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Old 06-01-2009, 07:52 PM
 
Location: Buffalo NY
414 posts, read 1,500,499 times
Reputation: 161

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockwalliper View Post
I was born in Kenmore, grew up in the town and moved to the city. My son is a student at UB. The drive to the North campus is 10-15 minutes depending on the time of day. As far as the town being "much better" than the city that's bologna. The city is older by about 40 years so the houses are older and generally more reasonably priced. Taxes are lower in the city. Plenty of rental properties too. There's also lots to do during the summer months with canal fest and concerts on the canal 3 nights a week. There are really no bad parts in the city or the town. Both are policed heavily. I think you'll like it here.

City vs. Town...start with the school system and we can continue from there.
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Old 06-02-2009, 04:45 PM
 
Location: Tonawanda
259 posts, read 885,932 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikesuicide View Post
City vs. Town...start with the school system and we can continue from there.
I grew up in the Ken West district and now live in the City district. I don't feel any better or worse with either.
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Old 06-02-2009, 11:33 PM
 
504 posts, read 1,486,643 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by starlettenfg View Post
We don't have kids and both are in our mid-twenties. We thought about moving to the actual city but we are not familiar with the area. We don't know the good parts, bad parts, roads, etc. Researching places online looks great; however the locations do not mean anything to us. We figured we would start on the outskirts and then eventually venture our way into the city once we are more familiar with it. Living in the city does sound desirable since from what I have read there are a lot of things to do there. It’s something neither of us has experienced and the idea is still sitting on the back burner.
The city's an option. It's not for everybody. Don't come expecting it to be like Manhattan, it's not that kind of city. Most of the popular neighborhoods (including North Buffalo) are what used to be called "streetcar suburbs." They have large, freestanding homes, usually 2 or 3 stories, built close together (but not too close) along wide, leafy streets. They were built after the advent of the steetcar, which allowed for the development of less densely populated neighborhoods further from the waterfront/downtown.

But even areas that are closer to downtown (like Elmwood Village) are not what people from larger cities would necessarily call "urban." Large apartment buildings are not really that prevalent, and neither are rowhouses. Interestingly, the ideal of the freestanding, single-family home had such currency in Buffalo that many multi-unit buildings were built to resemble single-family homes (they're indistinguishable from the outside). It's nice to rent a floor of one of these "two-flats."

Even if you don't ultimately get a place in the city, you should definitely take a walk through some of its neighborhoods when you come to visit. Depending on where you're from, you might be surprised at how beautiful Buffalo can look in the summer.

The longer commute is definitely an issue, but when I went to UB I never sacrificed the better quality of life of the city for a shorter commute.

edit: When I say "the city" I mean Buffalo, not the City of Tonawanda.
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Old 06-02-2009, 11:40 PM
 
504 posts, read 1,486,643 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockwalliper View Post
I grew up in the Ken West district and now live in the City district. I don't feel any better or worse with either.
What an endorsement!

But seriously, how you feel in Tonawanda (especially when it's expressed so vaguely) probably won't have much relevance to someone thinking about moving in. Can you be a little more specific?

For instance, my uncle lives in the City of Tonawanda and he always seems to be in a ****ty mood. But we don't blame that on his environment.
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Old 06-04-2009, 05:12 AM
 
Location: NY
9,131 posts, read 19,896,257 times
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I don't think you can go wrong with any of the Tonawanda's overall.

I grew up in Kenmore, about 4 blocks from Kenmore Ave (City of Buffalo line). It's been a few years now, but overall I thought it was a really nice community. Mostly older homes on small lots, very much like a number of city neighborhoods. It has a business district on Delaware with some small stores, shops, and restaurants. (I always loved Malone's for a burger). I think Kenmore has a lot of character!

The Town of Tonawanda is rather large, and has it's own different "communities." You have Green Acres neighborhood in the Kenmore East HS area, which is generally the 50's era suburbia houses. It's a nice area. West of Kenmore, following Kenmore Ave out towards the Blvd tends to have houses a little cheaper than Green Acrea. Not sure exactly why it is less desirable. Maybe some people dislike the close proximity to North Buffalo, or maybe it is simple access since it is farther from the thruway system for commuters. Always seemed nice to me. There is the area around Sheridan and Deleware, similar to Green Acres too, with some older houses mixed in. The area around the Linde plant which isn't as good, but not terrible either, and the Tonawanda Projects, which I personally would stay away from (around Sheridan Park... the Park is nice!).

City of Tonawanda has areas that seem a little more down, I think in large part due to the older home stock. Many 100+ year old homes in the city, although it has a decent sized 50's era homes around the High School too (and a couple streets of newer, larger homes). Although visibly some of these streets may not look as nice from the curb, I had a close friend in the city for years and hung out there often. There was no more crime or other undesirable elements there as anywhere else.

NT is also very nice for the most part. It is much larger like the Town of Tonawanda, with neighborhoods ranging from 100+ year old homes, to houses built in the last couple decades that are very spacious and modern.

I don't know too much about the school's anymore, but none of them ever had a reputation for being bad.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of these communities. However, a trip to check them out would definately be warranted as there are a lot of variations from one area of these communities to the next.
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Old 06-04-2009, 03:48 PM
 
Location: Tonawanda
259 posts, read 885,932 times
Reputation: 72
Quote:
Originally Posted by mycrows View Post
What an endorsement!

But seriously, how you feel in Tonawanda (especially when it's expressed so vaguely) probably won't have much relevance to someone thinking about moving in. Can you be a little more specific?

For instance, my uncle lives in the City of Tonawanda and he always seems to be in a ****ty mood. But we don't blame that on his environment.
It was not my intent to endorse one over the other, I love them both. My issue was the statement that the Town was "Much better" than the city. Having lived in both my whole life its just not true.I find little difference between the schools, streets, people, police. If there were not signs at the city lines most people would never know they had passed from one to the other.
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Old 06-04-2009, 07:12 PM
 
1,515 posts, read 3,320,146 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dockwalliper View Post
If there were not signs at the city lines most people would never know they had passed from one to the other.
Very true. They are all pretty much the same. Not at all like places like Amherst which range from poor developments, to multi-million dollar homes.

You really can't go wrong in Ken-Ton if that is your price range, although I prefer my area of Amherst, but that is personal preference.
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