NYC to Buffalo

Anyone live up there? How is it? My wife used to fly up there often for work. She says it is nice. But she stayed there for business.

I have a job almost guaranteed, my wife would be in a similar position. We would both probably enroll in school again. I'm thinking MBA in Business, she would opt for Communications or Literature at the University at Buffalo.

I peeked at the homes, and they are not badly priced. I believe we would be able to afford something in the 180K - 230K range and still live without having to penny pinch.

How expensive do you think groceries and household things are compared to NYC?

I live in NYC currently. I grew up in Brooklyn, and have been living for the past 2 years in Queens, NY. Rent down here for a nothing apartment for us is about 1050. This is our first apartment together. Our debt (not counting the car) will be paid in full by June 08.

So I'm thinking of saving about 20-30 grand and moving up there.

How is the metalhead, rocker, goth, gamer population up there. Are people ultra religious? I heard the movement for secular humanism is up there too so maybe not too bad?

Living in NYC you can be anyone and no one really minds. We are not that conspicuous of a couple. Think James Hetfield (of Metallica) meets Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride.

Any advice would be cool.

It's cold and snows a lot.

GlassJaw said:

It's cold and snows a lot.

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Not as much as Syracuse.

dema said:

Anyone live up there? How is it? My wife used to fly up there often for work. She says it is nice. But she stayed there for business.

I have a job almost guaranteed, my wife would be in a similar position. We would both probably enroll in school again. I'm thinking MBA in Business, she would opt for Communications or Literature at the University at Buffalo.

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It is very snowy, but it's nice. Out of all the upstate cities, I think you'd like Buffalo the most. I wouldn't say it's similar to NYC in any sense, but it's definitely a city, and it's big. My experience meeting people from downstate is that they have a lot less difficulty adjusting to the size difference of Buffalo or Albany than Syracuse or Rochester.

I peeked at the homes, and they are not badly priced. I believe we would be able to afford something in the 180K - 230K range and still live without having to penny pinch.

How expensive do you think groceries and household things are compared to NYC?

I live in NYC currently. I grew up in Brooklyn, and have been living for the past 2 years in Queens, NY. Rent down here for a nothing apartment for us is about 1050. This is our first apartment together. Our debt (not counting the car) will be paid in full by June 08.

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Pretty much everything upstate is much cheaper than downstate, but it also depends on local economics. Groceries and common items will be much cheaper, and you'll get a lot more housing for the same amount of money in Buffalo. $1050 will get you a pretty nice apartment even in Buffalo... but again, it depends where exactly you live. Where did you look?

As an aside... I'm loathe to influence others with my own personal biases... but while Amherst is the real upscale part of Buffalo... I wouldn't recommend it. My experiences there with people were pretty much all negative. The surrounding areas (Williamsville comes to mind) are pretty nice, and less expensive.

How is the metalhead, rocker, goth, gamer population up there. Are people ultra religious? I heard the movement for secular humanism is up there too so maybe not too bad?

Living in NYC you can be anyone and no one really minds. We are not that conspicuous of a couple. Think James Hetfield (of Metallica) meets Tim Burton's The Corpse Bride.

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Contrary to popular downstate myth ( ), most people in upstate New York lean liberal, especially in the big cities. Religion isn't really a huge deal here either... it's mostly something people keep to themselves and isn't really a big part of life in Buffalo, or any of the region. You might get a few looks askance, but most people are fairly accepting (especially once they know you), and at worst they'll still be polite, if guarded.

Buffalo gets some pretty good metal and rock shows, and Rochester has a pretty good prog rock scene. For example, I'd be suprised if the Progressive Nation 2008 tour didn't play in Buffalo.

I can't speak to the goth or the gamer scenes in Buffalo. I get the impression that Albany and Syracuse have a little more of a gamer culture than Buffalo or Rochester. That could also be my experiences though, of which have I've had many more in the former two cities.

Any advice would be cool.

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It's a LOT snowier up here than it is down there, especially Buffalo and Syracuse. In fact, there's something of a friendly rivalry between the two cities. That's despite the fact that Syracuse routinely gets more snow later in the season once the lake freezes (yay nor'easters!). The snow season generally lasts between November and March, with a small thaw in the middle late December or early January. Aside from getting used to driving in it, I definitely recommend investing in a snow-blower.

Also, public transportation is not even close to what it is down there. You can count on driving pretty much anywhere you go. It's certainly not twenty-four hours, so if you're going to be out drinking and partying late, you'll either need a taxi or a DD.

Wings are really good in Buffalo.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it. If you have any other questions, I'll try and answer them... or find someone from Buffalo to do so.

Thanks LightPhoenix

That was a nice breakdown. I was looking for something within 20-25 miles of the city. I'm thinking woodsie so my wife can craft huge silver and wooden furniture and I can play loud guitar with hopefully a new band. I will need an SUV considering all the snow. Things to think about.

Thanks again. As always the EnWorld community has always provided good and useful information.

Thanks again LightPhoenix.

-dem

LightPhoenix covered it pretty well. I used to live in Rochester and Syracuse and had good friends in Buffalo. It was quite a few years ago, but at the time my friends had a pretty good network of gaming friends, mostly through the University of Buffalo where one of them was doing law school.

LightPhoenix said:

It is very snowy, but it's nice. Out of all the upstate cities, I think you'd like Buffalo the most. I wouldn't say it's similar to NYC in any sense, but it's definitely a city, and it's big. My experience meeting people from downstate is that they have a lot less difficulty adjusting to the size difference of Buffalo or Albany than Syracuse or Rochester.

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Though if present trends continue, Rochester will be the biggest city up there before long, simply by virtue of not shrinking. Which makes sense, if you asked me (I lived in Syracuse and Rochester for a few years, and Buffalo briefly); everything that's good about upstate NY (except for not having the Orange, Bills, or Sabres in town), and half the snow.

drothgery said:

Though if present trends continue, Rochester will be the biggest city up there before long, simply by virtue of not shrinking. Which makes sense, if you asked me (I lived in Syracuse and Rochester for a few years, and Buffalo briefly); everything that's good about upstate NY (except for not having the Orange, Bills, or Sabres in town), and half the snow.

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I totally agree, Rochester is by far my favorite of the upstate cities, especially culturally. It consistently ranked highly amongst places to live, and definitely gets less snow than Buffalo and Syracuse.

In the interest of full disclosure, Buffalo is my least favorite. Mostly because it's a classic definition of urban sprawl, but it also seems sometimes like people from Buffalo look down on the other Upstate cities, even Albany.

I like Rochester a lot too, especially culturally. My sister went to Rochester in the late 80s to go to the Eastman School of Music and loved it so much she ended up staying. Sadly, a lot of her friends and in-laws have been out of work up there for awhile after getting laid off from Kodak.

Speaking of Buffalo, the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is a must-see. It has quite an impressive collection of art acquired at a time when Buffalo was one of the major players as cities go.

...and UB is really a great school IMHO (BA '91 ). It IS cold in Buffalo, and lake effect snow was the bane of my existence, but other than the obvious it was a neat place to live. Decent restaurants and culture (Albright Knox was already mentioned, and they actually have a decent zoo), and the schools (specifically UB and Buff State) provide an appropriately artsy culture if you can find it. I agree with an earlier poster about Williamsville v. Amherst - though I always thought the Amherst residents attitude was a town-gown problem.

People will try to tell you the Anchor Bar has the best wings...meh...go to Duff's.

dpetroc said:

People will try to tell you the Anchor Bar has the best wings...meh...go to Duff's.

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Duff's is so much better, definitely.