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The advantage of living in Buffalo versus surrounding burb:
1) You can find safe neighborhoods
2) You can walk to places / ditch the car (depending on where you work, I have a one car household 2 working adults + 3 kids). The car ditching can save you about $3K per year post tax which (depending on tax rate) can be up to $4K pre tax.
3) Real estate prices and taxes are far lower (mostly). What you'll save in a lifetime of mortgage interest and real estate taxes is pretty significant (upwards of 150K to 250K).
4) You won't live in a monoculture (race, class, etc.). There will be people with far different life experience than your own.
@Tamsin,
but by living in a place that is homogeneous isn't that by itself encouraging segregation? I'd agree that Buffalo is highly segregated first by class and then consequently race.
If you buy in Amherst, be careful, there are areas where the prices are flat / falling for a variety of reasons.
I was surprised and disappointed by the racial undercurrents in this area.
Totally agree. We moved here from Texas & I'm originally from Baltimore (neither area is exactly known for racial harmony) yet I find the racism in this area to be shocking. Just the other night on the news I heard about a white woman with mixed race children who had "N*&^%$s get out" spray painted on her house in South Buffalo. The racism is really the only thing I dislike about the area.
I grew up on Long Island (Westhampton Beach) and now live in Buffalo.
I think you'll like Amherst. I love it. My parents followed me up here after they retired and now live in Amherst.
You can't beat the rock bottom housing prices. Plus the cost of living all around is waaay cheaper. Groceries are cheaper here. We have the best supermarket in the country (Wegmans blows Waldbaums and King Kullen away). You need a plumber? An electrician? Cheaper. Unfortunately, the salaries are lower for most people, but if you land a good job that won't affect you. I landed a good job, my husband's salary is lower than it could be in other parts of the country though.
We get more snow. A lot more snow, but it's a dryer cold than LI if that makes sense. Winters by the water were biting, bitter, bone chilling. It's not like that here. We're very efficient with the snow removal too and it won't affect your life much at all.
When compared to the LIE, we have little to no traffic up here. Seems like you can get anywhere in 20 minutes.
Being so close to Canada and Toronto is nice.
On the negative side, I miss the beaches. People say we have nice beaches on the lake, but I haven't been to one that can hold a candle to the Atlantic.
We're a little (ok...a lot) tackier up here than people on Long Island (LOL). People leave their Christmas decorations up waaay too long and they put too many of them up in the first place. The understated elegance of eastern LI doesn't exist here (but if you're from up the island you might be used to this already). We celebrate holidays I never heard of before moving up here (google Dyngus Day).
I was surprised and disappointed by the racial undercurrents in this area. You might not notice it, but I'm a minority and I felt the difference after moving up here. Some people say Buffalo is one of the most segregated cities in the country. I don't know if that's true or not, but I've personally experienced about 3-4 blatant acts of racism in this area (while I didn't experience any in the Hamptons). With that said, Amherst is probably better than Buffalo in that regard. In my experience, the higher the socio economic level, the generally less bigoted people are.
I've tried to be brutally honest with my experiences. Hope that helps!
The beach thing is totally true. In no way will any of the beaches in NY ever stack up to beaches in Long Island. Jones Beach, Long Beach, Fire Island. Going to the beach is like a religion there. Some people go a couple times a week. The lakes in the Buffalo area are terrible. You can't really call them a beach, maybe a dumping ground for garbage?
I notice the tackier as well. Also a lot of people dress pretty poorly. I'm not a high fashion guy, but I figure if you go out into public you shouldn't be wearing a old sabres jersey with sweatpants and dirty sandals.
First let me say I've been lurking this forum, as well as Long Island's forum soaking in as much information as possible. I'm a native Long Islander that is out in Arizona right now, but considering moving back to some part of New York.
I'm a young 23-year-old college graduate that lived on Long Island my entire life. My father losing his job in 2010 ultimately set the wheels in motion for a departure from the obscenely expensive LI. Long story short, I moved off Long Island to Northern Arizona (in Prescott Valley) where my father is now to try to setup a computer repair business and potentially settle in the area.
