The Charm That Is Ann Arbor
The first less-than-positive take on Google’s A2 announcement has appeared, surprisingly from a non-townie source. “[T]he charm that is Ann Arbor with it’s [sic] quaint houses and shops, and locally unique eateries should be on guard from the demands Google will place on the local economy,” writes the Michigan Review’s Michael O’Brien, invoking every business’s greatest fear: demand. “It’s my guess that part of the reason Google wanted a place here was to take advantage of and enjoy this strong local culture and the University. But let’s be on guard to make sure this culture isn’t mowed over by too strong of influence from Google.”
Whoa, whoa, whoa! You missed the best quote: “Like a recent New York Times article documenting the first synagogue opening in Bentonville, Arkansas (the home of Wal-Mart), how will such a large company affect the Ann Arbor aesthetic?”
posted by Dale on July 13th, 2006 at 3:06 pmBUT WHAT IF THERE IS A RUN ON ORGANIC ZINGERMAN’S CRULLERS?
posted by js on July 13th, 2006 at 3:43 pmJust wait until it’s found out that Google wants to move into Broadway Village. Then it will be hip to vilify Google.
posted by James on July 13th, 2006 at 4:24 pmThe rumor around Google is that if you displease your boss, you’ll be faced with the threat of being shipped out to Michigan.
posted by Anna on July 13th, 2006 at 5:41 pmOh come on, AAIO, give a young man a break.
Just because Ann Arbor pales in comparison to major cities or other college towns doesn’t mean that there isn’t anything about the city worth conserving. Certainly, you and your readers concede that not *everything* is wretched about Ann Arbor.
Besides, unlike the annoying Ann Arborites you nail often here on this site, if Google’s influx does threaten any local businesses, I’m certainly not going to go to city council and protest it.
My post was simply an acknowledgment of what the introduction of large corporations into otherwise local environments. If some of the commentors actually read my post, you’ll see that I’m rather in favor of Google coming into town. But that still doesn’t mean that there’s nothing in town that this business might threaten, or that there’s nothing worth protecting.
–Enjoying the cinder block aesthetic that is K Street,
Mike O
posted by Mike O on July 13th, 2006 at 8:04 pm“But that still doesn’t mean that there’s nothing in town that this business might threaten, or that there’s nothing worth protecting.”
You’ve lost me, Mike O. How is having 1,000 or so more people downtown supposed to threaten local businesses?
Please explain.
posted by todd on July 13th, 2006 at 8:31 pmTodd, I think you miss my point there (in conjunction with my original post).
It’s first my suspicion that Google won’t necessarily change Ann Arbor’s culture and local economy. Like I wrote, I believe that a large component to their locating here has to do with the University and the local culture.
But I think it’s a bit simplistic to say that local economy + 1000 = better local business. It very well might, but it might not. That’s where the threat comes in–and I mean that in an abstract sense. I would prefer Ann Arbor not to become so far entwined with Google so that they become synonymous; that’s my point. And this is why I raised the Bentonville example. It’s a representation of how the influx of a huge company can substantially makeover a local culture, and its economic manifestations. The large Google workforce (which I would imagine will be full of individuals foreign to Ann Arbor) has the power to reprioritize the local market to fit its own tastes and interests.
Whether or not this will be the case, like I said, I highly doubt. I’m simply expressing my hope that it doesn’t.
posted by Mike O on July 13th, 2006 at 9:00 pmI can’t read the column as anything but an unintended criticism of big business: Wal-Mart was a local business that facilitated a change of Bentonville’s character when it got so big that it required out-of-town employees who set up new and foreign community institutions. Likewise, 1000 out-of-town Google employees may very well overwhelm the local character of Ann Arbor.
