Seattle is America's Biggest Company Town

#1

Amazon so dominates Seattle that it has as much office space as the city’s next 40 biggest employers combined. And that’s only the beginning: Amazon’s Seattle footprint of 8.1 million square feet is expected to soar to more than 12 million square feet within five years.

Amazon now occupies a mind-boggling 19 percent of all prime office space in the city, the most for any employer in a major U.S. city, according to a new analysis conducted for The Seattle Times.

Amazon’s footprint in Seattle is more than twice as large as any other company in any other big U.S. city, and the e-commerce giant’s expansion here is just getting started.

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#2

Amazon has become the go-to scapegoat for people complaining about Seattle’s problems associated with growth, like housing prices and clogged streets. And while it’s certainly not the only reason Seattle is bursting at the seams, Amazon makes up a disproportionate share of the city’s rapid growth.

Apartment rents this year are 63 percent higher than in 2010, as Seattle has become the fastest-growing city in the country.

Home costs are rising faster here than anywhere in the nation, and have doubled in the past five years, pushing the middle class to surrounding, less expensive towns.

Seattle now also has the nation’s third-highest concentration of mega-commuters — people traveling at least 90 minutes each way to work. Their numbers have grown 72 percent in five years.

#3

Traffic is horrible in Seattle…It was horrible 15 years ago…Cant imagine it now

#4

Traffic is pretty bad. It’s the worst on I-5.

#5

@manch has already bought in Seattle :slight_smile: . Am I right??

#6

I think the only person with Seattle property here is @marcus335

#7

I thought @marcus335 is still renting in Seattle with plans to buy later.

#8

I didn’t buy yet. I’m slowly narrowing it down. The commute is a legit concern. I don’t want to drive.

#9

Ok… so no one here owns any Seattle properties but we sure like to talk about them a lot… :rofl:

#10

If I bought in Seattle it would be on Lake Washington as close to downtown as possible. .

#11

Haha I wish.

#12

Must be nice to have an extra $5-10M laying around :slight_smile:

#13

Seattle may last longer than BA since it starts late. Weather can’t prevent appreciation

#14

The pay difference is non-existent if you work for desirable employers. Everyone I know that’s made the move got pay at least equal to Bay Area.

#15

Go big or go home…Although Lake Union is probably more hip…

#16

So, Amazon is so loyal to the bay area you mean?

#17

Adobe? Seriously?

#18

What about Microsoft?

#19

They only count cities, not suburbs. If you count suburbs Cupertino is pretty much all Apple.

#20

I wouldn’t move to Seattle even if I could afford the best neighborhood in town (Mercer Island? ) which I can’t. …Sorry but the place has bad weather, bad traffic and looks like Oakland. …

There is even a blog…I Hate Seattle. …

http://ihateseattle.com/