting, I wonder who was second on their list?

Probably Dallas. But since they are not going to build another HQ, it is just going to be Arlington, VA and the offices they are building in Nashville.