Which misses the point (though referenced in the blog) that Ann Arbor was attractive to Google because of the potential workforce — recent graduates and hip tech and cultural types that already live here.
posted by Dale on July 13th, 2006 at 9:18 pm1,000? I think Google has a way to go before it mows down the U. (read: local character)
posted by OFWinsurgent on July 13th, 2006 at 10:11 pmThank you for saving me from having to type that, OFW…..
How many people think Borders or Dominoes before UMich when they hear the name Ann Arbor?
“But I think it’s a bit simplistic to say that local economy + 1000 = better local business.”
I bet my banker would disagree. In fact: he does.
I’ve yet to speak to a local business person who doesn’t like the raw simplicity of that equation. When your livelyhood depends on raw math equations such as “1000 more people in the immediate area”, you’re right, the math can become *incredibly* simple.
Now all we have to do is get the good people from Google some housing within walking distance…….
posted by todd on July 13th, 2006 at 10:25 pmOne thousand new workers in a town where 65,000 workers come in each and every work day, have little chance of changing the culture of the city.
posted by Dustin on July 13th, 2006 at 10:54 pmOh, and in all seriousness, Mike O…..I appreciate that you’re looking out for the local businesses.
You have to understand that the arrival of Google to downtown (if this indeed happens) would be a welcome shot in local business owners’ arms….particularly if we can get them housing in the same area. It would help to offset high rents and taxes simply because there would be more feet in the streets.
…..I do appreciate that you are at least thinking about us small potatoes, though. Thanks……
posted by todd on July 13th, 2006 at 11:57 pmOooh, an article in a conservative rag is afraid of change — how surprising!
posted by ngorski on July 14th, 2006 at 10:20 amEvery business’s greatest fear: demand.
Some years back, I ran into an actual case of this
It was in a drugstore in downtown Lansing, on the east side of South Washington. I went in looking for some AA batteries.
My meek query angered the store manager, who began ranting LOUDLY at me about “yuppies” who would troop into her store and buy up every AA battery in sight for their Walkman tape players. “WE JUST COULDN’T KEEP THEM IN STOCK!” she yelled, “SO WE STOPPED CARRYING THEM!”
Wow. You’re angry at customers for buying too much from you, so you spitefully refuse to sell them what they want.
You won’t be surprised to hear that the drugstore went out of business not long afterward.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on July 14th, 2006 at 11:48 amActually, it would seem that the biggest problem for the local community with an influx of 1000 new, young, downtown-living, mocha-latte drinking neo-yuppies coming to town is that the townies are undoubtedly going to continue to refuse to allow intelligent urban planning to overrule the idiodic anti-development local mindset and provide cool, cheap downtown housing for all of these people.
So, I guess my rent will continue to increase to a level even more ridiculous than it already is . . .
posted by Xavi on July 14th, 2006 at 12:28 pmActually these employees will probably not want cool, cheap downtown housing. Cool, expensive downtown housing, more likely. Which in the end, will in fact mean that your rent will increase because nobody will be building affordably priced downtown buildings, and because employees will drive up demand for decent not-that-cheap housing near downtown). At least it means that all of the questions about if there really is a market for somewhat to very expensive condos and lofts downtown will be answered… (pending if Google actually IS downtown, and how many of these new employees want to live there, vs. buy old 4th ward houses or ypsi township houses, etc.)
posted by Lisa on July 14th, 2006 at 12:37 pmI suspect 2 weeks after Google arrives AAIO will have 1000 new readers
posted by Joke's on google on July 14th, 2006 at 1:06 pmA note on businesses and local character.
A year ago I lived in Ann Arbor. Now I live in East Lansing, nevermind why. Last fall I compiled the following list of chain stores with a presence in the downtown/campus area of both cities.
American Apparel * Aveda (both an institute and a salon) * Beaner’s * Beyond The Wall * Big Ten Burrito * Bruegger’s * Cosi * Cottage Inn * Espresso Royale * In Flight * Jimmy John’s * Moosejaw * Noggin’s * Noodles & Co. * Panchero’s * Pita Pit * Potbelly’s * STA Travel * Starbuck’s * Steve & Barry’s * Urban Outfitters
GNC used to be on the list, but I understand the Ann Arbor store has closed.
