Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am about to move to Williamsville, the area close to N Long & Main & Reist. It seems to be a very convenient location, five minutes' walk to parks and Main St and five minutes' drive to everywhere else: airport, UB, Transit, I-90. It also seems to be a place with rich history, every street, park and building bears lots of stories. Do you guys know how to learn more about the history of Williamsville?
Another thing, although Amherst seems to be an ethnically diverse and friendly town overall. I had negative experience as a minority, it was in a branch of First Nxxxxx Bank in Amherst. When I requested to close one of my checking account, the middle-aged blond lady asked:"What? Are you going back to YOUR COUNTRY?" I also had a contractor who refused to provide service, the elderly gentleman commented on my ethnical group and refused to give me a written estimate, so I know it is not about the money.
What about the village area? The population around the Village seems to be 'white' and conservative and religious(many historical churches, covent). Do people really live open-minded or they just try to maintain a polite and peaceful facade? Or it is just a wrong impression of mine.
I am about to move to Williamsville, the area close to N Long & Main & Reist. It seems to be a very convenient location, five minutes' walk to parks and Main St and five minutes' drive to everywhere else: airport, UB, Transit, I-90. It also seems to be a place with rich history, every street, park and building bears lots of stories. Do you guys know how to learn more about the history of Williamsville?
Another thing, although Amherst seems to be an ethnically diverse and friendly town overall. I had negative experience as a minority, it was in a branch of First Nxxxxx Bank in Amherst. When I requested to close one of my checking account, the middle-aged blond lady asked:"What? Are you going back to YOUR COUNTRY?" I also had a contractor who refused to provide service, the elderly gentleman commented on my ethnical group and refused to give me a written estimate, so I know it is not about the money.
What about the village area? The population around the Village seems to be 'white' and conservative and religious(many historical churches, covent). Do people really live open-minded or they just try to maintain a polite and peaceful facade? Or it is just a wrong impression of mine.
Welcome to Williamsville! So sorry to hear you had some bad experiences in the Village!! Don't let that spoil the area for you. There are good & bad people everywhere and it sounds like you ran into a few of the bad ones! I think Williamsville is a mix of conservitives and open-mindedness. There's a steady mix of younger people in the area and it's a great place to live. Great neighborhoods, low crime and great schools. The streets you mentioned are excellent because you're right on Main St and there's tons of places to walk to: eaterys, coffee shops, stores. There's a bus line on Main St, an entrance to the 290 (Youngman Expressway) and it's very convenient to almost anywhere.
Don't confuse the Village of Williamsville with the Williamsville school district. The Village of Williamsville, like you mentioned above, is quite small and is encompassed in the Williamsville school district. Some folks think Williamsville can be kind of "snobby" but they probably don't live here 24/7 like I do. I've never encountered this but I don't know if they're refering to the Village of Williamsville or Amherst itself.
Here's some reading & old pictures of Williamsville. It's quite a collection put together by the hardware store down the road in the plaza at Main & Mill streets, Ed Young True Value Hardware: ED YOUNG'S TRUE VALUE ~Village of Williamsville N.Y History~
Again, welcome to Williamsville! Let me know if you have any more questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them for you.
Don't look for diversity in the Buffalo suburbs, check out the stats on wiki and many of the suburbs have single digit ethnic populations. Its a nice place to live but definitely nearly 100% white when you walk the streets of the village. It is what it is.
I am about to move to Williamsville, the area close to N Long & Main & Reist. It seems to be a very convenient location, five minutes' walk to parks and Main St and five minutes' drive to everywhere else: airport, UB, Transit, I-90. It also seems to be a place with rich history, every street, park and building bears lots of stories. Do you guys know how to learn more about the history of Williamsville?
Another thing, although Amherst seems to be an ethnically diverse and friendly town overall. I had negative experience as a minority, it was in a branch of First Nxxxxx Bank in Amherst. When I requested to close one of my checking account, the middle-aged blond lady asked:"What? Are you going back to YOUR COUNTRY?" I also had a contractor who refused to provide service, the elderly gentleman commented on my ethnical group and refused to give me a written estimate, so I know it is not about the money.
What about the village area? The population around the Village seems to be 'white' and conservative and religious(many historical churches, covent). Do people really live open-minded or they just try to maintain a polite and peaceful facade? Or it is just a wrong impression of mine.
Wamot,
So sorry to hear about your negative experiences. That is not representative of our community. I grew up in the village from age 5 to age 19 (early years Mill St, then California Dr). Moved back to Williamsville 2 yrs ago from Dallas. The village was at one time almost 100% white and predominantly Catholic. That has changed over the years and I'd say it's much less conservative than in the past. There is still not a great deal of diversity, but I've never observed the types of behavior you encountered. I'd describe the village as friendly and accepting, many people who care about the community and are active in it - regardless of race/ethnicity/religion. We take care of our homes and our landscaping. We know our neighbors and still have block parties. We go out of our way to help others.
