Amazon has been a cornerstone in Seattle for more than 15 years now, but it wasn't always seen as a great place to work.

Employees talked about long hours and a pressure-cooker atmosphere, and the core business -- e-commerce -- didn't seem very sexy.

What a difference a couple of years can make.

Over the New Year's holiday, I visited Seattle for the first time since late 2010. A bunch of people in the tech scene told me the same thing: Amazon is THE place to work now.

Here's why....