AA has Border’s downtown; EL has Barnes & Noble. Same thing.
East Lansing also has a dingy party store called Campus Corner, though I doubt there’s common ownership with its Ann Arbor namesake.
posted by Jeff Dean on July 14th, 2006 at 3:57 pmBut some of these started out as small local companies focused on Michigan — Big Ten Burrito, Beaner’s, Cottage Inn, Pancheros off the top of my head. Heck, even Borders was a stand-alone store where Urban Outfitters is now when I came to Ann Arbor in the 90s. Should we hold it against local businesses when they take off and become national?
posted by Chris on July 14th, 2006 at 4:35 pmOops, not Urban Outfitters — Steve and Barry’s.
posted by Chris on July 14th, 2006 at 4:36 pmActually the East Lansing Campus Corners II was opened as a branch of the Ann Arbor store, as demonstrated by the Roman numeral after the name. That was decades ago, though, and the tie between the two may have been severed.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on July 14th, 2006 at 5:40 pmBell’s Pizza was another establishment which had both East Lansing and Ann Arbor locations, but I’m not sure what its status is nowadays.
posted by Larry Kestenbaum on July 14th, 2006 at 5:41 pm“Should we hold it against local businesses when they take off and become national?”
Not necessarily. I like to think I coined the phrase “Support your local conglomerate” a few years ago as Wal-Mart was beginning its aggressive expansion across Michigan, and Meijer had to respond - I recall multiple rounds of rather severe job cuts, mostly management positions. Now it seems that the bleeding has stopped, and Meijer has ambitious expansion plans of its own, namely doubling the number of stores (to about 350) by the year 2020. I hope this push succeeds. Wal-Mart picked the fight, and a Michigan company is responding well.
Not long ago, Meijer was in Wal-Mart’s position as formidable competition to even smaller grocers. But unless and until The End Of Oil puts a stop to big-box retailing, and chain stores in general, I just don’t see a practical alternative to growing ever larger in order to compete. I might not like the trend, but I’m becoming resigned to it.
posted by Jeff Dean on July 14th, 2006 at 8:01 pmI say that Google should forget about Ann Arbor all together. There is nowhere near downtown where you are going to find space for a 200,000 sq ft building and 1000 employees. I say go for Ypsilanti. There are several locations in Ypsilanti that could support such a facility like the old Motor Wheel plant next door to the new Corner Brewery and just north of depot town. There is also the site of the soon to close ex-ford ex-visteon plant, and even the site of the Water Street project. Ypsilanti would benefit from this Google facility a lot more than Ann Arbor and deserves a break.
posted by Sam Abuelsamid on July 15th, 2006 at 9:34 amAND we will provide free parking!
posted by eileenie on July 15th, 2006 at 11:44 amI think everyone is going over the top with Google’s moving into Ann Arbor. They are a large world wide company, however there is no doubt many large companies in the area that have more than 1,000 employee’s. Pfizer anyone? I don’t see the whole plymouth road area becoming an extention of the pfizer campus…
posted by RossJ on July 15th, 2006 at 12:24 pmCome on you guys, Google employees won’t want housing in downtown Ann Arbor at any price. They’ll want McMansions in Saline.
posted by Zach on July 15th, 2006 at 12:27 pm“I don’t see the whole plymouth road area becoming an extention of the pfizer campus…”
That’s true. You are illustrating why it is critical that Google is located downtown. The impact of Google will be magnified many, many times if we can get them a central location. They would be able to walk to any of the area lunch spots, and they would be much more likely to stay in town after work for dinner or a cup of coffee. And finally, they’d be more likely to buy a condo/home downtown because of the value of being a few blocks from work. The minute you add a car trip, all of these benefits go out the window.
