UB School of Social Work: Buffalo in general... you get the idea. (Amherst: rental)

[SubconsciousMe]

So I got in to SUNY UB School of Social Work (UB School of Social Work - Home) as a graduate student. Yes, I'm excited. I keep hearing poor things about Buffalo and honestly, need some opinions from locals. I was going to jump in the other thread... but that's geography related and didn't want to hijack it with my own concerns (I did read it though).

With that said, I'll be coming from Phoenix, Arizona. I know cold, I've lived in cold (Boston, Chicago, Detroit among others). I'm not worried about the cold as much as other things.

-- We love local everything. Particularly coffee shops. Starbucks doesn't interest us as much as Mom and Pop places.
-- I will be coming with my partner. We'd like to get married, or at least consider it since we don't have the option here. We've been together for 4 years.
-- Currently we live in Central Phoenix with TONS nearby. I hate driving. Our light rail is short... approx 15 miles. We only really ride it for 5 of those miles (from home to campus). Does such an option like this exist? We do have a car, it is not 4 wheel drive.
-- Could we live in a similar environment in Buffalo? IE: Not be forced to drive--at least to campus?
-- I'm vegetarian, is it hopeless?

Any other tips you can throw out there for a situation like myself? I want to seriously consider UB because of the savings associated with coming there. Plus, the program offers a stellar trauma informed program which appeals to me because I do a lot of work with the homeless.

[lumibird]

Hi there! We're a lesbian couple that moved to Buffalo a few years ago (and one of us is a vegetarian). Buffalo has a lot of independent restaurants and coffee shops, especially within the city. You'll see a Starbucks, McDonald's, etc. too, but they're much less common here compared to other cities. Lots of local options here! There's a nice farmers market in the summer months, which has recently opened up indoors in the winter too. The summer festivals are great - lots of free music, yummy food, and a small-town folksy vibe.

There is a light rail line here, but it is really only useful for people who live close to Main Street. It is very short, only going from downtown to UB's south campus. The School of Social Work is on the main UB campus (North campus), which is in the suburbs, and the rail line doesn't go anywhere near the North campus. I don't know anyone who uses the light rail. Public transportation is very limited here. You'll need a car, and you'll need to drive attending UB, unless you want to invest significant time in navigating the local bus routes. But if you do want to invest in riding the bus to school, you could live strategically in order to do that, and avoid paying for a parking pass at UB (parking is a pain on campus, but doable).

If you want to live in a walkable neighborhood, the Elmwood Village or Allentown are the places to be. (You'd have a very hard timing taking public transportation to UB North campus from these neighborhoods though.) You'll find higher rents there, but they're still very affordable. The best thing about Buffalo for us is the low cost of housing. It really is spectacular, and you'll find houses with character, old woodwork, pocket doors, etc. Be prepared to shovel off your car in the winter if you plan to live in the city. It is short on garages, especially on rental properties. Another great thing is how compact the city is (especially compared to Phoenix!). The city itself is quite small, and you can drive most anywhere in 10-20 minutes. Wegman's is a great regional grocery store, and we have a nice (though small), independent natural food coop here too. We have a 2-wheel drive car, and it has been fine for us here, even without winter tires. You just learn how to be careful. Last winter was very mild here, very little snow. Thus far, this winter has started out very mild as well.

You can surely get married here (congrats!). We had a Canadian license that was converted to NY status by default when the legislation went through.

Being vegetarian here is the same as being vegetarian anywhere. Buffalo wings don't dominate our food scene, I promise. You'll be able to find plenty of veggie food here, in grocery stores and restaurants alike.

A question for you - do you have other options for grad school? Why Buffalo? And do you want to stay here after you graduate? As an outsider who has lived in other awesome cities, I think this is a nice enough place to be for a short time, but I wouldn't want to stay here in the long term. If you're just coming for grad school, I think it could be a great way to save money for a few years, as it is quite affordable to live here. I think you'd be able to find good internships here too - I have not been able to find a job here in 2.5 years with a Masters degree, but I'm constantly seeing job postings for jobs for MSWs.

Feel free to ask more questions, hope that helps a little!

