Vacation and possible Relocation -- What's 'the draw' in Western New York?

[MaverickDD]

Originally Posted by marc3565

Erie Canal Hike, Bike Trail Map - NYcanal (http://www.nycanal.com/recreation/hikebikemain.html - broken link)

Thank you, Marc!

• We will hike or bike some of the Erie Canal trail.
• Surprisingly, my NJ auto insurance is dirt cheap (under $600 per car with collision coverage!) Older cars, group discount, age 50-ish drivers, clean records.
• My NJ real estate taxes are $700 per month. I'm hoping to cut that by 80% or more.
• We'll put the Candian Falls on our agenda with a note to hold our wallets tightly.
• We love the Finger Lakes -- have been to Cortland, Dryden, Ithaca, Watkins Glen, Canandaigua, and Corning.

Originally Posted by donbuy

Check out June in Buffalo... ever vibrant Chautauqua Institution...

Wow, what a treasure of information! Thanks Don!

• June in Buffalo - looks great but can't get away that soon. Thanks for the links.
• Chautauqua - it looks very interesting, but so far my research has shown it to be kind of rich for my blood. I'll need to find a way to do it cheaper.
• Less snow north of the city... got it.
• Well-educated communities.

To see: (We could spend a month working on your suggestions! Thanks.)

• The City of Buffalo, Lewiston, East Aurora, Ellicottville, and the suburbs
• Top of Buffalo City Hall observation deck, Greycliff or the Martin House (both designed by F.L. Wright), Erie Basin Marina, Maid of the Mist and the Niagara Falls (NY) State Park, Artpark in Lewiston, The Wilcox Mansion (where TR was sworn in as President), Elmwood Avenue, a boat ride along the Erie Canal (Lockport Canal Cruise), the Miss Buffalo cruise.
• One of the winery's, NY State Park @ Niagara Falls, the Hatch at Erie Basin Marina, Wilson Harbor and Boat House restaurant with a gorgeous view of Toronto on a clear day. The walkway along the Buffalo Naval Park.
• Wineries
• Theater

Originally Posted by breezy1

Rochester area...

Thanks Breezy! We love the Finger Lakes.

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

Or live in between in a place like Batavia, which allows you to go to either area anytime.

Something we've considered and not just between Buffalo and Rochester but other cities roughly 90 minutes apart too.

Originally Posted by RocketSci

Do you wish to live in a city, suburb, smaller town, waterfront, or rural area?
There are some great city and suburban walkable neighborhoods filled with well maintained homes built from the 1870s to 1920s - and are very affordable - Allentown, Kenmore, North Buffalo, South Buffalo
or - smaller towns that are very close to the city, but are walkable and self contained with lots of amenities and things to do - East Aurora, Williamsville, Hamburg, Lewiston, Lockport...
AND, WNYers can also take advantage of the proximity to Canada's version of Las Vegas (Niagara Falls) and the Ontario Wine Country, Niagara-on-the-Lake (Canada's "Williamsburg"), the Shaw Festival, and miles of beaches - all less than an hour from Buffalo - AND one of the great cities of North America just over an hour away.

We're probably more oriented towards the purple stuff. Wow! Thanks for all the ideas.

Originally Posted by jblake78728

All I am going to add is that the posts by Don & RocketSci are both excellent & as a fairly recent transplant I absolutely love it here.

Thanks for the confirmation, jblake!

Originally Posted by dendrobium

I think some of those who responded had some really good things to say!!

And you had some great things to add! Thanks dendrobium! We will also look over your list of suggestions more extensively.

[BuffaloTransplant]

Originally Posted by MaverickDD

Yesterday I got my pink slip. My job comes to an end on June 30.

My wife and I are fiftyish and relative empty-nesters. We currently live in Northern New Jersey, as we have all of our lives. We’ve often struggled with the overly high cost and excessively rapid pace of living. Though there are things about our home state that we absolutely love, my beloved and I think it’s time to consider alternatives.

So… having chosen a half-dozen states to research, we would like to spend seven to ten days in each. We’ll keep one eye on the things vacationers enjoy and the other eye looking for relocation opportunities.

