Many American cities are vying to receive Amazon’s second US headquarters and the most likely pick might be Austin, Texas. An analysis of the potential cities by Moody’s Analytics points to Austin being the top choice based on the company’s known requirements.
Among the requirements Amazon has are:
- The city must have over a million people.
- The location needs 8 million square feet of space.
- Airport access.
- A “stable and business-friendly regulations and tax structure.”
- Incentives
Moody’s analysis looked at 65 cities and focused on business environment, skilled workforce availability, costs, quality of life, and transportation. Austin came out as the most sensible choice based on those factors.
Austin has a much lower cost of living than places such as Silicon Valley. Even though house prices have been rising and are high for Texas or the South, they are well below those in California or the Northeast. Anecdotally, the quality of life is high, and many want to live in the ‘Silicon Hills.’ Further, being in Texas, Austin resides in a business-friendly state that seeks to attract and keep companies. – Moody’s
Amazon is going to announce the location of its second headquarters next year.
