Buffalo
August 2018 —In the 2000s Buffalo is very similar to other cities in the country. We have access to good schools, employment and public transport. The weather is very sporadic in Buffalo. It can go very quickly from one extreme to the other. In the winter we usually get a lot of snow. Because of this sledding, skiing and snowboarding are popular hobbies for citizens here. Buffalo traffic is usually not too big of a concern. While there may some moderate backup and wait during rush hour for the most part you can usually get where you’re going without much to any delay. Buffalo has an average amount of crime and struggles with the same epidemics that plague other cities such as drug addiction. One of the disadvantages of living in Buffalo is that there is not a lot of unique or cultural business. We have a lot of big box stores and chain type establishments. Buffalo is very close to the Canadian border and a short drive to New York City so you can always travel a short distance to see more cultural things. Housing is affordable in Buffalo. Especially during the summer there are a lot of festivals and carnivals for you to go to. There are also a lot of public parks for children.
Buffalo
August 2018 —Buffalo was an extremely up-and-coming city as I was growing up in the early 2000’s. It certainly went through a revival period as efforts to improve infrastructure and businesses were in full swing. One thing I enjoy about this city is everyone’s Buffalo Pride. Even though we may not have the best sports teams, everyone in Buffalo is more than willing to come out for a Bills game we know we’ll lose, and enjoy every minute of it. Another thing I love about Buffalo is it’s unique traits/history. There are so many different foods and traditions no other city has. Although we are somewhat of a larger city, it is an extremely tight-knit community where everyone cares for the greater good of the city and the people in it. However, this comes with a catch: while Buffalonians love to boast about how amazing our city is, we are typically referring to only certain parts. Buffalo is still a very segregated place, especially downtown, and the need to better ourselves should not be overlooked. Additionally, the tight-knit community comes at a price of everyone knowing “who is who”, making one’s social standing incredibly important to be successful in this city. Reputation is an important aspect of Buffalo, which is why private Catholic schools are so prominent. Nevertheless, I have yet to be in a city that is quite like Buffalo, and I couldn’t be happier to call it my hometown.
Tonawanda
August 2018 — I am writing about the timeframe of the late 1990s. It was good and bad growing up in Tonawanda. It is a small city, 3 by 3 miles wide each way, and about 10,000-18,000 people living in it. Tonawanda is also known as stop sign city because it has so many stop signs through out the city. Growing up here as a kid was really fun. We were able to identify were our friends were based on what bikes were located outside a house. No one had to lock their doors at night, and mostly all the neighbors were friendly, and kids were able to play at their free will. My friends parents would call each other all the time about the things we were doing, or the things they saw us doing that we thought they had no idea about. Small town talk, so we were not able to get away with much. Even the police at the time were generally good people. If they caught us doing something bad, they wouldn’t arrest us, depending on the severity, they would give us a good talking to or take us home to our parents. We never got taken to the police station. Because the city was small, making friends was pretty easy. There were kids everywhere, and if we played sports, they usually divided up the teams based on the area that we lived in. So I was able to make friends that were in walking or bike riding distance from my house. My childhood friends were the best friends I ever had, and a lot of them I still engage with. I coach a couple of their kids in soccer, or some of my friends have kids around my kids age, and now they are friends.
Buffalo
August 2018 — In the 2000s Buffalo is very similar to other cities in the country. We have access to good schools, employment and public transport. The weather is very sporadic in Buffalo. It can go very quickly from one extreme to the other. In the winter we usually get a lot of snow. Because of this sledding, skiing and snowboarding are popular hobbies for citizens here. Buffalo traffic is usually not too big of a concern. While there may some moderate backup and wait during rush hour for the most part you can usually get where you’re going without much to any delay. Buffalo has an average amount of crime and struggles with the same epidemics that plague other cities such as drug addiction. One of the disadvantages of living in Buffalo is that there is not a lot of unique or cultural business. We have a lot of big box stores and chain type establishments. Buffalo is very close to the Canadian border and a short drive to New York City so you can always travel a short distance to see more cultural things. Housing is affordable in Buffalo. Especially during the summer there are a lot of festivals and carnivals for you to go to. There are also a lot of public parks for children.
Lake View
August 2018 — The town is pretty nice. Small, but the neighborhoods are growing. There aren’t many stores or restaurants in town, we need to go elsewhere for that, but it is filled with kind neighbors who are always there with a beer or wine, having fires in the yard, spending time together and helping each other with yard work or projects.
Buffalo
July 2018 — Living in Buffalo, NY can be both enjoyable and challenging. When I first came here, I was a bit culture shocked and didn’t realize the large scale of the city. It takes getting used too, especially driving with so much traffic, construction, and deteriorating roads. There’s quite a lot to like though like the various places to visit and great food. The grocery stores are completely different than what I was used to prior to moving. They are better! There’s a lot of great properties surrounding the city but some less than nice areas within city limits. There’s a lot of crime in certain areas. I feel safe where I am though. We are known as the city of good neighbors because people help each other out. The one thing that is very challenging when living here though is the taxes. They are extremely high in everything from property tax to sales tax. The road conditions are bad and the winters can be brutal sometimes. All in all though, it’s enjoyable to live in Buffalo.
Buffalo
January 2018 — I grew up in Buffalo, Ny in the 1960’s. I first moved away in 1985 but came back 5 years later as my husband started college there. Growing up in the city was amazing. We had corner stores all over and I remember all the neighborhood bars that my father would go to. Winter was yucky but the summers splendid. When I was younger, we’d play on the porch Barbies or walk around the block where it was a dead end and little traffic to roller skate. My parents were always paranoid about us [content moderated; information that might identify writer removed], so evening was spent indoors, safely. I still have the family home and visit with my children each year. My grand daughter comes as well. Parents have passed but my Aunt lives in the house now where we still stay.
Buffalo has changed so much. It’s up and coming because of the younger people wanting the old again. Old buildings have been revamped into apartment and the home values have finally began to rise. The last few years visiting in the summer have been great. My husband is from California and didn’t like Buffalo in the 90’s when he was going to school. There was nothing to do but now the downtown is really a downtown where there are concerts in the summer and ice skating in the winter among other things. So yeah, lots of change but I still wouldn’t pass up the old ways where life in the city was simpler.