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Urban Boys: If my husband doesn't get the Canadian Visa, we will move to Buffalo and live /work there. There will be no crossing the border on a daily basis. Did you mean to say that you visited Buffalo? What was your impression? I haven't been there ever ... but we may plan a visit in before the summer is through to get a taste of the city. Are you originally from Toronto?
It sounds like Buffalo is a lot like Memphis in terms of people loving their cars and the bus system not being very efficient.
p.s. aka - could you compare living in Buffalo to other places? What I would really like to hear is the pros and cons, in your opinion, about the city.
Last edited by szeyamo; 06-11-2007 at 12:25 PM..
Reason: forgot something
p.s. aka - could you compare living in Buffalo to other places? What I would really like to hear is the pros and cons, in your opinion, about the city.
I havent lived anywhere else so not really. But I say the major problem in the area is the economy and thats it. If you can get a decent job its fine. I mean its possible to have a couple people working at McDonalds and buy a house in Buffalo .. it won't be the best neighborhood but its possible.
The poorest neighborhood in Buffalo is the East Side and its huge. Because of population loss, white flight, and loss of jobs there is lots of abandoned houses and buildings all over the city. Or even when they get demollished or burned down you have empty sort of lots you see in a city facing urban decay.
I found a video someone made of snapshots of their neighborhood showing the problem
I disagree with a lot of what aka_mouse mouse has said concerning the Buffalo Public school system. If you get your kids into many of the magnet schools or School 81 your children can receive a fine education. My son went private (religious reasons), but many of my nieces and nephews went from PreK - 12 BP and did just fine. Several were valedictorians of their senior class, all graduates but one have gone on to college. Many have graduated and several are now in graduate school. I currently have two nieces and a nephew in BP, all are enjoying their high schools.
My niece, nephew and cousin that went through the Kenmore school system did OK. Kenmore west has had a poor reputation for many years now. My brother's SO's child goes there now. They are looking for housing elsewhere so they can remove her. I still have relatives in the Village of Kenmore. If you were to buy there, save your tax dollars and move into Buffalo.
Many schools are what you make of them. Some schools are a perfect fit for a child, some are poor choices.
As far as taxes - I have a neighbor in my subdivision (in Amherst) that grew up in Toronto. We frequently laugh at what people consider high taxes in this area - compared to the Toronto area and No NJ (where we had a serious house hunt due to job considerations), the taxes are not that high. Remember what is a tax in one area is a fee in the next area.
And as far as housing prices aka_mouse is just a tad off. In the city of Buffalo you will be looking to spend $100 - $120K for "just a house". Nothing fancy or large. There are plenty of neighborhoods that go to $250K. There are also a number of city neighborhoods that go from $400K+. The $250K - $400K market is definitely lacking in the city of Buffalo. So, people look to the 'burbs where lots are larger, price per sq. foot can be less and there are more homes in the $200 - $400K range to choose from. Depending on what size home you are looking for, you should have no problem locating a decent home in a decent area in the $150 - $200K range in most of the area.
You can get anywhere in the city of Buffalo from point A to Point B with a bus and a short walk. Once you leave the city limits the buses do not run as well. Link to the Bus routes and schedule (http://www.nfta.com/metro/routes.asp - broken link) I would definitely concur that this is a driving community. While commute times are relatively short the "20 minutes to anywhere" really isn't true. I live in Amherst and it takes me 40 minutes non-rush hour to get downtown.
As far as comparisons, the only area I could offer you a comparison to is metro NYC, and there really is no comparison for me. I danced the entire way across state when my husband left his career field and we did not have to live in the metro NYC area.
I would definitely encourage you to visit the area if you are seriously considering the area to live. The weather is one of the biggest perks of the area. May - October is beautiful. The city and the northern suburbs do not get the snow the south towns do. The area is quite windy, so it can make the cold feel colder.
Last edited by xamsx; 06-11-2007 at 03:54 PM..
Reason: spelling
The weather is the same as Toronto except they get a lot more snow and it is a bit milder (and a little hotter in the summer). I used to live in Toronto and then I moved to Montreal. Toronto is 2 hours (traffic willing).
There are some incredible houses in the city where you can walk to restaurants and stores and that actually remind me a little of Toronto (around Elmwood and Delaware). The houses are beautiful inside with lots of woodwork and original details, in many cases.
