WGA office closure and relocation

The_Chieftain: The idea of relocating has certainly made me take a very cold, hard look at the costs and benefits. I generally enjoy living in California. Financially, it's a no-brainer. The sales taxes aren't any higher (They're about 1% less), the property taxes are higher, but not so much higher that it counters the lack of personal income tax. If you're renting, that's not such an issue.  For the cost of my modest 1,280sqft three-bedroom in California, I could get a 5 bedroom, 5,000 sqft place. I'd be more concerned about the heating/aircon bill than I would be about the mortgage.   Not quite California, but I could live there. The weather seems acceptable. It's a little longer to drive to get to skiing, and I would miss being close to the ocean. On the other hand, my hobbies include driving gas-guzzlers and shooting, so plus points for Texas. Bay Area traffic is absolutely god-awful horrendous, it took me 75 minutes to get into the office this morning. I know Austin is bad, but is it that bad? Overall, the quality of life for those of us who move seems like it'll be an improvement.  About the only three things which is saying "stay in California" for me right now are the excellent restaurants, the fact that SFO is a better hub for long-haul flights than Austin, and the fact that my 8-year-old daughter lives with her mother in the Bay Area, and I don't like the idea of being more than 20 minutes away from her. That last is a very strong motivator. If it weren't for that, I'd be on the airplane already.   So, some folks are moving, some are staying. Some have already relocated, there will be a general continuity of operations and knowledge. It's an individual decision. You'll see some faces and names continuing on, you'll see some leave. Well, some familiar names have left over the last six years, so no change from normal operations. Some have family here in the Bay Area and won't leave them, some have family in Texas and are happy to be going back home. One English employee here refuses to move because it's an open-carry state (Seriously? It's that big a deal?). All down to personal perspective and priorities. From the perspective of the player, you shouldn't see very much change. Yes, there will be small hiccoughs like the announced Tankrewards going offline for a while (That's run locally), but as a general overview, all our products are continuing business as normal.   For obvious reasons, I'm not going to comment on the business decision relating to the consolidation of offices, that's not my department. I'm just commenting as an employee. All in all, I think the move is a good thing.