The Next Silicon Valley: Jacksonville?
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/Events/One-Spark-2014/i-thqMLLk/0/X2/DSCF1364-L.jpg)
Few cities in the U.S. today offer the rich history and bright future of Jacksonville. Settled by European colonists in the 1500s, Jacksonville is now transforming itself into a vibrant hub for businesses, technology and entrepreneurial vision. While Metro Jacksonville believes things are a bit more complex than the reason highlighted in this editorial, here's a look at why SocialMonsters.org believes the city could be the next Silicon Valley. We'd like to know if you agree.
Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2015-nov-the-next-silicon-valley-jacksonville
Negative Nellie moment
Not enough local academic research
Not proximate to Asia
No corporate interest locally for research capital
Bandwidth still relatively expensive
Inadequate public transportation
State and local tax structure not aligned for research types
I love Jacksonville and think it has loads of potential.
But I don't see this one. A big reason Silicon Valley is Silicon Valley is it's proximity to Stanford University.
Might be interesting to see the actual IT employee numbers over the years, along with the degree of offshoring. I'd personally rather see more growth in this area in Tallahassee. Fanatics has certainly grown, and Citizen's is there now.
Sounds to me like "cheap cost of business and abundant workforce". I'd say we're the next Mumbai or Manila before the next Silicon Valley. Companies move operations to Jax in order to "near shore" as a cost cutting measure. That's still good, but we're not Silicon Valley.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on November 18, 2015, 08:46:08 AM
I'd say we're the next Mumbai or Manila before the next Silicon Valley. Companies move operations to Jax in order to "near shore" as a cost cutting measure. That's still good, but we're not Silicon Valley.
This. The research component of SV is what makes it what it is. As far as I know, that just ain't happening in Jacksonville.
If only there were *someone* with personal, inside knowledge of silicon valley and its environs that could give us some valuable insight...
Quote from: Adam White on November 18, 2015, 09:56:13 AM
If only there were *someone* with personal, inside knowledge of silicon valley and its environs that could give us some valuable insight...
Oh lord, don't start.
A great new mid tear tech and entrepreneurial hub? Yes! Next Silicon Valley? No... And that's ok! As far as the research argument is concerned Jax needs to be more engaged with UF and UNF IMO in order to attract the talent coming out of these universities. If we can do that more efficiently then we might really start seeing some even greater momentum. In the mean time lets get some urban core projects done so these new talented individuals actually have somewhere to go when they get here!
Quote from: Adam White on November 18, 2015, 09:56:13 AM
If only there were *someone* with personal, inside knowledge of silicon valley and its environs that could give us some valuable insight...
Would be great if this person were a graduate of an institute of technology as well, so they'd be equipped with the academic background to pair with that SV knowledge. Isn't there such an institution in Georgia somewhere?
I agree with many of the points in the article*, but don't come to quite the same conclusion. It really depends on what one means by the "Next Silicon Valley." As many have pointed out, the underlying factors and indicators are not very comparable, but if you're just wondering if Jax can attract young people and VC-type investors to the area driven by a burgeoning tech scene, then yes it could very well happen.
*"Accessible Financing" and "Robust Arts and Culture" are a bit overstated when this discussion is involving all the largest metros in the country.
No, just no. To all this.
Actually yes to all this. You obviously have deep seated issues with Jacksonville, but the article is correct about taxes, housing etc. Now whether or not that would lead to another Silicon Valley or not is a different story.
Quote from: simms3 on November 18, 2015, 12:00:36 PM
No, just no. To all this.
That's all we get? Come on Simms!
LOL
It seems that the article's points, when supported by our up and coming logistics and manufacturing capabilities, should describe us a the next aerospace and engineering hub.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on November 18, 2015, 02:04:01 PM
Quote from: simms3 on November 18, 2015, 12:00:36 PM
No, just no. To all this.
That's all we get? Come on Simms!
He used up his entire MJ word count on the Oakland comparison.
Why read the editorial? It's either a parody on all of the towns in this country clamoring to be the "next Silicon Valley" or it's actually serious and not worth the time. I do appreciate being famous on this website though. Ya'll love me.
No.
The points in this article don't describe the environment of high tech hubs. The high tech alleys/valleys are in close proximity to the top research science and engineering universities in the country. They have high taxes, expensive housing and commercial real estate and are among the most progressive culturally and politically. Jacksonville is none of these.
