East Aurora (New York, Buffalo, Rochester: hair salon, amusement park, new home)

[joecamp]

I am from Los Angeles and am planning on a relocation within my company to our corp headquarters in East Aurora. I am wondering if someone can tell me what areas around E.Aurora are nice and good for relocating my wife and 4 kids...

I have never been to Buffalo, but will be coming out this Sunday for a week...I have spent some time in Rochester and love it, but know that it is not an option for living while I am working in EA...

Any advice or info would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe

[homeward bound]

Hey joec.

I lived in East Aurora, on and off, for several years. My best friend growing up moved there when I was around 14 yrs. old. I often visited with/lived with him and his family there, and I've returned to it many times since.

It's a great place to raise your family. Very stable place, very family-focused, decent enough shopping, very peaceful, very good schools, good library, very safe, civilized. I have 4 kids too (two young boys, two older daughters), and if I were relocated there, I'd be very happy indeed.

You do have nearby options aside from East Aurora, such as Orchard Park, West Seneca, and Hamburg. They're good places to raise a family, too. But East Aurora is, to me, definitely the best of the bunch. Note the high percentage of college grads in East Aurora (38%). This isn't, of course, any measure of character--I've been teaching college for 20 years so I know!--but it does indicate a place with an ethic of education and self-improvement. East Aurora is a great balance of preserved history and sane progress.

If you prefer a more rural setting, there are plenty of small villages (Elma, Eden, Holland, etc.) and old farms available close by. Some fine new homes being built out in the country. You're close to the ski areas just to your east and south. And Lake Erie, which is much cleaner than it used to be, is close to your west, too. Buffalo is a 30-40 min. drive; it's been much reviewed on this forum, so if you peck around at previous threads, you'll find a lot of good advice about it in terms of livability, etc. I'd be careful about settling a family in Buffalo, even in its better areas, these days. But if you like city life and are comfortable with Buffalo's safety-margins, it does still have a lot to offer.

Property taxes are high, and the snow can be thick and frequent, so be prepared. But if make a little effort to enjoy the snow, you'll be very glad you live there. Summers are gorgeous, and all the maples make fall vivid and vibrant. I remember going for walks with my friend, and walking on and on, it was so beautiful, just taking it all in. Not easy to get not very civilized 14 year old boys to do, but it just came naturally in so pretty a place.

Congrats on the relocation and good luck!

[heathersmom]

I agree with homeward bound: EA is a great little - almost bedroom communtiy--it is a historic town with small shops and some brick roads. We ride our motorcycles out there in the summer- they have an awesome street festival where they close down main street and have crafts and vendors and the kids do chalk drawings in the roads. The snow may be an issue-its kind of like a valley where all the snow accumulates. I would not live in Buffalo--I only go there for the Galleria Mall which is always busy--but nice. Good luck in your relocation! Hope you like snow and ice!

[joecamp]

Thanks a lot for the great replies...I am looking forward to my trip next week. It will be packed with work activities, but at least I will be in the environment and can get a feel for the area....

Thanks again

Joe

[honeychrome]

I was born in East Aurora, though since then have only been there a handful of times. It's very charming, and my understanding is that in the late 60's or early 70's the town adopted some very strict zoning rules and have resisted pressure to loosen them up and that is one of the reasons it's maintained it's charm and character.

A couple of intersting facts- East Aurora was the original home of Fisher Price!

Part of the towns unique charm I think came from the fact that it was the home of the 'Roycrofters,' an arts & crafts group at the beginning of the 1900's. At one time it was a pretty sizeable operation and no doubt influenced the aesthetic of the town. Last time I was there I stayed at the Roycroft Inn, which was part of the original Roycroft complex. A bit pricey, and I got stuck in the 'new' wing, but the original parts of the building are beautiful.

[rrburket]

