Replies

More than twenty-five years ago my husband’s Silicon Valley employer was looking to expand. It was at the height of the dotcom boom and office space in Silicon Valley was practically nonexistent. The company had a branch office in Salt Lake City and the company polled workers as to whether they might be interested in relocating there. The professional and support employees were interested. Housing was crazy in California and the commutes were killers. But the managerial staff couldn’t bear being separated from San Francisco, Monterey, and all the trappings California offers the wealthy. They voted it down. A short time later the dotcom bust solved their problem as numerous companies went bust and office space in Silicon Valley was a dime a dozen. If managerial staff wasn’t interested in Salt Lake City, believe me, Pocatello hasn’t a prayer of attracting established companies.

I went to college in Pocatello in the ‘70s. I remember the difficulty the local government had in trying to attract occupants for the recently surplused Naval Ordinance Depot ( a WWII facility used to refurbish Naval cannons). Despite advantages such as developed infrastructure, heavy machine shop equipment, direct railroad access and nearby interstate access, getting companies to locate there was like pulling teeth.

BTW I'm glad that liberal Califoricators from Silicon Valley are loathe to relocate to the frozen North. :)