There are plenty of people who do want to live in the middle of nowhere. I know a number of techies who have taken advantage of remote opportunities to finally live where they want, and at a much better price. And one could reasonably describe the whole trend of suburbanization as people moving to the middle of nowhere, so I suspect Amazon could find plenty of people who'd like a reasonably priced, new-built home in an up-and-coming area.
Statistically, we are as a society, drifting closer to urban cores. I too dream of buying 50 acres in the midwest for about 100k or so - so don't get me wrong I get the appeal. It's just more or less not what is happening.
> And one could reasonably describe the whole trend of suburbanization as people moving to the middle of nowhere,
I disagree with this. Suburbanization is a way for people to live close to urban centers with the employment prospects (although with a commute, contributing to congestion, emissions), without the benefits (and negatives) of living in an urban core. I have never been to a suburb that is in the middle of nowhere...if it was it wouldn't be sub-urban.
My employer is planning on moving several hundred people about ten miles from their current location. The only reason aren't quitting is because there isn't enough competition in the tech sector this city.
It would just be nice if there were cities with livable housing costs AND a competitive tech sector.
they're moving existing employees there. People don't want to live in the middle of nowhere. People don't want to be moved without their consent to start a new society.
This is painfully, ridiculously obvious if you stop thinking about people as numbers and start thinking about them as actual humans living full lives.