Put them on the fringes of town, and most of them would just commute in and out of Ann Arbor, since they’d have to get into their cars before they get anywhere else.
Google is a big deal, FYI, more because of their impact on the State economy, than their impact on the Ann Arbor economy. It is now much more likely that Michigan will attract more New Economy jobs to the State after the Google blueprint has been set.
posted by todd on July 15th, 2006 at 12:58 pmGoogle is filling two types of jobs–advertising sales & book scanners. “Recent college grad” seems to be the recruiting target and that’s why AA is a good choice. It’s a nice boost locally, but only of symbolic value statewide.
Average salary for these jobs is reported to be in the forties, hardly enough for a downtown condo. I think the people who get hired will be like grad students with a little more cash to spend. Landlords and restaurant/brewpub owners will benefit most, as I see it.
Google’s presence will reinforce AA’s character, not change it. Not that that’s a bad thing.
posted by mcammer on July 15th, 2006 at 4:06 pmcough,Pfizer,cough.
… and that’s all I have to say about that.
posted by Jen on July 15th, 2006 at 11:28 pmWhat exactly is the character of Ann Arbor other than “Family friendly with good schools”? What is it that people are afraid will change? Where is this culture of Ann Arbor. There is no small town charm like Mayberry. There is no bohemian vibe like San Fran or NY. All the coffee houses are franchises. Every town has an Irish pub, or a Brewery that sells burgers and fish-n-chips. There are a few boring high priced boutiques mixed in with a discount shoe store and a Starbucks. …The parks are nice. But what is the special something?
Anyhoo, the closest Google will come to downtown Ann arbor will likely be south State St near Briarwood mall or Plymouth Rd near the express way. Not everyone wants to live in Ann Arbor. It will be a 5 story mirror glass building with 6 acres of parking with some zany landscaping.
posted by Joke's on google on July 16th, 2006 at 12:17 am“Average salary for these jobs is reported to be in the forties, hardly enough for a downtown condo.”
A young, married, child-free couple, both working for Google, could probably swing a small unit. But I grant you that scenario isn’t likely to play out very often.
I propose a developer do something like the NY Times reports on - urban dorms for young professionals who would otherwise be priced completely out of a tough housing market. If Google should move its people downtown, I’m betting that additonal housing developments will follow.
posted by Jeff Dean on July 16th, 2006 at 9:04 amAs far as the cost of downtown housing, expect it to increase substantially if Google brings that many people into AA. Unless, God forbid, it occurs to someone at some point that actually building some housing might push those prices back down.
posted by Nick on July 16th, 2006 at 2:43 pmY’all should read the stories about this more carefully. Note that the statement is “1000 jobs within five years”. Or about 200 a year. And while there’ll certainly be some Googlers moving to A^2 to get things organized and set up, trust me, there’s no line out into the parking lot of Googlers wanting to transfer to A^2. The vast majority of people in the Ann Arbor office, just like every Google branch office to date, are going to either come from the Ann Arbor area or be hired into that office.
There’s not going to be an influx of hundreds of existing Googlers swarming simultaneously into Ann Arbor.
posted by Googler on July 16th, 2006 at 10:15 pmEast Lansing and Ann Arbor both also have a Rick’s American Cafe.
posted by Dan on July 17th, 2006 at 1:39 pmHere’s the skinny. Google chose Michigan over Silicon because SV has priced itself out of contention. Not only is SV overpriced, many of the public schools in so called “middle class” areas are not very good. Two google employees making a combined 90K cannot afford living expenses and the schooling of two rugrats in SV. With good schools, Ann Arbor will be a whole lot more affordable. Ann Arbor also likely got solid jobs in that they are directly tied to revenue. Advert jobs probably have to stay in the country because of the nuances of language.
On a sidebar: SV could end up like the rust belt unless costs are reduced. A whole lot of programming can be done in Bangalore at really good prices.
