Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have been wanting to move up to either one of those cities for quite some time. We currently live outside St. Louis. My wife on the other hand thinks it is to cold. I have been trying to reason with her that yes the Winters maybe cold but the Summers are outstanding. Here in St. Louis it gets so hot and humid that basically your summer is ruined because when you step outside you immediately want to go back in. It also gets pretty cold here though for not as long as up North.
Can people post about some great family things to do in either of those 2 areas? Whatever you feel are some positives about the areas, also please don't shy away from the negatives either. Thanks for the help with the convincing.
I prefer Rochester to Buffalo. I lived in Buffalo for 20 years - I was born and raised there - and to me the negatives outweigh the positives. Rochester winters are bad, but not as harsh as Buffalo's based on where it's located in the State. There's isn't a whole lot to do there, especially if you want an exciting social life, but the Summers are very mild. It can get hot.. say 90+.. but it's really infrequent. Rochester has about the same atmosphere.. I'm not saying there's more to do there, but if I had my choice, I'd choose the ROC.
Buffalo doesn't have jobs. There's high crime. Cost of living is moderate. But the Winters suck. It is damn bitter.. I'd personally stay in St. Louis, but if you're adament on Western New York, choose Rochester.
The suburban areas of both cities are fine, if that's what you're looking for. The snow is removed pretty readily, but you do get quite a bit of it. The urban areas are more questionable. I'm in Buffalo and there are some nice neighborhoods in the city. If you don't have kids they will be fine. But if you do, you either have to get your kids into the magnet school or send them to private schools. The public schools in the city other than the magnet are pretty awful. Also the nice areas of Buffalo are small enough you're never really that far from the nasty areas.
In general, Rochester has more of a "white collar" feel while Buffalo is the opposite. Buffalo is a very big sports town, with a pro hockey and football team. Weather is pretty similar in both cities. Last winter Rochester got more snow but it can go either way. Buffalo does get more of the huge monster holy crap kind of blizzards, maybe once every few years.
I have been wanting to move up to either one of those cities for quite some time. We currently live outside St. Louis. My wife on the other hand thinks it is to cold. I have been trying to reason with her that yes the Winters maybe cold but the Summers are outstanding. Here in St. Louis it gets so hot and humid that basically your summer is ruined because when you step outside you immediately want to go back in. It also gets pretty cold here though for not as long as up North.
Can people post about some great family things to do in either of those 2 areas? Whatever you feel are some positives about the areas, also please don't shy away from the negatives either. Thanks for the help with the convincing.
Well, as I just poted in another thread - the winters are not as cold as many people think in Buffalo. The hardiness map puts the area at a 6 - same as St. Louis. The summers are spectacular. Imagine a place where you can go outside nearly every single day and "do stuff", even at high noon. That's Buffalo. The snow is over-rated; much of the time "Buffalo is getting snow" is being reported and it is in the snow belt to the south. I cannot tell you how many times I looked out my window when I lived in North Buffalo and wondered where all the snow that was falling in "Buffalo" was. The city does get snow. However it usually came in spurts from the snow-making machine; Lake Erie. If the winter was cold enough and Lake Erie froze (as it does most years) the snow maker was turned off. If Lake Erie does not freeze, all bets are off.
Buffalo has plenty of jobs - it has been enjoying more job growth lately. Here's a chart for Rochester and Buffalo through 2006 There are highs and lows for both areas. The local newspaper has been reporting 4% job growth per month the last few months in the Buffalo area. (Who knows if those numbers are true.) Depending on what your profession is, there is much growth in certain fields - finance, health, computers, etc. If you are unskilled labor, the days of a good living wage seem more difficult to come by here (as in most of the US).
As far as crime, Amherst, NY is always rated in the top 3 of the lowest crime "cities" in the US over 100,000 people. For a good size city Buffalo is quite safe.
Two reasons to move to Buffalo would be a low cost of living and glorious summer weather.
Family things to do: The park system is extensive and beautiful. Boating (water skiing, tubing, & jet skiing on Lake Erie is a lot of fun), fishing and other water activities are wonderful.
I'm a Rochster area native and have had many dealings with Buffalo over the years....both have plenty of pluses but Rochester would be my choice mainly due to familarity. And as for the summers, after a late winter (no snow until January) that ran into April (although that went for the entire east coast down to Florida), the weather we have been experiencing recently has been nothing short of spectacular....(ever see the movie Truman where Jim Carey lived in a fabricated world with perfect weather? That's how it's been in Rochester for the last month and a half!!!)
