Tell me about Buffalo, NY

[DrDeth]

@drewc

Wages are commensurate with the economy. You will not get paid on a dollar-for-dollar basis for the same job in NYC/Chicago/Seattle/etc. But housing is affordable and money is beginning to flow back into the area.

T.

Ah, that’s the nice thing. Altho my SO will take a hit, the job we’re talking about is a significant pay raise over my current job.

[mske]

@drewc

This month - today actually - marks my 7th anniversary of moving to Buffalo from Chicago. Had I waited 6 more weeks, I’d have missed the October Storm. As it were, my 1st experience of the vaunted WNY lake effect storms -in the middle of October, starting on a day where we woke up to temps in the upper 40s - lower 50s - was not pleasant (no power for a few days, etc).

I did not move here at my choice - it was either stay in Chicago and separate from my West Seneca-native then wife, or move with her to Buffalo as she’d given up on Chicago (as a Chicago native, this idea is unfathomable to me). So here I am. One kid later I am now divorced, living in a $650/month 2-br apartment in Kenmore with joint custody of my daughter.

A lot of natives seem to think Buffalo is a manageable Chicago. I laugh. One condition of moving here was that we move to Elmwood Village. We did, and I did not hate it there. It was a short walk to some good bars, the late Home of the Hits, the Bidwell Parkway farmers market. Eventually I bought a house in Snyder for $112k, which would have been at least triple that in any desirable place in the Chicago area to raise a kid. So there’s that. Great schools there, my daughter is starting kindergarten Wednesday at the highest-ranked public elementary school in the area (and very high in the state too). So there’s that.

Wages are commensurate with the economy. You will not get paid on a dollar-for-dollar basis for the same job in NYC/Chicago/Seattle/etc. But housing is affordable and money is beginning to flow back into the area.

The food? Outside of wings, meh. I will never understand Buffalo pizza, a style unique to and ubiquitous to here. It’s as if the area had to decide between Chicago style and New York style, and confabbed the two together. Not anywhere near as good, at its best, than pedestrian examples of either NY or Chi pies. Other than kimmelweck there really isn’t a tradition of local traditional food like there is in Chicago. And oh how I miss my Italian beefs.

I know Newell Nussbaumer as mentioned in that NY Mag article, and what isn’t mentioned is that while I agree he is a tireless and needed booster of the city itself, with so much of the economic engine and population coming from the suburbs, they might as well be Siberia as far as Buffalo Rising is concerned. Buffalo more than any other place I can think of needs to focus on the region, as there is a lot about the region to promote which can be just as, if not more so, critical to the area’s growth and revitalization than just the city’s ZIP codes.

Toronto is awesome. World class. That said, any city intent on preservation, growth and self-realization should not make it a key selling point that there’s a place Just Like That 90 miles away in a different country.

I miss Chicago dearly. All things being equal I’d be back there in a heartbeat. But slowly the charms of the area are becoming interesting to me and someday perhaps I’d embrace them like the natives.

Heh. It’s like looking into a mirror - PM me.

[LaurenIpsum]

Another Buffalonian here. Well, not right in the city, but I grew up in south Cheektowaga and now I live in one of the other suburbs. I also work in the 'burbs so I don’t go downtown on a daily basis, but at least a few times a month when the weather is warm - either for festivals/events or to take my dog to the off-leash dog park.

Really the only thing I don’t like about this area is the weather, as I prefer it warm year-round. Mr. Ipsum and I did actually look at moving to a warmer area a few years ago, but as we both have well-paying jobs that we like, we didn’t want to take a risk in a new place. One other thing that annoys me is that the area is not very bike-friendly - few bike lanes, and in general it can be difficult to travel by bike. A few years ago I was really into bicycling for transportation, until I hurt my leg badly and gave it up entirely, so I suppose it’s not as much of an issue to me now. Although I’ve started getting into bicycling slowly again this summer.

[Ludovic]

What surprises me when I grew up is how geographically small the Buffalo region is, compared to many cities the same size (or even smaller.) Certainly growing up in Fredonia Buffalo seemed very far away, and even Silver Creek seemed completely outside the sphere of influence, which isn’t the case with Canandaigua versus Rochester, or Ballston and Albany. ETA: to say nothing of florida and its completely huge Orlando metropolitan or the monolithic strips of endless small cities/suburbs on the coasts. ETA ETA: this contrasts with New Jersey, which also on the surface looks like it has the same monolithic strip of neverending suburbs, but you can see by street signage and local pride that they culturally consider each town to be separate from the next on down the line.

