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One thing no one has mentioned is that parking in downtown is a costly endeavor; my son-in-law was paying about $80/month and decided it was better to make use of the free "Park-and-Ride" lots. He walks to the lot near the airport ( near his home) and grabs a bus into downtown. From there, he can hop the rail or any other bus nearby with his all zone Metro Pass (much cheaper than paying the bus daily - costs about $66/month) and when he heads home, he goes to the Park-and Ride. There is a Park-and-Ride at S. Campus station, on in Williamsville, some in Lancaster/Depew/Cheektowaga.... basically, they are in many places. You can drive there, leave the car for the day ( most at no cost) and take the bus. Check the NFTA website. You may be able to fit this into your living plans. BTW, one daughter has an employer who will pay for a metro pass; her problem is she doesn't work normal commuting hours, so it is not worthwhile. She does get the employer to pay her $60/month parking 4 blocks from work, though (about the same as the pass) You need to as the employer if they will pay for parking oir for a pass.
NFTA - Metro (http://www.nfta.com/metro/index.asp - broken link) Site for NFTA ( the bus/rail company)
Allentown seems like a really cool neighborhood. Buffalo has a lot of potential for a moderate-size big city. I really wish you could extend the subway. For only 1 small line, it seems a lot of people use it.
I used to spend up to 2 hours for a 40 mile commute in NYC. After living in the Buffalo area for 5 years now, I am still not used to the relative lack of people on the downtown streets and the easy car commute to the city. In Buffalo, the suburb-to-downtown commute is one of the most painless and stress-free in the US. For this reason, I would humbly suggest that you not let fear of car commuting exclude the suburbs from consideration. Also, walking to work in the winter can be extremely uncomfortable. Despite Buffalo having a more southern latitude than the UK, the winters here are far more severe. The best of luck to you!
Allentown seems like a really cool neighborhood. Buffalo has a lot of potential for a moderate-size big city. I really wish you could extend the subway. For only 1 small line, it seems a lot of people use it.
The original intent was to run trams/trolleys from the South Campus station out to SUNY N.Campus and points east; to run a rail to Tonawanda from LaSalle station, etc. etc. The plans were extensive. The entire thing fell flat when the govt. quit with money and burbs owned the right of ways -- and in many cases tore up the old tracks.
It runs a lot faster than the buses, and that is a plus. There are free park-and-ride and it makes it useful. Downtown has free ride areas. There are more frequent runs on the rail than on any bus.... need I go on? What is there is very functional. The problem is that I will wager what is there is all that will ever be.
Just like ne otha city tha east n west sides are not the best. We have hertige areas like the first ward and the valley. South buffalo is the new and upcoming ghetto of the city. Crime is on the rise there , new gang task forces were just formed. It was named the coke capital of the city. I live 5 minutes from south buffalo . The crime and gangsta's pretty much stay in the city limits. Moving here would depend on how much money your willing to spend. Regardless of your heritage i dont recommend moving to an hertige enriched area. There the flats and run down. you wont get your money's worth. Along the waterfront or the marina there are sum condo's and duplex's that come with lawn care and maintaince. No crime that i no of. none. and litterlly a walking distance into the city. Even from my house a quiet nice suburb its only a 15 minute ride on the 90 to the downtown area. I dont recommend kenmore. Its becomeeing drug infested and right next to the city limits. many have migrated to there appatments due to cheap and nice conditions. so u know the gangsta have taken advantage of that. North buffalo is beautiful. Just go as far north as possible. STAY AWAY frm tha sycamore , fruit belt , broadway , delevan, perry , langfield projects. Bailey avenue will show you a straight runthrough of the city and the bad areas. There are many appartments opening right in the city sence the hotels are moving out.
