# Cities claiming to be more "real", "authentic", and so on **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413 "2008-07-22T20:38:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/1 "2008-07-22T20:38:49Z")
One commonly heard cliche among boosters of Buffalo, New York is that the city, the surrounding region, and its people and culture, are somehow more “real”,“authentic”, “genuine”, “honest”, “character filled” and so on, and that the world outside of Western New York is “fake”, “plastic”, “corporate”, “sanitized”, “Anywhere USA” and so on. Just a few examples I could find in quick search: > [@](#): > > [http://www.gobuffaloniagara.com/](http://www.gobuffaloniagara.com/) > “Are you interested in the **real thing**? Ready to step off the Interstate and discover an **authentic** American city?.. If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, make plans to visit Buffalo – an **authentic, original, real** American city.” > > [http://www.buffalorising.com/story/hockey\_night\_in\_amsterdam\_neth#sca](http://www.buffalorising.com/story/hockey_night_in_amsterdam_neth#sca) > “A while back, I left Buffalo and moved to Amsterdam. The 1 year experiment turned into 7 years… and I am still here. My heartstrings are naturally always pulled by Buffalo and my nostalgia. Trying to explain it to my Dutch partner was difficult. Why is Buffalo different then any other city, she asked? Because it is. **It’s more human** I said.” > > I love Revitalize Buffalo, but this entry has another “Buffalo is more real” article. > > [http://www.revitalizebuffalo.wnymedia.net/archives/date/2006/01/](http://www.revitalizebuffalo.wnymedia.net/archives/date/2006/01/) > “Here it is: Buffalo - The Real Deal! > I think it’s a pretty brilliant one and anyone who has lived here for a year or two can attest to that fact. **Everything about Buffalo is real. The people, the architecture and history, the culture, the sports teams and their fans…if you’ve been here for more than five minutes, you already know that about Buffalo** …Marv Levy said it best during his coaching tenure, “Where else would you rather be, right here, right now?”” > > [http://www.wnymedia.net/content/view/2764/35/index.php?id=872&option=com\_content&task=view](http://www.wnymedia.net/content/view/2764/35/index.php?id=872&option=com_content&task=view) > Ed Healy from the Buffalo CVB: > “It’s tough-minded, to the point, matter-of-fact. It says this is an **authentic place**. . . We are what we are, and proud of it. It’s smash-mouth football. Chicken wings at the corner tavern. Beers and kielbasa. It’s not glitz and glamour, but the **authentic America** that has been lost in so many places.”" > > Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker: > “Buffalo has a kind of power, the power of the **authentic place**.” > > [Tell Me about Buffalo, New York (Rochester, Syracuse: sales, lease, violent crime) - (NY) -Western New York community board. Discuss Buffalo's revitalization, climate (lake effect snow), housing in Elmwood Village, and local job markets. - City-Data Forum](http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-york/34007-tell-me-about-buffalo-new-york.html) > It’s got a lot more heart, **a lot more real-ness** , than all the up-and-coming suburbs and growing-too-fast cities across the country. > > [http://v2.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread\_id=10475&page=3](http://v2.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=10475&page=3) > “I encourage everyone to come to Buffalo for a good time, good people, good drinks, etc. Buffalo’s image is not perceived very well around the country, and I really have no idea why. Buffalo is not the most amazing place on the planet, I’m quite sure of that. However, you’ll be hard pressed to find a place where the people are \*\*more real \*\*and passionate than Buffalo, New York.” In recent weeks, there has been a barrage a lot of promotional commercials for Detroit airing on Cleveland television stations. The commercials: [http://www.michigan.org/travel/partners/DetroitFamilyFun/Detroit.Family.Fun.asp?link=travnav](http://www.michigan.org/travel/partners/DetroitFamilyFun/Detroit.Family.Fun.asp?link=travnav) > [@](#): > > Television: > “In our pasteurized and sanitized world, we’re crying out for something real.” > “When you need to feel something, come on down to Detroit, because the thrill of a real city is pure Michigan.” > > Radio: > “What’s the definition of a day out? Going to the mall, or a chain restaurant?” > “But what if there was a city that was different, where things were like night and day?” > “We all need to get away from the norm, and there’s no better city to experience a