Buffalo Area (Amherst, Orchard Park, Clarence: middle-class, best neighborhoods, violent crime)

[marhughes]

My wife and I have been offerd jobs in Buffalo NY. We currently live in Middle GA. I have been looking on this site and I have a few question's.

1. What are the average homes in a good neighborhood going for? 3-4 bedrooms.

2. I keep hearing about the high taxes! How high? examples please

3. High utilities? Examples.

4. how bad is traffic?

5. what are the best neighborhoods?

6. I have a daughter that is 6. Safe for children?


Thanks in advance.

mark

[4merWNYer]

Live in the suburbs, not the city!! I would not consider any area of the city a safe place to live... some safe and really nice suburbs with great schools (well, they were 5 years ago! IMO)....Amherst, Orchard Park, Williamsville, Clarence, East Amherst.

Taxes...Sales tax alone is 8.5 % in Erie County.

Property taxes on a $100K home are about $4-6K....plus $2-$3K in school taxes depending on the district

Hopefully someone else can answer you other questions. I dont want to give you info that isnt current.

I left there almost 5 years ago and headed to FL, never looked back. If I were you I would stay in GA (Looking around Atlanta myself) !!

[homeward bound]

There have been a lot of postings about Buffalo addressing many of these questions, so looking at the forum's older pages will be very informative for you.

To answer your questions as best I can....

1) Such homes can range from $150,000 upward to $300,000+, depending on how nice the neighborhood, how big/fancy the home, etc. Bear in mind that most of the city's housing stock is fairly old. (For me, that's a big plus.) So in the nice neighborhoods, you'd be looking at homes built between, say, 1880 and 1930, in 1800-2800 sq. foot size, for $150,000 and upward. You'd probably be surprised at how lovely an older home you can get for your money there. Buffalo has some of the handsomest older homes and neighborhoods I've seen in the country. It prospered when "They really built 'em right," so many of the homes epitomize old-fashioned size, grace, and quality.

2) I can't quote you exact tax figures, but they are on the high side--mostly because NY state has generally high prop. taxes, and Erie County, which Buffalo is in, has high taxes. The city tax element also adds taxes. However, what's bled population from Buffalo is less tax levels than the loss of good quality jobs, particularly manufacturing jobs. With a good-paying salary, the taxes are affordable--esp. since the home prices are so modest to begin with.

3) Utilities are about avg., BUT if the winter is severe, of course you're paying a lot in heating bills. Most homes use natural gas. (And as far as I know, you can offset this with word-burning help.) But NY state also controls utilities pretty well to prevent gouging and abrupt price hikes. In other states, you're much more at the mercy of utilities. Electricity is fairly cheap compared to places I've seen in the South, also.

3) Traffic isn't bad at all--depending on weather and road repair. They do a great job clearing the snow, and it's not too difficult to learn how to drive safely in it. Traffic is certainly nothing like the madness you'd face in, say, Atlanta.

4) Elmwood, the North Side, the West Side, and the Main St. University of Buffalo campus area are the best neighborhoods.

You didn't ask, but the city also has terrific food, a general sense of down-to-earth sincere decency, lots of ethnic variety, a rich and very respected history, near-perfect summer weather, great summer ethnic festivals, lots to do, and some fascinating architecture. Its proximity to Canada, and the great city of Toronto, is very appealing, too. Plus, beautiful country, and two Great Lakes, are right at its edges. And the NY state public university/college system is a fantastic bargain.

5) Here's the real sticking point. 4merWNYer isn't exaggerating. You DO have to be careful in the city, and thus should think about settling outside it, for several reasons: worsening violent crime, public schools a mess, economy wobbly at best, a city gov't. that's prone to corruption, racial tensions, and a general middle-class flight.

I say all this very sadly, since I loved my many years in Buffalo and will always consider it my home town. But the towns/suburbs outside Buffalo that 4merWNYer recommended--also much reviewed on this forum's other pages--offer some of Buffalo's great virtues without its problems. I have four kids myself, two of them very young, and as much as it pains me to say this, I would not settle in Buffalo if I could choose East Aurora, say, over it. If you like more modern suburbs closer in, I'd suggest Williamsville, Amherst, and Clarence. All have excellent schools and are fine places to raise a family--though taxes there do tend to be very high.