Georgia Tech is the only top flight research graduate program in in the southeast that ranks among Stanford, Cal Tech, MIT Carnegie Melon and some of the Ivy league. UF is very good but it is a tier below them. FSU and UCF two tiers below. Sorry, UNF isn't even in the discussion, they don't even crack recent list of the top 250 computer science graduate programs. UNF simply doesn't have the budget to offer curriculum in cutting edge specializations.
At the end of the day most tech companies migrate to or start in the these tech hubs because of the quantity of talent available. They need it to grow. And while we do have some very talented people here the difference in the volume of talent between Silicon Valley and Jacksonville is like the difference between shooting a bullet and throwing it.
Jacksonville may be surging in tech jobs but these are not high tech jobs. What's the difference? Are we implementing existing technology or are we inventing new technology? Most of these jobs are corporate jobs handling decade old technology.
Now let's investigate this article further. Who wrote it? A social media company that's typically hired by public relations and marketing companies to churn out articles and distribute throughout the Internet. These articles will likely later be cited as authoritative sources in sales/marketing promotions.
They don't write these articles for free. Now who around here would pay to have something like this written and provide them with these low tax, inexpensive housing arguments typically used to market Jacksonville? Perhaps a conservative wealthy backer of a certain annual festival?
Well Adam, you got your wish after all. It's a Christmas miracle.
Quote from: codemonkey on November 18, 2015, 07:03:41 PM
They don't write these articles for free. Now who around here would pay to have something like this written and provide them with these low tax, inexpensive housing arguments typically used to market Jacksonville? Perhaps a conservative wealthy backer of a certain annual festival?
Yeah, I always thought Rummell paid Forbes and CNN writers too.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2013/02/07/the-cities-winning-the-battle-for-the-biggest-growth-sector-in-the-u-s/
http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/21/smallbusiness/jacksonville-startups/
Quote from: simms3 on November 18, 2015, 12:00:36 PM
No, just no. To all this.
I'm completely with simms3 on this; it's a crazy position. However, Gainesville is well on its way to carving out a small niche:
http://www.wuft.org/news/2015/07/28/gainesville-thrives-to-become-floridas-technology-hub/
But it's absurd for any location in Florida to be spoken of as a possible Silicon Valley. That doesn't mean Jax can't, or won't, boom -- but it won't be like that. The San Francisco Bay area has a stranglehold on the whole "nerve-center of technology & software" thing and it's hard to see that fact changing any time soon.
The technology sector has adequate relief valves that meets the industry's general criteria to thrive in several key metros already:
Seattle
New York
Boston
LA
Austin
San Diego
Denver
And even going beyond these, it has strong metros in Portland, Chicago, Raleigh-Durham, Atlanta, DC, and Minneapolis. I see no reason why Jacksonville cannot become more competitive in STEM and TAMI industries, as it should because that is the direction the whole world is going in, but the gap between Jacksonville and other cities is growing wider by the day, not narrower, despite the fact that Jax is still growing and broadening/deepening its economy. The simple fact of the matter is that there are dozens of cities already doing so even more quickly.
I can vouch that for these companies it becomes all about the talent pool. Nearly every grad out of a top 10 or 20 program in most of the key areas (engineering, finance, law, medicinel) wind up between a select 10-20 cities, with the vast majority of anybody out of a top 5 program winding up between NYC, SF, Boston, and DC. That's what these companies are tapping into. There will have to be some convincing that these graduates are not worth higher salaries and are not necessarily "better" than graduates of standard state schools or regional colleges before companies feel a compelling reason to exodus their beloved chosen cities for those like Jacksonville.
All of this is correlated to a thread I started recently highlighting a Bloomberg article that took a short dive into the theory that there are real haves and have nots with cities, just as there are with people:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,25587.msg429370.html#msg429370
And that the gap between the haves and have nots is widening, but that all cities (like all people) are seeing improvements in their quality of life/wealth/value, etc.
My negative nancy view is that Jacksonville probably falls moreso in the "have not" camp than the "have", but I'd love to be proven wrong. I do commend people like Rummell for really working to bring about real change and to change the public perception of the city. He has an uphill battle with no tailwinds yet, but the day will probably come for a turning point, hopefully.
Quote from: Captain Zissou on November 18, 2015, 08:46:08 AM
Sounds to me like "cheap cost of business and abundant workforce". I'd say we're the next Mumbai or Manila before the next Silicon Valley. Companies move operations to Jax in order to "near shore" as a cost cutting measure. That's still good, but we're not Silicon Valley.
exactly why I came here... All the real talent I had to bring from NE or Chicago... but then those people had to deal with the hidden tax of a broken public school system which required going private in nearly all cases... so that charge ate up gains they made in after tax income and real estate costs... Jax is an expensive place to really do business in at a high level. and isolated.