Today; 75, sunny, fluffy clouds that look like you could grab them and outstanding foliage and blooms galore......But the odd thing is, I think our weather is part of the charm here. One truly appreciates days like today when recalling blizzards and slushy brown roads and sub-zero wind chills yet those days, believe it or not, have their own charm as you hunker down in front of the fire and watch the winter weather do its thing......nesting at it's finest. As for the cloudy days? You again love the sunny ones all the more. As for culture, entertainment, job opportunities, Rochester is on an upswing after plateauing and is a great family town .........hope this helps!!!!!
xamsx is propagandizing here. In Buffalo, when it's cold enough, it will snow a little bit most days, but the amounts are generally small. Typical winter day is overcast with occasional snow squalls. It is true that the mammoth snowfalls one associates with Buffalo are fairly rare. We did have one in October (2 feet) which caused major havoc due to the trees taking down power lines with them, but these are uncommon. I think the biggest problem with Buffalo winters is the constant dreariness more than the heavy snows. I agree though, that summers are spectacular.
Job situation is mixed. College grads in the Buffalo area often have trouble finding jobs in the area and this drives them to other parts of the country. It's not so much that there aren't jobs, but that the ones here aren't as good as jobs you can get elsewhere. If you are uneducated and want some retail or secretarial job, then this area is good as any. I am not as familiar with Rochester, but I have heard while they have been having some problems, the situation is geneally better than Buffalo.
Of course I am. The thread title is "The official convince the wife to move to Rochester or Buffalo thread!!" so pointing out the positives of Buffalo is a given.
I also grow weary of reading how wonderful Rochester is and how lousy Buffalo is. I like Rochester (particularly the Victor Mall ) but the differences aren't that great, the negatives are the same, and the positives are very close too.
I believe the job situation is very dependent on your skill-set. I really wish a master finishing carpenter would move in to the Amherst area without a six month backlog (and send me his/her business card). I wish master masons would move in (and send me his/her business card). The only one I've dealt with had a five month backlog and didn't bill me for a year because he was so busy. I couldn't get another to even add us to their list as they were THAT backlogged. We were lucky enough to know an electrician - but he lives down in the south towns and his commute took forever. A GC willing to redo a small room (like a laundry room) would be lovely. The one guy we could get to come over for such a small job never followed up with a bid! Our handy-man is great! But he is so overworked he puts in (6) 12 hour days and sometimes Sundays too. Our tile guy is fantastic! And he is retiring. He doesn't know anyone meticulous enough to recommend to us, and we have a massive job coming up in our front hall and foyer.
Believe me; you don't need a college degree to get good paying work in the Buffalo area. You do need a job skill though (as in the rest of the US.) If you are good, honest and prompt you will shortly have more work then you can handle.
But send me your card before you get overwhelmed please, especially if you are in one of the fields I listed above.
If you're considering upstate NY why only focus on those two cities? What about Syracuse or Albany? I've been to St. Louis many times as my mom lives in Southern Illinois.....I think all you'd have to do is take pictures of St. Louis and compare them to pictures of upstate NY. I know what you mean about the summers there....long, hot, humid, awful! If you want 4 beautiful seasons you can't beat the northeast. Outdoor sports are huge in the winter, unless you're the type who justs wants to whine about the cold and sit inside. Upstate NY is one of the most beautiful regions in the country and one of the most affordable regions in the northeast.
Well, as I just poted in another thread - the winters are not as cold as many people think in Buffalo. The hardiness map puts the area at a 6 - same as St. Louis. The summers are spectacular. Imagine a place where you can go outside nearly every single day and "do stuff", even at high noon. That's Buffalo. The snow is over-rated; much of the time "Buffalo is getting snow" is being reported and it is in the snow belt to the south. I cannot tell you how many times I looked out my window when I lived in North Buffalo and wondered where all the snow that was falling in "Buffalo" was. The city does get snow. However it usually came in spurts from the snow-making machine; Lake Erie. If the winter was cold enough and Lake Erie froze (as it does most years) the snow maker was turned off. If Lake Erie does not freeze, all bets are off.
Buffalo has plenty of jobs - it has been enjoying more job growth lately. Here's a chart for Rochester and Buffalo through 2006 There are highs and lows for both areas. The local newspaper has been reporting 4% job growth per month the last few months in the Buffalo area. (Who knows if those numbers are true.) Depending on what your profession is, there is much growth in certain fields - finance, health, computers, etc. If you are unskilled labor, the days of a good living wage seem more difficult to come by here (as in most of the US).
As far as crime, Amherst, NY is always rated in the top 3 of the lowest crime "cities" in the US over 100,000 people. For a good size city Buffalo is quite safe.
Two reasons to move to Buffalo would be a low cost of living and glorious summer weather.
Family things to do: The park system is extensive and beautiful. Boating (water skiing, tubing, & jet skiing on Lake Erie is a lot of fun), fishing and other water activities are wonderful.
You gotta be kidding ........
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
) but the differences aren't that great, the negatives are the same, and the positives are very close too.