Was Ann Arbor the absolute best choice? I don’t know. There are places with large, public universities that have a much lower cost of living. It’s pretty clear to me that Ann Arbor beat out Bloomington because of connections.
posted by Dave on July 17th, 2006 at 3:43 pmI’ve been to Bloomington. If that’s where the comparison lies, it’s not just connections that got Ann Arbor to bid. Flying in and out of Bloomington is an enormous pain compared to flying in and out of Ann Arbor, for starters.
posted by Chris on July 17th, 2006 at 4:16 pmFinding 1000 people willing to enter exile in Ass Arbor won’t be as easy as it sounds.
posted by Morbidly Midwestern on July 17th, 2006 at 5:57 pmI don’t know, Dave. Between the gobs of venture capital, the high concentration of smart, talented people, the openness to new ideas, and the fact that, you know, people like living in northern California, I don’t think Silicon Valley is poised to be the next Flint just yet.
posted by Nick on July 18th, 2006 at 4:48 pmNick-
It’s a global economy. SV is at a huge disadvantage on price and venture capital is far more mobile than it used to be.
I grew up in Flint. When my parents were growing up it had the highest standard of living in the world. I’m in my early 30s and by the time I was in elementary school the heyday was long over. Nevertheless, I remember couples with no education beyond high school pulling in well over 120K. Labor is cheaper elsewhere and automation has really cut into the need for people. But at least Genesee County has always had affordable housing. When I go back and take a look, I see that 150K gets you something in a safe neighborhood with good schools.
In Ann Arbor you can get a house in a safe neighborhood with good schools for 250K.
Try anything like that in SV! San Jose averages over 700K. Oakland averages over 500k and you have to be ready to spring for a private school!!! If you are willing to drive TWO HOURS EACH WAY you could get something in the central valley (say Turlock) for 300K. I have friends there and it’s not a bad town. They have a cute coffee shop with cheap internet access. Honestly though, except for the bizarre trees in the yards, it feels more Kansas than California. It does have mild winters, but triple digit summers.
SV is a very expensive place to live and a living wage, by necessity, must be high. The high cost of labor will likely soon choke the industry there. Many companies will be forced to look for alternative locations. That’s why, with the 45k/year jobs Google needs to fill, a place like Ann Arbor makes so much more sense than anywhere in SV.
There will always be a need for highly skilled and innovative people in tech, but when it comes down to it many computer programmers are simply labor. A Chinese programmer can do a whole lot for $500 a month.
posted by Dave on July 18th, 2006 at 9:14 pmSan Jose is the Canton of San Fransisco. Pay whatever for your house, you’re still in fucking Canton. You’re still chanting “Everyone Looks Forward to Friday’s!”
“But the MOUNTAINS, and the CLIMATE, and….
And you still spend 95% of your time in “Canton” and you’re spending $700,ooo for the privilage.”
“But the mountains!”
And you last scaled one when? You can “see” them on the Discover Channel, dipshit.
“But the climate!”
And you’re still inside some shitty building 95% percent of the time, but you drive two hours to work.
Sweet lifestyle.
Might as well be in Canton.
posted by Parking Structure Dude! on July 18th, 2006 at 9:43 pmWell, I do not see Google moving into downtown. They seem to want to take advantage of the relatively low cost of living coupled with the excess of IT workers in SE Michigan. The Ann Arbor area is a reasonably centralized location for this, but downtown would not be. I live near Toledo, and would not mind a commute to Ann Arbor. Hell, $40k is $3k more than I make now, and I’d be able to add “Google” to my resume.
posted by Anonymous on July 19th, 2006 at 11:37 amPSD — All I have to add to your post is AMEN! Thank you for saying what so desperately needed to be said
Being an erstwhile Californian, I can say with all honesty that I would rather be in Ann Arbor than San Jose any day of the year, and I pray daily never to have to set foot in Canton. Though they do have Ikea there now…
posted by Emily on July 19th, 2006 at 11:43 amA Chinese programmer can do a whole lot for $500 a month.
