Is Buffalo "Midwestern" (New York, Rochester: quality of life, places to live, price)

[Port North]

Originally Posted by garmin239

I still fail to see how any part of upstate is midwestern aside from MINOR traits. After traveling the great lakes and parts of the midwest for work, we are nothing like them culturally.

Upper Midwestern/Great Lakes as in Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland. Not Kansas City, Indianapolis, Omaha, DesMoines.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by Port North

Upper Midwestern/Great Lakes as in Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland. Not Kansas City, Indianapolis, Omaha, DesMoines.

I still see a large difference culturally. Cleveland is most similar but many people claim that Cleveland has some northeastern traits.

[Port North]

Originally Posted by garmin239

I still see a large difference culturally. Cleveland is most similar but many people claim that Cleveland has some northeastern traits.

Well I can tell you with complete certainty that Buffalo is nothing like Boston, NYC, Philly or D.C. in pace or in culture.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by Port North

Well I can tell you with complete certainty that Buffalo is nothing like Boston, NYC, Philly or D.C. in pace or in culture.

No but there is much more to the northeast than those cities. The northeast is not culturally the same in any one area. Buffalo is most similar to places like Rochester, Syracuse and Albany. It has just as much in common with a place like NYC as it does with a place like Milwaukee, which isn't much.

[Port North]

Originally Posted by garmin239

Buffalo is most similar to places like Rochester, Syracuse and Albany. It has just as much in common with a place like NYC as it does with a place like Milwaukee, which isn't much.

The first part I agree with completely. The only thing Buffalo shares with NYC is a sarcastic sense of humor . The accent, ethnic make-up, architecture, pace, climate, traffic, cost of living are totally different. Buffalo does have a large number of NYC transplants so that does influence Buffalo's culture somewhat.

[garmin239]

What is Buffalo's ethnic makeup? From what I can tell, a lot of poles?
I'm in Rochester and one of the big things that makes it more in line with northeastern cities is the ethnic demographics with a high percentage of Puerto Ricans and Italians.

[Port North]

Originally Posted by garmin239

What is Buffalo's ethnic makeup? From what I can tell, a lot of poles?
I'm in Rochester and one of the big things that makes it more in line with northeastern cities is the ethnic demographics with a high percentage of Puerto Ricans and Italians.

Yes, the high % of Italians and PR's does set Upstate NY cities apart from the Midwest, good example.

However the % of Poles in Buffalo is very mid-western (Chicago, Milwaukee)

Just ask yourself though, when you are driving on the Thruway near Batavia does the landscape look more like Ohio or coastal Connecticut?

I agree that upstate NY is certainly a mix of several different cultural regions, it just feels like the mid-west is the dominent influence particularly in Western New York (almost unknowingly to its residents) I thought that Western New York was completely Northeastern when I lived there.

[jblake78728]

To me Buffalo is more like Cleveland & Pittsburgh than it is any other city (Northeastern or Midwestern) ..... but its still even different from them due to the strong Southern Ontario influence.

[zyyrah]

I'm going to throw my vote in that Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse kind of make up their own little region that I haven't found to be like others. I don't see the influence of NYC, Ontario, the Midwest, Boston, etc. It's kind of its own little area. I mean everywhere will be "influenced" by other areas, yeah, but not enough that I'd call them related.

[garmin239]

Originally Posted by Port North

Yes, the high % of Italians and PR's does set Upstate NY cities apart from the Midwest, good example.

However the % of Poles in Buffalo is very mid-western (Chicago, Milwaukee)

Just ask yourself though, when you are driving on the Thruway near Batavia does the landscape look more like Ohio or coastal Connecticut?

I agree that upstate NY is certainly a mix of several different cultural regions, it just feels like the mid-west is the dominent influence particularly in Western New York (almost unknowingly to its residents) I thought that Western New York was completely Northeastern when I lived there.

Maybe it's different in Buffalo and I haven't noticed. In Rochester I don't see any influence. The eastern area of the Rochester region reminds me more of new england suburbs and I haven't really seen that in Buffalo.