Ycore Rixle
First Post
I moved from NYC to Buffalo a year and a half ago, and I pretty much agree with what everyone has said, except for maybe the "Buffalonians look down on other upstate cities." I've actually felt that Buffalo has a huge inferiority complex and the people here feel like they're living in NYC's shadow. That inferiority complex is undeserved, in my opinion - I like it here.
A couple answers to your points:
- The price of housing is great. I was paying $1800 in Manhattan, moved out here and got a bigger apartment in a nice area (Amherst/Williamsville) for 875. It had a fireplace, balcony, washer/dryer in the apartment, 2nd floor... let me know if you want the contact info. I'm in a house now, and I can guarantee you that 180-230k range will get you something very, very nice.
- One reason for the affordable housing is the shrinking population. I'm not sure if the population has stopped shrinking, or if it has just started to shrink slower, but there is still a feeling of malaise sometimes, especially in the city limits of Buffalo. Also, the people up here (quite liberal/statist, as another poster noted), have all kinds of rules against tearing anything down (trying to cling to old glory days?), so there are TONS of old abandoned buildings still standing for "historical" reasons. It looks bad, in my opinion. But there are many nice places too, including North Buffalo (the northern part of town, within the city limits), Amherst, Williamsville, Clarence, Orchard Park, Elma, Marilla, lots of places.
- If you want to find something "woodsy" but still within reach of the city, you can do that fairly easily. It's one of my favorite things about the area.
- It feels like a small town. You see people you know all the time, everywhere.
- The traffic is nonexistent. They built the highways for bigger population, and the consequence is that commuting and just getting around is awesome.
- There is a lot of snow, but I love it. If you like to do anything with the snow, it's good. And there's nowhere near as much snow as, say, northern lower Michigan, where I grew up, and which also gets lake effect snow. Also, the big snow belt is south of the city, by Orchard Park. Amherst, Williamsville, and Clarence get less snow.
- With the university, especially, goth/rocker couples are not that out of place. It's a big enough place that you can find your own community, although you maybe can't get immersed in it so much as in NYC.
A couple answers to your points:
- The price of housing is great. I was paying $1800 in Manhattan, moved out here and got a bigger apartment in a nice area (Amherst/Williamsville) for 875. It had a fireplace, balcony, washer/dryer in the apartment, 2nd floor... let me know if you want the contact info. I'm in a house now, and I can guarantee you that 180-230k range will get you something very, very nice.
- One reason for the affordable housing is the shrinking population. I'm not sure if the population has stopped shrinking, or if it has just started to shrink slower, but there is still a feeling of malaise sometimes, especially in the city limits of Buffalo. Also, the people up here (quite liberal/statist, as another poster noted), have all kinds of rules against tearing anything down (trying to cling to old glory days?), so there are TONS of old abandoned buildings still standing for "historical" reasons. It looks bad, in my opinion. But there are many nice places too, including North Buffalo (the northern part of town, within the city limits), Amherst, Williamsville, Clarence, Orchard Park, Elma, Marilla, lots of places.
- If you want to find something "woodsy" but still within reach of the city, you can do that fairly easily. It's one of my favorite things about the area.
- It feels like a small town. You see people you know all the time, everywhere.
- The traffic is nonexistent. They built the highways for bigger population, and the consequence is that commuting and just getting around is awesome.
- There is a lot of snow, but I love it. If you like to do anything with the snow, it's good. And there's nowhere near as much snow as, say, northern lower Michigan, where I grew up, and which also gets lake effect snow. Also, the big snow belt is south of the city, by Orchard Park. Amherst, Williamsville, and Clarence get less snow.
- With the university, especially, goth/rocker couples are not that out of place. It's a big enough place that you can find your own community, although you maybe can't get immersed in it so much as in NYC.