Jacksonville will expand its healthcare initiatives before it expands its silicon valley programs. Why no one is including Mayo and the recent MD Anderson connections in healthcare shows how dreamy the people commenting, except Simms, really is.
Quote from: RattlerGator on November 18, 2015, 09:41:15 PM
But it's absurd for any location in Florida to be spoken of as a possible Silicon Valley. That doesn't mean Jax can't, or won't, boom -- but it won't be like that.
Interesting
http://www.forbes.com/sites/navathwal/2015/02/12/5-markets-poised-to-be-the-next-silicon-valley-for-real-estate/
Quote from: simms3 on November 18, 2015, 10:08:11 PM
My negative nancy view is that Jacksonville probably falls moreso in the "have not" camp than the "have", but I'd love to be proven wrong. I do commend people like Rummell for really working to bring about real change and to change the public perception of the city. He has an uphill battle with no tailwinds yet, but the day will probably come for a turning point, hopefully.
We need more Mark McCombs. I think he's single-handedly creating more STEM focus than any other group or initiative on the first coast.
Love Jax and it has many natural assets.
But, as noted by others, man-made assets/infrastructure here to support a future SV are greatly lacking, unfortunately. Such as: Tolerance of immigrants & LBGT, which make up a big part of Silicon Valley's work force; open mindedness to, and acceptance of, new ideas and cultural & societal trends; lack of world class graduate level electrical engineering, mathematics & statistics, computer science, robotics, gaming, communications/networking, virtual reality, digital special and graphic effects, biotech, material sciences, manufacturing, etc. programs (many talents of which today combine into making single products like the Iphone); lack of major research facilities (government, university & corporate); lack of first rate public schools; lack of experienced high tech venture capital funders who can both understand the investing risks and guide start ups to success, etc.
If you have ever been to Silicon Valley, which one really must visit to fully grasp its immensity, it is a 30+ mile stretch down both sides of San Francisco Bay incorporating SF, Oakland, San Jose and all points in between and surrounding. There are literally thousands of tech companies HQ'd there, filling every niche imaginable, besides the obvious ones such as Google, Apple, Intel, Ebay, Facebook, Yahoo, Oracle, HP, Adobe, Cisco, Tesla (SV may be the next "Detroit" too!) etc. along with big presences by Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, Xerox, NASA, Defense Dept., etc. If one company fails, someone gets laid off, or a company booms & goes public and the techies want the next big challenge, they are in quick demand at the latest start up or established tech company. This attracts the best and the brightest which just feeds the cycle of expansion there.
By the way, I have relatives working in the high tech industry there. And guess what, they relate that a significant number of "nerds" there could care less about.... sports! They can't even name the NFL teams in Oakland or SF/Santa Clara! So, don't think the Jags will bring this crowd to town. Now those giant video boards... that may appeal more to the tech crowd ;)! And, techies often desire uptown urban-style living over being in the suburbs or, at least being near mass transit stations, as spending time in an auto is not at the top of their lifestyle list. Jax is far from matching urbanized/developed areas in SV where people can easily walk/run/bike/mass transit to their favorite places.
Bottom line, SV is a multi-trillion economic engine that dwarfs tech hubs pretty much anywhere else in the world, not just in the US. Like Detroit (cars), Hollywood (movies), Houston (oil), Wall Street (finance), Broadway (theater), Chicago (food mfg.), etc. SV possesses a unique and massive infrastructure, synergy and critical mass within its industry(ies) that may be nearly impossible to replicate on such a scale anytime soon short of a new technological revolution drawing on a new combination of resources.
As noted, Jax's opportunities probably lie more in applying the tech emanating from SV to the areas of finance, medicine, logistics/transportation, manufacturing, defense, etc. We can see this in Jax companies like FIS, Vistakon, Mayo, Saft, CSX, etc.
I be don't want to seen as dissing Jax. It's just that, like people, each community has certain strengths and weaknesses that both create and limit certain types of opportunities. We need to honestly assess ourselves, improve wherever we feasibly and reasonably can, and exploit our strengths. There is nothing wrong with bench marking ourselves against the very best but Jax needs to finally and forcefully vision, plan and execute on making real and significant progress toward benchmarks set by places like SV instead of just daydreaming and jawboning about them as if they will magically fall upon us if we just maintain the status quo.
