Thinking of Moving to Buffalo from Memphis (New York, Amherst: sales, apartments)

[juiceman]

Ok, this is very preliminary but I received an extremely intriguing job "prospect" in Buffalo. I know NOTHING about Buffalo other than it snows a lot. My wife and I moved from Los Angeles to Memphis for more affordable housing. My question is, we purchased a $260K condo in Memphis and we can realistically rent it fairly easily. My wife and I are done with condo living and would look to rent a house for at least a few years before we buy. What does a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house rent for in a nice area of Buffalo. I would be making anywhere from 110K to 120K in salary a year. Oh, we are expecting our first child in the next few weeks. I am currently in sales and looking to shift gears for something a bit more stable in terms of income. Are we going to HATE/LOVE/LIKE Buffalo? We "like" Memphis but I honestly can't see us living here forever. We want to move someplace where we can settle down forever and a day. Thanks for any responses.

[coppersink63]

Originally Posted by juiceman

Ok, this is very preliminary but I received an extremely intriguing job "prospect" in Buffalo. I know NOTHING about Buffalo other than it snows a lot. My wife and I moved from Los Angeles to Memphis for more affordable housing. My question is, we purchased a $260K condo in Memphis and we can realistically rent it fairly easily. My wife and I are done with condo living and would look to rent a house for at least a few years before we buy. What does a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house rent for in a nice area of Buffalo. I would be making anywhere from 110K to 120K in salary a year. Oh, we are expecting our first child in the next few weeks. I am currently in sales and looking to shift gears for something a bit more stable in terms of income. Are we going to HATE/LOVE/LIKE Buffalo? We "like" Memphis but I honestly can't see us living here forever. We want to move someplace where we can settle down forever and a day. Thanks for any responses.

Congrats on the baby!

I would strongly advise you to take a look at the Williamsville/Amherst area. Some of the best places to raise a child in the country. I am also looking to move into a 3/2 in late March and right now we are looking at anywhere near 800-1200 depending on the location. Not only that but many of the homes for rent include utilities/cable so you can save alot there. Best way to go is through craigslist though, most people end up posting there.

I would also advise against looking for apartments in those areas as they are a bit overpriced and you can easily rent a home for much less. You should take a weekend trip and drive around a bit. Especially in the next few months to see if you can stand the cold. Thanks for considering Buffalo!

[jblake78728]

You can live like a king in Buffalo w/ a salary over 100K (ok, maybe not like a king but you can do very well for yourself).

Craigslist does seem to be a good source for rentals/sales in the area but I would also recommend looking at RealtyUSA's website. They handle both sales & rentals.

I know next to nothing about Memphis so I can't even begin to compare the areas.

As far as if you will "HATE/LOVE/LIKE Buffalo" it really depends on many factors. If cold/snow is a problem I would advise against moving here as the weather is something that is always going to be a factor. If you don't mind wintery weather & would prefer a summer with highs in the mid 80's over what you have in Memphis than it might be for you. If you are a person who is very conservative in their political/personal beliefs you may hate the area. If you are somewhat open minded you very well may love it. If you like live music, arts & other entertainment you may also like Buffalo as the city has a scene that is above & beyond many similar sized cities (as well as some larger ones).

[Canerican]

I would also look at Amherst. It's a nice area, with by far the best schools in the region.

This summer I think we only had 2-3 days over 80F, so it's certainly not as nice as Memphis weather wise... but some like it.

People here are generally hostile to Southerners, but not to folks from out West. I'm not sure why, so if you have a strong Southern accent, I would try and lose it, because people associate the South with Conservatism, and Conservatives are really hated here (less in the nicer parts of Amherst though).

Like jblake said, if you are Conservative, you likely won't like it around here. Taxes are high, government is big, if you say you are against gay marriage you will be called a bigot very quickly.


ONE THING NOT TO FORGET!!! Taxes, NY has been the highest taxed state for 18 out of the last 22 years, a far cry from anti-tax Tennessee. You will likely be shocked that about 40% of your income will be gone to various taxes. Below is NY's tax burden (keep in mind it doesn't include federal taxes)

The Tax Foundation - New York's State and Local Tax Burden, 1977-2008

[juiceman]

Thanks for the responses. I am in NO WAY wanting an apartment. We have two little Westies and are expecting our first very soon (any second now). Before we moved to Memphis, we were under the impression that it was a WAR ZONE. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not some utopia, but a city that has its problems like every city in this country. We currently live in an extremely nice and modern 3 bedroom 2 1/2 condo (hardwoods, nice kitchen the whole nine yards). What can we expect to rent for a nicer detached house with a yard? Someone said 800-1200 and that seems so low to me. Is this a fair expectation in a nice area? From what I have read thus far Elmwood Village ?? is a nice place with much to do. I have lived in NYC, LA and Memphis among other places. Will my wife and I be able to find things to do? Also, how are the schools? We would ideally like to send our child to a private school.