There are some really nasty crime ridden neighborhoods (like all American cities), that you won't be living in so I wouldn't worry about them. Just make sure that your kids do not go to these schools! Or send them to private schools.
I am American, but I have spent half my life in Canada and I am a Canadian citizen as well. It seems like a reasonable compromise to live in Buffalo, but you should also check out Rochester (smaller, but a little bit more prosperous).
Urban Boys: Rochester is also an option but we are not exploring it yet as it is farther from Toronto. What are the neighborhoods downtown/midtown which would be okay to live in? Do most people with children in those areas send their children to private school then?
xamsx: Besides Amherst, are there any other suburbs that you would recommend I look into? I have 2 children under the age of 5 and one due to start KK in September. He went to private school this past year. I am also curious about how bad the city school system is. The city schools are a mess here in Memphis though there are maybe a handful of schools which are "optional". It's a big deal every year to line up to get your kids in. Are there any good city schools?
Amherst or Clarence would work for you. Just about any suburban elementary school will be fine. Even in the Kenmore school system I've heard little bad before high school. The magnet school system in Buffalo is quite good. It is a lottery system, so your children would have to enter to get in. Buffalo Public Schools School 81 ia located in North Buffalo and is a very good school. There are definitely good schools in the city of Buffalo. There are also terrible schools. It is like any big city school system - good and bad.
As with any school, the teachers and administration are very important. One of my nieces went to Waterfront and even though it was an open school you could have heard a pin drop. When her principal left before she started 8th grade discipline went down hill and she could not wait to graduate. I have no idea what the school is like now as she graduated approximately 10 years ago. It's just an example of how much the school administration can make or break or learning environment.
My son to a Catholic school. You will find the Catholic school system alive and well in the Buffalo area. You do not have to be Catholic to send your children to a Catholic school, but you will pay non-parishioner rates and the children are taught religion. He graduated five years ago from elementary school and his tuition was $1,200 at the time. We sent him to private HS and that is over $8K (if he could have gotten in to City Honors he'd have had a better education for free).
Buffalo sounds like a great place for you - the burbs have great schools and the summers are wonderful!!! I live outside the city, minutes from downtown, yet have the ability to feel safe! Moderator cut: realtor soliciting... please use Private Messages
Best of Luck in your search
Colleen
Last edited by bellafinzi; 06-15-2007 at 12:48 PM..
I would check out Rochester as well. We went to Buffalo and Rochester to see what was going on. Buffalo has nicer architecture and has more of a feel of a larger city (which we like). You are going to have to visit to see if you like it. People complain a lot that it is cold, etcetera, but the weather is actually milder than Toronto. I would love to move back to Toronto, but it has become so incredibly expensive. If you can find a decent job in Upstate NY you will be in great shape financially, and can visit Toronto often.
It seems that North Buffalo is nice. Areas between Elmwood and Delaware Avenues in the city are nice from about Allentown north to the end of the city limits (and then into the suburbs). In Rochester, I would look around Park Avenue (beautiful area-you can walk to shops and restaurants). Housing is really reasonable $200k will go very far in either of these cities.
I used to live near Avenue Road and Eglinton in Toronto.
Urban Boys: We're going to drive up to Toronto in July and make sure we check out both Buffalo and Rochester. Are you sure that the weather is milder than Toronto? I have heard that the lake effect actually makes the winters much colder. Not that that has a bearing on our final decision. My husband is getting worried about the strength of the Canadian dollar vs. the US dollar and really wants us to go with the US Plan but I don't know.
Isn't living in SF just as expensive, if not more expensive than Toronto? Even if you rented, wouldn't that be as much as a mortgage payment in some areas of Toronto? I think that we could do Toronto ... only it would be much harder on our family. But living far away from my parents could be harder in the long run .... it's hard to know what to do. Right now we are waiting for the VISA and my husband will search for jobs in both cities. Whatever presents itself first may help us make our ultimate decision.
xamsx: Thanks for the info on the schools. I actually *found* the school I want my son to attend: Smallwood Drive. It has split-grades, looping, and other alternative instructional methods that interest me. I even contacted the principal already for some information! I am definitely going to check out that particular school when we tour the city. That must be one of the most expensive 'burbs, right? The Great Schools site rated Smallwood as one of the top elementary schools in the area.
I have heard that the lake effect actually makes the winters much colder.
How does lake effect snow make the winters colder?
Syracuse gets much more snow than Chicago, but Chicago is colder than Syracuse in January.
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