I just love your global attitude, Dave! You’re paying a bit too much, though. I mean, these fine workers made your shoes for less than $50 a month, so why ten times as much for your company’s software? That software doesn’t make the walk to your all American car - built with plenty of cheap Mexican labor and parts - any more comfortable, now does it?
San Jose is the Canton of San Fransisco
So sad and true. Regardless of the $700K entry fee and contrary to some people’s thoughts, though, Silicon Valley is and will continue to do just fine. Manhattan will cost you twice as much and I think it’s a concrete turd floating in raw sewage, but I’d never be so foolish as to predict its downfall because the real estate is inflated and workers demand higher compensation there.
posted by FAA on July 19th, 2006 at 1:09 pmNew York is diversified in a way that SV isn’t, though.
posted by Chris on July 19th, 2006 at 2:12 pmYou’re right, Chris. New York has winter, SV doesn’t.
posted by FAA on July 19th, 2006 at 7:41 pmAnn Arbor, MI is the place for google, not only because of the Universtiy churning out tons of entry level talent to compete for jobs….BUT also because of the tons of un-employed or under-employed who would be willing to take a pay cut to work at google. It’s brilliant. Competition for these entry level jobs will be so fierce google will be able to offer less cash for talent than anywhere else in the USA.
posted by MCG on July 19th, 2006 at 10:26 pmI hope they hire me!
posted by voter on July 19th, 2006 at 10:40 pmFAA -
“Back in the day” Asia made junk. Not so anymore. Why should we assume that software will be different?
Flint was put at a severe competitive disadvantage because the unions refused to recognize the reality that wages were too high.
SV’s problem is that the cost of living is too high and thus wages must also be high. You mention Manhattan. Most people who work in Manhattan don’t live there. Manhattan is the very expensive center of a world class megalopolis with a highly diversified economic base, but good housing can be found in places like West Heampstead for under 400k. It’s a 50 minute TRAIN RIDE from West Heampstead to Manhattan. From a regional perspective (and SV is a region - Manhattan is PART of a region) New York is more affordable.
I don’t want the American tech industry to go the way of the automobile industry. It is my belief that if it is to be thriving in 20 years something must change. Wages must be competitive on a global scale. Either SV has to find a way to provide for affordable housing or tech industries will be forced to relocate.
posted by Dave on July 20th, 2006 at 2:01 am“Back in the day” Asia made junk. Not so anymore. Why should we assume that software will be different?
(Sarcasm alert) I, too, am very glad to see that quality has come through in China despite having some of the world’s worst working conditions. You can go ahead and have your software coded in some dungeon by a 15 year old chained to a computer for 16 hours a day for a few bucks per hour - every hour of which they spend worrying that if one bug is found they’ll be fired or worse. This is Ann Arbor - I want my organic, fair trade software and I don’t mind the extra cost.
Most people who work in Manhattan don’t live there…West Heampstead for under 400k…
Are you saying that’s a good thing? That’s one of the worst elements of the area (and 400K? sure it is a lot less than 700K but it does not warrant any mention of the word “affordable”). With apologies to PSD: West Hempstead (and most parts of Long Island) is the Canton of NY. A near parallel between the boroughs of NYC and SV, and the very reason I brought it up.
posted by FAA on July 20th, 2006 at 11:20 amActually, more coding is done in India, not China, largely because of English fluency issues. Organic, fair trade software? You mean open source software, and it’s actually less expensive (think Linux and OpenOffice vs. Microsoft and OfficeXP). Most of this stuff is developed in First World nations.
posted by JCP2 on July 20th, 2006 at 12:38 pmFAA-
Asian countries are focusing on math, science, and computers and are graduating many skilled tech workers. Are most of them on par with graduates from top tier American universities? Not right now, but they have been improving dramatically and may be on par in the next 10 years. Software will not be produced by 15 year olds, but by college grads. It just takes so little to live in many parts of Asia. As a consequence salaries do not have to be as high to be a living wage.