Thanks again

[jblake78728]

$800-$1200 will get you a nice house w/a yard & garage in the suburbs. The first place I rented in the area (Hamburg) was a 3br/1.5 bath/1 car garage w/an above ground pool. We paid $1000/month. Unfortunately our move here was kind of rushed otherwise we could have found a much better deal ($700-$900 range).

Canerican mentioned that if you are from the south or have a southern accent that you will have a hard time in the area. Before moving to NY I had spent about a decade in Texas & even though I am originally from the Baltimore area 10 years in Texas did give my voice a bit of a twang. I am also a graduate of the University of Texas. I have a Texas Ex sticker on the back of my Jeep & often wear UT hats/clothing. Maybe Canerican has seen things that I have not but I can't say anyone has ever given me a hard time. I also know several other UT grads that now call the area home (most born & raised in Texas) & they all absolutely love the area. On the other hand, my first few years in Texas (when I still had a very noticeable Mid Atlantic accent) I use to get called yankee on a daily basis (as well as other things). Now maybe that has to more to do with the fact that true Texans hate the fact that people keep moving to Austin & in their opinion, ruining it?

Overall, the schools within the city of Buffalo are not the best option though they do have a City Honors school which is consistently listed in the top 50 public schools in the country. For the most part the school districts in the suburbs are very good. Willimasville, Iroquois, Amherst, Orchard Park, East Aurora, Hamburg & Frontier are all great choices. Private schools in WNY are also very good & there is a pretty good selection of them. Quality schooling options for our children played a major role in my family's decision to move here.

There is plenty of things to do in the Buffalo (and WNY) so it just depends on what kind of things you like to do as to whether or not you will be able to find things that you will consider enjoyable. As I mentioned earlier, the arts & entertainment scene is doing very well. WNY has plenty of outdoors activities as well. Within a short drive of Buffalo there are several beautiful state parks, Niagara Falls, 2 Great Lakes, a very good amusement park & several ski areas (and though they are nothing compared to those in California they are better than no local areas at all).

Taxes are high (especially property taxes) but housing & rental values are low (as well as the cost of living in general), so in the end it all pretty much evens out. Having lived in NYC & LA you will be pleasantly surprised by the cost of homes in WNY.

[coppersink63]

Originally Posted by juiceman

Thanks for the responses. I am in NO WAY wanting an apartment. We have two little Westies and are expecting our first very soon (any second now). Before we moved to Memphis, we were under the impression that it was a WAR ZONE. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not some utopia, but a city that has its problems like every city in this country. We currently live in an extremely nice and modern 3 bedroom 2 1/2 condo (hardwoods, nice kitchen the whole nine yards). What can we expect to rent for a nicer detached house with a yard? Someone said 800-1200 and that seems so low to me. Is this a fair expectation in a nice area? From what I have read thus far Elmwood Village ?? is a nice place with much to do. I have lived in NYC, LA and Memphis among other places. Will my wife and I be able to find things to do? Also, how are the schools? We would ideally like to send our child to a private school.

Thanks again

It depends on what you are looking for. Elmwood Village is a beautiful place with alot of things to do for sure. If you want the suburban dream I would definatly check out Amherst but if you want more city like living check out parts of the Elmwood Village. Schools in both areas are fantastic so you really cant go wrong.

(And no, Buffalonians are not hostile to southerners)

[coloradots]

You should probably post what you don't like about Memphis so everyone can know what you're looking for in a place to live. Memphis is a far cry from LA and NYC (other places you lived). Buffalo would be more similar to Memphis (other than the taxes and weather) than it would be to LA or NYC.

[Canerican]

coloradots gave you a very good idea.

And like everyone said, $1200 isn't low at all for around here. You will find the area very dog-friendly, which is what I like.

The reason I talked about the South was because when I first moved here I gained back the slight accent I got from being in Atlanta and got constant questions like, "Isn't is poor/crazy/religious/racist," down there. And then I'd have to explain that I am probably the only Canadian with a southern accent, and I don't know.

[drjackal31]

Like everyone else said you will be doing well on that salary in Buffalo. Don't forget to look at towns that are not Amherst, there are many other nice towns around here. Such as Kenmore which is north of buffalo, Williamsville which is near the northeast corner of buffalo just south of Amherst, Lancaster east of the city, Orchard Park and East Aurora south east of the city, and Hamburg south of the city. The southern towns get more snow, I always forget to mention that since I am a South Towner. All the towns I mentioned are nice, have a walkable main street sort of area and many of them have good schools, I would check the ranking to see for yourself though. I don't really know much about other towns but I am sure that someone could fill you in on them.

Since you are going to have children I won't even mention areas of the city unless you want to put your children in private school.