[Justin_Bailey]

@Ludovic

What surprises me when I grew up is how geographically small the Buffalo region is, compared to many cities the same size (or even smaller.) Certainly growing up in Fredonia Buffalo seemed very far away, and even Silver Creek seemed completely outside the sphere of influence, which isn’t the case with Canandaigua versus Rochester, or Ballston and Albany. ETA: to say nothing of florida and its completely huge Orlando metropolitan or the monolithic strips of endless small cities/suburbs on the coasts. ETA ETA: this contrasts with New Jersey, which also on the surface looks like it has the same monolithic strip of neverending suburbs, but you can see by street signage and local pride that they culturally consider each town to be separate from the next on down the line.

What always amazes me about Canandaigua is that many Canandaigua residents think they actually live in Rochester. Not the city itself, of course. But they act as if Canandaigua is just a slightly further out suburb. Which, in a way, it is.

[DrDeth]

Well, looks like this is getting a higher possible. Looking at near Delaware park, hm?

[Hbellstl]

Wow. Lots of information! Thank you for all of that.
My situation is this…I live in St. Louis Missouri. My son, who is 24, has been dating a girl from Toronto and its getting serious. I can’t see myself moving to Canada, so I figured Buffalo was the next best thing. Plus, I love the snow and I love to fish!
The last few years have been tough. I recently ended a longterm relationship, my mother pasted away, and i was forced to make a career change. At this point, I think a change would be good for me.
In your opinion, how do you think a single country girl would fair on her own in the city of Buffalo?

Thanks in advance for any input,
Heather

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

I grew up in Buffalo and lived in St Louis (University City and then by Arsenal park).

I think there are a lot of similarities between the two areas. A wide variety of neighborhoods and suburbs, similar to St Louis ones.

[meenie7]

@bot3

Our winters are not nearly as bad as advertised (but don’t let our secret out).

Can you elaborate on how this could possibly be true, when every winter, we hear about at least 5 to 10 times when Buffalo gets feet and feet of snow? I’m from Connecticut (the inland area where we get the most snow in the state) so it’s not like I’m a weenie, but how could lots of horrible snowstorms like that not be “bad?”

[delphica]

@Hbellstl

Wow. Lots of information! Thank you for all of that.
My situation is this…I live in St. Louis Missouri. My son, who is 24, has been dating a girl from Toronto and its getting serious. I can’t see myself moving to Canada, so I figured Buffalo was the next best thing. Plus, I love the snow and I love to fish!
The last few years have been tough. I recently ended a longterm relationship, my mother pasted away, and i was forced to make a career change. At this point, I think a change would be good for me.
In your opinion, how do you think a single country girl would fair on her own in the city of Buffalo?

Thanks in advance for any input,
Heather

Do you like being a country girl? I mean, do you wish to continue it? One of my favorite things about the Buffalo area is that you live outside the city and be close enough to get downtown as often as you’d like with little or no hassle … and yet be in a fairly rural area.

If you’d care to follow along on a map, there are a lot of lake area communities to the south east where it is still very possible to commute to the city in about 35 minutes, but you can keep a boat right on the lake – Lake View, North Evans, Derby, Angola. Something like Colden or Springville is like a town-lett, south of the city and on the way to the best ski areas. There is actual farming going on here. In the other direction, Akron is also relatively close to city amenities (and jobs) and is a beautiful rural area.

And if you do decide to look at living in the City of Buffalo proper, outdoor recreation areas are very easy to travel to.

I’m glad you like the snow, because if you’re looking at Buffalo NOW, you’d pretty much have to.

Weirdly, I have always liked St. Louis whenever I’ve visited because it has a very similar feel in many ways, like it seems like a very neighborhood-based city.

[DrDeth]

Hey, since that position fell thru for me, I am glad this thread can be of use to others. In any case, many SDMBers here were a big help. THANKS!!

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

FYI: Here’s a relevant article. Haven’t read the whole thing, but may be interesting for anyone considering Buffalo.

http://www.buffalo.com/news/blog/buffalo-ranked-2nd-best-city-to-relocate-to-in-america/42747