Small and big cities are queuing up to become the location of the second headquarter from Amazon. On Monday, October 23, the e-retailer revealed that it received 238 bids from cities across North America. Given the alluring package Amazon is offering, it is not surprising to see so many cities lining up for the coveted spot.

Amazon is slated to invest $5 billion toward the establishment of its second headquarters, as a result of which about 50,000 well-paid jobs would be up for grabs. The proposed investment and subsequent rise in jobs will contribute substantially to the selected city’s economy.

For the unfamiliar, Amazon’s current headquarter is in Seattle.

Amazon receives 238 proposals

Cities all over North America are currently competing with each other to become the second headquarters for Amazon. In a tweet via Amazon News on October 23, the e-retailer shared that it was excited to review all the submitted proposals for the upcoming HQ2.

Amazon gets bizarre proposals from some cities

Publication Gadgets Now shared that proposals have also come in from Mexico and Canada. The publication also revealed that along with serious proposals, Amazon also received some bizarre and silly bids before the deadline for submissions closed.

While the city of Newark in New Jersey has offered $7 billion in tax breaks, Tucson in Arizona shipped a giant cactus across to Amazon as part of its bid.

While Tucson shipped a giant cactus, other cities tried different tricks to capture the e-retailer’s attention. Stonecrest from Georgia offered to construct an entire city, which will be named the “city of Amazon” to lure the company and cajole it to open its second headquarters in the city.

For the unfamiliar, Stonecrest is a small city which is home to an estimated 34,000 people. The other pro in favor of this city is its proximity to the airport. The mayor of Kansas City, Sly James also undertook a bizarre technique to make sure his city is selected to be Amazon’s HQ2. James went on an online shopping spree on the company’s store and gave 5-star ratings to nearly 1,000 Amazon products.

He also mentioned his city's name at every opportunity.

With so many contenders vying with each other to become the chosen location for Amazon's HQ2, it will be interesting to see which city the company finally zones in on. It is not known by when Amazon would be finalizing the new location for its HQ2.
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