Best of luck, and I hope you'll post your experiences once you decide....

[marhughes]

Come on someone can tell me more about this area.

Where are the best schools?

Where is the best place to live?

[Ghanley]

Just curious...where in Middle Georgia are you from? I would guess that although taxes are significantly higher in Buffalo, you are going to get a much better education for your kids!

[I'minformed2]

the city of Buffalo has some wonderfull neighborhoods so I don't know what the first responder is talking about.....but it is true that the schools won't be very good in the city, but they are great in the suburbs. Property taxes are high..but housing and just about everything else but gas is pretty afforable. In the city you can get a really nice turn of the century home in a safe neighborhood for about 100k.....and in one of the nicer suburbs probably around 150k

[oohrah]

Originally Posted by marhughes

My wife and I have been offerd jobs in Buffalo NY. We currently live in Middle GA. I have been looking on this site and I have a few question's.

1. What are the average homes in a good neighborhood going for? 3-4 bedrooms.

2. I keep hearing about the high taxes! How high? examples please

3. High utilities? Examples.

4. how bad is traffic?

5. what are the best neighborhoods?

6. I have a daughter that is 6. Safe for children?


Thanks in advance.

mark

Hello Mark,

I have never lived in the city of Buffalo but a friend of mine lives in North Buffalo and she loves it. Personally its not for me, really large city and there is a lot of crime. Some of the areas of Buffalo are beautiful though, the older historic area is really neat! I live in Niagara county which would be about a half hour to a 45 minute commute if you worked in the city.
There are some nice areas in Niagara County also, Wheatfield, Pendleton, Ransomville, Newfane. The schools here are excellent! I wouldn't want my kids going to school in Buffalo, they're a mess, although you could choose to put them in a private school. We have a 3 bdrm home in Pendleton with 12 acres of land and our taxes are over 8000.00 a year. The taxes are crazy if you ask me. A friend of mine put a deposit down on a home in a new developement and went the next day and got her money back after she found out the taxes were going to be over 14000.00 a year. Homes out here range in price from 150,000 and up and up!
During the winter months, traffic isn't really bad, the plows are out usually the night before and salting everything, just a little slower thats all. Traffic really isn't an issue up here.
Utilities are pretty high in the winter months as homeward bound had mentioned. To me he's pretty much right on with all of his information.
We are actually leaving the state also for a better job opportunity
Somethings I will miss especially the kids school, I have 3 children and the system out here is wonderful. check out realtor.com about the housing, it might help give you more information on pricing.
Well best wishes to you and your family, take care!
oohrah

[aka_mouse]

Originally Posted by 4merWNYer

Live in the suburbs, not the city!! I would not consider any area of the city a safe place to live...

I live out in the burbs.. and people like you are why I'll be moving downtown in a year or so...

....paranoid surburbanites. You have to be careful walking down elmwood, you might be accosted by a savage negro! Theyre everywhere down there, amirite?!

You people are nuts...

I left there almost 5 years ago and headed to FL, never looked back. If I were you I would stay in GA (Looking around Atlanta myself) !!

what the frig ?

Florida? The whole state's a toilet...filled with crocodiles, cannibal rednecks, and stupid gated communities for rich old people.

[James9283]

My sister lives in Kenmore, which is pretty much North Buffalo and she loves it! Despite what anyone says the crime in most of Buffalo is far better than many other city that is this size and the metro area as a whole is very cool. I guess it all depends on what you are used to and where you are coming from. I have been to almost every part of the city and never been the victim of any violent crime or anything like that so if I were you I would take a trip there instead of listening to some of these negative comments

[christina_in_wny]

Just found this board today. Interesting discussion! I live in Amherst very close to the border of the City of Buffalo. I pretty much agree with everything the previous posters have said. Public schools in this area are excellent, but the Buffalo City Schools, not so much. But it is easy to live just outside the city. I work in the city myself. I work in South Buffalo, which no one mentioned, and I would cite as one of the better city neighborhoods. From Amherst, which is on the north border of Buffalo, my commute is 30 minutes tops.

I was surprised to hear Buffalo portrayed as such a violent city. Isn't any urban area more violent than other areas? Rule of thumb in Buffalo...stay off of streets named after states and fruit.