P.S. We're moving soon, and we're actually thinking of moving to Phoenix. I'd love to hear more about how you like living there! We value the same things you appear to value in a city. It seems Phoenix has a low cost of living too, so I'm curious if Buffalo is really going to save you money compared to Phoenix factoring in the cost of relocating. But if the program here is really ideal for you, it makes sense.

[TheITGuy]

Originally Posted by SubconsciousMe

So I got in to SUNY UB School of Social Work (UB School of Social Work - Home) as a graduate student. Yes, I'm excited. I keep hearing poor things about Buffalo and honestly, need some opinions from locals. I was going to jump in the other thread... but that's geography related and didn't want to hijack it with my own concerns (I did read it though).

With that said, I'll be coming from Phoenix, Arizona. I know cold, I've lived in cold (Boston, Chicago, Detroit among others). I'm not worried about the cold as much as other things.

-- We love local everything. Particularly coffee shops. Starbucks doesn't interest us as much as Mom and Pop places.

We have more than a few local coffee places. Sweetness 7 Cafe on Parkside and another on Grant St. SpOt Coffee, several locations. Cafe Aroma, and several others.

-- I will be coming with my partner. We'd like to get married, or at least consider it since we don't have the option here. We've been together for 4 years.

Be mindful, however, that reciprocity with other states isn't on the table yet.

-- Currently we live in Central Phoenix with TONS nearby. I hate driving. Our light rail is short... approx 15 miles. We only really ride it for 5 of those miles (from home to campus). Does such an option like this exist? We do have a car, it is not 4 wheel drive.

We have a light rail that is about 7 miles long. Nothing to write home about. I do not have a 4 wheel drive either, and I reside in Kaisertown (In Buffalo, a neighborhood), and work in Amherst (A suburb). I have no issue commuting.

Our city is not as sprawled as others. You can commute anywhere in the area within 20 minutes. Our "rush hour" is hardly ever stop-and-go, just slower.

-- Could we live in a similar environment in Buffalo? IE: Not be forced to drive--at least to campus?

Minus the year round warm weather, yes. Many areas of the city are walkable (Elmwood Village, North Park, Delaware Park, South Buffalo, Kaisertown, Hertel Avenue). Not being forced to drive? Well, I was living Riverside area, commuting by public transit to Amherst for quite some time. I only stopped using public transit because my current commute by car is 15 minutes vs. 1.5 hours by public transit. Weird transit layout here.

-- I'm vegetarian, is it hopeless?

Not at all. I know many vegetarians living here, and they don't have an issue. Clinton-Bailey farmer's market year round, Elmwood Market in the warmer months, and in the Elmwood village there is the Lexington Co-Op, along with several area CSA's.

You may have to just adjust the veggies you eat, to match the area.

Any other tips you can throw out there for a situation like myself? I want to seriously consider UB because of the savings associated with coming there. Plus, the program offers a stellar trauma informed program which appeals to me because I do a lot of work with the homeless.

It really depends on which campus the majority of your schedule is at. North, or South campus. However, there are frequent shuttles betwixt the campuses.

[SubconsciousMe]

Wow... so much information, thank you.

I got my letter in the mail today with a scholarship. Lots to take in.

Originally Posted by lumibird

A question for you - do you have other options for grad school? Why Buffalo? And do you want to stay here after you graduate? As an outsider who has lived in other awesome cities, I think this is a nice enough place to be for a short time, but I wouldn't want to stay here in the long term. If you're just coming for grad school, I think it could be a great way to save money for a few years, as it is quite affordable to live here. I think you'd be able to find good internships here too - I have not been able to find a job here in 2.5 years with a Masters degree, but I'm constantly seeing job postings for jobs for MSWs.

Honestly, some of the cheaper universities (much like SUNY) the application process has changed or I have lost interest in them. Also, many of the cheaper universities do not offer a macro social work program that appeals to me--which SUNY doesn't offer one either... but you can craft your focus at SUNY plus the trauma informed care.

Originally Posted by lumibird

P.S. We're moving soon, and we're actually thinking of moving to Phoenix. I'd love to hear more about how you like living there! We value the same things you appear to value in a city. It seems Phoenix has a low cost of living too, so I'm curious if Buffalo is really going to save you money compared to Phoenix factoring in the cost of relocating. But if the program here is really ideal for you, it makes sense.

Feel free to drop me a PM. Both my girlfriend and I have been here for 8+ years.