That seemingly omnipresent mobile commerce company, Amazon, has been on the search for a suitable location for its second headquarters. On January 18th, they finally revealed the heavily anticipated shortlist of regions in the running as candidates. Some of the locations were expected, such as big cities like Los Angeles, New York or Miami. Others were more unexpected, such as Nashville or Newark. However, Nashville is not the wild card here. Somehow, our very own Montgomery County has made it on the list.

Montgomery County is not a renowned location, nor does it have the grandeur often associated with big cities. However, our relative lack of prominence did not seem to undermine our bid for the candidacy. According to an article by Bethesda Magazine, “Montgomery County’s bid to lure Amazon’s second headquarters highlighted the area’s highly educated workforce, transportation network and internet connectivity.” Boasting a high population of educated workers and good school districts, Montgomery County has shown Amazon that we are a location that will benefit them in a long run.

This gives us an advantage over areas that might seem like a better choice, such as Chicago. Whereas at first glance it makes perfect sense for Amazon’s second headquarters to be based in a more urban area, the Windy City may not be the way to go. Lewis Lazare from Chicago Business Journal states that “Amazon HQ2 (2nd headquarters) won’t be Chicago’s to get because of all the already well-covered reasons, including crime, corruption, debt, taxes, weather and a workforce that may be big, but certainly not as bright as the hype would have you believe.” And it’s not just Chicago. After all, it’s generally known that beyond that sparkling skyline, big cities are often hubs of far from glamorous issues such as economic inequality, discrimination, and more.

County Executive Ike Leggett has named the White Flint mall area on Rockville Pike as the potential site of Amazon’s second headquarters. It consists of 45 acres, enough to host a large company’s headquarters. Furthermore, there is easy access to two of the nation’s largest airports, Dulles and BWI, as well as a large amount of metro and bus stations nearby.

“Our tight community, developed infrastructure and good economy will serve as an excellent location for Amazon’s headquarters. Those are the most important components for a company and conveniently, Montgomery County holds them all”, said freshman Michelle Zhao.

Montgomery County is the perfect location for Amazon’s second headquarters. It has everything a booming business needs, from a educated and friendly local populace to a sprawling and accessible network of local transportation. Although it lacks the allure of glimmering skyscrapers and flashing night lights, our comfortable suburbs and cohesive community will do just fine.