One place we’d like to check out is Western New York. We’ve obtained the official travelers guide but we’d like to ask fellow city-data people for advice. (Yes, I’ve tried some searches in this forum and read the 'sticky' at the top of the topics page, but I haven’t been too successful.) Please keep in mind that we’re watching the budget, within reason of course.

• We like hiking (any) and biking (flat or moderate - rail trails).
• We enjoy the arts – writing and music primarily.
• We love landscape scenery.
• We like being near water – lakes, bays, or oceans, it doesn’t matter.
• We’re not big on winter sports.
• We’re overly hospitable. (I once owned a successful bed and breakfast and would consider doing so again given the right opportunity.)
• We’re college educated.
• On the whole, we’re more open-minded than average.
• We’re not rich. We’re not poor. We’re solidly middle class, and not retirees collecting a pension.

We can make our own work to support ourselves so we won’t need ‘jobs.’ However, I am a NJ certified teacher (k-12) and would relocate for the right opportunity to teach at the college level. (I have taught college abroad.)

We know about New York's detractive personal tax structure. (We'll feel right at home coming from a mega-tax state!) We know about climate and various other demographics gleaned from City-Data.

What do you think about the following:

• Where in Western New York should we spend our time?
• What would you recommend that we see as tourists?
• What should we consider as your potential new neighbors?
• Any ‘don’t miss’ spots?
• Any ‘tourist traps’ to avoid?
• What question did I fail to ask that you think is important?

Some of these questions are very open-ended and may seem 'rudderless.' That's because we are a bit rudderless at the moment, looking for direction. For those who choose to reply, thank you for your help.

I have family from Englishtown and Matawan, so I am familiar w/Jersey costs. What you spend is a lot more than we do, but so are salaries there. Expect a lot less here. We are also a LOT more laid back ( I left the downstate NY area 40+ years ago and NEVER regretted it.)

Do you really want a B&B? Look where there are no hotels. Many towns around here have B&Bs, some in the fancy towns (Asa Ransom in Clarence) and some in the country (many in Ellicottville - ski area) and we even have one in Lancaster (name is Sassafras -I think). If you wanted to do that, there are many large old homes for it. You just find a place where is ok in zoning.

Taxes here are a LOT lower for town/county/school. [I pay about 30% total of what my SIL pays on LI for the same value property. My place here is also (in $$$) worth about 30% of there but basically the smae home... I will keep my cheaper home on acreage. You will not die from taxes coming from Jersey.

If you are going to come here, I would plan on going to see the Naval Park and waterfront of Lake Erie, the Albright-Knox, walk Delaware Park (it is an Olmstead Park, like Central Park in NY), drive thru Forest Lawn Cemetery ( seriously, they do tours), and also the Frank Lloyd Wright homes (like Martin House), drive thru our many villages, see the Falls ( hokey, yes, but nice if you never saw them), take a ride on one of the boats on a Great Lake (Miss Buffalo or the MoonCat catamaran). You need to get a feel for the city -- are these attractions tourist traps? maybe. But they have a flavor which is totally Buffalonian.( You couldn't "do jersey" without going to look at Rev War sites or try to get to Cape May, could you?)Go out of the city and hike the the walking trails which go all along the seaway Trail and also in towns ( just opened one in Lancater last year for bike and walking). Cattaraugus County and areas south are great for interseting places, and don't miss Letchworth Park ("Grand Canyon of the East" -- bring the camera!). Go see the Erie Canal, maybe ride on the canal out of Lockport ( there is a boat)

This is the "city of good neighbors". I'd say the majority of areas in WNY (other than really snobby areas) are very friendly. Most people here are middle class in burbs, not rich. People who are nice to others are well received. BTW, middle class in Jersey is more like "well off" here.

We also have colleges up to our ears, so a part-time job in one might be around, depending on the area. Lots of parochial as well as community and state schools. Not a lot of privates which were not originally parochial.

For the record, if it matters, the area here is heavily RC and ethnically the majorities are German/Polish/Italian/Irish, plus lots more. It is not as homogenized as Jersey; also a plus for many people here.

The only area to really avoid if you don't want to be stuck in a not so nicve place is the innercity/east side of buffalo ( think bad parts of Newark)

[ckhthankgod]

Just wondering, what did you mean when you were considering places in between cities that are 90 minutes apart?

[bmd69]

Great Food!

[michelleWNY]

Chautauqua area seems good place for you two....