I am a 21 yr old female that has lived in some of the worst neighborhoods possible! From growing up in Los Angles, CA (East Compton) I know what the Ghetto is. For people to constantly say stay away from the east and west sides of Buffalo is crazy! Yes, there are low-income areas in these parts of the city. Yes, there is violence in some of these areas. But lets be realistic... North Buffalo has ghettos! The suburbs have crime! If I remember correctly, weren't 6 men just arrested from a well respectable suburban community and given KINGPIN DRUG CHARGES??? Come on now people... I think the majority of the people on here trash-talking the East and West sides of Buffalo are people that have never seen anything other than the Daily News coverage of the city. I have lived in the East Side of Buffalo for over 6 years. I have never dealt with any extreme cases of negativity that would make me say "Beware of The East Side!" So my advice to you is to visit Buffalo, and decide yourself!
However, with that being said... I wouldn't reccommend living near Jefferson and Delavan. Its not because of the neighborhood being "ghetto" or anything like that. That area is a college district. (Canisius College) Most of the residents are 18-25 yr old college students. And is can get quite noisy during the night hours! I would agree with the earlier post suggesting to live in the Allentown/Downtown area. That would be the most beneficial as far as the work commute, and the area is very family friendly!
Just a suggestion!
~Candice~
I am a 21 yr old female that has lived in some of the worst neighborhoods possible! From growing up in Los Angles, CA (East Compton) I know what the Ghetto is. For people to constantly say stay away from the east and west sides of Buffalo is crazy! Yes, there are low-income areas in these parts of the city. Yes, there is violence in some of these areas. But lets be realistic... North Buffalo has ghettos! The suburbs have crime! If I remember correctly, weren't 6 men just arrested from a well respectable suburban community and given KINGPIN DRUG CHARGES??? Come on now people... I think the majority of the people on here trash-talking the East and West sides of Buffalo are people that have never seen anything other than the Daily News coverage of the city. I have lived in the East Side of Buffalo for over 6 years. I have never dealt with any extreme cases of negativity that would make me say "Beware of The East Side!" So my advice to you is to visit Buffalo, and decide yourself!
However, with that being said... I wouldn't reccommend living near Jefferson and Delavan. Its not because of the neighborhood being "ghetto" or anything like that. That area is a college district. (Canisius College) Most of the residents are 18-25 yr old college students. And is can get quite noisy during the night hours! I would agree with the earlier post suggesting to live in the Allentown/Downtown area. That would be the most beneficial as far as the work commute, and the area is very family friendly!
Just a suggestion!
~Candice~
Where do you live? The neighborhoods here go from one street fine to the next being a mess. Perhaps it should be said that on the East Side and Lower West Side and even downtown, there is a better chance of being a crime victim than in the burbs ( any kind of crime) and it is more likely in what we call a ghetto. You mayt not call it a ghetto. My husband was born on E. Ferry and raised near Fillmore and Delevan. It was a decent blue collar area until the late 60s. Now, half the homes on his block are burnt out or torn down. He would never go there anymore. The drive-bys don't happen in the burbs, they happen in the city ( yes, I worked all over the city almost 30 years and lives in the city, northtowns and east of the city -- over 20 miles east.)
My suggestion would be to find a place in the area bordered by the following roads:
Route 198, Main ST, Delaware AVE, & Kenmore AVE. Here's a picture:
There are several great options here: close to good schools, the Buffalo Zoo & two or three MetroRail stations (University, Amherst, LaSalle, Humboldt / Hospital) for a *hopefully* easy commute.
In this area, the biggest traffic hang-ups are going to be:
Main ST (construction from Hertel AVE to the 198);
Traffic signal timing on Main in general;
and the traffic signal at the 198 / Parkside AVE intersection.
my son just moved on vermont street immediately adjacent to d'youville).. since then, there have been two randon shootings (?) right on the street. help, did we make a huge mistake?
my son just moved on vermont street immediately adjacent to d'youville).. since then, there have been two randon shootings (?) right on the street. help, did we make a huge mistake?
I wouldn't call it a huge mistake, but a reminder that all city life does include crime and shootings unfortunately, however I'm confident you will be alright. Enjoy your time as a citizen of Buffalo - be proud!
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