Good luck finding a three bedroom in a safe neighborhood with good schools for under 400K in SV. That’s possible in the New York area and you probably won’t have to drive to work. What is really shocking about SV is how much a home costs in a bad area.
New York and SV are not equivalent. Not only is SV less diversified, it is also much more expensive. There is no low end! The New York area just has a greater range of housing.
Ann Arbor is a relative bargain for Google.
Sidebar: I do think that the height restrictions in San Jose have helped to drive up housing costs. I say more good looking tall buildings in downtown Ann Arbor! Spend the money on preserving the facades and go skyward.
posted by Dave on July 20th, 2006 at 1:34 pm“Flint was put at a severe competitive disadvantage because the unions refused to recognize the reality that wages were too high.”
“I don’t want the American tech industry to go the way of the automobile industry. It is my belief that if it is to be thriving in 20 years something must change. Wages must be competitive on a global scale.”
The comments above reflect certain facts about labor costs and the corporate drive to relocate jobs internationally to cheaper labor markets. But we shouldn’t accept the implied logic that these conditions necessitate an endless downward spiral in wages, salaries and living standards, until we all, too, get paid 50 cents and hour and thus FINALLY become “competitive” on the global market. Should we put our energies into creating as much as possible a high-tech version of past social conditions as described by Dickens and Upton Sinclair? Given the ever-increasing emphasis on short-term corporate profits in the U.S., this transformation is gradually taking place.
It’s been painfully clear for some time that the growing ability of large businesses to act globally needs some kind of global network of organized labor advocacy, which need not include just unions. Labor-related groups elsewhere in the world have been figuring this out and have begun to take action. The anti-WTO gatherings in recent years in Porto Allegre and elsewhere are one visible sign of this and demonstrate an early response.
But the decaying unions in the U.S. are either slow to catch on or simply resistant. One example is the “Buy American” campaign of the UAW, initiated in the 1980s, which showed a stunningly myopic understanding of the changes in global labor. Its appeal to xenophobia did nothing to link union workers in the U.S. with those who try to improve working conditions in other countries, and the UAW instead helped hasten its own ongoing decline.
posted by hale on July 20th, 2006 at 8:43 pmNo, I’d say it needs a “Buy goods produced locally, manufactured locally, and sold by locally-owned businesses”. One out of three isn’t a bad start, and if it isn’t available locally, buy fair trade. If we did this, we’d be much less dependent whether big business or big unions made good choices or bad choices.
However, if you do decide to outsource your IT work but don’t want to use sweatshop/underpaid programmers, how about fair trade software development? (Or ‘Fairsource’, for a catchier phrase). I was chatting to Chris, the fellow spearheading this program at a conference last month: http://www.ifpeople.net/fairsource.
posted by Lisa on July 20th, 2006 at 10:57 pmGoogle isn’t located in San Jose, so any comparison is irrelevant. Canton isn’t really a good comparison for San Jose anyway, the only thing they have in common is that they are cities within the United States (SJ has over a million people, how could you ever compare that to Canton?) Unless, of course, the comparison was to demonstrate “armpits of America,” then SJ and Canton have a lot in common.
Anyway, Google is in Mountain View, which together with Palo Alto make up a very similar environment to Ann Arbor. As far as cultures go, you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between MV and AA. Both are great places. Google’s influence on MV is pretty limited, the most obvious thing being all of the damned Google employees who think Charleston Rd is their own personal crosswalk. I swear I’m going to run over one of those idiots! But I digress, working literally next door to the Googleplex can cause frustration from time to time.
I think a large part of why Google is choosing Ann Arbor has to do with Larry Page being from Michigan. Many Michigan ex-pats want to see the state do well, and bringing anything that isn’t related to the auto industry, even if a paltry 1000 jobs, will help. There are many other places Google could have chosen with equal talent pools and equal if not better cost of living.
