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My husband is active duty Army and is being sent to Canisius for a three year posting. We have done quite a bit of research on schools, areas etc, and have taken a couple trips to look around. It's very hard to find the best area that suits you in a few days or online. I have taken the time to read through many of the postings here and am now unsure of the direction we were planning on taking.
We do not want to invest any of the profits from the sale of our home so are looking for a lower priced home in the $150,000-$170,000 range. We need a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home at least 2,000 sq ft or more. We are keeping the price low, as the taxes seem to be higher and we will have to relocate again in 3 years, so resale is a factor, plus I separated from the Air Force last year to have our daughter. We would also prefer something with at least .40 acreage or above, though we are trying to be open minded about some of our wants.
In researching school, recommendations, and viewing the areas closest to the city, we came up with Clarence, Amherst and possibly Williamsville. From what I've been reading on these boards, it seems we selected the higher priced areas. So I guess my question to you would be, could you recommend an area with a drive time of 30 minutes or less to Canisius, that is has a good high school, nice neighborhoods, family orientated, and decent houses at a fair price. We have not had much of a chance to look into anything south of the city, so it's completely unexplored territory for us.
We are excited to be headed to the Buffalo area, as there seems to be so much more to do than where we are now. Also we have been separated 3.5 of the 5 years we have been together due to deployments, and are really looking forward to the next 3 years of more stable family life.
Thank you in advance for any comments or suggestions.
If you don't want to pay the costs of housing in Clarence, Williamsville & Amherst (though some parts of Amherst aren't that expensive) you might want to look at Lancaster & Hamburg, both have very good school districts & cheaper housing than the other areas. Both areas are also an easy commute to Canisuis. It may also be worth it to look at the better areas of Buffalo as property taxes within the city are less than any of the suburbs & contrary to popular belief the city of Buffalo does have some very good high schools if your kids can get into them (City Honors is usually among the top 5 in the state). Wheatfield in Niagara County is also worth looking into.
One thing I will point out is that while I understand your desire to buy rather than throw away 3 years of money renting but as far as real estate is concerned Buffalo is definitely a buyers market & if you do buy a home you can expect having a hard time selling it once your 3 years are over & likely selling it for less than what you paid or holding onto it for what could be a very long time before someone offers you a break even price.
Thank you for the suggestions. We are considering renting as well, though have had a difficult time finding a 4 bedroom home that will accept pets. I will check out the links you provided and area's suggested.
We've heard a lot about real estate in the Buffalo area and how it may be tough to sell a home, which is why we have decided not to sink too much money into it. Preferring to save our nest egg for our final destination wherever that may be. : ) Who knows, we might just love Buffalo so much and just stay there! We are very fortunate where we are now because of the post being near by and high demand for housing, also we're pretty handy and have significantly increased the value of our current house.
We are pretty set on not living in the city of Buffalo for a few reasons, one being that we just really like to have some space and more of a rural setting. The thing we like about Buffalo is that there seem to be these kinds of areas not too far from the city, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds.
JBlake-Thanks for the suggestions of Wheatfield and Lancaster. I haven't heard of Wheatfield yet and will definitely take a look there. In the very beginning I started looking at Lancaster but set my sights elsewhere based on advice. People I talked to seemed to dismiss Lancaster, but I'm realizing that Lancaster just might be more of what we are looking for. I'll also check out Hamburg and have seen Lewiston mentioned on the boards. It's hard to try to balance finding a nice area without the heavy tax loads that will also be attractive to home buyers later on. As well as finding that nice rural setting that's not too far from stores, shops, etc. I greatly appreciate your advice and suggestions so far, and will definitely be doing some more research.
city of Buffalo does have some very good high schools if your kids can get into them (City Honors is usually among the top 5 in the state). Wheatfield in Niagara County is also worth looking into.
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Since their daughter was born last year and they will only be here for three years, i would think schools are not a consideration.
Since their daughter was born last year and they will only be here for three years, i would think schools are not a consideration.
She specifically asked about high schools .......
Quote:
So I guess my question to you would be, could you recommend an area with a drive time of 30 minutes or less to Canisius,that is has a good high school, nice neighborhoods, family orientated, and decent houses at a fair price.
Sorry my bad. GED perhaps? She said she left the military last year to have her daughter. Must be some older kids she left out. so yes if HS matters then stay out of the City unless you are going private.
Alden, East Aurora and perhaps Elma(Iroquois SD) may work if you want something more rural/small town. Maybe parts of the Sweet Home SD, but check on that.
My husband is active duty Army and is being sent to Canisius for a three year posting. We have done quite a bit of research on schools, areas etc, and have taken a couple trips to look around. It's very hard to find the best area that suits you in a few days or online. I have taken the time to read through many of the postings here and am now unsure of the direction we were planning on taking.
We do not want to invest any of the profits from the sale of our home so are looking for a lower priced home in the $150,000-$170,000 range. We need a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home at least 2,000 sq ft or more. We are keeping the price low, as the taxes seem to be higher and we will have to relocate again in 3 years, so resale is a factor, plus I separated from the Air Force last year to have our daughter. We would also prefer something with at least .40 acreage or above, though we are trying to be open minded about some of our wants.
In researching school, recommendations, and viewing the areas closest to the city, we came up with Clarence, Amherst and possibly Williamsville. From what I've been reading on these boards, it seems we selected the higher priced areas. So I guess my question to you would be, could you recommend an area with a drive time of 30 minutes or less to Canisius, that is has a good high school, nice neighborhoods, family orientated, and decent houses at a fair price. We have not had much of a chance to look into anything south of the city, so it's completely unexplored territory for us.
We are excited to be headed to the Buffalo area, as there seems to be so much more to do than where we are now. Also we have been separated 3.5 of the 5 years we have been together due to deployments, and are really looking forward to the next 3 years of more stable family life.
Thank you in advance for any comments or suggestions.
Don't count out Grand Island...I drive in from the Northside of the Island to downtown every day in 20 minutes...
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