Moving to Buffalo area and looking for suburban areas to live in (Rochester: for rent, mortgage)

[Henrietta_Girl]

Hi I'm relocating to the Buffalo area for a new job at Roswell and would like to know what areas near Buffalo are great suburban areas to live in. I'm currently living in Henrietta, NY a suburb of Rochester and I'm using that as a point of reference. I'm looking for an area that is relatively quiet and safe but does have some places to go to such as stores, mall, restaurants, ect. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Canerican]

Are you looking to rent or buy? Besides being near some shopping are there any MUSTS? Schools? Are you looking for purely suburban like Henrietta, or perhaps somewhere with a little more land a couple fewer neighbors? Can you take an extra foot of snow a year (it matters here, as the Southtowns get at least a foot more than the Northtowns each year)? Do you care about being near a certain denomination of church? Finally, how much can you afford to buy or rent?

If you answer these I'll give you a good suggestion of which suburb is right for you, but no one can honestly give you great advice (most will just tell you to move where they live)

[Dockwalliper]

Roswells central location makes it an easy commute to almost any of the burbs. I suggest you check out Amherst, Lancaster, the Tonawanda's, Grand Island, Hamburg, Orchard Park and most parts of Cheektowaga and West Senaca.

[CAugust]

Originally Posted by Dockwalliper

Roswells central location makes it an easy commute to almost any of the burbs. I suggest you check out Amherst, Lancaster, the Tonawanda's, Grand Island, Hamburg, Orchard Park and most parts of Cheektowaga and West Senaca.

thats a lot of land to cover and can be confusing - learn a little about the areas and pick one or two and go from there - - - - whats important? schools? convenience?

[Henrietta_Girl]

[quote=Canerican;9994058]Are you looking to rent or buy? Besides being near some shopping are there any MUSTS? Schools? Are you looking for purely suburban like Henrietta, or perhaps somewhere with a little more land a couple fewer neighbors? Can you take an extra foot of snow a year (it matters here, as the Southtowns get at least a foot more than the Northtowns each year)? Do you care about being near a certain denomination of church? Finally, how much can you afford to buy or rent? I'm looking to either rent or buy, but the most I can afford per month is $1200. Snow doesn't really bother me, but I would prefer somewhere purely suburban. Before living in Henrietta I lived in Bloomfield, NY which is a much more rural area in the Rochester area, and I don't like that setting nearly as much as I do Henrietta.

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by Henrietta_Girl

Before living in Henrietta I lived in Bloomfield, NY which is a much more rural area in the Rochester area, and I don't like that setting nearly as much as I do Henrietta.

I don't know much about Henrietta, but from what I heard it's much like Cheektowaga/Williamsville. HTH. Welcome to Erie County.

[Canerican]

Originally Posted by Henrietta_Girl

I'm looking to either rent or buy, but the most I can afford per month is $1200. Snow doesn't really bother me, but I would prefer somewhere purely suburban. Before living in Henrietta I lived in Bloomfield, NY which is a much more rural area in the Rochester area, and I don't like that setting nearly as much as I do Henrietta.

OK, well, for $1200, either for rent or mortgage + taxes you can go pretty far here. I would look into Amherst, East Amherst, or Tonawanda.

Amherst is where University at Buffalo is, so there is alot of things for 18-25 year olds in Amherst. There is plenty of shopping in Amherst or in Tonawanda.

Amherst is considered by many to be the most desirable of the suburbs, without going as far as Clarence. It is very safe (recently rated the safest in the nation, although, it has lost that title). Basically stay as far away from Buffalo as you can stand/afford, and you can rest assured that you will be safe. Buffalo isn't a safe city, but the police do a good job keeping the riffraff out of Amherst, and give us a nice town.

[mycrows]

Originally Posted by FedupWNY

I don't know much about Henrietta, but from what I heard it's much like Cheektowaga/Williamsville. HTH. Welcome to Erie County.

Hm, I would say Henrietta has more like an Amherst-vibe. It's more "suburban" than Cheektowaga (or Williamsville) is and it has the same kind of college influence that Amherst does. It has RIT and MCC, and U of R is right on the border of Henrietta (like UB's South Campus -> Amherst).

Has there ever been a thread comparing the suburbs of Buffalo and Rochester? Off the top of my head, my analogues would be -
Cheektowaga : Greece/Irondequoit
Kenmore : Brighton
Tonawandas: Gates-Chili
Amherst : Pittsford/Henrietta/Fairport
Clarence : Penfield or Victor
Orchard Park : Webster
North Tonawanda : East Rochester
East Aurora : Canandaigua (kinda, not really)

That leaves out important Buffalo 'burbs like Lackawanna, Lancaster and West Seneca, but I'm not sure if there is a direct equivalent for them in Rochester. Corfu is probably like the Bloomfield of Buffalo.

In any case if the OP likes Henrietta she will probably be at home in any of Buffalo's eastern and northern first-ring suburbs (Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda) but not at their inner-areas where they meet the city.

[FedupWNY]

Originally Posted by mycrows

In any case if the OP likes Henrietta she will probably be at home in any of Buffalo's eastern and northern first-ring suburbs (Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda) but not at their inner-areas where they meet the city.

I was out in East Amherst last week, on Transit Rd. the 5 pm drive time was worse than city living.

[JAB27]

Originally Posted by mycrows

Hm, I would say Henrietta has more like an Amherst-vibe. It's more "suburban" than Cheektowaga (or Williamsville) is and it has the same kind of college influence that Amherst does. It has RIT and MCC, and U of R is right on the border of Henrietta (like UB's South Campus -> Amherst).

Has there ever been a thread comparing the suburbs of Buffalo and Rochester? Off the top of my head, my analogues would be -
Cheektowaga : Greece/Irondequoit
Kenmore : Brighton
Tonawandas: Gates-Chili
Amherst : Pittsford/Henrietta/Fairport
Clarence : Penfield or Victor
Orchard Park : Webster
North Tonawanda : East Rochester
East Aurora : Canandaigua (kinda, not really)

That leaves out important Buffalo 'burbs like Lackawanna, Lancaster and West Seneca, but I'm not sure if there is a direct equivalent for them in Rochester. Corfu is probably like the Bloomfield of Buffalo.

In any case if the OP likes Henrietta she will probably be at home in any of Buffalo's eastern and northern first-ring suburbs (Cheektowaga, Amherst, Tonawanda) but not at their inner-areas where they meet the city.

Interesting comparison. I'd say Pittsford and Clarence are pretty alike.

For the OP, Amherst would be a solid choice.