Needless to say, coming from the suburbs of Suffolk LI and moving to more rural Northern Arizona has been a major culture shock to me. Being a 23-year-old guy, I would rather see more of what life can offer me. I used to hate Long Island and how population dense it was, the traffic and the aggressive people, but since leaving, I realize all the things I left behind.
As anyone would know, a single moving back to Long Island without a high-paying job lined up is difficult. So, I'm considering Amherst, NY as a "replacement" for Long Island.
I've been to WNY twice now, as I know a friend who lives in North Tonawanda. Ultimately, I have only 2 weeks of first-hand experience with the area, but from what I saw, I was impressed with the area. It was in the summer time so the area was nice, and everything felt like a less dense Long Island. It still maintained that suburban feel, which I'm really looking for.
I'm planning on taking a trip to Amherst next month, for about a week, where I can hopefully have some interviews waiting and scout out some apartments in the area.
I've done plenty of personal research and most stores and locations always seem to be only a few miles away (which is definitely something I look for coming from Long Island). The area is equipped for FIOS (yes I actually look into broadband in the area, I'm an IT guy so it's important to me!) and the safe neighborhoods and nice houses for the future are a big plus. I would be renting for awhile if I moved there.
Basically, I want to hear in your opinion if Amherst would be a good fit for me. I'm not a "typical" Long Islander looking for great nightlife and amazing beaches, I'm just looking for a nice, suburban town. If anyone has ever been in the Suffolk area of Long Island, I've love to hear your opinion especially. My Long Island relatives always seem to discourage moving to the Buffalo area because of the snow and the depressed economy, but I think Long Islanders have a strong bias against Buffalo to begin with.
I greatly appreciate any insight into this you can provide!
Amherst is about the best place in WNY for a Long Islander. It has similar upscale diverse demographic, similar traffic levels (for better or worse), excellent schools and a wide variety of restaurants. I personally refer to it as "Long Island North". It is alot like many of the North Shore Suffolk towns, not obscenely rich like the North Shore Nassau towns, but solidly middle/upper middle class in most areas.
I've lived in both WNY and Long Island, Amherst would be a good fit.
We're a little (ok...a lot) tackier up here than people on Long Island (LOL). People leave their Christmas decorations up waaay too long and they put too many of them up in the first place. The understated elegance of eastern LI doesn't exist here (but if you're from up the island you might be used to this already). We celebrate holidays I never heard of before moving up here (google Dyngus Day).
Niagara on the Lake nearby in Canada has a very similar feel as parts of Eastern Long Island. Both are very beautiful places.
2) You can walk to places / ditch the car (depending on where you work, I have a one car household 2 working adults + 3 kids). The car ditching can save you about $3K per year post tax which (depending on tax rate) can be up to $4K pre tax.
Actually, AAA estimates that the full cost of owning a car is from $8000 to $10,000 annually. (And you know AAA is not in the business of playing up the disadvantages of car ownership!) So there is some serious money to be saved by living and working in an area that allow you to be a one (or even no) car household.
but by living in a place that is homogeneous isn't that by itself encouraging segregation? I'd agree that Buffalo is highly segregated first by class and then consequently race.
I don't know what you mean. I don't consider Amherst to be homogeneous at all. It's not Buffalo, but it's not vanilla either. My parents live in Amherst and have lots of black, Indian and middle eastern neighbors.
Plus, the OP wanted comparisons to Long Island. As a Long Islander, I find Amherst to be very much like home.
Amherst (taken as a whole) is fairly homogeneous (both class and race). However, because the town is so large, that statement doesn't carry much weight. Yes, there are a few diverse pockets of Amherst.
Amherst (taken as a whole) is fairly homogeneous (both class and race). However, because the town is so large, that statement doesn't carry much weight. Yes, there are a few diverse pockets of Amherst.
It's much more diverse than it used to be. Look at the school enrollment figures sometime. Eggertsville (Sweet Home School District) is increasingly black (around 20% I think) and the Williamsville District is becoming heavily Asian. Some schools are near 20% Asian.
It is certainly more diverse than most other suburbs in WNY. Only hard-core Elmwood types who never go out to the suburbs think that it is still all white.
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. It is alot like many of the North Shore Suffolk towns, not obscenely rich like the North Shore Nassau towns, but solidly middle/upper middle class in most areas.
