Buffalo vs. West Palm Beach (cost, better, crime, compare)

[nep321]

Which place is a better place to live? I'm referring to the general area, not just the specific city, but rather the whole county. If you lived in both, I highly value your opinion. The reason I'm posting about this is because I may have a potential job opportunity in either place and want to hear the opinions of other people!

Both places are very comparable in size. Buffalo area has 1.1 million people. Palm Beach County has 1.3 million.

Discuss and compare things such as:

Culture
Food
Climate
Education Level of the People
Healthiness of the People
Economy
Vibe
Scenery
Pace
Amenities and Convenience
Things to Do
Politics
Religion
Traffic
Crime
History
Cost of Living
LGBT Community

[ckhthankgod]

If you are going strictly by county, then you should use Erie County for Buffalo, which has about 920,000 people.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

If you are going strictly by county, then you should use Erie County for Buffalo, which has about 920,000 people.

Well, I didn't mean to be super specific. Just the general areas. But I understand your point.

[Dawn.Davenport]

There's not much question here. Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo!

Culture - Buffalo (Awesome, underrated arts scene)
Food - WPB (I love Cuban/Caribbean)
Climate - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo. I need four seasons
Education Level of the People - WPB
Healthiness of the People - Tie. More smokers in Buffalo, more old folks in WPB, obesity is at moderate levels in both cities
Economy - WPB has lower unemployment, but it depends on your industry. For instance, Buffalo is better for education, whereas WPB is better for service industry work.
Vibe - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo. It's more laid back and less materialistic.
Scenery - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo. Maples>palms, hills>plains, waterfalls and lakes>beaches
Pace - Buffalo
Amenities and Convenience - Buffalo (close to Toronto, with easy Amtrak access to Bos-Wash and Chicago)
Things to Do - Buffalo!!! (Niagara Falls, the Finger Lakes, hockey, football, sailing, x-country skiing, great local music scene, farmer's markets, festivals)
Politics - Buffalo (I'm a socialist)
Religion -Buffalo (I'm an atheist)
Traffic- Buffalo
Crime - WPB
History - Buffalo {mostly due to its proximity to Central New York [Susan B. Anthony/Seneca Falls/women's rights, abolition/underground railroad, birthplace of Mormonism (and other fringe faiths), the Erie Canal, the Seward house, Comstock laws, French-Canadian history, Revolutionary War stuff]}
Cost of Living - Buffalo, hands down, no question.
LGBT Community - Tie. I'm not looking at numbers, but I sense that WPB has a larger LGBT community, but it's more close-knit in Buffalo. Buffalo's 4 am bar close aint bad either.

[aggie75]

Originally Posted by Dawn.Davenport

There's not much question here. Buffalo buffalo Buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo!

Culture - Buffalo (Awesome, underrated arts scene)
Food - WPB (I love Cuban/Caribbean, but Buffalo does well for itself)
Climate - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo, but I need four seasons
Education Level of the People - WPB
Healthiness of the People - Tie. More smokers in Buffalo, more old folks in WPB, obesity is at moderate levels in both cities
Economy - WPB has lower unemployment, but it depends on your industry. For instance, Buffalo is better for education, whereas WPB is better for service industry work.
Vibe - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo. It's more laid back and less materialistic.
Scenery - Subjective, but I'd go with Buffalo. Maples>palms, hills>plains, waterfalls and lakes>beaches
Pace - Buffalo
Amenities and Convenience - Buffalo (close to Toronto!)
Things to Do - Buffalo
Politics - Buffalo (I'm a socialist)
Religion -Buffalo (I'm an atheist)
Traffic- Buffalo
Crime - WPB
History - Buffalo
Cost of Living - Buffalo
LGBT Community - Tie. WPB has a larger LGBT community, but it's more close-knit in Buffalo. Buffalo's 4 am bar close aint bad either.

Nice to see some positive stuff said about Buffalo here at City-Data Very rarely does it happen and I think a lot of the people who put it down have not been here and judge it on stereotypes

[nep321]

I thought Buffalo was totally flat like Florida. I mean, I've been there and it's totally flat. WNY in general is FLAT as a pancake like Florida.

[Hawaii4evr]

BUffalo is a dump.
West Palm Beach...the weather, beaches, and proximity to the Caribbean is enough for me to think it lays waste to Buffalo. Plus, if one wants the Northeastern vibe, there's plenty of transplants (many of them Jewish) that move down there. And it votes Democrat.

[nei]

Originally Posted by nep321

I thought Buffalo was totally flat like Florida. I mean, I've been there and it's totally flat. WNY in general is FLAT as a pancake like Florida.

Buffalo is mostly flat. Get out to the southeast and it gets hillier. Western New York is definitely not flat.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Hawaii4evr

BUffalo is a dump.
West Palm Beach...the weather, beaches, and proximity to the Caribbean is enough for me to think it lays waste to Buffalo. Plus, if one wants the Northeastern vibe, there's plenty of transplants (many of them Jewish) that move down there. And it votes Democrat.

That is a good point. I mean, I don't care about the beach at all, but the new and clean vibe of Palm Beach is pretty nice. Not gonna lie.

[nep321]

The job opportunity in Buffalo though, seems like it would be better and a more desirable place to work than the one in WPB. But who knows, we'll see what happens.