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Moving to Buffalo from Cleveland... what are some good locations? I'd like a stable residential area, with decent schools and a good community. Safe is obviously a plus!
I've heard tons of suggestions from friends, but not being from there I don't know too much about them. Seeing a realtor next week, any areas I should bring up?
If you are from Cleveland, the weather won't be a big issue as it is with people from areas where they have never seen snow.
What is the price range?
Are you into "keeping up w/the Jones" yuppiedom and SUVs and McMansions or normal people with no big bills?
How long do you want to commute (time is generally short here)?
New development or older neighborhood like a village?
How do you feel about smaller towns (like beyond a 3rd ring suburb -- some are really nice)?
I can reasonably afford up to $300k. Not big into keeping up with the Jones type of thing, and I prefer more safe urban type areas. I find new development tacky. Can anyone tell me about Kenmore? I have heard it is similar to Lakewood, OH which I love.
I'll be working downtown and prefer to be close to public transport.
Kenmore or maybe Snyder in the town of Amherst might be more to your liking. Kenmore is a very dense suburban village right next to or close to some of the nicest parts of the city of Buffalo. Actually, a drive down Elmwood takes you into the Elmwood Village area of the city. Welcome to the Village of Kenmore
North Buffalo (north of Amherst Street between Delaware and Main) is very safe, stable, and pleasant. The local public school (PS 81) is one of the better elementary schools in the city as far as standardized testing scores go.
The residential streets around Elmwood Avenue between Forest and North are very nice (considerably higher-end than North Buffalo) but the public schools in that area have lower test scores. There are private Catholic schools if you are into that, and some charter schools that have a lottery admission in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is probably less safe than North Buffalo (because of proximity to lower-income areas and because of the nearby college) but I would not consider it at all unsafe (my 3 year old and I spent a lot of time here at the farmer's market, etc.).
The village of Kenmore surrounding Delaware Avenue is nicely urban, but looking more and more weathered as time goes on. I don't know about the elementary schools in that area (I believe the high school has a bad reputation).
Any of these areas have good public transportation to downtown Buffalo.
Don't dismiss city neighborhoods out of hand just on the hearsay of people with a knee-jerk prejudice against the city. There are some great neighborhoods in Buffalo for raising families, and I personally feel that city kids receive many advantages from their environment over their suburban counterparts (especially as they get older and want to be a little independent). Check it out yourself and make your own decision.
I also suggest Lancaster. [I am biased; I live in the town and we raised our daughters here] The village is older and settled; no cookie cutter homes there. The town is also quite old... until you get to the developments which recently began to infringe onto farmland.
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Went to view houses in Kenmore, Elmwood District and some around Parkside so far, and I think Kenmore is the front runner followed by Parkside. Some great houses on Argonne and Wardman Avenues. Also visited the elementary school (Lindbergh) with the kids, from what I've read a good school. Loved the Parkside location, but seemed like the houses needed more work to get up and running. Will be checking out a few houses in Williamsville and Cheektowaga next time I am in town
I was in the same boat a few years back. We found a nice place in East Amherst off Transit. Behind the transitvalley golf club. Very quiet. Lots of nice familys. Zip code is 14051 is you are doing a relator search. We kept it in our budget. Could of gotten more, but ended up spending about 250K.
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