West seneca vs Cheektowaga vs Tonawanda (Buffalo, Union: middle-class, loan, house)
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These are all first ring suburbs, but what is the difference between them? West seneca seems to be the nicest, Cheektowaga the least nice. Is that accurate?
Its a tossup between West Seneca and Cheektowaga for the least. There are some nice areas in both, but for me having lived in all the areas, West Seneca is the least desirable (the people are not as friendly) , Cheektowaga near the city is dicey but the rest of the area (including the Galleria Mall) has some nicer areas and Tonawanda would be my first choice of those three. I would choose Snyder, Williamsville, Clarence, East Aurora or Orchard Park over the ones you mentioned.
Its a tossup between West Seneca and Cheektowaga for the least. There are some nice areas in both, but for me having lived in all the areas, West Seneca is the least desirable (the people are not as friendly) , Cheektowaga near the city is dicey but the rest of the area (including the Galleria Mall) has some nicer areas and Tonawanda would be my first choice of those three. I would choose Snyder, Williamsville, Clarence, East Aurora or Orchard Park over the ones you mentioned.
That's interesting you might put West Seneca at the bottom. It is the only one of these gaining population and has the highest median incomes.
I grew up in Kenmore, part of the Town of Tonawanda, now live in south Cheektowaga along the West Seneca border, which puts us in the West Seneca school district and closely ties us to that town. My wife also grew up in West Seneca.
There is no way to give a universal answer, since all three towns have very diverse areas within them. Where you are in each town will greatly influence your opinion of how "good" it is or not. The parts of those towns that border right on the city of Buffalo tend to have less desirable streets and neighborhoods than other parts of the towns.
So ultimately, I am not sure there is an overall nicest town.
Beyond that, I think that the Town of Tonawanda has some of the best "character" in some of its neighborhoods (but not universally so). If a buyer wants more of an outer ring suburb, more of a mcmansion development feel, there are some neighborhoods on the outskirts of West Seneca which will bring more of that feel. In Cheektowaga, you have a newer housing base for the most part than the Town of Tonawanda, which I found can mean finding it easier to find and buy housing which is in structurally better shape overall (of course, it varies how the homes were cared for and maintained), as well as better layouts and room sizes in the housing stock in general. Cheektowaga to me has the least character overall of the three, but also is a great shopping hub with the Galleria and surrounding stores and businesses. I think Tonawanda has the better restaurants though.
I grew up in Kenmore, part of the Town of Tonawanda, now live in south Cheektowaga along the West Seneca border, which puts us in the West Seneca school district and closely ties us to that town. My wife also grew up in West Seneca.
There is no way to give a universal answer, since all three towns have very diverse areas within them. Where you are in each town will greatly influence your opinion of how "good" it is or not. The parts of those towns that border right on the city of Buffalo tend to have less desirable streets and neighborhoods than other parts of the towns.
So ultimately, I am not sure there is an overall nicest town.
Beyond that, I think that the Town of Tonawanda has some of the best "character" in some of its neighborhoods (but not universally so). If a buyer wants more of an outer ring suburb, more of a mcmansion development feel, there are some neighborhoods on the outskirts of West Seneca which will bring more of that feel. In Cheektowaga, you have a newer housing base for the most part than the Town of Tonawanda, which I found can mean finding it easier to find and buy housing which is in structurally better shape overall (of course, it varies how the homes were cared for and maintained), as well as better layouts and room sizes in the housing stock in general. Cheektowaga to me has the least character overall of the three, but also is a great shopping hub with the Galleria and surrounding stores and businesses. I think Tonawanda has the better restaurants though.
All areas have their benefits and detriments.
This seems very accurate. I know hardly anything about Tonawanda, but Cheektowaga was completely cookie cutter. My dad grew up in the 70s in Cheektowaga off walden and loved it. I wonder if people still love living there today...
Cheektowaga has suffered from exodus of people from the city and has changed from predominately Polish to a mixture of African Americans, immigrants and Polish. The neighborhood abutting the city have changed. The neighborhoods as far as George Urban Blvd near the airport are now in flux with decreasing housing prices. The housing in Cheektowaga was not that expensive to begin with and affordable for city dwellers looking to relocate. My friend inherited a house off of Union Road near the airport and it was in perfect condition, all brick ranch and very well kept up. He wound up getting only 85k for it after a long time on the market. Many parts of Cheektowaga further from the city have nice homes and good neighborhoods.
Cheektowaga has suffered from exodus of people from the city and has changed from predominately Polish to a mixture of African Americans, immigrants and Polish. The neighborhood abutting the city have changed. The neighborhoods as far as George Urban Blvd near the airport are now in flux with decreasing housing prices. The housing in Cheektowaga was not that expensive to begin with and affordable for city dwellers looking to relocate. My friend inherited a house off of Union Road near the airport and it was in perfect condition, all brick ranch and very well kept up. He wound up getting only 85k for it after a long time on the market. Many parts of Cheektowaga further from the city have nice homes and good neighborhoods.
I think people "get it" and know about other parts of the town, but I also think people have to be careful as well. I'm saying this in general, by the way.
Cheektowaga's population was 100,000 in 1980 and it's now like 65,000
that's a loss of 35,000
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