Friendly place with better weather than you think
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4/18/2019
I am a current resident of Buffalo. I grew up outside Buffalo proper (by the Bills stadium), lived in the West Side for a few years, left the area for almost a decade, and returned in 2008. I am a proud resident!
Buffalo used to get no love. Many people saw it as an old, out of touch, dismal place with no excitement outside of the cheap beer and fried everything.
During the late 2000’s, the city began to turn around a bit. It turns out- we were right- Buffalo is great! It has a gritty, rootsy, take-it-or-leave-it charm that is attractive to people. The lake, the parks, the food, and the architecture (and if you drink, the bars) make for a great and friendly vibe. There’s a strong sense of history here, and plenty to explore.
It’s a solidly blue collar Great Lakes town. The recent economic improvements are two-sided: there are jobs here now, more/hipper places to live, and a lot of restaurants and shops..... however the already palpable racial segregation has been made worse by the gentrification of the city’s residential neighborhoods. Hordes of white suburbanites (from families who ran screaming from the city’s “dangers”) have decided to attempt to reclaim the lower rents and adopt an “urban” lifestyle. Rents are now disproportionately high compared to the wages and job market.
My hope is that Buffalo can strike a balance, and keep its blue collar and lower/middle working class friendliness while remaining a good place for fresh immigrants and becoming sustainable.
Yep, it snows a lot. The city is known for its winters. Press love to pick on our winters and make every snowfall a giant deal of it.
Do some brief research and you’ll see that our winters are far from extreme compared to other similar cities. It’s no big deal.
I love this place. Come with an open mind, without pretentiousness, and with the expectation of hard workers, diversity, excellent food, and a good sense of humor.
Oh, and we don’t need any more “craft” breweries.
John | Buffalo, NY