If you don’t mind cold, cloudy weather, the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area can deliver a lot of history and culture at a bargain price.
The Queen City of the Great Lakes, renowned for its architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright and Louis Sullivan, boasts some of the nation’s most affordable housing — the average home price is $115,400. Its job base has diversified from autos and steel to pharmaceuticals and financial services.
On weekends, you’ll have plenty of culture and entertainment with sports teams such as the Buffalo Bills, the large Albright-Knox Gallery and the free festivals and concerts offered regularly. And the Buffalo metro area has 59 miles of coastline along two Great Lakes and the Niagara River, including a 289-mile towpath for bikers leading to Albany. Indeed, the city considers pedestrians and bicyclists in all of its road projects, and mass transit is heavily used. All of this is starting to pull younger people back to this town.
“We have had to overcome the image that we were just falling-down buildings, chicken wings and snow,” says Tom Kucharski, chief executive officer of the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, an economic development group. Cons: There is a lot of snow — about 90 inches of it a year — as well as a lot of cloudy weather, an older population and a declining base of some higher-paying manufacturing jobs.
Indeed, the city considers pedestrians and bicyclists in all of its road projects, and mass transit is heavily used. All of this is starting to pull younger people back to this town.
Really? I don’t think so.
How come ridiculously high taxes aren’t listed in the Cons? Should atleast be noted as an offset to the low home prices.
mass transit is heavily used. All of this is starting to pull younger people back to this town.
“We have had to overcome the image that we were just falling-down buildings, chicken wings and snow,”
Really?
declining base of some higher-paying manufacturing jobs
No biggie really…
I really want to love and move back to Buffalo but it is just so damn hard to!
Great news for Buffalo! A lot has changed in the nearly 5 years it has been since I moved away to sunny Florida.
My biggest gripes about Buffalo (and NY in general) and some of the reasons I left (in no particular order):
Low paying jobs for college educated people, more ‘entry level’ and not enough ‘good jobs’ for educated/experienced white collar people.
State Income Taxes (FL has NO state income tax)
High property taxes (ex. $200k home in FL [Orange County] pays roughly $2200 annually, $200k home in NY [Erie County] pays $7-8000 annually)
High sales tax (in 04’ it was 8.25% in Erie I believe, it is currently 6.25% in Orange County, FL)
I have to mention the weather, it is a big factor for many people, I can’t complain about 80 degrees and sunny 90% of the time here in FL.
Costs to own a small business in NY are much higher than they are in FL (taxes, insurance, start up costs, licensing, etc.)
I am sure I could list many other factors, and Buffalo will ALWAYS be my home no matter where I live, but I don’t think I could have the same quality of life doing the same type of work (real estate law) in Buffalo as I do in Florida. I do miss my family and friends back home, but not enough to move back anytime soon!! But I am happy the region is improving and they are finally doing something to develop the waterfront!
Crime, like any other big city is a problem! But I live about 45 minutes outside of the city, then again, last night my neighbor (a couple blocks away) shot and killed a burglar in his yard (I love the gun/pistol laws in FL better too!). Anyway, here is the story: http://www.wftv.com/news/21664570/detail.html
I’d love to see that same article apply to NY… but it would read more like “the home owner shot the criminal, and will be spending the rest of his life in jail.”
In FL, especially in the ‘country’ where I live, it is shoot first and ask questions later!!! They have something called the ‘Castle Law’ here where it basically states you can shoot anyone on your property if you feel they are a threat to you or your family. As long as you have no criminal record and are a FL resident it is very easy to get pistols and your concealed weapons permit here.