I think one issue I have with articles like this is the whole "X will be the next Y" approach. I doubt Jacksonville will ever be the "next" silicon valley. But that doesn't mean it can't or won't develop and grow that sector (tech or whatever you call it). It seems like an area where there is room for growth - which is great. Can we not just appreciate that for what it is and for what opportunities it presents?
Quote from: mtraininjax on November 18, 2015, 10:30:09 PM
Jacksonville will expand its healthcare initiatives before it expands its silicon valley programs. Why no one is including Mayo and the recent MD Anderson connections in healthcare shows how dreamy the people commenting, except Simms, really is.
What are you talking about "dreamy"? Virtually every comment here says 'no way is Jacksonville the next SV'.
Until the Jacksonville mindset shifts to a progressive growth model this can never happen anytime soon. There is more emphasis on manufacturing, the port and jaguars then there is in bringing Tech here. Finance, Insurance and health care are not flashy tech jobs that are going to lure the creative class of millennials that could build a silicon valley. And while the Culture and Arts scene is certainly growing calling it robust is still a stretch.
My goodness -- "Tolerance of immigrants & LBGT, which make up a big part of Silicon Valley's work force"
What !?! Why do people do this? Advocacy; it just never stops.
Oh, and they don't care about sports !!! Laughably absurd. "They" certainly do, as do practically all other segments of our society. The thing about sports, if you understand anything at all about the long tail of distribution, is that a whole bunch of people may be disinterested . . . but damn few things in our culture or cultures around the globe singularly capture as much attention. Which is the important thing so many on this board seem to be completely ignorant of.
Hate it all you want. But that's the fact of the matter.
Some posters have done a good job sharing why Jax will not be "the next Silicon Valley". I'll take it a step further. Jax is not even positioned to be the "next Silicon Valley" in Florida. Orlando is MILES ahead of Jacksonville in this regard and with the recent creation of the Florida High Tech Corridor, Jacksonville isn't even on the train. I say that as someone that hates Orlando. http://www.floridahightech.com/
If we're talking trends and new economic development strategies (in addition to financial services, logistics, etc), I think Jacksonville's best niche would be going all in as a cultural, arts, music, brewing, and culinary hub. Like a Portland, Nashville, or Asheville. Jacksonville's institutions and infrastructure are probably better suited to a movement like that, and it is already happening organically. That is not to say that tech should be ignored, just that the city is probably a lot better positioned to focus in areas other than tech.
Jacksonville's biggest asset is that we are diversified in our economics.
We don't rely on just one industry to be the primary driver.
The last economic development chart for Florida showed us to have the 2nd most diverse business climate only behind Miami.
I think that is an incredible asset to have and one other "one trick" cities would love to have.
Bring in more tech R&D? Absolutely. But have it dominate our economic climate? No.
Quote from: CityLife on November 19, 2015, 10:26:40 AM
I think Jacksonville's best niche would be going all in as a cultural, arts, music, brewing, and culinary hub.
These all tend to be low-wage ventures as well, which do well here.
Quote from: RattlerGator on November 19, 2015, 09:56:30 AM
My goodness -- "Tolerance of immigrants & LBGT, which make up a big part of Silicon Valley's work force"
What !?! Why do people do this? Advocacy; it just never stops.
Bigotry it just never stops.
Openness to gays and lesbians similarly reflects an ecosystem that is open to new people and new ideas. It's amazing how consistently people have misconstrued what my colleagues and I have had to say about the connection between gays and economic growth. They miss the point. A strong and vibrant gay community is a solid leading indicator of a place that is open to many different kinds of people. Ronald Inglehart, who has studied the relationship between culture and economic growth for some four decades, has noted that the lack of societal acceptance of gays is the most significant remaining bastion of intolerance and discrimination around the world. Accordingly, communities that have long been more accepting and open to gay people have an underlying ecosystem which is also more likely to be accepting of new ideas and different types of people, including the eggheads and eccentrics who invent new things and start new enterprises. As Bill Bishop put it, "where gay households abound, geeks follow."
http://www.citylab.com/housing/2012/07/geography-tolerance/2241/
Quote from: spuwho on November 19, 2015, 11:05:19 AM
Jacksonville's biggest asset is that we are diversified in our economics.
We don't rely on just one industry to be the primary driver.
The last economic development chart for Florida showed us to have the 2nd most diverse business climate only behind Miami.
I think that is an incredible asset to have and one other "one trick" cities would love to have.
