How Amherst is disbributed... (New York, Buffalo: new home, safe area, school district)
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New to the area, and I'm trying to figure out the town of Amherst. So Williamsville and Snyder are actually Amherst? Is this true? Where does Snyder actually begin and where does it end? Are all areas of Snyder safe? Or does part of it border a not so great part of Buffalo? Trying to figure it all out....
I would consider both areas to be pretty snooty areas of Amherst. Amherst is regularly one of the safest cities in the United States so I wouldn't worry about anything (except your wallet).
Snyder, like Eggertsville and Getzville, is a place in the town of Amherst that really doesn't exist any more. It probably at one time had its own post office, etc. but that was a long time ago.
Snyder is basically the area around Main St. (Rt. 5) and Harlem Rd. (Rt. 240), north to Sheridan Drive (Rt. 324) and south to the Cheektowaga border (Kensington Ave., Wehrle Drive). East to probably Main St. & Kensington Avenue, and west to maybe Eggert Rd., or a little east of there.
Snyder is in the Amherst school district.
Going from west to east, Williamsville starts probably around Main & Kensington Ave. and then peters out somewhere along Main St. west of Youngs Rd. Like Snyder, it goes north to Sheridan Drive, and south to Wehrle Drive.
The Williamsville School District boundaries are another matter. It extends north to the Niagara County line, east into parts of Clarence, west to maybe North Forest Rd., and south to probably Wehrle Drive. At least that is how far it went when I lived there.
Williamsville and Snyder are both pretty safe areas.
Justin, I grew up in Williamsville, and my wife grew up in West Seneca, and she doesn't think I'm snooty
My observations on the Eggertsville/Snyder/Williamsville definitions, so to speak, after actually moving to Amherst about 5 years ago. Corrections welcomed!
Eggertsville and Snyder are sections within Amherst, they share the 14226 zip, but are not officially incorporated political entities. You can therefore describe each one's approximate location, but it's hard to say where each's exact borders ares, at least where they abut each other. I've also tried to find actual maps and haven't been able to. Michael21214 more or less nails the description of Snyder. The area west of Eggert, west to the Town of Tonawanda, south to Cheektowaga/
Buffalo, and north to maybe Sheridan, would definitely be considered Eggertsville. Where between Eggert and Harlem does Eggertsville end and Snyder begin? It's almost a matter of opinion, I've met people from Lebrun who say they're from Eggerstville and people from Getzville Road who say they live in Snyder, and the streets aren't that far apart.
Williamsville is a slightly different matter. There is the officially incorporated Village of Williamsville, with defined borders. Though somewhat irregular in shape, in general it starts east of the I-290/I-90 merge, south to Werhle, north to around Sheridan and east to around Yonges. However, there is a much larger area of Amherst outside of the Village of Williamsville which is part of the Williamsville 14221 mailing address area. This area begins east/north of the I-290, east to Transit, and north of Maple to where Getzville 14068 and East Amherst 14051 begin. Got all that?
An interesting phenomenon is the fact that upon meeting anyone from the Williamsville 14221 mailing address area, whether inside or outside the Village, they will tell you they're from Williamsville, not Amherst. The same holds true for East Amherst. I think this is more custom/habit, not snootiness as JustinH may think. Snootiness is an attitude and behavior, not merely a function of location. Some residents are, some aren't. Besides, Eggerstville, Snyder, and Williamsville, if you look hard enough, all have some areas or individual houses which are anything but fancy, despite widely held beliefs about how fancy Amherst in general is. Therefore not all the residents can be snooty!
Please realize that the intersection of Main & Kensington was mentioned in a previous post. There are actually 2 intersections of the same 2 streets. One is in the city of Buffalo. Don't confuse it with the one in Amherst. (BTW: I know people born here who don't specify or know that.)
Thank you for your feedback. From looking at the map, it wasn't clear if Synder or the parts around it was "safe" or right next to a not so great area.
Thank you for your feedback. From looking at the map, it wasn't clear if Synder or the parts around it was "safe" or right next to a not so great area.
Amherst is really an agglomeration of many different areas. The Snyder/Eggertsville area (Zip 14226), which borders Buffalo, is an old first ring suburb. In the 1950s and 60s, it was the richest area of the suburbs and still has well kept homes and affluent people. There are certainly "less snooty" areas though. It is served by the Amherst school district.
Williamsville (zip 14221) is a village with an old, dense, walkable core in SW Amherst. It has been eaten up by sprawling housing developments on all sides, with houses ranging from the 200,000s up to full blown McMansions that cost over half a million. It is served by the Williamsville school district. The village has houses dating to the 19th century, but everywhere else has been built up after 1970 generally.
Speaking of McMansions, East Amherst (zip 14051) is the epicenter of wealth in the Buffalo metro area. It runs along the east edge of Amherst. The median family and household incomes range far into the six digits in many neighborhoods. The main commercial artery, Transit Road, is a sprawl bomb of strip malls and upscale department stores. This is the stereotypical wealthy outer ring suburban area, along with Clarence center. East Amherst is actually still in the Williamsville school district, and almost all of its housing stock was built after 1980, with extensive building continuing today.
Next, the center of Amherst is dominated by UB, with the hamlet of Getzville (zip 14068) located directly in the center. Generally, this area has a newer housing stock, and is middle of the road in terms of incomes. Definitely not a bad place to live.
Finally, West Amherst (zip 14224) is bounded by the mega commercial strip, Niagara Falls Blvd. For the most part, this is the least nice area of Amherst, but is still completely safe with middle class neighborhoods. There is extensive building of new homes up by the border with Niagara county, but in general the housing stock is from the late 20th century. It is serviced by the Sweet Home School District.
Hope this helps.
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