real city than Detroit” Looks like they got their copy verbatim from the comments of boosters in Buffalo’s newspapers and blogs, and substituted “Detroit” and “Michigan” where appropriate. Given the Detroit campaign, I’m increasingly under the impression that describing a city as “real” or “authentic” is the rough equivalent of calling a retarded person “special.” I believe that some Buffalonians throw around the “real” tag like some larger women call themselves “real women”, in a way that implies that thin women aren’t “real”. When Buffalonians claim that their city is more “real”, could it be a way of applying a positive word to what might be seen as negative traits: urban grit (not “sanitized” like an evil mall), working-class attitudes and lifestyles (as opposed to “pretentious” but affluent yuppiedom), and a sense of being in a “time warp” (nostalgia for the simpler days of past, as opposed to more complicated 21st century living). Just like “real women”, claims of Buffalo’s “realness” might be a way of implying that more prosperous, affluent cities aren’t “real”; it’s a last-ditch weapon to validate one’s loyalty to Buffalo when people sing the praises of cities like Denver or Portland, and the qualities and amenities of those cities that are lacking in Buffalo. “Sure, Portland might have urban growth boundaries, great public transit, a growing population of young educated professionals, and a thriving downtown, but Buffalo’s more REAL.” Are there other cities whose residents seem prone to promoting the attributes of the place as “authentic”, “genuine”, “real” and so on, much in a way a hipster hypes their favorite unsigned band? Are the cities that claim to be more “real” generally less prosperous than the norm? Do you think these terms are really code for “we don’t really have anything else going for us, so let’s put a positive spin on our gritty side?” ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/2 "2008-07-22T20:51:57Z")
This is in contrast to Ithaca, which is billed as, “Ten square miles surrounded by reality.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/3 "2008-07-22T20:58:51Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] This is in contrast to Ithaca, which is billed as, “Ten square miles surrounded by reality.” [/QUOTE] The remnants of the Gun Hill Factory are pretty “real”, in that sense, to me. But in 40 years all that will be left are bunches of apartments and condos in a place called Gun Hill but no one will remember why… ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/4 "2008-07-22T21:02:56Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] This is in contrast to Ithaca, which is billed as, “Ten square miles surrounded by reality.” [/QUOTE] Reality can be a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. From my admittedly limited experience in Buffalo, I think “real” and “authentic” in this case are euphemisms for “deep fried food”, “dirty strip malls”, and “no inside voice.” It’s still not as bad as Albuquerque, though. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/5 "2008-07-22T21:18:07Z")
Being born and raised in Detroit and having gone to college in Buffalo, I think I can help. Buffalo has an inferiority complex. Detroit does as well, but we seem to relish and cultivate the “hard working underdog” role. When someone from Buffalo gets in that role, it’s accepted, but it’s not cultivated. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/6 "2008-07-22T21:26:27Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] “dirty strip malls” [/QUOTE] What can be more authentic than the Walden Galleria? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/7 "2008-07-22T21:48:40Z")
[QUOTE=elmwood] One commonly heard cliche among boosters of Buffalo, New York is that the city, the surrounding region, and its people and culture, are somehow more “real”,“authentic”, “genuine”, “honest”, “character filled” and so on, and that the world outside of Western New York is “fake”, “plastic”, “corporate”, “sanitized”, “Anywhere USA” and so on. [/QUOTE] Buffalo actually formally refers to itself as “An All America City.” Not “American,” that wasn’t a typo. I always wondered what the hell that meant - I have to drive through Buffalo a lot to get to more interesting places. It’s on all the signs on every interstate entering the city. Apparently it’s a designation that was awarded to it by something called the National Civic League. Hundreds of cities have been awarded this less-than-exclusive designation, raning from legitimately charming cities, like Austin, to absolute shitholes, like Little Rock, to places you’ve never heard of. To get serious for a moment, the truth is that