Bring in more tech R&D? Absolutely. But have it dominate our economic climate? No.
You say this without context. Most major major cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, have incredibly diverse economies. Simultaneously, most cities that have historically done really really well have in fact dominated in at least one economic segment or have taken advantage of an absolute advantage.
Quote from: CityLife on November 19, 2015, 10:26:40 AM
If we're talking trends and new economic development strategies (in addition to financial services, logistics, etc), I think Jacksonville's best niche would be going all in as a cultural, arts, music, brewing, and culinary hub. Like a Portland, Nashville, or Asheville. Jacksonville's institutions and infrastructure are probably better suited to a movement like that, and it is already happening organically. That is not to say that tech should be ignored, just that the city is probably a lot better positioned to focus in areas other than tech.
Portland doesn't grow and thrive because of a bunch of granola crunching hipsters who ride bikes, though, and Nashville isn't all country music. Asheville is a tiny town. Portland is a large tech hub, as well. Simultaneously, just because places like New York and San Francisco are bastions of tech and finance, among other things, does not mean these places don't have their fair share of culture, art, music scenes, brews, culinary, etc. In fact, I'd say both New York and San Francisco also still dominate many of these other categories that you mention.
Being "cultural" in the hipster sense, and having an amazing culinary scene (of which I'm pretty sure Jacksonville has a long way to go to even fully compete just within the relatively noncompetitive southeast), and having a large beer/brewery scene, and curating art/music/culture are not mutually exclusive to being an economic powerhouse with big corporations, finance sector, etc. In fact, often where there's big $$$$ there's big culture.
Quote from: RattlerGator on November 19, 2015, 09:56:30 AM
My goodness -- "Tolerance of immigrants & LBGT, which make up a big part of Silicon Valley's work force"
What !?! Why do people do this? Advocacy; it just never stops.
Oh, and they don't care about sports !!! Laughably absurd. "They" certainly do, as do practically all other segments of our society. The thing about sports, if you understand anything at all about the long tail of distribution, is that a whole bunch of people may be disinterested . . . but damn few things in our culture or cultures around the globe singularly capture as much attention. Which is the important thing so many on this board seem to be completely ignorant of.
Hate it all you want. But that's the fact of the matter.
You are a poster that frequently gives me a hard time, I recall. But listen to yourself. Wow. Jacksonville's biggest problem is it has too many people like you who think of yourselves as entirely rational/reasonable, but in reality you come across as naive and bigoted. If the whole city were filled with people with your mentality, you'd be stuck in the stone 1970s! Oh wait...Jax IS still stuck in the 1970s!
Quote from: simms3 on November 19, 2015, 02:02:29 PM
Quote from: CityLife on November 19, 2015, 10:26:40 AM
If we're talking trends and new economic development strategies (in addition to financial services, logistics, etc), I think Jacksonville's best niche would be going all in as a cultural, arts, music, brewing, and culinary hub. Like a Portland, Nashville, or Asheville. Jacksonville's institutions and infrastructure are probably better suited to a movement like that, and it is already happening organically. That is not to say that tech should be ignored, just that the city is probably a lot better positioned to focus in areas other than tech.
Portland doesn't grow and thrive because of a bunch of granola crunching hipsters who ride bikes, though, and Nashville isn't all country music. Asheville is a tiny town. Portland is a large tech hub, as well. Simultaneously, just because places like New York and San Francisco are bastions of tech and finance, among other things, does not mean these places don't have their fair share of culture, art, music scenes, brews, culinary, etc. In fact, I'd say both New York and San Francisco also still dominate many of these other categories that you mention.
Being "cultural" in the hipster sense, and having an amazing culinary scene (of which I'm pretty sure Jacksonville has a long way to go to even fully compete just within the relatively noncompetitive southeast), and having a large beer/brewery scene, and curating art/music/culture are not mutually exclusive to being an economic powerhouse with big corporations, finance sector, etc. In fact, often where there's big $$$$ there's big culture.
Perhaps you missed the part where I said we should focus on arts/culture in addition to financial services, logistics, and other strengths. Clearly I am aware of the symbiotic relationship between culture and business. Due to Jax's lack of a major research university, it needs to provide exceptional cultural offerings to draw in and retain talent. Particularly young talent.
Jacksonville is too spread out to have the density a unifying identity needs.
There's probably a hub with whatever niche you're looking for but the majority of the population seems to be much more blue collar. These post don't really reflect their views.
Who's going to fervently advocate for them?
