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Another thing you'll find about Buffalo is that there are some hard-core Buffalo fanatics who will try to spin the city in the most positive way possible, to counter all the naysayers. Not to suggest this is correlated with the last posting. The Buffalo Place Inc is run by people who have a financial stake in promoting the city. Another propaganda cybermag is "buffalorising.com".
This isn't to say that there aren't a lot of good things about the city, but beware of things like "The weather in Buffalo is a very big perk". I was without electricity for about a week in October due to a blizzard and the damage it caused, and this April we had 8 days where it didn't go above freezing even during the daytime, most of which had snow. This sort of thing has more of an impact on me than "the hardiness map", no doubt developed by the finest scientific minds in the country.
Yes, and there are people who spend quite a bit of time posting the few negatives, exaggerating them making the regions weather seem much worse then it actually is. Buffalo has many, many positives.
The October storm was a freak thing. Nothing like it has ever happened in the nearly 120 years that weather records were kept. It convinced me to never move down south - I couldn't handle a southern ice storm that knocks out power for weeks, a hurricane that knocks out power for weeks, etc.
The weather is a huge perk. The summers are glorious, the winters mild enough to engage in winter sport activities.
Last edited by xamsx; 06-24-2007 at 05:52 AM..
Reason: spelling
I'm not disputing that Buffalo has many many positives.. just the winter weather isn't one of them. I'm actually from the San Francisco Bay Area originally (long story). The Loma Prieta earthquake caused much more trouble than the October storm... but no one there goes, oh the earthquakes we have are no big deal, just dodge the buildings collapsing and then go on doing what you were doing. People just say, yeah ok the earthquakes are a problem, but there are so many other good things about this area. I just think Buffalonians should take the same attitude. Yes, the winters are dreary and snowy and the economy is going nowhere, but look at the summer festivals, the total lack of traffic and short commuting time, the fact you can buy a nice suburban home for 100k and not 2 million like in the Bay Area, and so on.
I'm not disputing that Buffalo has many many positives.. just the winter weather isn't one of them. I'm actually from the San Francisco Bay Area originally (long story).
The winter weather may be a matter of perspective then. If you don't care for snow and if you don't care for winter sports, you're not going to be thrilled with a northern winter.
I think Utah has it right in how they play up their snow - the state license plate says, "The Greatest Snow on Earth". I wish NYS would get together a marketing campaign for upstate to highlight the great winter activities - the skiing, snow mobiling, ice skating, hockey (now year long, but still), ice fishing, etc. Winter is not a bad thing. Many, many people enjoy it. A lot of people pay big-bucks to stay at a ski resort for a weekend, hockey is so big in NYS the #1 pick in the NHL draft the other day was from Buffalo, and there is nothing more beautiful than "Charlie Brown Snow" falling softly and quietly on a winter evening.
i lived in Buffalo and being from the South (Kentucky), I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. I will never go back there as long as i live, it would be a waste of my time. Buffalo is a dirty city and has nothing to offer then just about any other city could offer. Plus the population in Buffalo is DECLINING, which means that the city is moving in the WRONG direction. However, south of the city the landscape gets nicer.
i lived in Buffalo and being from the South (Kentucky), I ABSOLUTELY HATED IT. I will never go back there as long as i live, it would be a waste of my time. Buffalo is a dirty city and has nothing to offer then just about any other city could offer. Plus the population in Buffalo is DECLINING, which means that the city is moving in the WRONG direction. However, south of the city the landscape gets nicer.
Well, dirty is how we do it, you little priss
Go back to kintuckah, then. Buffalo does not demand of its residents like other cities do. We just ask patience... OTOH, if you don't like it - we are happy to see you leave.
We are a hard-drinking, late-night party, sports freak town with zero illusions. Only some of us think the winter sucks a little bit, but we're not all weak about it like southerners and other outsiders are. There are far bigger cities at far more northern latitudes that don't whine, so whatup? This is why at this point in my life I feel closer to Canadians than Americans. Americans just wanna **** all over our town... and least canadians just call us a dump cause we're poor, on par with other canadian dumps.
The ONLY reason natives of this area leave is cause they want more cash.. and then incidentally, more often than not, they find out that their new high paying jobs they have all the high cost that goes with that. And they are in the same boat as before - often without realizing it.
I was born here, Ill die here... and if I ever do leave It'll only be to cities the entire planet has heard of ...NYC, LA, SF, Chicago, Boston etc. The south and the midwest is a joke.
Thank you for your time and very informative discussion. I am currently in South and I hate the hail stroms, ice and TORNADOES when they come. Had to go under a few times 'cos the tornado came too close for comfort. Scary!!!! Moved here from NE many years back. Now the job change may take us to Buffalo. No place is perfect. So if everything falls in the right place, I will go to Buffalo. I want to live in Willamsville but high property taxes are of concern. I am looking for newer homes with short commute to UB-south. Are there any websites? One more question, which area has older homes that have been upgraded / renovated?
No car tax. You pay a registration based on car class and weight and the sticker issued is valid for two years. The cost is generally $20-$40 per year (higher the first time you are registering the vehicle). NYS has toll roads and the gas tax is the highest in the country (yet oddly the gas is no where near the highest price in the country). This is basically a user fee. If you drive a lot you pay more because you use more gas. If you use a toll road you pay-as-you-go. If you will be on the truway a lot, you may want to look into an ezpass. It is good where ever ez pass and i-pass are valid. Welcome To E-ZPass (http://www.ezpass.com/ - broken link) Basically if you drive a lot it costs you more and if you drive a little you are not subsidizing someone else.
I want to live in Willamsville but high property taxes are of concern. I am looking for newer homes with short commute to UB-south. Are there any websites? One more question, which area has older homes that have been upgraded / renovated?
I live in the Williamsville school district, so I understand your tax concern. The property taxes are not that high, but the school tax is something else.
If you are working at UB City Campus, Amherst, Buffalo, Kenmore & Tonawanda are the four closest areas. Amherst is most likely to have new housing. Older (your definition of older may be different then mine - I'm thinking pre WWII as older) housing is most plentiful in Kenmore and Buffalo. Tonawanda is a mix of older and newer homes. Buffalo Niagara Homes.com - Buffalo New York Real Estate, Homes, Property, WNY is the local mls
I lived in Tonawanda for a short time years ago. Tonawanda is just north of Buffalo. We rented there for the nine months we were there. We thought about looking for a house, but the job situation and overall atmosphere in Buffalo didn't work for us so we headed back to Michigan. We know from friends who live in Amherst it's a nice area. In fact I think its been rated as one of the safest cities in the U.S. Clarance and other areas around it (Sweet Home school district) can be pretty expensive housing wise compared to Tonawanda, Buffalo, some areas of the southern tier (Orchard Park etc), Lackawana. I don't know about new construction. This is an area of the country that's been hit pretty hard economically over the last few years. The winters can be harsh, especially south of Buffalo with the lake effect from Lake Erie.
Good luck
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Thanks for the input