On the subject of cost of living; rents in the Silicon Valley aren’t really that much worse than Ann Arbor. Its purchasing a home that will send you into fits. The estimates above for purchasing are actually conservative, but home ownership is highly overrated anyway. If you rent in the area you’ll find yourself at a cost of living advantage over Ann Arbor since you’ll likely be making more money on top of it.
Lot’s of Google employees live in San Francisco anyway. Rent in San Francisco is more than Mountain View, but not outside of reason. Again, its purchasing that gets you. I pay half as much in rent than I would to purchase the same place.
Where am I going with this? I don’t know. I think my point is that some of the assumptions about the Silicon Valley aren’t necessarily true, and that Ann Arbor is a great city. Google will be good, if not great for Ann Arbor’s economy and overall quality of life.
posted by Chetter on July 25th, 2006 at 3:51 pmGoogle is coming here for a few reasons only - very cheap college-educated labor, high unemployment (and thus people willing to work for less), Larry Page being a U of M graduate, and the State of Michigan offering a 38 million dollar tax break over 20 years if Google only meets rather simple terms.
They are not coming here for the culture.
Ann Arbor may be culturally impressive to some people from backwater Midwestern suburbs or farms, but it’s a f’ing joke compared to living on the East or West coast. Honestly - what is here that is really so impressive? - it’s ridiculously overpriced for the region, local wages are sub-par, the housing is utter s*it, the mass-transit sucks, the area suffers a crumbling infrastructive, and there really isn’t much to see here beyond chain stores, chain coffee houses, crummy bars, a few good restaurants at best, and overpriced lame mall Art for bourgeoisie bohemian types. Even Oakland County is cheaper to live in, and has culturally passed this place by - in not too long, Western Wayne County probably will too.
Google’s arrival will not culturally change anything here, as there never was much culture to start with, regardless of what local apologists would have people believe.
posted by Stuck in A2 till my lease ends on July 30th, 2006 at 5:04 pmI agree. Except I think you are overrating the “culture” of the coasts. What kind of culture do expect on a $45,000 salary in NYC? Or Palo Alto? Have you been to SF late? It’s a kind of dirty and sad. The coast is beautiful, but the city itself looks tattered. My brother is at STanford and he can’t afford anything at all.
NYC, where I used to live, is all that and more. But when I lived there I couldn’t afford a lick of culture. I schlepped to work on the subway, work at a fancy publishing house. They paid poorly, and I ate poorly in order to afford a little “culture.”
When we lived in a NJ suburb close in to the city, we couldn’t afford culture because it meant a babysitter.
Ann Arbor looks midwestern and boring and isolated. But when you get ready to leave, you might see it just a tiny bit differently.
posted by AAMom on July 30th, 2006 at 9:41 pmStuck, you might want to do a little research to kill the time while you wait to blow this popstand. Your post isn’t impressing me with your great knowledge of the facts pertaining to the issue. Ann Arbor’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average, for a start.
posted by Chris on July 31st, 2006 at 10:01 amThe competition A2 was facing for the Google outpost was not SV, almost a year earlier it was announced they were looking at Boulder, Boston/Cambridge, and A2. Their decision does seem to have been motivated by the much more reasonable cost of living here, with the power of the university and urban amenities etc… if this sounds uncomfortably like the quality-of-life indexes that traditionally rated A2 highly, well so be it. Ann Arbor is rather underrated by contributors to this blog.
posted by buzz on August 15th, 2006 at 10:14 pmStrangely enough, I dig this town, even though I slag certain elements of it here.
posted by OFWinsurgent on August 15th, 2006 at 10:24 pmAren’t housing prices still dropping? Seems like your prediction was off.
http://mirealestate.wordpress.com/
posted by Jeff on May 13th, 2007 at 11:09 am