The fact that that office exists was a major reason I was able to consider them as an employer. I'd already looked at SF / NYC as options and basically priced myself out because I'd be moving with my family, and I wanted a house / decent commute / to not have roommates.

(Admittedly, when I was looking at SF / Silicon Valley before, I was looking at startups; having a Big N as an employer might have just made it work, but we'd still have been losing out on closer family ties.)

Google actually has good-sized, growing offices in a number of major US cities these days. SF and NYC are huge, but there are plenty of other options: Seattle, Boulder, Austin, Pittsburgh, LA, Irvine, Chicago, Ann Arbor, Cambridge, etc.

I also have a family and have no interest in ever living in Silicon Valley or New York. I'm at Google and absolutely love being in Seattle.

There are issues:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21997412

FWIW as a Pittsburgh Googler, I haven't experienced the air issues personally. That said, I don't live near the office. It seems like the issues are a lot more obvious to those who live near Bakery Square.