The village is indeed rich in history, dating back to the early 1800's. Talk a self-guided walking tour when the weather is nice: Williamsville Business Association - Walking Historical Tour
You're coming in at a good time as summer is nearing which means non-stop activities. Here is some info on that Village of Williamsville - Monthly Events & Activities there are obviously many other fun things to do outside of the village.
Welcome to Williamsville. Please let us know if you have more thoughts or questions on your new area!
Thanks,
Big D JT
Thanks for the information. I am sure most people are as friendly and helpful as you are in Amherst/Williamsville.
It is fun to walk the street and be able to see each home is loved and cared for with character, which is a huge contrast from the 'UPSCALE NEIGHBORHOOD' in Clarence/East Amherst I am currently live in. Newer development in Clarence/East Amherst is just overly organized and 'plain' and isolated, and there isn't much of opportunity to interact with people in the neighborhood.
Another reason I decided to move to Williamsville is the real estate, it seems to be an up and going area. I noticed there is a house in really bad shape sold for around $80000 on Reist Street(just across the covent) in 2012, they tore down the house and graded the lot. Either it is the neighbor who want a bigger yard or someone who is going to build a new house. Anyway, they are really paying more than $80000 for the land, and it is not a big lot at all(0.2 Acres?).
My realtor told me Village area and Clarence/East Amherst are two completely different markets with different buyers. One is 'Quaint/Yappi' and the other one is 'Upscale'....
Funny to see First Niagara censored in a way where no one would have any problem figuring out what bank you're talking about. Apparently self-censored, but regardless...edit to say that assuming it was self-censored, you're ok with anyone reading this knowing that your story in fact occurred at a First Niagara branch, monsieur wamot. I assume from the stories you've related here that you're Middle Eastern; correct me if I'm wrong.
Tom Bauerle lives in Williamsville. Look him up if you don't know who that is. Might not be fun to walk by his house if he's having a bad day. Village probably leans conservative if I had to guess. I have a couple moderate/left-leaning friends (one of the two being a guy who hails from Secunderabad, India, and thus also a "minority") who live there, but I never get a particularly good vibe when I'm there. Better than Clarence/East Amherst to be sure, though. Your realtor is oversimplifying and would likely be at a loss for words if you asked him more than a single question about the difference between the two markets. Ask him exactly two questions about the difference between the East Amherst "market" and the Williamsville "market" (I use scare quotes to imply that I am ridiculing the idea that these are distinct, non-overlapping markets) and see how this likely know-nothing (I have little respect for the profession, admittedly) fares.
Last edited by Matt Marcinkiewicz; 04-18-2014 at 02:58 AM..
Don't look for diversity in the Buffalo suburbs, check out the stats on wiki and many of the suburbs have single digit ethnic populations. Its a nice place to live but definitely nearly 100% white when you walk the streets of the village. It is what it is.
Not to hijack this thread, but this isn't necessarily true. Take a look at schools in districts like Amherst Central, Cleveland Hill, Cheektowaga Central, Sweet Home, and even Williamsville, Kenmore-Tonawanda and Maryvale. Lackawanna is a given due to its more urban character/history and people forget that Akron, Lake Shore and Niagara-Wheatfield have a relatively high Native American population due to nearby reservations.
First, I am not Middle Eastern. Are you saying it would not surprise you to see Middle Easterners be treated like this in Amherst? Or would you do the same thing to them?
Second, my realtor is a very knowledgeable lady who has been in the business for 40 years. I was considering between a house in a community around Young & Klein and the house around the village. When I asked her opinion on reselling, she explained that the two belong to different markets and have different buyers(though the price is similar) and gave me the description I quoted.
My realtor told me Village area and Clarence/East Amherst are two completely different markets with different buyers. One is 'Quaint/Yappi' and the other one is 'Upscale'....
The main difference between Williamsville and Clarence/East Amherst is the age and sizes of the houses. Williamsville is an older community while Clarence had a building boom starting in the 1980's, almost 50% of the houses were built after 1980's. Williamsville will have typical family sized houses with a few larger homes of 2000+ sq. ft. while Clarence has a healthy stock of 6000+sq. ft. houses. Houses in Clarence are also on lots that are larger with more mature trees left on the lots. The basic houses sell for about the same amount per square foot as Williamsville, $115 to $130/sq ft, the usual range for those areas with basic houses. Some houses in both areas will have top of the line upgrades that can increase the price to $150 all the way up to $180/sq. ft. but it is rare. You can find basic 125k, 1300 sq. ft. houses in Clarence but people typically hold onto the smaller houses longer and the larger homes change hands a LOT.
As for the Posters original question, try the downtown library in Buffalo, they may have older books with detailed history. And also try http://www.buffalohistory.org/
Buffalo suburbs are pretty devoid of diversity, unless you stick to the "inner ring" (Amherst, Cheektowaga, Kenmore, Lackawanna).
I would look into the city. I really feel like it is making a turn-around. Plus, City Honors is the #1 rated Public High School in the Northeast.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