many, if not most, people from a city of ANY significant size think there’s something really special about that city, and invariably overstate its importance, worth, and pleasantness. I’ve noticed this about every place I’ve ever lived or even spent a lot of time in. A lot of this is just that people feel an affinity to their hometown and want it well thought of; even long after living there, I feel much more pleasantly inclined to Kingston, Ontario, where I grew up, than I do to any number of medium-sized university towns like Guelph or Peterborough. A lot is municipal competition; municipal governments, unlike, say, countries, have to compete to attract businesses and residents; if a few thousand people or businesses move across the city line from Toronto to Mississauga, Toronto loses a lot of money in taxes. In the case of Buffalo, if I can be very frank, it’s not a very attractive or nice city. The people I have met there are nice people and all that, and I certainly don’t mean to suggest it’s as bad as Little Rock, but it’s pretty grimy. It’s a city that has fallen on very hard times and has seen its importance plummet; a hundred years ago it was one of the biggest cities in the United States, and now it’s a long, long way from that. It’s not wealthy, picturesque, historically significant, or much of a tourist attraction, but the civic boosters have to hold on to **something**. So, hey, it’s more real. It’s an All America City. Places like New York City don’t have to cook up bullshit about being more “Genuine” for the simple reason that New York City IS the genuine article. You don’t need abstract, vague, hint-at-class-division reasons to want to go see the Big Apple. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/8 "2008-07-22T21:55:07Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] You don’t need abstract, vague, hint-at-class-division reasons to want to go see the Big Apple. [/QUOTE] Not to pick on Ithaca, but I experienced a lot more class warfare there than in Buffalo. They don’t care if you have money there, just act as if you don’t. Whereas just by going to Cornell you are assumed to be the Oppressor of the Locals by default. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2008, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/9 "2008-07-22T21:58:33Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] In the case of Buffalo, if I can be very frank, it’s not a very attractive or nice city. The people I have met there are nice people and all that, and I certainly don’t mean to suggest it’s as bad as Little Rock, but it’s pretty grimy. It’s a city that has fallen on very hard times and has seen its importance plummet; a hundred years ago it was one of the biggest cities in the United States, and now it’s a long, long way from that. It’s not wealthy, picturesque, historically significant, or much of a tourist attraction, but the civic boosters have to hold on to **something**. So, hey, it’s more real. It’s an All America City. [/QUOTE] I think Buffalo also feels a little pressure from all of the nearby cities. Between Niagara Falls, Rochester and Syracuse (which are all pretty similar), Buffalo has to strive hard not to fall behind the other three. And about the only thing that really makes them stand out anymore is that they have the Buffalo Bills. If the Bills ever move, there’s not much putting Buffalo on the map even in Upstate New York, let alone the rest of the country. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/10 "2008-07-23T05:15:51Z")
City boosters always use generic terminology when promoting their region. Take Pittsburgh, for example. What’s Pittsburgh known for? Steel Mills? Those days are gone. Sports teams? Yeah, but there’s a lot of non sports fans out there. Regional food? “Where the Klondike was born” or “The home of Ketchup” isn’t really that exciting. What else is unique to this area? Hmmm, the newspapers constantly print stories about how all the young people area leaving, but we’re trying to stick to things that are positive and also uniquely associated with Pittsburgh AND are relatively short and snappy (More nursing homes per capita than any other US City!). So they say things like we’re “proud” and “hard working” here. As opposed to, erm, cities like Buffalo and Cleveland, where they’re “ashamed” and “lazy” (Cleveland’s _river_ caught on fire for gods sake)? But, those two cities, along with most others, use similar generic terms to describe themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cities-claiming-to-be-more-real-authentic-and-so-on/457413/11 "2008-07-23T05:33:15Z")
An old friend of mine had a favorite T-shirt: “Buffalo: City of No Illusions.”