Amherst Apartments

[NativeNYCer]

Originally Posted by ineedtostudy

NativeNYCer,
I'm wondering how old your son is.. If he is already in HS or what not, I'd wonder if he can adapt to the sudden change in lifestyle. I'm born and raised in ny, came up here for undergrad, finishing up this semester.

Anyway, I remember the first year i came up here i was amazed at all of the space everyone had, the friendly people as well as the FRESH air.. it was defiantly a change from ny. I spent the summer up here and it was beautiful. not the hot and humidness of NY. Went by the various bike trails along the river here and honestly it was peaceful.. I picked up snowboarding which is amazing up here.. Quality of life is much different..

The first thing i started missing was the food. Don’t get me wrong, there are 'real' restaurants here, but be expected to become disappointed at the variety that ny had to offer. The next lacking thing came the nightly news.. there is no news.. While buffalo once in a while may get a shooting, it's nothing new to a new yorker. The issues with the Erie county gov gets repetitive fast.. casino/no casino bass pro/no pass pro? waterfront development.. Then the sports came.. sabres/bills.. who cares! in ny there was plenty of things to occupy yourself and sports while big, is not as big as it is in buffalo. It is rare to find someone who does not care about the sabres/bills frankly because there is nothing else to do.

I'm glad i had went away from school.. I'm sure many people would agree buffalo is similar to many other cities around the country.. but NY is unique and one of a kind..heck who knows, after my career is said and done and nearing retirement, i might be craving for something like amherst/buff again.. but not right now. Anyway, talk it over with your kid, UB law is great, and i just wished to pass on my experience with buff/ub/amherst..

btw, wny'ers have no idea what traffic really is. The merge from 290 onto 90 by the blue water tower is not traffic. (cut in the last minute.) niagara falls blvd nb is fine on weekends if you know what to do.. (stay on the left lane through the whole thing, when you get to the 290 interchange, cut all the way to the right where 290 exits onto northbound nfb, fly through the right lane past homedepot, walmart, and cut back left by the car dealerships when the right lane merges. Most WNY'ers dont know how to stop in the middle of the intersection to turn left also, they wait at the line, if you see that, simply pass them on the right and wait in the middle for the light to turn red. You will soon learn to love/miss/appreciate the timed red lights throughout ny. nohting is more irritating than flying at 50 down a major street when sooneone else in a one way pulls up and triggers the red light ahead of you.

On a serious note though, there is one danger about WNY driving that might sound a bit awkward. Many people refrain from using their horns at all costs.. This I feel is a major safety issue as ive seen plenty of times places where honking would have avoided near misses..

ineedtostudy,
thanks for your input on what your experience has been as a NYC person who moved to WNY. i've heard from a few people who have made the switch and they have all been positive. i guess it's because all of these people were ready to leave, just like i am.

my son is 14. he'll be starting 10th grade in Sept. i know that it'll be a big change for him, but after visiting w/him and talking to him about this for sometime, i am sure that this change will have waaay more positives than negatives for both of us.

right now we live in a 1br in the projects because that's all i can afford in NYC raising him alone. & my salary is in the mid $40's. he takes a crowded subway filled w/pissed of people to a public high school in the city everday. need i mention the status of most NYC public schools... oh yeah, i do the same every morning to get to work. whenever we take drives anywhere throughout the 5 boros (mostly bklyn) we're stuck in traffic and/or getting cut off by, or blown (horn blowing people) by some angry a-hole that's in a rush to get nowhere. after almost 40yrs of being here, i'm tired of it and my son has even complained about how hateful people are here. i don't know if i'm getting mellow as i get older, but i really don't like this environment anymore. i don't know how i've lasted here for so long.

i really think that in Amherst, my son will have access to a better education and he will be around kids who want to succeed in school. he'll also be around a more diverse group of people who do different activities. he'll be around people who aren't ANGRY AT THE WORLD and who aren't blowing their horns at red lights. the only negative i can think of is that he will really miss his friends.

so thanks for the heads up, but i'm pretty sure this decision will be life-changing in positive way for both of us.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

NativeNYCer,

It is a great place to live and raise your children. I hope you find a professional career in Buffalo and can stay for many years. However, there aren't many professional jobs, especially in certain industries like technology, which is why many people (myself and my wife included) have had to leave.

Even though I'm not a NYC native I know enough to tell you to prepare for culture shock as you move to a much smaller city. This is not a knock on Buffalo, but moving from a huge city that is a world-renowned center of commerce, culture, fashion and entertainment to a smallish midwestern-style city takes some getting used to. There are simply fewer options, and less to do. The city will start to feel very much like a small town. You will miss the food, the diversity, the culture and, yes, even the NYC 'attitude'.

There are pluses and minuses no matter where you live, and perhaps as a mother trying to raise a child there are quite a few pluses for you. In a few years, when your son is more independent and you are trying to build a career, you may have a challenge on your hands in Buffalo, but hopefully not.

As you know very well, it is expensive, crowded and dirty here in NYC and the schools suck, but there are opportunities.

[Coraggio]

Originally Posted by NativeNYCer

i really think that in Amherst, my son will have access to a better education and he will be around kids who want to succeed in school. he'll also be around a more diverse group of people who do different activities. he'll be around people who aren't ANGRY AT THE WORLD and who aren't blowing their horns at red lights. the only negative i can think of is that he will really miss his friends.

so thanks for the heads up, but i'm pretty sure this decision will be life-changing in positive way for both of us.

I think it will! Good luck to you!

[KellyK2]

Have you looked at Colonie apartments? I lived there with a friend last year and we LOVED it. The apartment was super spacious and the rent was less than 800 a month (for a two bedroom). Some of the units have updated kitchens, but ours wasn't and it was still fine, newer appliances. They take great care of the grounds, and there is a pool and tennis courts on the grounds. Maintenence was really prompt- I actually broke the bathroom mirror once and they replaced it for no charge. The woman in the rental office is REALLY nice, and we received our entire deposit back after I moved out. Seriously, I do not have a single negative thing to say about it.