I live in a small town outside of East Aurora called Wales but becasue Im so close my mailing address is East Aurora. Im 27 years old and I dont have any kids yet but I grew up here and have no plans to move. The only reason that I would consider moving is becasue of the snow but every state has its down falls, I wouldnt want to deal with the hurricanes either. It takes me 7 minutes to drive to the heart of the village of East Aurora. East Aurora and it's surrounding towns are great. You can choose to live in the village where the taxes are more expensive or you can choose to live like I do on the outside of the village. West Falls is another area outside the village but considered East Aurora. Like someone has already said taxes are high every where here but the village is the worst. East Aurora school is a great School but because I live in Wales I went to Iroquois School, the towns Elma, Marilla and Wales attend that school. I loved Iroquois, great school both in academics and sports. Elma, Marilla and Wales are three wonderfull towns that are very very close to East Aurora. Holland is another close town as well and Holland School district is great too but the sports program not as good as East Aurora and Iroquois. Orchard Park is another great town, wealthier people and more expensive to live but not by much. Orchard Park is where all the big named stores are that we go to around here, McKinley Mall, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes and lots lots lots more. From East Aurora it takes 15-25 minutes to get to these stores depending on what part of East Aurora you live in. I dont know if your much of a football fan and although our Buffalo Bills have needed help the last few years the stadium is in Orchard Park. However, East Aurora has plenty of places to go to; 2 grocery stores, many banks, hair salons, quant little boutiques, restaurants and coffee shops, a movie theatre, blockbuster, and so on and so on. Hamburg is on the other side of East Aurora, nice town, but I dont go there often. I work in West Seneca which is also a nice town much bigger of an area though they have 2 schools East and West, it takes me 10 minutes to drive to work from East Aurora. Cheektowaga is where our Galleria Mall is and that's the biggest mall in the area, only about 30 minutes from East Aurora. I would not recomend living there though. If you are more into the city life I would recomend living on the Elmwood side of Buffalo, or if you prefer not so quant and country like East Aurora maybe Tonawanda, Depew, or West Seneca. There are many many towns around East Aurora that you could choose from. What's nice about East Aurora is that it's a great location to live and the drive to anywhere is never horrible. People think there is nothing to do in Buffalo but that is not true. We also have a fantastic hockey team The Buffalo Sabres, their arena is downtown and roughly 40 minutes from East Aurora. We love our sports teams!! Kissing Bridge 25 minutes from East Aurora and Holliday Valley 45 minutes from East Aurora both are great places for skiing/snowboarding. Oh and we have a Six Flags Amusement Park also roughly 40 minutes from East Aurora. There are many things to do around here for kids. The people are also wonderful here. I have many friends who have moved away to other states and have returned based just on the quality of people here. East Aurora is a great place to bring your family. Good Luck!

[homeward bound]

rrburket is very accurate in everything he (she? sorry!) said. It sounds sentimental, at best, to say the people are unusually friendly up there, too. Certainly evil and pettiness are everywhere you go, as that {expletive deleted} who shot three state troopers this summer in upstate NY this summer demonstrates. But a spirit of community and appreciating what you have does generally prevail there, due to the way the winter makes you realize you don't own the world and have to help each other out, the fact that many immigrants came to the area a century ago and put down deep and grateful roots, appreciation for its small-town/old-time virtues and buildings, etc. The village green effect, I call it. It's very real there--partly 'cause all the older towns & villages DO have--and cherish--their shared common spaces and traditions.

I was never bored living in and around East Aurora and Buffalo and Allegany County, etc.--there was always something to do, and much of it depended on the seasons, which gave you a great feeling of tradition and rootedness.

In fact, the only times and places in my life I've ever been bored have occured when I've been stuck in suburbia/gated "communities," as when visiting family in Florida and around Houston. Doesn't matter the season--it's just shopping and air-conditioning, driving and TV. I've also been deepl bored while "home" in southwest Virginia, where these mountains hem you in for mile after mile after mile, and the towns are few, far between, and almost uniformly run-down and charmless. rrburket gave you a good sense of what's available, by contrast, in Western New York, especially in the older, smaller, rural-area towns like East Aurora, Elma, etc.: A FULL life.

And don't forget that the area has great boating, fishing, swimming, canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and biking, too. Great near-wilderness parks are very close by, and Lake Erie is well worth boating on again. If you don't spend a lot of your summer getting wet up there, you're missing out!

And people really know how to savor, truly savor, their summers up there (as they do throughout the upper midwest and Canada). Life gets as unhurried as the slow summer twilights. You can loll on the porch--or go to one of the town festivals that are always going on. Go fishing or hiking or locally-owned-store hopping. A lot of people still WALK to get across town, and socialize as they do so. While we're thankfully free of new, barren suburbs here in Appalachia, about all we've got culturally and ritually are football games and deer hunting and 7-11's and NASCAR-watching and Walmarts. You can barely get to any of the rivers. Ponds and lakes are almost non-existent. And it's DARK, literally and psychologically, in all these deep valleys. Physically, you're often stuck being able to barely see what's right in front of you. By contrast, you'll love the big rolling sky, gentle hills, lush farm fields, and ever-changing weather up there. Life around the Great Lakes has a PULSE, and it takes you in. Can't wait to get back up there to stay!