Quote from: whyisjohngalt on November 19, 2015, 08:42:55 PM
There's probably a hub with whatever niche you're looking for but the majority of the population seems to be much more blue collar. These post don't really reflect their views.
Who's going to fervently advocate for them?
Bernie Sanders: https://berniesanders.com/issues/
Bumping this thread from 10 years ago! With UF coming to town, thought an update would be appropriate.
So far, I don't think we have moved much toward being a SV-like town but maybe someone here sees it differently. Will UF change that? And, even if they move us in that direction, how many years out before we see real movement?
Coincidentally, the Florida T-U just ran the below article on UF's building timelines with the City. Looks pretty vague, no guarantees, and goes out 10 years or more. Propelling Jax to be closer to SV seems unlikely at this time.
QuoteProposed agreement shows five buildings for UF grad campus in downtown Jacksonville
...UF would have up to seven years to begin construction on the second parcel and would have to finish that building by 2035...
....If UF does not spend at least $42 million of that funding on the semiconductor institute over a 10-year period, the university would have to fully repay the city's second allotment of $50 million...
...UF plans to operate the Florida Semiconductor Institute at its main Gainesville campus and at the Jacksonville graduate campus. Jacksonville would be a "statewide hub" for research, development and workforce initiatives in semiconductor technologies, according to the development agreement....
https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/local/2025/05/15/agreement-shows-what-uf-grad-campus-would-build-in-jacksonville/83574293007/?utm_source=timesunion-dailybriefing-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailybriefing-headline-stack&utm_term=hero&utm_content=nftu-jacksonville-nletter65
Ten years doesn't make the premise any less goofy than the guy who once suggested on here that Five Points was evolving into "Jacksonville's Chinatown" because a second sushi restaurant had opened up in Riverside (sushi isn't even Chinese, obviously, but I suppose that's beside the point).
In 99% of cases where someone is asking "Is City X the next Y," it's sad, desperate, inauthentic, and fails to address why Jacksonville has yet to make Jacksonville work.
There's an old saying:
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
This is exactly what happened with Silicon Valley. Seattle wasn't trying to be the next ________, it was instead just trying to be the best Seattle it possibly could be. And this started with recognizing what made Seattle great - the natural environment - and investing heavily in master-planned, city-wide interconnected greenspace (dating back to Olmstead in the early 1900s), public waterfront access (Alki Beach, Gasworks Park, Discovery Park, etc,), it's epic trail system, and the stringent protection of the surrounding ecosystems. This created a quality of life that made Seattle very attractive to young, talented professionals.
Similarly, the city and state invested heavily in strategically beefing up the University of Washington's computer science program, which convinced private corporations to donate to the program as well.
At the same time, Seattle had positioned itself well as a major gateway to Asia and a powerful port, logistics and trade hub.
Boeing had been there for ages planting the seeds, but the "luck" came in the early 1990s when Microsoft was looking to relocate from New Mexico, and Bill Gates and Paul Allen loved Seattle so much from growing up there that they decided it would be a good global headquarters for Microsoft. Microsoft's move, the existing deep talent pool coming out of UW and Boeing, and the pop-culture "coolness" that was early 90s Seattle (grunge music, bands like Nirvana, the explosion of Starbucks and coffee culture, the city's progressive vibe, etc) all played a part in the Amazons, Expedias, and eventually Facebooks setting up shop.
It's inherently stupid to suggest that 2015 Jacksonville was anything like 1990 Seattle in terms of priorities, talent pool, philanthropy, capital investment/VC, public infrastructure, national rep, or education.
Ironically, this mayoral administration is the first one that I've seen since moving here over 20 years ago that has similar ethos, but we've gotta learn to crawl before we can walk. Getting back to "luck is when preparation meets opportunity," if we try to skip the "preparation" part, the luck will never come. We saw this during the pandemic, when the greatest opportunity the city has had in 50+ years to take a leap forward failed to materialize into any meaningful advancement.
Fix public transit. Invest HEAVILY in UF's CS and other relevant programs so that local undergrads are actually equipped to enter UF's grad program, finish and maintain the riverfront parks and Emerald Trail, preserve our natural resources instead of turning them into golf courses, and cut the small-time petty bulllshit infighting on City Council and come together around improving the city, and THEN, maybe 20 years down the road, we'll be prepared when luck strikes to take that great, rapid leap forward into whatever the next authentic Jacksonville phase will be.
Ken,
Very well said. Couldn't agree more.